20:1  Tā ‘hā!

20:2  We have not sent down the Qur'ān to you in order to make you feel distressed.

20:3  But only as an admonition to him who desires to be saved from (the punishment of Allâh) .

20:4  (It is) Revelation Knowledge from the One Who has created the earth and the high heavens,

20:5  The True Merciful (God) Who has established Himself on the (Mighty) Throne.

20:6  Unto Him belongs whatever is in the Heavens, whatever is on the Earth, whatever is between them and whatever is beneath the soil.

20:7  Whether you speak loudly (or quietly), He certainly knows the secret and what is even more hidden.

20:8  Allâh! There is no god but Him. His are the Most Honorable (& Glorious) Names.

20:9  Has there come to you the story of Moses?

20:10  Behold, he saw a fire. So he said unto to his family: "Wait here! Verily I perceive a fire. Perhaps I can bring you a burning torch or find guidance at the fire."

20:11  And when he reached it, he was called by name: "O’ Moses!

20:12  Indeed! I am your Lord! Now, therefore, take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Tuwā!

20:13  I have chosen you. Now, therefore, listen carefully to what is going to be revealed

20:14  Indeed! I am Allâh (Almighty) ! There is no other god beside Me. Now, therefore worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance!

20:15  The Hour is definitely coming. I make it hidden in order to remunerate every person for what he strives to achieve.

20:16  Do not let the one who has no Faith in It and follows his own whims bar you from It lest you then perish!

20:17  What is that in your right hand, O’ Moses?"

20:18  He said: "This is my staff whereon I lean, wherewith I beat down leaves to feed my sheep, and wherein I find other uses.”

20:19  (Allâh) said: “Cast it down, O’ Moses!"

20:20  So he cast it down. It was (a living) serpent, slithering.

20:21  Allâh said: "Take hold of it and don’t be afraid! We will restore it to its former state.

20:22  (20:22 Now, thrust your (right) hand under your armpit. It will come forth glittering white without any blemishes, as another Sign,

20:23  So We will show you some of Our greatest Signs.

20:24  Now, go to Pharaoh, for he has truly transgressed all bounds."

20:25  (Moses) said: "O’ my Lord! Expand my chest for me,

20:26  And make my mission easy,

20:27  And untangle the knot from my tongue

20:28  So that they may understand what I say.

20:29  And appoint for me a minister from my family:

20:30  Aaron, my brother.

20:31  Grant me strength through him,

20:32  And let him share my mission

20:33  So that we may celebrate your praise and declare Your absolute majesty and glory a lot,

20:34  Recall and show respect for You a lot.

20:35  Most assuredly You are of us Ever a Well-Seer."

20:36  (The Lord) said: "Your appeal has already been granted, O’ Moses.

20:37  Verily, We bestowed, at another time before, Our favor upon you,

20:38  When We inspired in your mother what it should be inspired:

20:39  ‘Place him- (he child) into a chest, then cast it into the river, then the river will cast it up on the bank. He will be taken by Pharaoh, an enemy of Mine and his.’ I cast down upon you love from Me so that you would be brought up before My watchful eyes.

20:40  When your sister went (to the household of Pharaoh) and said: 'Shall I introduce you to someone who can nurse him?' This is how We reunited you with your mother so that she could rejoice and forget her sorrows. Again, you unintentionally killed a man, and We saved you from the great distress, and We tested you by subjecting you to ordeals from which We delivered you. Then you stayed for years among the people of Midian, (Shu'ayb and his family). Then you came here as ordained, O’ Moses.

20:41  And I have chosen you for Myself.

20:42  Now, go, you and your brother, with My Signs (of power & glory), and don’t slacken in celebrating the praise of your Lord and declaring His glory!

20:43  Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has truly transgressed all bounds of equity.

20:44  But speak to him with kind words, perhaps he may accept admonition or show reverence.”

20:45  Both said: “Our Lord, We truly fear that he will hasten to inflict punishment on us, or that he may show arrogant superiority."

20:46  (Allâh) said: “Don’t be afraid! Surely I am with you. I hear and see everything.”

