20:1. Ta’-Ha’.^{1Groups of letters (al-huroof al-muqatta‘ah) appear at the beginning of several soorahs. The most correct scholarly view states that we are required to believe in them as they appear to be, without delving into their meaning, knowledge of which we should leave to Allah. We believe that they were not revealed in vain, and that there is wisdom behind them of which we are not aware.}

20:2. We have not sent down the Qur’an to cause you distress,

20:3. But only as a reminder for those who fear Allah,

20:4. A revelation from the One Who created the earth and the heavens on high.

20:5. The Most Gracious rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty].

20:6. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and all that is between them, and all that lies beneath the soil.

20:7. If you raise your voice [in supplication - there is no need for that], for He knows what is said privately and that which is yet more hidden [of unspoken thoughts].

20:8. Allah: there is no god but He; to Him belong the most beautiful names.

﴾Ta’-Ha’﴿ these are among the groups of letters with which many chapters begin; it is not one of the names of the Prophet (ﷺ).

﴾We have not sent down the Qur’an to cause you distress﴿ that is, the purpose behind the revelation, the sending down of the Qur’an to you and the prescription of laws is not to cause you distress, or to cause undue hardship, or to make it too difficult for people to comply with the laws and teachings. Rather the revelation, the Qur’an and the laws have all been prescribed by the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious, and He has made them a means of attaining happiness, prosperity and success. He has made it very easy and has caused it to offer nourishment for hearts and souls and to be a source of physical well-being. Thus people who are possessed of sound reasoning and sound human nature accept it and submit, because they know what it contains of goodness in this world and the hereafter. Hence Allah says:

﴾But only as a reminder for those who fear Allah﴿ so that the one who fears Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will be admonished by it, so he will be reminded by what it contains of encouragement and inspiration to pursue the most sublime of aims, and he will strive to attain that, and by what it contains of warnings against the path of misery and loss, so he will take precautions against it. He will also come to know in detail the beauty of some shar'i rulings, of which he was aware in general terms, and the explanation and details in the Qur’an will be in harmony withwhat he finds in his own sound nature and rational thinking. Hence Allah calls it ﴾fa reminder﴿.

The reminder points to something that is already there, but one is not paying attention to it and is not aware of its details. The Qur’an is a reminder exclusively for ﴾those who fear Allah﴿, because others do not benefit from it. How can someone benefit from it who does not believe in paradise or hell, and in whose heart there is not even an atom’s weight of fear of Allah? That is not possible.

﴾The one who fears Allah will pay heed while the wretched one will avoid it, the one who will enter the great fire.﴿ (al-A 'la 87:10-12)

Then Allah mentions the greatness of this magnificent Qur’an and tells us that it is a revelation from the Creator of the earth and the heavens, the One Who is in control of all created things, so accept His revelation with the utmost submission, love and surrender, and venerate it and show it the utmost respect.

﴾The Most Gracious rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty]﴿ which is the most sublime, greatest and vastest of all created things. He (rose over) it in a manner that befits His Majesty and is appropriate to His greatness and beauty. He rose over the Throne, and everything is subject to His dominion.

﴾To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and all that is between them﴿ such as angels, humans, jinn, animals, inanimate objects and plants.

﴾and all that lies beneath the soil﴿ that is, beneath the ground. Everything belongs to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and is under His control, subject to His decree. They have no share in dominion, and they do not possess the power to benefit themselves or ward off harm, and they have no power to give life, cause death or bring about resurrection.

﴾If you raise your voice [in supplication - there is no need for that], for He knows what is said privately﴿ that is, secret words ﴾fand that which is yet more hidden [of unspoken thoughts]﴿ that is, secrets in the heart, of which one has not spoken. Or this verse mayrefer to the secrets of that which crosses one’s mind ﴾fand that which is yet more hidden﴿ of thoughts that have not yet crossed the mind; Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows when and how they will do so.

What is meant is that His knowledge encompasses all things, minor and major, hidden and obvious, whether they are spoken out loud or not. They are all the same in terms of His knowledge.

Having confirmed His absolute perfection on the basis that He is the Creator of all things, to Him belong the power of command and prohibition, His mercy encompasses all, His might is immense. He is above His Throne, His dominion is all-encompassing and His knowledge encompasses all things, the conclusion of all that is that He alone is deserving of worship and that worship of Him is the truth that is dictated by religious teaching, rational thinking and sound human nature, and the worship of anything other than Him is false. Hence He says:

Allah: there is no god but He﴿ that is, there is none deserving of worship, devotion, love, humility, fear, hope and supplication except Him.

﴾fto Him belong the most beautiful names﴿ that is, to Him belong many perfect and beautiful names. Part of their beauty is that they are names that inspire praise; there is no name among them that is not indicative of praise. Another aspect of their beauty is that they are not mere names; rather they are names and attributes. Moreover, they point to the perfect attributes of Allah, and indicate that to Him belong all attributes of perfection, in the most comprehensive and sublime sense. Allah has enjoined His slaves to call upon Him by these beautiful names, because they are means of drawing close to Him that He loves, and He loves those who love these names; He loves those who memorise them, look for their meanings and worship Him through these names. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call on Him by

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

20:10. He saw a fire, so he said to his family: Wait here, for I can see a fire. Perhaps I can bring you a burning brand from it, or find some guidance^{1This refers to help and directions, because they had lost their way.} at the fire.

20:11. When he came to it, he was called: O Moosa!

20:12. Verily I am your Lord. So take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Juwa.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ): ﴾Has there come to you the story of Moosa?﴿ This appears in the form of a question, by way of highlighting the significance of the story. This passage tells of the beginning of Moosa’s blessed prophethood. He saw a fire from afar, when he had lost his way and was very cold, and had no means of warming himself as he travelled.

﴾so he said to his family: Wait here, for I can see a fire﴿. That was on the right-hand side of the mountain.

﴾Perhaps I can bring you a burning brand from it﴿ so that you can warm yourselves with it

﴾or find some guidance at the fire﴿ that is, someone who can show me the way. What he was looking for was physical fire and guidance in the sense of directions, but he found spiritual light there, the light of revelation that illuminates hearts and souls, and he found true guidance, guidance to the straight path that leads to paradise. Whathappened to him there was something that he did not expect and that had never crossed his mind.

﴾When he came to it﴿ that is, to the fire that he had seen from afar. It was in fact light, which is fire that bums and shines. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet said:

«His (Allah’s) veil is light or fire; if it were lifted, the light of His Countenance would bum everything as far as He sees.» (Muslim)

When Moosa reached the fire, he was called from it; that is, Allah called him, as He says elsewhere:

﴾We called him from the right-hand side of the mountain and We honoured him by conversing with him in private.﴿ (Maryam 19: 52)

﴾Verily I am your Lord. So take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of fuwa﴿. And He instructed him to prepare himself to speak with Him, to pay attention to that preparation, and to take off his sandals, for he was in the venerated and sacred valley. The fact that Allah had chosen to speak to Moosa in that place is sufficient for it to be regarded as sacred.

Many of the commentators said that Allah instructed him to take off his sandals because they were made from donkey skin. Allah knows best about that.

20:13. I have chosen you, so listen to what will be revealed.

20:14. Verily, I am Allah; there is no god but Me. So worship Me [alone] and establish prayer to remember Me.

20:15. For verily the Hour is coming, but My will is to keep it hidden so that every soul will be requited for its endeavours.

20:16. So do not let anyone distract you from it who does not believe in it and follows his own desires, lest you perish.

That is, I have chosen you and selected you from among the people. This was the greatest blessing and favour that Allah bestowed upon him, which required appropriate gratitude. Hence Allah said:

﴾so listen to what will be revealed)! that is, listen attentively to what I shall reveal to you, for it is deserving of that, as it is fundamental to the religion and is the starting point thereof, and it is the foundation of the Islamic message.

Then He began that revelation by saying: ﴾Verily, I am Allah; there is no god but Me﴿ that is, Allah alone is deserving of the quality of divinity, because He is perfect in His names and attributes, and His deeds are done by Him alone; He has no partner, no equal, no peer and none is like unto Him.

﴾So worship Me [alone]﴿ - this refers to all kinds of worship, both apparent and hidden, obligatory and supererogatory. Then He singles out prayer for mention - although it is included under the heading of worship - because of its virtue and high status, and because it is an act of worship that involves the heart, tongue and physical faculties. ﴾fto remember Me﴿ that is, establish prayer so that you may remember Me, because remembrance of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is one of the most sublime of aims, for it is the worship of the heart through which the heart attains tranquillity. The heart that is devoid of remembrance of Allah is devoid of all good, and is utterly ruined. Allah prescribed for His slaves types of worship, the main aim of which is to remember Him, especially prayer.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Recite what has been revealed to you [O Muhammad] of the Book, and establish prayer, for verily prayer keeps [one] away from obscenityand wickedness. And indeed your remembering Allah [in prayer] is of greater merit... i﴿ (al- ‘Ankaboot 29: 45)

That is, what the prayer contains of remembrance of Allah is greater than what it restrains one from of shameful and evil acts. This is called oneness of divinity (tawheed al-uloohiyah) and oneness of worship (tawheed al- ‘ibadahy, divinity is the attribute of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and servitude is the attribute of His slave.

