What is Islam
TA HA.

1 Ta Ha.
2 We have not sent down The Quran to thee to be (an occasion) for thy distress,
3 But only as an admonition To those who fear (Allah),
4 A revelation from Him Who created the earth And the heavens on high.
5 (Allah) Most Gracious Is firmly established on the throne (of authority).
6 To Him belongs what is In the heavens and on earth, and all between the soil.
7 If thou pronounce the word aloud, (it is no matter): for verily he knoweth what is secret and what is yet more hidden.
8 Allah! there is no god but He! To him belong The Most Beautiful names.
9 Has the story of Moses reached thee?
10 Behold, he saw a fire: so he said to his family, tarry ye; I perceive a fire; perhaps I can bring you some burning brand therefrom, or find some guidance at the fire.
11 But when he came to the fire, a voice was heard: O Moses!
12 Verily I am thy Lord! therefore (in my presence) put off thy shoes: thou art In the sacred valley Tuwa.
13 I have chosen thee: Listen, then, to the inspiration (sent to thee).
14 Verily, I am Allah: there is no god but I: so serve thou me (only), and establish regulate prayer for celebrating my praise.
15 Verily the hour is coming my design is to keep it hidden for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour.
16 Therefore let not such as believe not therein but follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest thou perish!.
17 And what is that in thy right hand, O Moses?
18 He said, It is my rod: on it I lean; with it I beat down fodder for my flocks; and in it find Other uses.
19 (Allah) said, throw it, O Moses!
20 He threw it, and behold! It was a snake, active in motion.
21 (Allah) said, seize it, and fear not: we shall return it at once to its former condition.
22 Now draw thy hand close to thy side: It shall come forth white (and shining), without harm (or stain), as another sign,
23 In order that we may show thee (two) of our Greater Signs.
24 Go thou to pharaoh, for he. Has indeed transgressed all bounds.
25 (Moses) said: O my Lord! expand me my breast;
26 Ease my task for me;
27 And remove the impediment from my speech,
28 So they may understand what I say:
29 And give me a minister from my family,
30 Aaron, my brother;
31 Add to my strength through him,
32 And make him share my task:
33 That we may celebrate thy praise without stint,
34 And remember thee without stint:
35 For Thou art he that (ever) regardeth us.
36 (Allah) said: Granted is the prayer, O Moses!
37 And indeed we conferred A favour on thee Another time (before).
38 Behold! we sent to thy mother, by inspiration, the message:
39 Throw (the child) Into the chest, and throw (The chest) into the river: the river will cast whom up on the bank, and he will be taken up by one who is an enemy to him: but I cast (the garment Of) love over thee from me: and (this) in order that thou mayest be reared under mine eye.
40 Behold! thy sister goeth forth and saith, shall I show you one who will nurse And rear the (child)? So We brought thee back To thy mother, that her eye might be cooled and she should not grieve. Then thou didst slay a man, but we saved thee from trouble, and we tried thee in various ways. Then didst thou tarry A number of years with the people of Midian. Then didst thou come hither as ordained, O Moses!
41 And I have prepared thee for myself (for service).
42 Go, thou and thy brother, with my Signs, and slacken not, either of you, in keeping me in remembrance.
43 Go, both of you, to pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds;
44 But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take Warning or fear (Allah).
45 They (Moses and Aaron) said: our Lord! we fear lest He hasten with insolence against us, or lest he transgress all bounds.
46 He said: fear not: for I am with you: I hear and see (everything).
47 "So go ye both to him, and say, 'Verily we are Messengers sent by thy Lord: send forth, therefore, the Children of Israel with us, and afflict them not: with a Sign, indeed, have we come from thy Lord! and Peace to all who follow guidance!
48 "Verily it has been revealed to us that the penalty (awaits) those who reject and turn away."
49 (When this message was delivered), (Pharaoh) said: "Who, then, O Moses, is the Lord of you two?"