20:47  Go, then, you two to him and say: “Truly we are two Messengers of your Lord, so let the Children of Israel go with us and stop torturing them. Verily, we have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. Peace will Be Upon the one who follows the right path to the truth!

20:48  Verily It has been revealed to us that punishment will overtake whoever denies the truth and falls away from (the Faith).

20:49  Pharaoh said: ‘Who is this Lord of you two, O’ Moses?’

20:50  (Moses) said: "Our Lord is the One Who created everything and endowed each thing with its special feature, and then guided it."

20:51  (Pharaoh) said: "What then is the condition of the past generations?"

20:52  Moses said: ‘My Lord holds the knowledge of them in a record. My Lord neither errs nor forgets.’

20:53  He is the One Who has made the earth a cradle for you, threaded for you therein roads and sent down water from the sky. Then thereby We have brought forth pairs of various plants.

20:54  Eat thereof and feed your cattle! Surely, in that there are Signs (of Allâh's power & glory) for people endued with high intelligence and great illumination.

20:55  From it, We created you, and into it, We shall return you, and out of it, We will raise you once again.

20:56  We verily showed him- (Pharaoh)- all Our Signs, but he persistently denied them and refused to acknowledge (Allâh).

20:57  (Pharaoh) said: "Have you come to drive us out from our land with your sorcery, O’ Moses?

20:58  "Then, We will definitely produce before you sorcery like it. Now, therefore, make an appointment between us, which we shall not fail to keep - neither we nor you - in a place convenient (to both of us)."

20:59  (Moses) said: “The appointed meeting will be on the festival day. And let the people be gathered in the forenoon."

20:60  Pharaoh then left and put together his plot, then came.

20:61  Moses said unto the magicians summoned by Pharaoh: "Woe betide you! Beware of attributing falsehood to Allâh, lest He will wipe you out by some punishment. Whosoever attributes falsehood to (Allâh) will certainly fail miserably."

20:62  And They began to debate their affair among themselves and preferred to keep their talk secret.

20:63  They said: "Well, these two are (expert) sorcerers, who intend to drive you out from your land with their sorcery and eradicate your exemplary way of life.

20:64  Now, therefore, orchestrate your plan and then come in ordered ranks. Whosoever overcomes this day will definitely be the successful."

20:65  They said: "O’ Moses! Either you throw or we will be the first to throw."

20:66  He said: "Nay! You, do cast first! Then behold their ropes and their sticks, by their sorcery, appeared to him as though they were slithering.

20:67  So Moses conceived a fear within him.

20:68  We said: “Don’t be afraid! Surely, it is you who are the preponderant.

20:69  Now, cast down that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up all that they have contrived. Lo! What they have contrived is only a guile of a sorcerer. The sorcerer will never achieve success in whatever he may aim to do."

20:70  So the sorcerers fell down prostrate, saying: "We do affirm our Faith in the Lord of Aaron and Moses."

20:71  (Pharaoh) said: "Did you profess your Faith in him before I give you permission? Indeed! I see that he - (Moses) - is your chief who taught you how to perform sorcery. I will certainly have your hands and feet cut off alternately. And I will certainly crucify you on the trunks of palm trees. Then you will certainly come to know which of us is more stringent in chastisement and (whose chastisement is) more enduring!"

20:72  They said: “We won’t prefer you over the irrefutable Signs that have come to us, nor above Him Who originated us. So decree whatever you intend to decree. You can only decree for this worldly life.

20:73  Indeed, We affirm our faith in our Lord so that He may forgive us our iniquitous deeds and the sorcery which you compelled us to practice. And Allâh is the Best and Most Abiding.”

20:74  Whosoever comes before his Lord as an Ungodly Sinner, then surely, for him is Gehenna, therein he can neither die nor live.

20:75  But whosoever comes before Him as a Monotheist, having done righteous deeds, for such shall be the highest degrees:

20:76  Gardens of Eden, beneath which rivers flow, therein they will abide. Such is the reward of him who has ultimately achieved positive spiritual growth.

20:77  And verily We revealed to Moses: "Set forth with My servants by night and strike for them a dry path through the sea. Do not fear that you will be overtaken, neither be afraid (of drowning)."

