Surah Taha [Taha] in English

Ta Ha!

We did not send down to you the Quran that you should be miserable,

but only as an admonition to him who fears [his Lord].

A sending down [of the Revelation] from Him who created the earth and the lofty heavens

—the All-beneficent, settled on the Throne.

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and whatever is between them, and whatever is under the ground.

Whether you speak loudly [or in secret tones,] He indeed knows the secret and what is still more hidden.

Allah—there is no god except Him—to Him belong the Best Names.

Did the story of Moses come to you,

when he sighted a fire, and said to his family, ‘Wait! Indeed, I descry a fire! Maybe I will bring you a brand from it, or find some guidance at the fire.’

So when he came to it, he was called, ‘O Moses!

Indeed I am your Lord! So take off your sandals. You are indeed in the sacred valley of Tuwa.

I have chosen you; so listen to what is revealed.

Indeed I am Allah—there is no god except Me. So worship Me, and maintain the prayer for My remembrance.

Indeed the Hour is bound to come: I will have it hidden, so that every soul may be rewarded for its endeavour.

So do not let yourself be distracted from it by those who do not believe in it and who follow their desires, or you will perish.’

‘Moses, what is that in your right hand?’

He said, ‘It is my staff. I lean on it, and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep; and I have other uses for it.’

He said, ‘Moses, throw it down.’

So he threw it down, and behold, it was a snake, moving swiftly.

He said, ‘Take hold of it, and do not fear. We will restore it to its former state.

Now clasp your hand to your armpit: it will emerge white, without any harm—[this is yet] another sign,

that We may show you some of Our great signs.

Go to Pharaoh. He has indeed rebelled.’

He said, ‘My Lord! Open my breast for me.

Make my task easy for me.

Remove the hitch from my tongue,

[so that] they may understand my speech.

Appoint for me a minister from my family,

Aaron, my brother.

Strengthen my back through him,

and make him my associate in my task,

so that we may glorify You greatly,

and remember You greatly.

Indeed You see us best.’

He said, ‘Moses, your request has been granted!

Certainly, We have done you a favour another time,

when We revealed to your mother whatever was to be revealed:

“Put him in the casket, and cast it into the river. Then the river will cast it on the bank, and he shall be picked up by an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his.” And I made you endearing, and that you might be reared under My [watchful] eyes.

When your sister walked up [to Pharaoh’s palace] saying, “Shall I show you someone who will take care of him?” Then We restored you to your mother, that she might not grieve and be comforted. Then you slew a soul, whereupon We delivered you from anguish, and We tried you with various ordeals. Then you stayed for several years among the people of Midian. Then you turned up as ordained, O Moses!

And I chose you for Myself.’

‘Go ahead, you and your brother, with My signs and do not flag in My remembrance.

Both of you go to Pharaoh, for he has indeed rebelled.

Speak to him in a soft manner; maybe he will take admonition or fear.’

They said, ‘Our Lord! We are indeed afraid that he will forestall us or will exceed all bounds.’

He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for I will be with the two of you, hearing and seeing [whatever happens].

So approach him and say, ‘‘We are the apostles of your Lord. Let the Children of Israel go with us, and do not torture them! We certainly bring you a sign from your Lord, and may peace be upon him who follows guidance!

Indeed it has been revealed to us that punishment shall befall those who impugn us and turn their backs [on us].’’ ’

He said, ‘Who is your Lord, Moses?’

He said, ‘Our Lord is He who gave everything its creation and then guided it.’

He said, ‘What about the former generations?’

He said, ‘Their knowledge is with my Lord, in a Book. My Lord neither makes any error nor forgets.’

He, who made the earth for you a cradle, and in it threaded for you ways, and sent down water from the sky, and with it We brought forth various kinds of vegetation.

‘Eat and pasture your cattle.’ There are indeed signs in that for those who have sense.

From it did We create you, into it shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you forth another time.

Certainly We showed him all Our signs. But he denied [them] and refused [to believe them].

He said, ‘Moses, have you come to us to expel us from our land with your magic?