﴾(For verily the Hour is coming﴿ that is, it will inevitably come to pass

﴾but My will is to keep it hidden﴿. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾The people ask you about the Hour. Say: The knowledge thereof is with Allah [alone]... p (al-Ahzab 33: 63)

- and:

﴾... He alone has knowledge of the Hour... p (az-Zukhruf43. 85)

He has concealed knowledge of it from all of His creation, so no angel who is close to Him and no Prophet who was sent has any knowledge of it.

The wisdom behind the Hour is ﴾so that every soul will be requited for its endeavours﴿), be they good or evil; the Hour is the gateway to the realm of requital.

)﴾.. .so He will requite those who do evil for their deeds, and He will reward those who do good with the best reward.﴿ (an-Najm 53: 31)

﴾So do not let anyone distract you from it who does not believe in it and follows his own desires, lest you perish﴿ that is, do not let anyone bar you or distract you from believing in the Hour and the recompense, and striving for that. Whoever does not believe in it and does not believe that it will come to pass, and he strives to create doubts about it and make others doubt, arguing about it on the basis of falsehood and doing his best to come up with specious arguments to prove that it will not happen, following his whims and desires, his aim is not to find out the truth; rather all he wants to do is followhis whims and desires. So beware of listening to anyone who is like that, or accepting anything he says or does that distracts one from believing in it and striving for it.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) only warned against people who are like this because their influence and misleading thoughts represent the thing that may most be feared for the believer, for people are naturally inclined to follow their peers. This highlights the warning against every caller to falsehood who bars the way to obligatory belief or perfection thereof, or creates doubts in the heart. It is also a warning against reading books that may contain such specious arguments. Allah mentions in this context belief in Him, worshipping Him and believing in the Last Day, because these three matters are the fundamentals of faith and the foundation of the religion. If they are complete, one’s religious commitment will be complete, and any shortcoming or absence of religious commitment is due to the lack of these things in part or in whole. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about the criterion that shows us who is blessed and who is doomed:

﴾Those who believe [in the Prophet], and those who are Jews, and the Sabians and the Christians, whoever [among them] believed in Allah and the Last Day, and did righteous deeds, will have no fear, nor will they grieve.﴿ (al-Md’idah 5: 69)

﴾lest you perish﴿ that is, be doomed and wretched, if you follow the path of those who distract you (from the path of truth).

20:17. And what is that in your right hand, O Moosa?

20:18. He said: It is my staff; I lean on it, and with it I beat down leaves to feed my sheep, and I have other uses for it.

20:19. Allah said: Throw it down, O Moosa.

20:20. So he threw it down, and thereupon it became a fast-moving snake.

20:21. Allah said: Pick it up, and do not be afraid. We will restore it to its former state.

20:22. Put your hand under your arm; it will come forth shining white, without harm, as another sign,

20:23. So that We may show you some of Our greatest signs.

Having explained the fundamentals of faith Allah then wanted to show him some of His signs, so as to give him a sense of reassurance and ease, and so as to strengthen his faith in the support of Allah against his enemy. So He said:

﴾And what is that in your right hand, O Moosa?﴿ Although He knew it, He said this in this situation to make him more alert and focused. This is why these words came in the form of a question.

Moosa said: ﴾It is my staff; I lean on it, and with it I beat down leaves to feed my sheep﴿. He mentioned these two uses for it, one of which is beneficial to humans, as he leaned on it when he was standing and walking, thus it was a kind of help to him. The second use was beneficial to animals, as he used to tend sheep, and when he tended them among the trees, he would use the staff to strike the trees and make the leaves fall, so that the sheep could eat them.

This was a good attitude on the part of Moosa (1150; his good care for and kindness towards animals were indicative of Allah’s care for him and choosing him. This was a sign of Allah’s mercy and wisdom.

﴾and I have other uses for it﴿ besides these two.

Another aspect of the etiquette of Moosa (عليه السلام) is that when Allah asked him about what he had in his right hand, the question could have been about what it was or what it was for, and he gave answers for both.

Then Allah said to him: ﴾Throw it down, O Moosa. So he threw it down, and thereupon it became a fast-moving snake﴿. By Allah’s leave, it turned into a big snake, so Moosa turned and fled in fear, without a backward glance. The description of it as a fast-moving snake serves to remove any thought that one may have of it being a mere illusion that was not real. The fact that it was fast-moving dispels this notion.

Then Allah said to Moosa: ﴾)Pick it up, and do not be afraid﴿ that is, no harm will come to you from it.

﴾We will restore it to its former state﴿ that is, as it was when it was a staff. Moosa obeyed the command of Allah, out of faith and submission. So he picked it up and it turned back into his staff as he knew it. This was one sign, then Allah mentioned the other sign; He said:

﴾Put your hand under your arm﴿ that is, put your hand into your garment, then press your arm against it.

﴾it will come forth shining white, without harm﴿ that is, it will come out shining white, with no disease or leprosy, ﴾as another sign﴿. Allah says elsewhere:

﴾)...These are two proofs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his chiefs, for they are indeed a rebellious and wicked people.﴿ (al-Qasas 28: 32)

﴾So that We may show you some of Our greatest signs﴿ that is. We did what We mentioned, of turning the staff into a fast-moving snake and bringing forth the hand shining white for the onlookers, so that We might show you some of Our greatest signs that point to the veracity of your message and the reality of that which you have brought, so that you might be reassured and increase in knowledge, and so that you might trust the promise of Allah to protect and supportyou, and so that you might be proof and evidence for those to whom you are sent.

20:24. Go to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds.

20:25. Moosa said: My Lord, fill my heart with courage and steadfastness,

20:26. and make my task easy for me,

20:27. And remove the impediment from my speech,

20:28. so that they will understand what I say.

20:29. And appoint for me a helper from my family,

20:30. Haroon, my brother.

20:31. Strengthen me through him,

20:32. and let him share in my task,

20:33. So that we may glorify You much

20:34. And remember You much.

20:35. For verily You are well aware of our situation.

20:36. Allah said: You are granted your request, O Moosa.

When Allah had sent revelation to Moosa, appointed him as a Prophet and showed him clear signs, He sent him to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, saying:

﴾Go to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds﴿ that is, he has rebelled and gone too far in disbelief, mischief, arrogance inthe land and suppressing the weak, to the point that he claimed to be divine - may Allah curse him. In other words, his transgression was the cause of his doom. But by His mercy and wisdom, Allah does not punish anyone until after He has established proof by sending His Messenger. At that point Moosa (عليه السلام) realised that he had been given a heavy burden of responsibility, as he was being sent to this stubborn tyrant who had no one to contest his power in Egypt. Moosa was just one man, and he had previously committed that offence of killing the Egyptian. He obeyed the command of his Lord and accepted it wholeheartedly, but he asked for help and for the means that were necessary for fulfilment of his mission to be made easily available to him. So he said:

﴾fMy Lord, fill my heart with courage and steadfastness﴿ so that I may bear with patience any offence in word and deed, and I will not be distressed by that or feel anxious. For if a person feels distressed and anxious, he will not be fit to call people to guidance. Allah said to His Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ):

t﴾It is by the mercy of Allah that you deal gently with them. If you had been harsh or hard-hearted, they would have dispersed from around

People may be more receptive to the truth if the caller has a kind attitude, is steadfast and has an easy manner with people.

﴾and make my task easy for mej﴿ that is, make easy for me every path I take and every aim I pursue for Your sake, and make bearable for me all the hardships that lie ahead of me. Part of making his task easy is guiding the caller to handle matters in an appropriate manner and to speak to each person in the way that is appropriate for him, using the approach that will make the message more easily accepted.

﴾And remove the impediment from my speech, so that they will understand what I say﴿. He had a speech impediment which made his words barely comprehensible, as the commentators said, and as Allah tells us elsewhere that he said:﴾My brother Haroon is clearer in speech than I...﴿ (al-Qasas 28 34)

So he asked Allah to remove the impediment so that they would understand what he said, and so as to achieve more fully the purpose of speaking, talking, discussing and explaining meanings.

﴾And appoint for me a helper from my family﴿ that is, someone to aid me, support me and help me with the people to whom You have sent me. He asked for this helper to be from his family, by way of being kind; those who are more deserving of a person’s kindness are his relatives. Then he specified the person for whom he was asking, as he said: ﴾Haroon, my brother. Strengthen me through him﴿ that is, make me stronger and support me through him. Allah said: ﴾...We will strengthen you through your brother, and give you both

﴾and let him share in my task﴿ that is, in prophethood, by making him a Prophet and a Messenger, as You did for me.