20:78  Pharaoh chased them with his armed hosts, then there engulfed them of the sea that which engulfed them.

20:79  Pharaoh deceived his people into going away from the Path of Truth.

20:80  O’ Children of Israel! We verily saved you from your enemy. And We made a covenant with you through Moses on the right side of Mount (Sinai), and sent to you the manna and the quails.

20:81  (We said): "Eat of the pure and wholesome things We have provided for you and don’t exceed therein lest (my) wrath will justly fall upon you: and he on whom My wrath falls, he is certainly hurled to ruin.

20:82  Yet I am indeed All-Forgiving to him who repents, lives by Faith and strives to do righteous deeds, then continues to follow the right path.

20:83  (Allâh) said: “Moses, What made you leave your people behind in such haste?"

20:84  He replied: "They are close on my tracks. And I have shown haste to come to You so that You may be well-pleased."

20:85  (Allâh) said: “Indeed! We have tempted your people during your absence: the Samaritan has led them astray."

20:86  So Moses returned to his people, angry and sorrowful. He said: "My people! Did your Lord not make you a good promise? Did then the time appointed seem too long to you? Or did you desire that a condemnation from your Lord should fall upon you, and so you broke your promise to me?”

20:87  They said: "We didn’t break our promise to you of our own free will. We were laden with burdens of the ornaments of the people (of Egypt), then cast them (into the fire), for thus as the Samaritan suggested."

20:88  Then he produced for them a Calf, a (mere) body, which had bellowing sound. And they said: "This is your god and the god of Moses, but Moses has forgotten."

20:89  Did they not see that it could not return to them a word (for answer), and had no power to hurt or benefit them?

20:90  And Aaron indeed had already told them before: "O’ my people! You have been tempted by this thing, and indeed, your Lord is (Allâh), the True Merciful (God), so follow me and obey my command."

20:91  They said: "We shall by no means stop worshiping it until Moses returns to us."

20:92  (Moses) said: "O’ Aaron! When you saw them falling away from the Faith, What prevented you

20:93  From following after me? Did you then disobey my command?"

20:94  Aaron said: "O’ son of my mother! Don’t seize me by my beard, nor by my head! I was afraid lest you should say: 'You have caused a division among the Children of Israel and paid no attention to my word!’

20:95  (Moses) said: "What is wrong with you, Samaritan? “What is that which motivate you to do this?’

20:96  The Samaritan said: “I saw what they did not see: (I saw Gabriel riding a horse), so I took a handful from the footprints of the Messenger, and cast it (into the molten ornaments). This is what my Inner Self induced me to do."

20:97  (Moses) said: "Then go away! Indeed, it is (decreed) for you in this present life to say, “Don’t Touch Me!” Most Certainly, there is also for you a promise (of punishment) that you won’t be able to evade. Now look at your god of whom you become a devoted worshiper. We will definitely burn it and scatter its ashes over the sea."

20:98  (O’ my people!) Your God is only Allâh. There is no other god beside Him. He encompasses all things in His Knowledge."

20:99  So We relate to you some of the exemplary events which happened in the past. Surely, We have given you from Our Own Selves a Scripture.

20:100  But whoever makes an affirmative decision to pay no attention It - (the Qur’ān)- will definitely bear a heavy load (of iniquitous deeds) on the Day of Resurrection,

20:101  Carrying it forever. How dreadful is that load for them on the Day of Resurrection!

20:102  And (mention) the day when the Trumpet is blown. On that day We shall gather the Ungodly Sinners together, blear-eyed (with terror),

20:103  Whispering to one another: “You have tarried (in the world) only for ten days."

20:104  We have full knowledge of what they will say when the highly perceptive person among them will say: “You have tarried but a day.”

20:105  They ask you about the mountains (on the Day of Resurrection). Say: "My Lord will blow them up into scattered dust.”

20:106  Then He will leave the earth smooth without marked lumps.

20:107  You will see therein neither roundabout route nor ruggedness.

20:108  On that day they will strictly follow the Summoner- there will be no deviation therein. And all voices will be humbled for the True Merciful (God). You will hear nothing but a faint murmur.