50 He said: "Our Lord is He Who gave to each (created) thing its form and nature, and further, gave (it) guidance."
51 Pharaoh said: "What then is the condition of previous generations?"
52 He replied: "The knowledge of that is with my Lord, duly recorded: my Lord never errs, nor forgets
53 "He Who has made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels); and has sent down water from the sky." With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others.
54 Eat (for yourselves) and pasture your cattle: verily, in this are Signs for men endued with understanding.
55 From the (earth) did we create you, and into it shall we return you, and from it shall we bring you out once again.
56 And we showed Pharaoh all our Signs, but he did reject and, refuse.
57 He said: hast thou come to drive us out of our land with thy magic, O Moses?
58 But we can surely produce magic to match thine! so make a tryst between us and thee, Which we shall not fail To keep neither we nor thou In a place where both shall have even chances.
59 Moses said: your tryst Is the day of the festival, and let the people be assembled when the sun is well up.
60 So pharaoh withdrew: he concerted his plan, and then came (back).
61 Moses said to him: Woe to you! forge not Ye a lie against Allah, lest he destroy you (at once) utterly by chastisement: the forger must suffer frustration!
62 So they disputed, one with another, over their affair, but they kept their talk secret.
63 They said: these two are certainly (expert) magicians: their object is to drive you Out from your land with their magic, and to do away with your most cherished institutions.
64 Therefore concert your plan, and then assemble In (serried) ranks: he wins (all along) to day who gains the upper hand
65 They said: O Moses! whether wilt thou that thou throw (first) or that we be the first to throw?
66 He said, Nay, throw ye first! Then behold their ropes and their rods so it seemed to him on account of their magic began to be in lively motion!
67 So Moses conceived in his mind A (sort of) fear.
68 We said: fear not! for thou hast indeed the upper hand:
69 Throw that which is In the right hand: quickly will it swallow up that which they have faked what they have faked is but a magician thrives not (no matter) where he goes.
70 So the magicians were thrown down to prostration: they said, We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.
71 (Pharaoh) said: believe ye in him before I give you permission? surely this must be your leader, Who has taught you magic! Be sure I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will have you crucified on trunks of palm trees: So shall ye know for certain, which of us can give the more severe and the more Lasting punishment!
72 They said: never shall we regard thee as more than the Clear Signs that have Come to us; or than Him Who created us! so decree whatever thou desirest to decree: for thou canst only decree (touching) the life of this world.
73 For us, we have believed in our Lord: may he forgive us our faults, and the magic to which Thou didst compel us: for Allah is best And most abiding.
74 Verily he who comes to his Lord as sinner (at Judgment), for him is Hell: therein shall he neither die no live.
75 But such as come To him as Believers who have worked righteous deeds, for them are ranks exalted,
76 Gardens of Eternity, beneath which flow rivers: they will dwell therein for aye: such is the reward of those who purify themselves (from evil).
77 We sent an inspiration to Moses: travel by night With my servants, and strike A dry path for them Through the sea, without fear of being overtaken (by Pharaoh) and without (any other) fear.
78 Then Pharaoh pursued them With his forces, but the waters completely overwhelmed them and covered them up.
79 Pharaoh led his people astray Instead of leading them aright.
80 O ye Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and we made a Covenant with you On the right side of Mount (Sinai), and we sent down to you manna And quails:
81 (Saying): eat of the good things we have provided for you sustenance, but Commit no excess therein, Lest My Wrath should justly descend on you: and those on whom descends my Wrath do perish indeed!
82 But, without doubt, I am (also) He that forgives again and again, to those who repent, believe, and do right, who, in fine, are ready to receive true guidance.
83 (When Moses was up on the mount, Allah said:) what made thee hasten in advance of thy people, O Moses?
84 He replied: behold, they are close on my footsteps: I hastened to thee, O my Lord, to please thee.
85 (Allah) said: we have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray.