Then he mentioned the benefit of that: ﴾So that we may glorify You much and remember You much﴿. Moosa (sSO understood that the aim of all acts of worship and the foundation of religion is to remember Allah, so he asked Allah to make his brother join him, so that they could help one another and cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, and thus be able to remember Allah a great deal, by glorifying Him, proclaiming His oneness and doing other kinds of acts of worship.

﴾For verily You are well aware of our situation﴿ that is. You know our situation, our weakness, our helplessness and our need for You in all our affairs; You know us better than we know ourselves and You are more merciful towards us, so bless us with what we have asked for and answer our prayer.

Allah said: c-fYou are granted your request, O Moosa﴿ that is, you are given all that you asked for, so We will fill your heart with courage and steadfastness, and We will make your task easy for you.and We will remove the impediment from your speech so that they will understand what you say, and We will strengthen you through your brother Haroon, and We will:

﴾...give you both power, so that they will not be able to harm you. By virtue of Our signs, you two and those who follow you will be triumphant.p (al-Qasas 28: 35)

This request of Moosa (SfSO is indicative of his perfect knowledge of Allah, his smartness and understanding of how things work, and his complete sincerity. That is because the one who seeks to guide people to Allah, especially if the one he is calling is a stubborn and arrogant transgressor, needs patience and perfect forbearance so that he will bear with steadfastness the offences with which he will be faced; it also requires eloquence so that he will be able to express clearly what he wants and is aiming for.

Indeed, the ability to speak clearly and eloquently is one of the most important requirements for someone in this position, because there will be a lot of talk and discussions. Moreover, he needs to be able to present the truth in the most attractive way he can, so as to endear the truth to people, and to present falsehood as repulsive and vile, so that people will be put off by it.

In addition to that, he also needs his task to be made easy for him, so that he will be able to have the right approach and call people to the path of Allah with wisdom and beautiful preaching, debating with them in a way that is better and dealing with each person according to his situation. In order to perfect his efforts, the one who undertakes this task needs helpers and advisers to help him to achieve his aims, because when more than one voice is calling, that will inevitably have a greater impact. Therefore Moosa (عليه السلام) asked for these things, and they were granted to him.

If you look at the stories of the Prophets who were sent to people, you will see that they were all like this, each according to his situation.especially the final and best of the Messengers, namely Muhammad (ﷺ). He attained the best of every quality of perfection: he was patient and steadfast, his task was made easy for him, he was eloquent and well spoken, and he had Companions who helped him in support of the truth, such as no other Prophet had.

20:37. And indeed We bestowed Our favour upon you previously

20:38. When We inspired your mother, saying:

20:39. Place him [the infant Moosa] in the box, and throw it into the river; the river will cast him up onto the bank, and one who is an enemy to Me and an enemy to him will pick him up. I bestowed on you love from Me [and endeared you to people], so that you might be raised under My watchful eye.

20:40. Then your sister went out [looking for you] and said [to Pharaoh’s people]: Shall I show you someone who can take care of him [the child]? Thus We returned you to your mother, so that she might be comforted and not grieve. Then you killed a man, but We saved you from distress and fear, and We tested you with various trials. You stayed among the people of Madyan for many years, then you came here at the time ordained, O Moosa.

20:41. I have chosen you for Myself [to convey My message].

Having mentioned His blessings to His slave and Messenger Moosa ibn ‘Imran, whereby He endowed him with religious commitment, revelation and the message, and answered his request, Allah now tells us of the blessings that He bestowed upon him during his childhood and the different stages he went through.

﴾And indeed We bestowed Our favour upon you previously﴿ when We inspired your mother to put you in the box, when you were an infant, out of fear of Pharaoh, because he had issued orders to slaughter the sons of the Israelites. So his mother hid him and feared greatly for him. She placed him in the box, then threw it into the river - namely the Nile in Egypt. Allah commanded the river to cast him up onto the bank, and decreed that he should be taken by the most hostile of the enemies of Allah and of Moosa, and be brought up among his children and be endeared to everyone who saw him.

Hence Allah says: ﴾I bestowed on you love from Me﴿ therefore everyone who saw him loved him

﴾so that you might be raised under My watchful eye﴿ and grow up under My care and protection. What care could be greater and more perfect than the care of the Beneficent, Most Merciful, Who is able to care for His slave in all aspects and ward off all harm from him? He did not move from one stage to another but it was Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) Who arranged that in the best interests of Moosa.

One aspect of His good care was that when Moosa fell into the clutches of his enemy, his mother became very anxious and was so distressed that she almost spoke up about him, except that Allah made her steadfast and strengthened her heart.

In this situation, Allah caused Moosa to refuse all wet-nurses, and he refused to breastfeed from any woman, so that he would end up with his mother, who would breastfeed him, and she would be reassured and comforted. They brought various wet-nurses to him, but he did not accept any of them. Then the sister of Moosa came and said:

. .Shall I direct you to a household who will bring him up for you and take good care of him?﴿ (al-Qasas 28:12)

﴾Thus We returned you to your mother, so that she might be comforted and not grieve. Then you killed a man﴿ who was the Egyptian. When Moosa entered the city at a time when he would not be noticed by its people, he found two men fighting, one from his own people and the other from among his enemies, an Egyptian.

﴾...The man from among his own people called him to help him against his enemy, so Moosa struck him with his fist and killed him...)﴿

Moosa prayed to Allah and asked Him for forgiveness, and He forgave him. Then he fled, when he heard that the chiefs were seeking him and wanted to kill him.

But Allah saved him ﴾from distress and fear﴿ of punishment for the offence, and He saved him from being killed.

﴾and We tested you with various trials that is, We tested and tried you, and We found you steadfast in all situations; or (it may mean that) We caused you to go from one stage to another, until We caused you to attain what you attained.

﴾ You stayed among the people of Madyan for many years p - when he fled from Pharaoh and his chiefs, at the time when they wanted to kill him, he headed towards Madyan. He got married there, and stayed there for ten or eight years,

﴾then you came here at the time ordained, O Moosa﴿ that is, your coming was already decreed; Allah knew of it and wanted it to happen at this time and in this place. Your coming was not coincidental, without being intended on Our part; in fact it is in accordance with Our decree and is because We care for you. This is indicative of Allah’s perfect care for Moosa hence He said:

﴾fl have chosen you for Myself [to convey My message]﴿ and bestowed all kinds of favours and care upon you, so that you would be My beloved and reach a level that no one else reached except very few.

If a lover wants to choose a beloved from among other people and cause him to reach a level of perfection that he could reach, he strives very hard and does all he can to help him reach that level. So what do you think about the Lord Who is powerful and most generous, and what do you think He will do for the one whom He chose for Himself from among His creation?

Llle- J*yu J ijlie Vli U^mi) "ifjii

20:42. Go, you and your brother, with My signs, and do not be negligent in remembering Me.

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

20:44. But speak to him gently, so that perhaps he may pay heed or fear Allah.

20:45. They [Moosa and Haroon] said: Our Lord, we fear that he may hasten to punish us or transgress all bounds.

20:46. Allah said: Fear not; verily I am with you both. I hear and see [everything].

When Allah bestowed blessings, both spiritual and worldly, upon Moosa, He said to him:

﴾Go, you and your brother﴿ Haroon ﴾with My signs﴿ that is, with the signs that are from Me, which point to the truth and the beauty thereof, and the abhorrent nature of falsehood, such as the hand, the staff and so on, nine signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs.

﴾and do not be negligent in remembering Me﴿ that is, do not falter or be weary of constantly remembering Me, and adhere to it as youpromised, ﴾So that we may glorify You much and remember You much﴿ (20: 33-34), for remembering Allah helps in all things and makes them easier and lighter to bear.

﴾Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed all bounds﴿ that is, he has overstepped the mark in his disbelief, transgression, wrongdoing and enmity.

﴾But speak to him gently﴿ that is, kindly and politely, with nice words, without being coarse or harsh in speech, or behaving in a rough manner

﴾so that perhaps﴿, because of your gentle speech, *fhe may pay heed﴿ to that which will benefit him, and so do it ﴾for fear Allah﴿ and avoid that which may harm him. For gentle speech calls to that, whereas harsh speech puts people off. Allah has explained gentle speech elsewhere, where He says:

﴾And say: Are you willing to be purified and for me to guide you to your Lord, so that you may come to fear Him?﴿ (an-Ndzi'di 79: 18-19)

In such talk there is gentleness, ease and avoidance of harsh and ugly language, as is very clear. The fact that this is presented in the form of a question is suggestive of making an offer and discussing the matter in such a way that no one would be offended by it. It is inviting a person to purify himself and cleanse himself from impurity, which means ridding oneself of the ascription of partners to Allah, which anyone who is of sound mind would willingly accept. It does not say “I will purify you”; rather it says “Are you willing to be purified?”

