Surah 20: Ta Ha - Overview

Verses	Description
20:1-8	God's Revelation is not for man's distress, but for man's guidance. God's Most Beautiful Names
20:9-36	How Moses was chosen and granted his mission in the valley of Tuwa
20:37-76	Birth of Moses; how he was prepared for his task; stay with the Midianites; double mission
20:77-104	Rescue of Israel from bondage; rebellion of the Samiri; worship of the Calf; warning of the Hereafter
20:105-135	High and low to be leveled at Judgment; source and allurement of Evil; be not impatient, but wait in Faith

Introduction

The chronology of this Surah has some significance: it has some relation to the spiritual lessons which it teaches.

It was used with great effect in that remarkable scene which resulted in 'Umar's conversion, and which took place about the seventh year before the Hijrah.

The scene is described with dramatic details by Ibn Hisham. 'Umar had previously been one of the greatest enemies and persecutors of Islam. Like his blood-thirsty kinsmen the Quraysh, he meditated slaying the Prophet, when it was suggested to him that there were near relations of his that had embraced Islam.

His sister Fatima and her husband Sa'id were Muslims, but in those days of persecution they had kept their faith secret. When 'Umar went to their house, he heard them reciting this Surah from a written copy they had. For a while they concealed the copy.

'Umar attacked his sister and her husband, but they bore the attack with exemplary patience, and declared their faith. 'Umar was so struck with their sincerity and fortitude that he asked to see the leaf from which they had been reading. It was given to him: his soul was touched, and he not only came into the Faith, but became one of its strongest supporters and champions.

The leaf contained some portion of the Surah, perhaps the introductory portion. The mystic letters Ta Ha are prefixed to this Surah. What do they mean? The earliest tradition is that they denote a dialectical interjection meaning "O man!" If so, the title is particularly appropriate in two ways:

(1) It was a direct and personal address to a man in a high state of excitement, tempted by his temper to do grievous wrong, but called by God's Grace, as by a personal appeal, to face the realities, for God knew his inmost secret thoughts (20:7): the revelation was sent by God, Most Gracious, out of His Grace and Mercy (20:5).

(2) It takes up the story from the last Surah, of man as a spiritual being and illustrates it in further details. It tells the story of Moses in the crisis of his life -- when he received God's Commission and in his personal relation with his mother, and how he came to be brought up in the Pharaoh's house, to learn all the wisdom of the Egyptians, for use in God's service, and in his personal relations with Pharaoh, whom we take to be his adoptive father (28:9).

It further tells the story of a fallen soul who misled the Israelites into idolatry, and recalls how man's Arch-enemy Satan caused his fall. Prayer and praise are necessary to man to cure his spiritual blindness and enable him to appreciate God's revelation. (R)

Summary

1- The revelation of God (the Qur'an) is not an occasion of distress, but is a gift of mercy from God Most Gracious. (20:1-8)

Man's Distress [20:1-8] God's revelation is not an occasion for man's distress; it is a Message to show that God the All-Knowing sits on the Throne of Mercy and guides all affairs. There is no god but He; to Him belong all the Most Beautiful Names.

2- How Moses was first chosen, and led to his mission to Pharaoh with his brother Aaron. (20:9-36)

Going Forth [20:9-36] The story of how Moses was chosen and told of his mission has a high mystic meaning. He was true to his family and solicitous for their welfare. Encamped in the desert, he saw a fire far off. Approaching, he found it was holy ground. God did reveal Himself to him, so that he saw life in things lifeless, and light in his glorified Hand, that shone white with light divine. Armed with these Signs he was told to go forth on his mission. But he thought of his brother Aaron, and prayed that God might join him in his mission, and his prayer was granted.

3- How the mother of Moses was directed to cast the infant Moses into the river, to be brought up in Pharaoh's house under God's own supervision, in order to preach to Pharaoh and declare God's glory. (20:37-76)

Adventures & Trials [20:37-76] From his birth was Moses prepared for his task. His mother received guidance, so that God's purpose may be fulfilled. Moses was brought up in Pharaoh's palace and trained in all the learning of Egypt. Yet he drank the Love of his people in his mother's milk. Adventures and trials he had, including his stay with the Midianites -- until he was called to his double mission: to preach to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and to free his own people. So he and Aaron went to Pharaoh, who rejected God and His Signs, but appointed a trial of strength between his magician and Moses. Moses won; and the truth of God was accepted by some Egyptians, but not by Pharaoh.

4- How Moses was directed to lead his people and quell their rebellious spirit, and how that spirit was stirred up by Samiri. (20:77-104)

Rescue From Bondage [20:77-104] The people of Israel were rescued from bondage and led on their way to the Promised Land. God's Grace gave them light and guidance, but they rebelled under the leadership of one called the Samiri; he melted the gold of their jewels and made an idol -- a calf for their worship -- a thing without life or power. Moses destroyed the idol, and cursed the man who led the people astray.

The Glitter of This Life [20:105-135] Such is the lure of Evil: but high and low will be leveled on the Day of Judgment, before the Eternal, the Gracious, the King, the Truth, who sends the Qur'an to teach and warn. Will man remember how Adam's arch-enemy, Satan, caused his fall, and will he yet be blind to the Signs of God? Nay -- but let not Evil make you impatient: the Prize of the Hereafter is better than aught of the glitter of this life: wait in Faith, and the End will show the triumph of Truth, Goodness, and Righteousness.