86 So Moses returned to his people In a state of indignation and sorrow. He said: O my people! did not Your Lord make a handsome promise to you? Did then the promise seem to you Long (in coming)? Or did ye desire that wrath should Descend so ye broke your promise to me?
87 They said: we broke not The promise to thee, as far as lay in our power: but we were made to carry The weight of the ornaments of the (whole) people, and we threw them (into the fire), And that was what the Samiri suggested.
88 Then he brought out (Of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf: It seemed to low: So they said: this is your god, and the god of Moses, but (Moses) has forgotten!
89 Could they not see that It could not return them a word (for answer), and that It had no power either to harm them or to do them good?
90 Aaron had already, before this said to them: O my people! Ye are being tested in this: For verily your Lord is (Allah) Most Gracious: so follow me and obey my command.
91 They had said: we will not abandon this cult, but we will devote ourselves to it until Moses returns to us.
92 (Moses) said: O Aaron! what kept thee back, when thou sawest them going wrong.
93 From following me? Didst thou then disobey my order?
94 (Aaron) replied: O son of my mother! seize (me) not by my beard nor by (The hair of) my head! Truly I feared lest thou shouldst say, Thou hast caused a division among the Children of Israel, and thou didst not respect my word!
95 (Moses) said: what then is thy case, O Samiri?
96 He replied, "I saw what they saw not: so I took a handful (of dust) from the footprint of the Messenger, and threw it (into the calf): thus did my soul suggest to me."
97 (Moses) said: "Get thee gone! But thy (punishment) in this life will be that thou wilt say, 'Touch me not'; and moreover (for a future penalty) thou hast a promise that will not fail: Now look at thy God, of whom thou hast become a devoted worshipper: we will certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it broadcast in the sea!"
98 But the God of you all is Allah: there is no god but He: all things He comprehends in His knowledge.
99 Thus de We relate to thee some stories of what happened before: for We have sent thee a Message from our own Presence.
100 If any do turn away therefrom, verily they will bear a burden on the day of Judgment;
101 They will abide in this (state): and grievous will the burden be to them on that Day,
102 The day when the trumpet will be sounded: that day, we shall gather the sinful, blear eyed (with terror).
103 In whispers will they consult each other: Ye tarried not longer than ten (days);
104 We know best what they will say, when their leader most eminent in conduct will say: Ye tarried not longer than a day!
105 They ask thee concerning the Mountains: say my Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust;
106 He will leave them as plains smooth and level;
107 Nothing crooked or curved wilt thou see in their place.
108 On that day will they follow the caller (straight): no crookedness (can they show) him: all sounds Shall humble themselves in the presence of (Allah) Most Gracious: Nothing shalt thou hear but the tramp of their feet (as they march).
109 On that day shall no intercession avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by (Allah) Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to him.
110 He knows what (appears To his creatures as) before or after or behind them: but they shall not compass it with their knowledge.
111 (All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) the living, the Self Subsisting, Eternal: Hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back).
112 But he who works deeds of righteousness, and has Faith, will have no fear of harm nor of any curtailment (of what is his due).
113 Thus have we sent this down an Arabic Quran and explained therein in detail some of the warnings, in order that they may fear god, or that it may cause their remembrance (of him).
114 High above all is Allah, The King, the Truth! be not in haste with the Quran before its completed, but say, O my Lord! advance me in knowledge.
115 We had already, beforehand, taken the Covenant of Adam, but he forget: and we found on his part no firm resolve.
116 When we said to the angles, Prostrate yourselves to Adam the prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he refused.
117 Then we said: O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you Both out of the Garden, So that thou art landed In misery.
118 There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor to go naked,
119 Nor to suffer from thirst, nor from the sun's heat.
120 But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, O Adam! shall I lead thee to the tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?
121 In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared To them: they began to sew Together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey His Lord, and allow himself to be seduced.