This is followed by a call to the path of his Lord Who cares for him and bestows blessings upon him both visible and hidden, to which he should respond by giving thanks and mentioning them. Hence it says: ﴾fand that I should guide you to your Lord, so that you fear [Him]?﴿. If he does not accept this gentle speech that is very beautiful and should have a great impact on his heart, then it is clear that no reminder will work with him, and he will be seized with the seizing of One Who is Almighty, Omnipotent.

﴾They [Moosa and Haroon] said: Our Lord, we fear that he may hasten to punish us﴿ that is, he may hasten to punish us and hurt us before we can convey Your message to him and establish proof against him

﴾or transgress all bounds﴿ that is, rebel against the truth and transgress all bounds, because of what he has of dominion, power, troops and helpers.

﴾Allah said: Fear not﴿ that he will hasten to punish you ﴾verily I am with you both. I hear and see [everything]﴿ that is, you are under My protection and care; I hear all that you say and I see you in all situations, so do not be afraid of him. Thus that fear dissipated and their hearts were reassured by the promise of their Lord.

20:47. So go, both of you, to him and say: We are both Messengers from your Lord. Let the Children of Israel go with us, and do not oppress them anymore. We have indeed brought you a sign from your Lord. Peace and safety will be the lot of those who follow true guidance.

20:48. Verily it has been revealed to us that the punishment will befall those who disbelieve and turn away.

That is, take these two matters, calling him to Islam and telling him to release these noble people, the Israelites, from oppression and enslavement, so that they may be free and have control over their own affairs, and Moosa could rule them in accordance with the laws and religion of Allah.

﴾We have indeed brought you a sign from your Lord﴿ that is indicative of our truthfulness.

﴾So Moosa threw down his staff, and suddenly it was a serpent, plain for all to see And he drew forth his hand, and it appeared shining white to all beholders.p (al-A‘raf7: 107-108)

- and they brought other signs, which Allah has described in His Book.

Peace and safety will be the lot of those who follow true guidance﴿ that is, those who follow the straight path and the clear teachings will attain safety and well-being in this world and the hereafter.

﴾Verily it has been revealed to us﴿ that is, it is news from Allah, not from ourselves ﴾that the punishment will befall those who disbelieve and turn away﴿ that is, those who reject what Allah says and what His Messengers say, and turn away from following them. This was encouraging Pharaoh to believe, accept and follow, and it was a warning against doing the opposite of that. But this exhortation and reminder was to no avail; Pharaoh denied his Lord and disbelieved, and he argued about that wrongfully and stubbornly.

20:49. Pharaoh said: So who is the Lord of you two, O Moosa?

20:50. Moosa said: Our Lord is He Who gave all things their form and nature, then guided them [as to how to function and yield the benefits for which they were created].

20:51. Pharaoh said: Then what about the previous nations [who worshipped idols]?

20:52. Moosa said: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in a Record; my Lord never errs, nor forgets.

20:53. It is He Who has spread out the earth for you, traced out paths for you therein, and sent down water from the sky. By means of it We bring forth various different types of vegetation.

20:54. So eat, and graze your livestock. Surely in that there are signs for people of sound intellect.

20:55. From it [the earth] We created you, to it We will return you, and from it We will bring you forth once again.

Pharaoh said to Moosa by way of denial: ﴾So who is the Lord of you two, O Moosa?﴿. Moosa gave a clear and full answer, saying: ﴾Our Lord is He Who gave all things their form and nature, then guided them [as to how to function and yield the benefits for which they were created][j that is, our Lord is the One Who created all things, and gave each created thing its form and nature that befits it and is indicative of His perfect artistry in His creation, such as the size of its body, whether it is great or small or in between, and all its other attributes.

﴾then guided﴿ every created being to the purpose for which He created it. This guidance in general terms can be seen in all created things; hence you see every creature striving for the purpose for which it was created of attaining benefits and warding off harm, to the extent that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has even given animals sufficient intelligence to be able to achieve that.

This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Who created all things well...﴿ (as-Sajdah 32: 7)

The One Who has created all things, and created them well, such that no one with any reason could think that there could be anything better than them in design, and He guided them to that which is in their best interests, is indeed the true Lord. Denying Him is denying the greatest of all that exists; in fact it is arrogance and a blatant lie. If man were to deny any known thing, whatever it may be, denial of the Lord of the worlds is far worse than that.

Therefore, when Pharaoh was not able to reject this definitive proof, he changed the topic in an attempt to distract from the issue. So he said to Moosa:

﴾Then what about the previous nations [who worshipped idols]?﴿ That is, what happened to them and what is their news? What was their fate? They preceded us in denial, disbelief, wrongdoing and stubbornness, and we have an example in them.

Moosa said: ﴾The knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in a Record; my Lord never errs, nor forgets﴿ that is, He has counted their deeds, both good and bad, and written them in a record, namely al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh. He has encompassed all that with His knowledge, and nothing of it will be lost, for He will not forget what He knows of that.

What this implies is that they have already passed away and seen the consequences of their deeds, and they will be requited for them, so there is no point in your asking about them, O Pharaoh. That is a nation which has (already) passed away; they will have what they earned and you will have what you earn. If the evidence that we have quoted to you and the signs that we have shown you are proven to be true and certain, which is indeed the case, then submit to the truth and give up disbelief, wrongdoing and excessive arguing on the basis of falsehood. If you are uncertain about it and you do not think that it is sound and correct, then the door is still open to debate it, so refute evidence with evidence, and proof with proof; but you will never be able to do so

How could he do that, especially as Allah has told us about him and how he rejected it even though he was convinced of it, as He said: ﴾They rejected the signs, although in their hearts they were certain that they were true, out of wickedness and arrogance... (an-Naml 27: 14)

And Moosa said:

([...You know full well that none but the Lord of the heavens and the earth has sent down these [signs] as clear evidence. ..﴿ (al-lsra 7 7-102) Thus we know that he was stubborn in his argument and his aim was to exalt himself in the land.

Then Moosa elaborated on this definitive evidence by mentioning many of Allah’s blessings and clear favours:

﴾It is He Who has spread out the earth for you]J that is, in such a way that you are able to dwell therein, settle, build, plant and till for agricultural purposes, and so on. Allah has prepared the earth so that it is possible to achieve all that, and He did not make it unsuitable for you in any way.

﴾traced out paths for you therein﴿ that is, He has laid down for you routes that lead you from one land to another, from one country to another, so that humans are able to reach anywhere on earth in the easiest way, and they benefit from travelling more than if they did not travel.

﴾and sent down water from the sky. By means of it We bring forth various different types of vegetation [■) that is. He sends down the rain: ﴾...whereby He gives life to the earth after its death. ..﴿(an-Nahl 16:65) - and brings forth thereby all kinds of plants with different qualities. He has made them all available to us, decreed that for us and made it easy for us, as provision for us and our livestock. Were it not for that, all who are on earth of humans and animals would die. Hence Allah says:

﴾So eat, and graze your livestock﴿ this is said in the context of Allah reminding people of His blessings. It may indicate that in principleall that grows from the ground is permissible, and nothing of that is prohibited except that which is proven to be harmful, such as poison and the like.

﴾Surely in that there are signs for people of sound intellect﴿ that is, people with sound reasoning and right thinking, who contemplate Allah’s blessings, kindness, mercy, immense generosity and perfect care; these signs indicate that He is the Lord Who is deserving of worship, the Sovereign Who is worthy of all praise; there is no one who deserves worship or praise except Him, the One Who bestows these blessings. He is able to do all things: just as He gives life to the earth after it was dead, He will also give life to the dead.

Allah singles out people of sound intellect here, because they are the ones who benefit from the signs and reflect on them. As for others, they are more akin to grazing animals, for they do not look at the signs and reflect upon them, and they do not think deeply in order to find the purpose behind them. Rather their share is that of animals that eat and drink whilst living a life of heedlessness, and they turn away from truth.

﴾s(How many are the signs in the heavens and the earth which they pass by without paying them any heed!﴿ (Yoosuf 12: 105)

Having mentioned how generous the earth is, and how grateful it is for that which Allah sends down to it of rain, and that by its Lord's leave it produces plants of various kinds, Allah tells us here that He created us from it, and we will return to it when we die and are buried in it, and we will emerge from it once more. Just as He created us from it, when we had been nothing, and we know that and are certain of it, He will recreate us from it when He resurrects us from it after we have died, in order to requite us for the deeds that we did on it.

These two proofs for recreation are rational and clear: the bringing forth of plants from the earth after it was dead and the bringing forth of accountable people from it when they are recreated.

20:56. We showed Pharaoh all Our signs, but he rejected them and refused to believe in them.

20:57. He said: Have you come to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moosa?

20:58. Then we will surely produce for you magic to match it. So appoint a day when we and you may meet in a convenient place, an appointment which neither we nor you will fail to keep.

20:59. Moosa said: Your appointment will be on the day of the festival; let the people assemble in the forenoon.