Yet we [too] will bring you a magic like it! So fix a tryst between us and you, which neither we shall fail nor you, at a middle place.’

He said, ‘Your tryst shall be the Day of Adornment, and let the people be assembled in early forenoon.’

Then Pharaoh withdrew [to consult privately], summoned up his guile, and then arrived [at the scene of the contest].

Moses said to them, ‘Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah, or He will obliterate you with a punishment. Whoever fabricates lies certainly fails.’

So they disputed their matter among themselves, and kept their confidential talks secret.

They said, ‘These two are indeed magicians who intend to expel you from your land with their magic, and to abolish your excellent tradition!

So summon up your ingenuity, then come in ranks. Today he who has the upper hand will be felicitous!’

They said, ‘O Moses! Will you throw first, or shall we?’

He said, ‘No, you throw first.’ Thereupon, behold, their ropes and staffs appeared to him by their magic to wriggle swiftly.

Then Moses felt a fear within his heart.

We said, ‘Do not be afraid. Indeed, you will have the upper hand.

Throw down what is in your right hand, and it will swallow what they have conjured. What they have conjured is only a magician’s trick, and the magician does not fare well wherever he may show up.’

Thereat the magicians fell down prostrating. They said, ‘We have believed in the Lord of Aaron and Moses!’

He said, ‘Did you believe in him before I should permit you? He is indeed your chief who has taught you magic! Surely, I will cut off your hands and feet from opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will know which of us can inflict a severer and more lasting punishment.’

They said, ‘We will never prefer you to the clear proofs which have come to us, and to Him who originated us. Decide whatever you want to decide. You can only decide about the life of this world.

We have indeed believed in our Lord that He may forgive us our offences and the magic you compelled us to perform. Allah is better and more lasting.’

Whoever comes to his Lord laden with guilt, for him shall be hell, where he will neither live nor die.

But whoever comes to Him with faith and he has done righteous deeds, for such shall be the highest ranks

—the Gardens of Eden, with streams running in them, to abide in them [forever], and that is the reward of him who keeps pure.

We revealed to Moses, [saying], ‘Set out with My servants at night, and strike out for them a dry path through the sea. Do not be afraid of being overtaken, and have no fear [of getting drowned].

Then Pharaoh pursued them with his troops, whereat they were engulfed by what engulfed them of the sea.

Pharaoh led his people astray and did not guide them.

O Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and We appointed with you a tryst on the right side of the Mount and We sent down to you manna and quails:

‘Eat of the good things We have provided you, but do not overstep the bounds therein, lest My wrath should descend on you, and he on whom My wrath descends certainly perishes.

Indeed I forgive those who repent, become faithful, act righteously, and follow guidance.’

[God said,] ‘O Moses, what has prompted you to hasten ahead of your people?’

He said, ‘They are close upon my heels, and I hurried on to You, my Lord, that You may be pleased.’

He said, ‘Indeed We tried your people in your absence, and the Samiri has led them astray.’

Thereupon Moses returned to his people, indignant and grieved. He said, ‘O my people! Did your Lord not give you a true promise? Did the period [of my absence] seem too long to you? Or did you desire that your Lord’s wrath should descend on you and so you failed your tryst with me?’

They said, ‘We did not fail our tryst with you of our own accord, but we were laden with the weight of those people’s ornaments, and we cast them [into the fire] and so did the Samiri.’

Then he produced for them a calf—a [lifeless] body with a low—and they said, This is your god and the god of Moses, so he forgot!

Did they not see that it did not answer them, nor could it bring them any benefit or harm?

Aaron had certainly told them earlier, ‘O my people! You are only being tested by it. Indeed your Lord is the All-beneficent. So follow me and obey my command!’

They had said, ‘We will keep on clinging to it until Moses returns to us.’

He said, ‘O Aaron! What kept you, when you saw them going astray,

from following me? Did you disobey my command?’

He said, ‘O son of my mother! Do not grab my beard or my head! I feared lest you should say, ‘‘You have caused a rift among the Children of Israel and did not heed my word [of advice].’’’