122 But his Lord chose him (for his Grace): he turned to him, and gave him guidance.
123 He said: get ye down, both of you, all together, from the Garden, with enmity One to another: but if, As is sure, there comes to you guidance from me, whosoever Follows my guidance, will not Lose his way, nor fall Into misery.
124 But whosoever turns away from My message, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and we shall raise him up blind on the day Of Judgment.
125 He will say O my Lord! why hast thou raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)?
126 (Allah) will say: thus didst thou, when our Signs came unto thee, disregard them: so wilt thou, this day, be disregarded.
127 And thus do we recompense him who transgresses beyond bounds And believes not in the Signs Of his Lord: and the Penalty of the Hereafter is far more grievous and more enduring.
128 Is it not a warning to such men (to call to mind) how many generations before them We destroyed, in whose haunts they (now) move? verily, In this are Signs for men endued with understanding.
129 Had it not been for a word that went forth before from thy Lord, (their punishment) must necessarily have come; but there is a term appointed (for respite).
130 Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of the Lord, Before the rising of the sun, and before its setting; yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day: that thou mayest have (spiritual) joy.
131 Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things we have given for enjoyment to parties Of them, the splendour Of the life of this world, through which we test them: But the provision of the Lord is better and more enduring.
132 Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide Sustenance: we provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for Righteousness.
133 They say: Why does he not Bring us a Sign from His Lord? Has not A Clear Sign come to them Of all that was In the former Booked Of revelation?
134 And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this, they would have said: "Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed thy Signs before we were humbled and put to shame."
135 Say: "Each one (of us) is waiting: wait ye, therefore, and soon shall ye know who it is that is on the straight and even Way, and who it is that has received guidance."
17th Section (Juzu')

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Explination of the Surah


Name This Surah takes its name from its "first word "Ta Ha". This name, like the names of many other Surahs, is merely symbolic. Period of Revelation The period of its revelation is the same as of Surah Maryam. It is just possible that it was sent down during the Migration to Habash or just after it. Anyhow, it is certain that this Surah was revealed before Hadrat Umar embraced Islam. According to a well known and authentic tradition when Hadrat Umar set out to kill the Holy Prophet, he met a certain person, who said, "Before you do anything else, you should know that your own sister and brother-in-law have embraced Islam" Hearing this, he directly went to the house of his sister. There he found his sister, Fatimah, and his brother-in-law, Said bin Zaid, learning the contents of a scroll from Khabbab bin Art. When Fatimah saw him coming she hid the scroll at once, but Hadrat Umar had heard the recital, so he began to interrogate them about it. Then he began to thrash his brother-in-law, and wounded his sister, who tried to protect him. At last both of them confessed, "We have become Muslims; you may do whatever you like. " As Hadrat Umar was moved to see blood running down from her head, he said, "Show me the thing you were reading. " The sister asked him to promise on oath that he would not tear it, and added, "You cannot touch it unless you have a bath. " Accordingly, Hadrat Umar took his bath and when he began to read the scroll, which contained this Surah, he spontaneously spoke out, "What an excellent thing! " At this Hadrat Khabbab, who had hidden himself at the sound of his footsteps, came out of his hiding and said, "By God, I have high expectations that Allah will get great service from you to propagate the Message of His Prophet, for just yesterday I heard the Holy Prophet praying to Allah, 'My Lord, make Abul Hakam bin Hisham (Abu Jahl) or Umar bin Khattab a supporter of Islam. So O Umar, turn to Allah, turn to Allah. " These words proved to be so persuasive that he at once accompanied Hadrat Khabbab and went to the Holy Prophet to embrace Islam. This happened a short time after the Migration to Habash. Theme and Topics of Discussion This Surah begins with the enunciation of the object of the Revelation of the Qur'an to this effect: "O Muhammad, this Qur'an has not been sent down to you to put you unnecessarily to some great affliction. It does not demand from you to perform the impossible task of imbuing the hearts of the obdurate disbelievers with