20:60. So Pharaoh withdrew and gathered his resources, then he came [for the appointment].

20:61. Moosa said to them: Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah, lest He annihilate you with His punishment. Those who fabricate such lies are surely lost and doomed.

Here Allah tells (سبحانه وتعالى) us that He showed Pharaoh signs, lessons and definitive proofs of all kinds, in the visible universe and in himself, but he did not pay heed or give up his evil ways; rather he rejected them and refused to believe.

He rejected what Moosa told him, turned away from the commands and prohibitions, regarded truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, and argued on the basis of falsehood so as to mislead people. He said:﴾Have you come to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moosa?﴿ He claimed that these signs that Moosa showed him were no more than magic and illusions, the purpose of which was to drive them from their land, and take it over, so that his (Pharaoh’s) words would have some impact on his people, for people are naturally inclined towards their homelands and it is difficult for them to leave them.

Pharaoh told them that this was Moosa’s aim so that they would hate him and strive to oppose him. It was as if he was saying to Moosa: so we will bring you magic like your magic; give us some time, and ﴾appoint a day when we and you may meet in a convenient place, an appointment which neither we nor you will fail to keep﴿ that is, one that is convenient for us and for you. It may be that what is meant is: let us meet in a level place where everyone may see what is going on.

Moosa said: ﴾Your appointment will be on the day of the festival﴿ which was a holiday on which they had no other business to attend to. ﴾let the people assemble in the forenoon﴿ that is, let them all gather in the forenoon. Moosa requested that because the day of the festival and the forenoon of that day was a time when people usually gathered in large numbers and would be able to see things as they really were, in a manner that was not possible at other times.

i﴾So Pharaoh withdrew and gathered his resources﴿ that is, he gathered all that he was able to for this contest against Moosa. He sent envoys to the cities to gather all the skilled magicians. Magic was widespread at that time, and knowledge thereof was something that was highly sought. So he gathered a large number of magicians, then both of them went to the appointed place at the appointed time, and the people also gathered for that occasion.

It was a huge gathering, attended by men and women, chiefs, nobles and commoners, young and old. The people were urged to attend, and it was said to the people:

C.. Will you also gather, so that we may follow the magicians [in their religion], if they are the victors?﴿ (ash-Shu'ara' 26: 39-40)them and said to them: ﴾Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah, lest He annihilate you with His punishment﴿ that is, do not support the falsehood that you follow by means of your magic and seek to defeat the truth, fabricating lies against Allah, lest He annihilate you with a punishment from Him, and your efforts and fabrications fail, then you will not attain what you seek of victory and high status with Pharaoh and his chiefs, nor will you be safe from the punishment of Allah.

Words of truth inevitably have an impact on people’s hearts. It is no wonder that the disputes and arguments among the magicians stopped when they heard the words of Moosa and felt alarmed. Perhaps some of what they argued about was their doubt concerning Moosa: was he really following the truth or not? But until this point they had not reached an agreement, so that Allah might bring about what was already decreed, and:

﴾...so that those who chose to perish [by choosing disbelief] might do so after seeing clear evidence, and those who chose to live [by choosing faith] might do so after seeing clear evidence...﴿ (al-Anfdl

8: 42)

Then they conversed privately, and agreed on one view, so that they might succeed and so that the people would adhere to their religion.

Allah describes the private conversation that they had:

20:62. So they argued among themselves as to what they should do, and conferred in secret.

20:63. They said: Verily these two are magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic and put an end to your ideal way.

20:64. So consolidate your plan, then come forth in ranks. Whoever prevails today will indeed prosper.

﴾They said: Verily these two are magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic﴿ - this is like what Pharaoh had said previously. Either it was a coincidence that Pharaoh and the magicians agreed on this view, without intending to, or he had dictated to them what he had made his mind up about and had announced to the people. Then they added to what Pharaoh had said by saying: ﴾and put an end to your ideal way﴿ that is, the path of magic for which he envies you, and he wants to prevail over you so that he may attain pride, renown and fame, and so that he may be the one whom people seek in order to learn from him this knowledge to which you have devoted all your time, and take away from you the livelihood that you have because of it and the leadership that you have attained by means of it. Thus they encouraged one another to strive hard in order to defeat him. Therefore they said:

﴾So consolidate your plan﴿ and demonstrate what you can do in one go, supporting and helping one another, in harmony with one another and united.

﴾then come forth in ranks﴿ because that is more convenient for your performance and will create greater awe in people’s hearts, and so that none of you will do less than he is able to do. You should know that whoever succeeds today and defeats the other will be the victor, triumphant, for this day will decide your future.

It is amazing how strong and tough they were in supporting falsehood, as they did not spare any effort or means, and they usedevery kind of plot and scheme against the truth. But Allah insisted that His light would be perfected and the truth would prevail. When their plans were complete and they had decided the goal they wanted to achieve, there was nothing left but to take action.

20:65. They said: O Moosa, either you throw or we will be the first to throw!

20:66. He said: No; you throw first. Thereupon their ropes and sticks appeared to him, by their magic, to be moving about.

20:67. Then Moosa sensed fear in himself.

20:68. We said: Fear not, for verily it is you who will prevail.

20:69. Throw that which is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have wrought. What they have wrought is no more than a magician’s trick, and the magician will never prosper, no matter where he may be.

﴾They said: O Moosa, either you throw﴿ your staff ﴾or we will be the first to throw﴿. They gave him the choice, so as to give the impression that they were certain they would prevail over him, whatever the case.

Moosa said: ﴾No; you throw first﴿. So they threw their ropes and sticks, and ﴾Thereupon their ropes and sticks appeared to him﴿ that is, to Moosa

﴾by their magic﴿ which was very skilful﴾fto be moving about﴿ that is, they appeared to be fast-moving snakes. When it appeared thus to Moosa, he ﴾sensed fear in himself﴿, as is human nature; otherwise he was certain of the promise and support of Allah.

﴾We said﴿, so as to reassure him and make him steadfast: ﴾Fear not, for verily it is you who will prevail﴿ over them; that is, you will defeat them and subdue them, and they will humble themselves and submit to you.

﴾Throw that which is in your right hand﴿ namely, your staff ﴾it will swallow up what they have wrought. What they have wrought is no more than a magician’s trick, and the magician will never prosper, no matter where he may be﴿ that is, their plots and schemes will not yield any results for them and will not succeed. This was part of the scheme of the magicians, who trick people, present falsehood as right and try to give the false impression that they are following the truth. Moosa threw down his staff, and it swallowed up all that they had wrought and devoured it, whilst the people were looking on, watching this performance.

The magicians realised with certainty that this was not magic, and that it was from Allah, so they hastened to believe.

(vr-v.

20:70. So the magicians fell down in prostration; they said: We believe in the Lord of Moosa and Haroon.

20:71. Pharaoh said: How dare you believe him before I give you permission! He must be your master, who taught you magic! I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will surely come to know which of us can give the more severe and longer-lasting punishment!

20:72. They said: We will never choose you over the clear signs that have come to us, or over the One Who created us. So decide whatever you will; you can only decide matters pertaining to the life of this world.

20:73. Verily we have believed in our Lord so that He may forgive us our sins and what you compelled us to do of magic, for Allah is better [in reward] and more lasting [in punishment].

﴾So the magicians fell down in prostration; they said: We believe in the Lord of Moosa and Haroon﴿. Thus the truth became manifestly clear, and magic and the plots and schemes of the magicians were proven to be false in that great gathering.

The defeat of the magicians became proof and mercy for the believers, and proof against the stubborn. Pharaoh said to the magicians: ﴾How dare you believe him before I give you permission﴿ that is, how dare you go ahead and believe without consulting me or seeking my permission!

He found their actions strange, because they had been very polite and humble towards him, and had submitted fully to him in all their affairs, so he expected them to behave in a similar manner in this matter too. Then Pharaoh persisted in his disbelief and transgression, after this proof had been established, and he treated his people as fools by telling them that the reason why Moosa had gained the upper hand over the magicians was not because what he followed was true; ratherit was because he and the magicians had conspired and plotted to drive Pharaoh and his people out of their land. The people accepted this lie from Pharaoh and thought that he was telling the truth.

﴾Thus he made fools of his people and they obeyed him. They were indeed a rebellious and wicked people.﴿(az-Zukhruf43: 54)

Even though what he suggested to them could not be accepted by anyone who has the slightest common sense, awareness or understanding of reality - for Moosa had come from Madyan on his own, and had not met any of the magicians or anyone else; rather he had hastened to deliver the call to Pharaoh and his people, and show them the signs - Pharaoh nevertheless wanted to oppose what Moosa had brought, so he did his utmost, sending someone to the cities to gather every learned magician. They came to him and he promised them a reward and high status if they won the contest. And they were keen to do their utmost and they tried very hard to defeat Moosa, but this was the result they got. Can it be imagined in this case that they and Moosa had plotted and agreed on this outcome? This is completely impossible.

