Surah Ṭā Hā , the 20th Surah / chapter 20 of the Qur’an) is a Meccan surah with 135 verses, part of the 16th Juz of Al-Qurʾān. It is named "Ṭā Hā" because the chapter starts with the Arabic ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt (disjoined letters) طه (Ṭāhā), one of many unlinked letters at the beginning of many other surahs of the Quran.
To know more about surahs that begin with the disjointed letters, please refer to our earlier post:
This is the chapter that convinced Umar, later the second Caliph of Islam, to convert to Islam. To know how Umar became Muslim after listening toan excerpt from Qur'an, please refer to our post:
This Surah begins with the enunciation of the object of the Revelation of the Qur'an to this effect: "O Muhammad, this Quran 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 Quran 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."
The hallmark of this surah is the stories of two prophets: Musa (Moses) - verses 9-98, and Adam, verses 114-123. Their account takes most of the part of the surah.
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 Quran 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 story of Prophet Musa, 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.
Major Themes
- Revelation is a mercy — Islam is not meant to burden, but to guide (v.2).
- Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) — Allah’s power over creation and history.
- The prophetic struggle — Prophet Musa’s courage and persistence.
- Patience and perseverance in da‘wah (calling to truth).
- Warning to rejecters — power and arrogance (like Pharaoh) lead to downfall.
- Human nature — Adam’s story shows human weakness and Allah’s mercy.
Main Structure
1–8 The Qur’an is a reminder for those who fear Allah; Allah is the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and all in between.
9–98: Story of Musa (Moses) — the largest portion of the surah:
- His call at the burning bush
- Mission to Pharaoh
- Contest with the magicians
- Exodus of Bani Isra’il
- The golden calf incident
- Lessons on patience, trust, and divine wisdom.
99–114 Lessons from past nations; Qur’an revealed in stages; seek guidance through patience and prayer.
115–127 Story of Adam — his creation, the test, Satan’s deception, repentance, and mercy of Allah.
128–135 Reflection on past destroyed nations; the Prophet ﷺ is told to be patient and await Allah’s judgment.
Lessons We Learn
- Guidance requires humility — Pharaoh rejected truth because of arrogance, not ignorance.
- Miracles don’t benefit the arrogant — The magicians believed when they saw truth, but Pharaoh still resisted.
- Leaders must stay patient — Even prophets faced stubborn people.
- We all slip, but repentance is open — Adam’s story reassures that mistakes can be forgiven.
- Wealth and power are temporary — what matters is moral integrity before Allah.
We have already shared the Overview and the Tafseer / Exegesis of the Surah which can be read from links given below:
You may now refer to some of the selected verses from Surah Ta Ha already published:
- Man laments: I am all alone - Allah assures him 'Have no fear, I am with you' -verse 46
- Allah promises believers: Do not be fearful, I am with you, hearing and seeing
- Four Conditions of Forgiveness - verse 82
- Who shall be raised BLIND on the Day of Resurrection - verse 124
- Believers! Do not strain your eyes in longing for the splendor We have given some of them.. - Verse 131
- Believers!! Enjoin Prayer (As Salat) on your household - verse 132
In time we will add more verses from Surah Ta Ha.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
0 comments:
Post a Comment