Faith. It is merely an admonition meant to guide on to the Right Path those who fear God and want to save themselves from His punishment. This Qur'an is the Word of the Master of the earth and the heavens and God-head belongs to Him alone: These two facts are eternal whether one believes them or not. " After this introduction, the Surah abruptly moves on to relate the story of Prophet Moses without any apparent relevancy and without even hinting at its applicability to the events of the period. However, if we read between the lines, we realize that the discourse is addressed very relevantly to the people of Makkah. But before we explain the hidden meaning of the discourse, we must keep in view the fact that the Arabs in general acknowledged Moses as a Prophet of God. This was so because they had "been influenced by the large number of the Jews around them and by" the neighboring Christian kingdoms. Now let us state those things which are hidden between the lines of the story: -1. Allah does not appoint a Prophet by the beat of drums or My celebrating the occasion in a regular and formal ceremony, as if to say, "We are appointing such and such a person as Our Prophet from today. " On the contrary, He bestows Prophet-hood in a confidential manner just as He did in the case of Prophet Moses. Therefore you should not consider it strange if Hadrat Muhammad has been appointed as a Prophet all of a sudden and without any public proclamation. -2. The fundamental principles presented by Prophet Muhammad Tauhid and the Hereafter are just the same as were taught to Prophet Moses at the time of his appointment. -3. Prophet Muhammad has been made the standard bearer of the Message of the Truth among the people of the Quraish all by himself without material provisions, just as Prophet Moses was entrusted with the Mission to go to a tyrant king like Pharaoh and ask him to give up his attitude of rebellion. These are the mysterious ways of Allah. He catches hold of a way-farer of Midian on his way to Egypt and says, "Go and fight with the greatest tyrant of the time. " He did not provide him with armies and provisions for this Mission. The only thing He did was to appoint his brother as his assistant at his request. -4. You, O People of Makkah, should note it well that Pharaoh employed the same devices against Prophet Moses as you are employing against Prophet Muhammad; frivolous objections, accusations, and cruel persecutions. You should know that Allah's Prophet came out victorious over Pharaoh, who possessed large armies and war equipments. Incidentally, the Muslims have been consoled and comforted, though not in so many words, that they should not be afraid of fighting with the Quraish against fearful odds, for the mission which is supported by Allah comes out victorious in the end. At the same time, the Muslims have been exhorted to follow the excellent example of the magicians of Egypt, who remained steadfast in their Faith, though Pharaoh threatened them with horrible vengeance. -5. An incident from the story of the Israelites has been cited to show in what ridiculous manner the idolisation of false gods and goddesses starts and that the Prophets of God do not tolerate even the slightest tinge of this preposterous practice. Likewise, Prophet Muhammad is following the former Prophets in opposing shirk and idol worship today. Thus, the story of Moses has been used to throw light on all those matters which were connected with the conflict between the Holy Prophet and the Quraish. Then at the end of the story, the. Quraish have been briefly admonished, as if to say, "The Qur'an has been sent down in your tongue for your own good. If you listen to it and follow its admonition, you will be doing so for your own good but if you reject it, you will yourselves meet with an evil end. " After this the story of Prophet Adam has been related, as if to tell the Quraish, "The way you are following is the way of Satan, whereas the right way for a man is to follow his father Adam. He was beguiled by Satan, but when he realized his error, he plainly confessed it and repented and again turned back to the service of Allah and won His favor. On the other hand, if a person follows Satan and sticks to his error obdurately in spite of admonition, he does harm to himself alone like Satan. " In the end, the Holy Prophet and the Muslims have been advised not to be impatient in regard to the punishment to the disbelievers, as if to say, "Allah has His Own scheme concerning them. He does not seize them at once but gives them sufficient respite. Therefore you should not grow impatient but bear the persecutions with fortitude and go on conveying the Message. " In this connection, great emphasis has been laid on salat so that it may create in the believers the virtues of patience, forbearance, contentment, resignation to the will of God and self analysis for these are greatly needed in the service of the Message of the Truth.