Then Pharaoh threatened the magicians and said: ﴾I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides﴿ as is done to the bandit who spreads mischief; his right hand and left foot are cut off.

﴾fand I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm trees﴿ that is, so that you will become a lesson to others and will be humiliated. ﴾fand you will surely come to know which of us can give the more severe and longer-lasting punishment﴿. What he meant, according to his claim, was himself or Allah, and that he was able to give a more severe and longer-lasting punishment than Allah, turning facts on their heads in order to scare the foolish.

Hence when the magicians realised the truth and Allah granted them rational thinking by means of which they could verify facts, they responded by saying:﴾We will never choose you over the clear signs that have come to us﴿ that is, we will never choose you and what you promised us of reward and being close to you over what Allah has shown us of clear signs which prove that Allah is the only Lord Who is worthy of worship and veneration, and everything other than Him is false, and we will not give you precedence over the One Who originated us and created us; that can never happen.

4 So decide whatever you will﴿ and choose whatever you will of that with which you threatened us, be it cutting off our limbs, crucifying us or punishing us.

﴾you can only decide matters pertaining to the life of this world﴿ that is, what you are threatening us with is only in this life, which will come to an end and vanish, and will not harm us, unlike the punishment of Allah for the one who persists in his disbelief, for it is eternal and severe.

It is as if this is a response from them to Pharaoh’s words: (fand you will surely come to know which of us can give the more severe and longer-lasting punishment﴿ (20: 71). These words of the magicians indicate that the wise person should weigh up between the pleasures of this world and the pleasures of the hereafter, and between punishment in this world and punishment in the hereafter.

Verily we have believed in our Lord so that He may forgive us our sins﴿ that is, our disbelief and disobedience, for faith expiates evil deeds and repentance erases that which came before it. ffand what you compelled us to do of magic﴿ by means of which we opposed the truth. This indicates that they had no choice with regard to their previous deeds; rather Pharaoh had forced them to do that.

What appears to be the case - and Allah knows best - is that when Moosa exhorted them, as we have seen above (in 20: 61), ﴾Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah, lest He annihilate you with His punishment﴿, that had a great impact on them and affected them deeply, so they disputed after hearing these words and exhortation.But Pharaoh forced them to do that and compelled them to make the plans that they did, so they reiterated what Pharaoh had said, when they said: ﴾Verily these two are magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic ﴿ (20: 63). So they did what he wanted them to do and forced them to do.

Perhaps these feelings that developed in their hearts of reluctance to oppose truth with falsehood and to do what they were compelled to do is what affected them, and Allah had mercy on them because of it and enabled them to believe and repent.

﴾for Allah is better [in reward]﴿ than what you have promised us of reward and high status tfand more lasting﴿ in punishment than what Pharaoh promised when he said ﴾and you will surely come to know which of us can give the more severe and longer-lasting punishment﴿ (20: 71).

Wherever the story of Moosa and Pharaoh is mentioned, Allah states, when referring to the story of the magicians, that Pharaoh threatened them with cutting off of limbs and crucifixion, but He does not say that he actually did that, and there is no §aheeh hadith which says that. But to affirm whether it occurred or not requires proof, and Allah knows best about that and other matters. However, the fact that he threatened them with that and was able to carry out his threat indicates that it did happen, because if it had not taken place Allah would have said so, and because the transmitters are agreed that it happened.

20:74. Verily whoever comes to his Lord as an evildoer, for him is hell, in which he will neither die nor live.

20:75. But whoever comes to Him as a believer, having done righteous deeds, for such will be high ranks,

20:76. gardens of perpetual abode, through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. Such is the reward of those who purify themselves.

Here Allah tells us that whoever comes to Him as an evildoer - that is, he is evil in all ways, which implies that he is a disbeliever - and persists in that until he dies, then for him is hell, wherein is severe punishment, huge chains, bottomless depths and agonising heat and cold, the torments of which will destroy one utterly. The severity of the punishment is reflected in the fact that the one who is punished there will neither die nor live; he will not die so as to find relief and he will not live any kind of life in which he could find pleasure. Rather his life will be filled with suffering of the heart, soul and body, the severity of which no one can comprehend, and that suffering will not be alleviated even for a moment. He will cry out for help but will not be helped, and he will call out but will not be answered. If they cry for help, they will be given water like boiling oil that will scald their faces (cf. 18: 29) and if they call out, the response will be:

﴾f...Be humiliated therein and do not speak to Me.﴿ (al-Mu’mmoon 23: 108)

But whoever comes to his Lord believing in Him and in His Messengers, following His Books, ﴾having done righteous deeds﴿, both obligatory and recommended,

﴾for such will be high ranks﴿ that is, lofty dwellings, adorned rooms, never-ending delights, rivers flowing in all directions, eternal life and great joy such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and it has never crossed the mind of any man.﴾Such﴿ recompense ﴾fis the reward of those who purify themselves﴿ that is, those who purify themselves from polytheism, disbelief, evildoing and sin, either by not doing these things at all or repenting from what they have done of such things, and also purifying themselves by developing their faith and righteous deeds, because purification is twofold, cleansing and removing dirt, and increasing in doing good. Zakah (which comes from a root meaning purity) reflects these two meanings.

(vt-w

20:77. We inspired Moosa: Travel by night with My slaves, and strike a dry path for them in the sea. Have no fear of being overtaken and do not be afraid [of drowning in the sea].

20:78. Then Pharaoh pursued them with his troops, but they were completely overwhelmed by the power of the sea.

20:79. Thus Pharaoh led his people astray, and he did not guide them.

When Moosa prevailed over Pharaoh and his people by means of proof and evidence, he remained in Egypt, calling them to Islam and striving to save the Children of Israel from Pharaoh and his persecution. But Pharaoh persisted in his arrogance and aversion to the truth, and continued to treat the Israelites harshly, and Allah continued to show him the signs and lessons of which He tells us in the Qur’an.

The Children of Israel were not able to practise their faith openly, so they took their houses as places of worship and put up with Pharaoh and his persecution. But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) wanted to save them from theirenemy and establish them in the land so that they could worship Him openly and establish His laws.

So He inspired His Prophet Moosa to travel with them by night, and He told him that Pharaoh and his people would pursue them. So they set out at the beginning of the night, all of the Israelites, with their womenfolk and children. Then when morning came, the Egyptians found that none of them were left, so their enemy Pharaoh became very angry with them. He sent envoys to the cities to rally the people and urge them to go out in pursuit of the Children of Israel, so that he could capture them and punish them. But Allah decreed that they should be saved. When all the troops of Pharaoh had gathered, he set out with them in pursuit of the Israelites.

﴾Then [the Egyptians] caught up with them at sunrise. When the two groups came within sight of one another, the companions of Moosa said: We are sure to be overtaken.﴿ (ash-Shu‘ard’26: 60-61)

- and they were anxious and scared, because the sea was in front of them and Pharaoh was behind them, his heart filled with rage and fury. But Moosa was calm and reassured, for he trusted the promise of his Lord, so he said:

C..No indeed! Verily, my Lord is with me and He will guide me.﴿

Allah inspired him to strike the sea with his staff, so he struck it and twelve pathways opened up, with the water rising up like high mountains to the right and left of those pathways. Allah made the pathways which appeared when the waters split dry, and instructed them not to be afraid of Pharaoh catching up with them or to be afraid of drowning in the sea. So they followed those pathways, then Pharaoh and his troops came in pursuit of them until, when all of Moosa’s people had emerged (on the other side) and the people of Pharaoh had all entered, Allah commanded the sea to close over them, and: ﴾they were completely overwhelmed by the power of the sea﴿ (20: 78). Theyall drowned and not one of them was saved, as the Israelites were looking on and watching the enemy. Allah gave them the satisfaction of witnessing Pharaoh’s destruction.

This was the result of disbelief and misguidance, and not following the guidance of Allah. Hence Allah (tie) says: ﴾Thus Pharaoh led his people astray﴿ by making disbelief fair-seeming to them and tarnishing the image of that which Moosa brought. Thus he fooled them and never guided them at any time; he led them in the path of error and misguidance, then he led them on a path that brought them to punishment and doom.

cSxil

20:80. O Children of Israel, verily We delivered you from your enemy, We made an appointment with you on the right-hand side of the mountain, and We sent down to you the manna and quails.

20:81. Eat of the good things We have provided for you, but do not exceed the bounds therein, lest you incur My wrath, for whoever incurs My wrath is indeed ruined.

20:82. Verily I am Oft-Forgiving to those who repent and believe, and do righteous deeds, then remain steadfast.