He said, ‘What is your business, O Samiri?’

He said, ‘I saw what they did not see. I took a handful [of dust] from the messenger’s trail and threw it. That is how my soul prompted me.’

He said, ‘Begone! It shall be your [lot] throughout life to say, ‘‘Do not touch me!’’ Indeed, there is a tryst for you which you will not fail to keep! Now look at your god to whom you went on clinging. We will burn it down and then scatter it[s ashes] into the sea.

Indeed your God is Allah. There is no god except Him. He embraces all things in [His] knowledge.’

Thus do We relate to you some accounts of what is past. Certainly, We have given you a Reminder from Ourselves.

Whoever disregards it shall bear a burden [of punishment] on the Day of Resurrection,

remaining in it [forever]. Evil is their burden on the Day of Resurrection

—the day the Trumpet will be blown; on that day We shall muster the guilty with blind eyes.

They will whisper to one another: ‘You have stayed only for ten [days].’

We know best what they will say, when the smartest of them in approach will say, ‘You stayed only a day!’

They question you concerning the mountains. Say, ‘My Lord will scatter them [like dust].’

Then He will leave it a level plain.

You will not see any crookedness or unevenness in it.

On that day they will follow the summoner without zigzagging. Their voices will be muted before the All-beneficent, and you will hear nothing but a murmur.

Intercession will not avail that day except from him whom the All-beneficent allows and approves of his word.

He knows what is before them and behind them, though they do not comprehend Him in their knowledge.

All faces shall be humbled before the Living One, the All-sustainer, and those who bear [the burden of] wrongdoing will fail.

But whoever does righteous deeds, being faithful, will neither fear any injustice or disparagement.

Thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran and We have paraphrased the warnings in it variously so that they may be Godwary, or it may prompt them to remembrance.

So exalted is Allah, the True Sovereign. Do not hasten with the Quran before its revelation is completed for you, and say, ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.’

Certainly We had enjoined Adam earlier; but he forgot, and We did not find any resoluteness in him.

When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam,’ they prostrated, but not Iblis: he refused.

We said, ‘O Adam! This is indeed an enemy of yours and your mate’s. So do not let him expel you from paradise, or you will be miserable.

You will neither be hungry in it nor naked.

You will neither be thirsty in it, nor suffer from [the heat of] the sun.’

Then Satan tempted him. He said, ‘O Adam! Shall I show you the tree of immortality, and an imperishable kingdom?’

So they both ate of it, and their nakedness became evident to them, and they began to stitch over themselves with the leaves of paradise. Adam disobeyed his Lord, and went amiss.

Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him clemently, and guided him.

He said, ‘Get down both of you from it, all together, being enemies of one another! Yet, should any guidance come to you from Me, those who follow My guidance will not go astray, nor will they be miserable.

But whoever disregards My remembrance, his shall be a wretched life, and We shall raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection.’

He will say, ‘My Lord! Why have You raised me blind, though I used to see?’

He will say: ‘So it is. Our signs came to you, but you forgot them, and so you will be forgotten today.’

Thus do We requite those who transgress and do not believe in the signs of their Lord, and the punishment of the Hereafter is severer and more lasting.

Does it not dawn upon them how many generations We have destroyed before them, amid [the ruins of] whose dwellings they walk? There are indeed signs in this for those who have reason.

Were it not for a prior decree of your Lord and a specified time, [their doom] would have attended [their guilt].

So be patient with what they say, and celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before the sunset, and glorify Him in watches of the night and at the day’s ends, that you may be pleased.

Do not extend your glance toward what We have provided certain groups of them as a glitter of the life of this world, so that We may test them thereby. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.

And bid your family to prayer and be steadfast in maintaining it. We do not ask any provision of you: it is We who provide for you, and to Godwariness belongs the ultimate outcome [in the Hereafter].

They say, ‘Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?’ Has there not come to them a clear proof in that which is in the former scriptures?

Had We destroyed them with a punishment before it, they would have surely said, ‘Our Lord! Why did You not send us an apostle so that we might have followed Your signs before we were abased and disgraced?’