20:109  On that day, no intercession will avail except him that has received the permission of the True Merciful (God) and whose word He approves.

20:110  He has full knowledge of whatever is before them and whatever is behind them, whereas they cannot encompass His knowledge.

20:111  (All) faces will be humbled before (Allâh), the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. And he who bears iniquity will be disappointed.

20:112  But he who does of righteous acts - while he is a Monotheist- should not fear any injustice or any curtailment (of his rights).

20:113  As such We sent It down as an Arabic Qur’ān, and distinctly set forth therein of warnings in diverse contexts so that they may act piously, or that it may motivate them (to accept Allâh into their life).

20:114  Most High then is Allâh, the Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth. Don’t show haste with (recitation of) the Qur’ān before its revelation has been completed to you. And say: “My Lord, increase me in knowledge (of knowing You).”

20:115  Verily, We had made a covenant with Adam before, but he forgot. We found on his part no firm determination (to disobey).

20:116  And (mention) when We said unto the Angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam." They all prostrated themselves except Iblīs. He refused (to yield to the command Allâh).

20:117  Then We said: "O’ Adam! Indeed, Satan is an enemy of yours and your wife. Now, therefore, don’t let him expel you both from Al-Jannah, lest you suffer through considerable hardship.

20:118  For you, it is most assuredly a fact that you will neither go hungry therein nor go naked,

20:119  Nor feel thirsty, nor suffer from the sun's heat.”

20:120  But the devil whispered lies in his ear, saying: "O’ Adam, shall I lead you into the tree of eternity, and into a kingdom that will never decay?”

20:121  So both of them ate of it, and their private parts were exposed to them. Thus, they began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden. (In truth) Adam did disobey his Lord and so fell into temptation and put forth his hand unto iniquity.

20:122  Thereafter, his Lord chose him, turned unto him in forgiveness and enlightened his path to the truth.

20:123  (Allâh) said: "Get down (from Paradise), all of you, as enemies of one another. Yet if there should come to you the Word of Knowledge from Me, then whoever yield to My Word- (the Qur’ān)- will neither deviate from the path of truth nor suffer through considerable hardship.

20:124  But whosoever makes an affirmative decision to pay no attention to My Scripture,- (the Qur’ān)- his will surely be a straitened life. And We will raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection."

20:125  He will say: "O’ my Lord! Why have you raised me up blind, when I was endowed with sight?"

20:126  (Allâh) will say: “Even so it is. Our Enlightenment Quotes were revealed to you but you neglected them, and so, today you will be neglected.”

20:127  This is how We chastise him who transgresses beyond bounds and persistently refuse to acknowledge the Enlightenment Quotes of his Lord. But the chastisement of the Hereafter is more intensive and more enduring.

20:128  Then, has it not become obvious to them that so many generations, in whose dwellings they walk around, We destroyed before them? Surely, in that there are Signs for people endued with high intelligence and great illumination.

20:129  And if not for a Word that had already gone forth from your Lord, then infliction of punishment would have been an immediate obligation, and if not for a term already fixed.

20:130  Now, therefore be patient with whatever they say. Celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting, and declare His absolute majesty and glory during the hours of the night and parts of the day so that you may find true fulfillment and spiritual satisfaction.

20:131  And don’t Stretch your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to some groups among them, from the splendor of this worldly life, so that We may thereby tempt them. The provision of your Lord is far better and more enduring.

20:132  And give an authoritative order to your family to establish prayer and to be patiently diligent in observing it. We don’t ask you for provision: It is We Who provide sustenance for you. But the fruitful end will be for the Pious.

20:133  They- (Pagan Arabs)- say: "Why does he not bring us a Sign from his Lord?" Has not there come to them an irrefutable Sign in the previous Scriptures?

20:134  Had We destroyed them with a retribution before this, they would definitely have said: "Our Lord! If only You had sent us a Messenger, we should certainly have yield to Your Enlightenment Quotes before we were humiliated and demeaned."

20:135  Say: "Every one (of us) is in a state of expectation (of the outcome), so keep on expecting! Soon you will come to know the ones who have been on the right path, and (the ones) who have tendency to pursue salvation.