Here Allah reminds the Children of Israel of the great blessings that He bestowed upon them by destroying their enemy and making an appointment with Moosa (عليه السلام) on the right-hand side of the mountain to send down to him the Book that contained sublime rulings andbeautiful stories. Thus spiritual blessings were perfected for them after worldly blessings. Allah also reminds them of how He blessed them in the wilderness, by sending down the manna and quails, and delicious and easily available provision that they could obtain without much effort. He said to them:

﴾Eat of the good things We have provided for you﴿ that is, and give thanks for what He has bestowed upon you of blessings ﴾but do not exceed the bounds therein﴿ that is, with regard to His provision, so do not use it to disobey Him or become arrogant because of the blessings, for if you do that, you will incur My wrath, that is, I will be angry with you then I will punish you.

﴾for whoever incurs My wrath is indeed ruined﴿ that is, he is destroyed and doomed, and is utterly lost, because that proves that he is discontent and is not a doer of good, therefore wrath and loss are his lot.

Nevertheless, repentance is always available, no matter what sins a person has committed. Hence Allah says:

﴾Verily I am Oft-Forgiving﴿ that is, I offer abundant forgiveness and mercy to anyone who repents from disbelief, innovation and evildoing, and believes in Allah, His angels. His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day, and does righteous deeds in terms of beliefs, physical actions and words.

﴾then remains steadfast﴿ that is, he follows the straight path and follows the noble Messenger, and adheres to true religion. Allah will forgive such a person for his sins and pardon his previous errors in which he had persisted, because he has taken the best measures that may lead to forgiveness and mercy; indeed all measures are limited to these things, for repentance erases that which came before it, and faith and Islam cancel out that which came before them, and righteous deeds erase bad deeds. Being steadfast in following the path of guidance in all ways, such as acquiring knowledge and reflecting upon a verse or hadith, so that one may understand the meaning that will help him to be steadfast and call others to the true religion.and refute innovation or disbelief or misguidance, as well as jihad, migration and other aspects of steadfastness in Islam, all expiate sins and fulfil the purpose.

20:83. What made you hasten and leave your people behind, 0 Moosa?

20:84. Moosa said: They are close behind me; I hastened to You, my Lord, so that You may be pleased.

20:85. Allah said: Verily We have put your people to the test in your absence and as-Samiri has led them astray.

20:86. So Moosa returned to his people, angry and filled with sorrow. He said: O my people, did not your Lord give you a goodly promise? Did the time seem too long for you, or did you want the wrath of your Lord to fall upon you, when you broke your promise to me?

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) had made an appointment with Moosa, for him to come to Him so that He might send down the Torah to him, a period of thirty nights, then He completed it with ten more. When the appointed time came, Moosa hastened to attend the appointment, longing and eager to keep the appointment. Allah said to him:

﴾What made you hasten and leave your people behind, O Moosa?﴿ That is, what brought you here before them? Why could you not wait until you came with them? He said:﴾They are close behind me﴿ that is, they are nearby and will come soon after me; what made me hasten to You, O Lord, was my desire to be near You and seek Your pleasure, and longing for You.

Allah said to him: ﴾Verily We have put your people to the test in your absence﴿ that is, with the worship of the calf; We tested and tried them, but they were not patient, and when that test came to them, they disbelieved ﴾fand as-Samiri has led them astray﴿.

He ﴾produced for them a calf, an effigy﴿ (20: 88) which he fashioned, then it ﴾made a lowing sound, and they said: This is your god, and the god of Moosa﴿ (20. 88), but Moosa has forgotten it. The Children of Israel were confused by it, so they worshipped it; Haroon called them not to do that, but they paid no heed.

When Moosa returned to his people, he was very angry and upset; in other words, he was filled with rage, anger and distress. He said to them, rebuking them for what they had done: f(0 my people, did not your Lord give you a goodly promise?﴿ Which was His promise to send down the Torah.

﴾Did the time seem too long for you﴿ that is, did you think that I was away for too long, although it was only a short time?

This is the view of many commentators, but it may be that what is meant is: has it been so long since a Prophet or Messenger came to you, so that you did not have any knowledge of prophethood and the teachings of the Prophets had vanished, so that nothing of their teachings was left with you, and therefore you worshipped something other than Allah because of your ignorance and lack of knowledge of the teachings of prophethood? In other words, that is not so; rather there is prophethood among you, and knowledge is available, so your excuse is not acceptable. Or did you intend by your deed to bring upon yourselves the wrath of your Lord? For you have committed that which justifies His wrath and you have done that which makes His punishment inevitable. This is the reality.

﴾when you broke your promise to me﴿, as I instructed you to adhere to the path of truth, and I left Haroon in charge of you, but you did not pay any attention to what I said or show any respect to him.

20:87. They said: We did not break our promise to you of our own accord. But we were loaded with the [sinful] burdens of the [Egyptian] people’s jewellery, so we threw them into the fire, and as-Samiri also threw likewise.

20:88. Then as-Samiri produced for them a calf, an effigy that made a lowing sound, and they said: This is your god, and the god of Moosa, but he has forgotten!

20:89. Could they not see that it could not give them any response and that it had no power either to cause harm or bring benefit to them?

That is, they said to him: We did not do what we did deliberately or on our own initiative; rather the reason for that was that we felt the sin of keeping the people’s jewellery that was in our possession. They had, according to what they said, borrowed a lot of jewellery from the Egyptians, and when they left Egypt they had it with them. They gathered it together when Moosa went away, so that they could consult him about it when he returned.

On the day when Pharaoh was drowned, as-Samiri had spotted the hoof print of the messenger Jibreel’s horse, and his soul prompted himto take a handful of it. He thought that if he threw it onto something it would come to life, and that was a test and trial for them. He threw it onto that image that he had made in the shape of a calf, and it moved and made a lowing sound, and the people said: Moosa has gone to seek his Lord but (his Lord) is here; Moosa has forgotten. This was a sign of their foolishness and lack of intellect; when they saw this strange thing that began to make a lowing sound after having been inanimate, they thought that it was the God of the heavens and the earth!

﴾Could they not see﴿ that the calf ﴾could not give them any response﴿ that is, it could not speak or talk to them, or give them any response, and it could not ward off any harm from them or bring them any benefit. One who is lacking in perfection and unable to speak or do anything does not deserve to be worshipped. It is more lacking than its worshippers, for they are able to speak and do some things, and to bring some benefits and ward off some harm, by Allah’s decree.

20:90. Haroon had earlier said to them: O my people, you are being tested with it. Verily your Lord is the Most Gracious, so follow me and obey my command.

20:91. They said: We will not stop worshipping it until Moosa comes back to us.

20:92. Moosa said: O Haroon, what prevented you, when you saw that they had gone astray,

20:93. from following me? Did you then disobey my command?

20:94. Haroon said: O son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard, or by my head! Verily I was afraid that you would say: You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not pay heed to my words.

They had no excuse for taking the calf for worship. Even though they developed some confusion about worshipping it, Haroon had forbidden them to do that and had told them that it was a test, and that the true Lord was the Most Gracious, from Whom come all blessings both visible and invisible, and Who wards off harm. He had commanded them to follow him and reject the calf, but they refused and said: ﴾We will not stop worshipping it until Moosa comes back to us﴿.

Moosa came to his brother and blamed him, saying: ﴾fO Haroon, what prevented you, when you saw that they had gone astray, from following me﴿ that is, coming after me and telling me so that I could hasten to come back to them?

﴾Did you then disobey my command?﴿ when I said:

﴾...Take my place amongst my people in my absence, do what is right, and do not follow the way of those who spread mischief.﴿

Moosa took hold of Haroon by the head and beard, pulling him out of anger and rebuking him. But Haroon said: ﴾0 son of my mother﴿ to soften his heart; otherwise they were full brothers.

﴾do not seize me by my beard, or by my head! Verily I was afraid that you would say: You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and you did not pay heed to my words﴿ - you instructed me to take your place among them in your absence, and if I had followed you (and come after you to tell you what was happening), I would have been neglecting what you had instructed me to adhere to, and I was afraid that you would rebuke me and say: ﴾You have causeddivision among the Children of Israel﴿ by leaving them. They had no one to look after them, and that would have divided them and caused them to split into groups. So do not count me among the people who are given to wrongdoing and do not give our enemies cause to rejoice in our misfortune (cf 7- 150).

Moosa regretted what he had done to his brother when he did not deserve that, so he said:

﴾...O my Lord, forgive me and my brother and admit us to Your mercy, for You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy, ﴿

Then he turned his attention to as-Samiri.

till jyu ili

20:95. Moosa said: And what is the matter with you, O Samiri?

20:96. He said: I saw what they did not see, so I took a handful [of dust] from the hoof print of the messenger Jibreel’s horse, and threw it [into the calf]. Thus my soul prompted me.

20:97. Moosa said: Begone then! Verily, your [punishment] in this life will be that you will say: Touch me not [and you will be an outcast]. And there awaits an appointed time for your reckoning that you cannot miss. Now look at your god, that you were worshipping. We will surely bum it then scatter its remains in the sea.

﴾Moosa said: And what is the matter with you, O Samiri?p that is, why did you do what you did?

As-Samiri said: ﴾fl saw what they did not see﴿ that is, he saw Jibreel (عليه السلام) on a horse when they came out of the sea, and Pharaoh and his troops drowned - this is according to what the commentators said. So I took a handful from the hoof print of his horse, and I threw it into the calf.

﴾Thus my soul prompted mep to take that handful and then throw it, then what happened happened.

Moosa said to him: f(Begone then﴿ that is, go far away from me and keep your distance

﴾Begone then! Verily, your [punishment] in this life will be that you will say: Touch me not﴿ that is, the punishment in this life is that no one will come near you and no one will touch you; even if someone wants to come near you, you will say to him: Do not touch me and do not come near me - as a punishment for what you did, for you touched something that no one else touched, and you did something that no one else did.

﴾ And there awaits an appointed time for your reckoning that you cannot miss﴿ and you will be requited for your deeds, both good and bad.

﴾Now look at your god, that you were worshipping﴿ namely the calf

﴾We will surely bum it then scatter its remains in the sea﴿. Moosa did that, and if it had been a god it would have protected itself from the one who intended to harm it and wanted to destroy it. The hearts of the Israelites had been filled with love for the calf, so Moosa (عليه السلام) wanted to destroy it as they were looking on, in such a way that it could not be restored, by burning it, crushing it and scattering its remains in the sea, so as to remove love for it from their hearts, just as the thing itself was to be removed; moreover, leaving it alone would﴾will surely bear a heavy burden [of sin] on the Day of Resurrection﴿ because of which he turned away from the Qur’an, and doing so led him to disbelief and negligence.

﴾abiding therein [in the punishment for that sin] forever﴿ that is, they will abide in that burden of sin forever; the sin itself will turn into punishment, according to how small or great it is.

﴾What a miserable burden it will be for them on the Day of Resurrection﴿ that is, what a wretched burden it is that they carry and what a wretched punishment they will be punished with on the Day of Resurrection.

Then Allah goes on to mention the state of affairs on the Day of Resurrection and the horrors thereof:

20:102. the day when the Trumpet will be blown; on that day the evildoers will be gathered together, their eyes blind.

20:103. They will whisper to one another: You stayed only for ten [days in the world].

20:104. We know best what they will say, but the most perceptive of them will say: You stayed only one day.

That is, when the Trumpet is blown and the people emerge from their graves, each according to his situation. So those who were pious and feared Allah will be gathered before the Most Gracious as an honoured delegation (cf 19. 85), and the evildoers will be gathered together, their eyes blind. They will converse with one another.whispering to one another about how brief their stay in this world was and how swiftly the hereafter has come. Some will say that they stayed only for ten days in this world, and others will say something else. Allah knows of their whispering and hears what they say.

﴾but the most perceptive of them﴿ that is, the one who is closest in his estimate to the facts

﴾will say: You stayed only one day﴿. What this signifies is great regret at how they wasted that short time and spent it careless and negligent, turning away from that which would have benefitted them and turning towards that which harmed them, and now requital has come and the warning of punishment will inevitably be fulfilled. So there is nothing left but regret and calls for doom and destruction.

This is like the passage in which Allah Ofe) says:

﴾Allah will say: How many years did you remain on earth? They will say: We remained there for a day, or part of a day. But ask those who keep count. Allah will say: You only remained there for a short while, if you had but known.﴿ (al-Mu minoon 23: 112-114)

20:105. They ask you [O Muhammad] about the mountains. Say: My Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust,

20:106. and He will leave the earth as a smooth, levelled plain,

20:107. In which you will see no depression or elevation.

20:108. On that day, they will follow the caller, without any deviation. All voices will be stilled before the Most Gracious, and you will not hear anything but a faint sound.

20:109. On that day, no intercession will be of any benefit except from one to whom the Most Gracious has given permission and with whose word He is pleased.

20:110. He knows what was before them and what will be after them, but they do not encompass it with their knowledge.

20:111. All faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Self- Sustaining and All-Sustaining, and the one who carries a burden of wrongdoing will surely be lost and doomed.

20:112. But whoever does righteous deeds and is a believer need have no fear of being wronged or deprived [of his just recompense].

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the horrors of the Day of Resurrection and what will occur then of earthquakes and upheaval.

tfThey ask you [O Muhammad] about the mountains﴿ that is, what will happen to them on the Day of Resurrection, and will they remain as they are or not?

﴾Say: My Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust﴿ that is, He will remove them from their places and they will become like carded wool, or like sand. Then He will crush them and make them scattered dust, so they will diminish and vanish. He will make them level with the earth, and He will make the earth a smooth levelled plain, which will be so flat that the onlooker will see no depression or elevation, no valleys or high ground. The earth will be made smooth and flat, and will be expanded to accommodate all creatures. Allah will spread it out like a leather mat, so they will all be standing in one place, they will all be able to hear the caller and they will all be seen at one time. Hence Allah says:

﴾On that day, they will follow the caller﴿) that is when they are resurrected and rise from their graves. The caller will call them to attend and gather in the gathering place. So they will follow him, hastening towards him, not turning away from him and not deviating to the right or left.

﴾without any deviation﴿ that is, they will not deviate from his call; rather the caller will call all the people and make them all hear, so they will all come to the place of standing with their voices stilled before the Most Gracious.

﴾and you will not hear anything but a faint sound﴿) that is, the sound of their footsteps or the sound of whispering which is moving the lips only. They will be overwhelmed by fear, quiet and attentive, awaiting the judgement of the Most Gracious, utterly humbled. In that great place of standing, you will see rich and poor, men and women, free and slave, kings and commoners, silent and attentive, their gazes lowered, their necks bent in submission, kneeling in humility, not knowing what the fate of each will be or what will be done to him. Each person will be preoccupied with himself and his own situation, and he will be heedless of his father, brother, friends and loved ones. ﴾Every one of them, on that day, will have too many concerns of his own to care about anyone else.﴿ CAbasa 80: 37)

At that time the Just Judge will pass judgement on them and will requite the doer of good for his good deeds and the doer of evil by depriving him of reward.

The hope that we have in the generous Lord, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful, is that He will show people grace, kindness, pardon and forgiveness such as cannot be described or imagined.

At that time all people will hope for His mercy because of what they see, but those who believed in Him and His Messengers will be singled out for mercy. If it is asked: on what basis do you have this hope? Or if you wish, you may say: how do you know what ismentioned above? Our response is: it is because of what we know about His mercy prevailing over His wrath, and what we know of His vast generosity which encompasses all of creation, and because of what we see in ourselves and others of abundant blessings in this realm, and especially what we know about His mercy on the Day of Resurrection, for Allah says: ﴾All voices will be stilled before the Most Gracious﴿ (20: 108) and ﴾except from one to whom the Most Gracious has given permission﴿, and He says elsewhere: ﴾On that day true dominion will belong to the Most Gracious...﴿

Moreover, the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

«Allah has one hundred parts of mercy, and He sent down to His slaves one part thereof, by virtue of which they show mercy and compassion to one another, and even the animal lifts its foot for fear of stepping on its offspring, because of the mercy instilled in its heart. Then when the Day of Resurrection comes, this part of mercy will be put back together with the other ninety-nine parts of mercy, whereby mercy will be shown to all people.» (Bukhari and Muslim)

and he said:

«Allah is more merciful towards His slaves than a mother towards her child.» (Muslim)

So say whatever you wish about His mercy; it is more than what you say. Imagine whatever you wish; it is far above that. So glory be to the One Who showed mercy in His justice and punishment, just as He showed mercy in His grace, kindness and reward.

Exalted be the One Whose mercy encompasses all things. Whose generosity encompasses all living beings. Glorified be the One Who has no need of His slaves and is merciful towards them, whilst they are in need of Him constantly, in all their affairs, so they cannot do without Him even for the blink of an eye.

﴾On that day, no intercession will be of any benefit except from one to whom the Most Gracious has given permission and with whose word He is pleased﴿ that is, no one among humankind can intercede with Him unless He has given permission for him to intercede, and He does not give permission to anyone except one with whose word - that is, his intercession - He is pleased, among the Prophets, Messengers and His slaves who are close to Him, for those with whose words and deeds He is pleased, namely the sincere believers. If any one of these conditions is not met, there is no way anyone can benefit from the intercession of anyone else.

In that place of standing, people will be divided into two groups, the first of which will be those who did wrong by disbelieving and committing evil deeds. These people will attain nothing but frustration, deprivation, the painful punishment in hell and the wrath of the Almighty Judge.

The second group is those who believed as enjoined and did righteous deeds, both obligatory and sunnah. They «fneed have no fear of being wronged﴿ that is, of anything being added to their bad deeds ﴾or deprived﴿ that is, of anything being detracted from their good deeds. Rather their sins will be forgiven, they will be cleansed of their faults and the reward for their good deeds will be multiplied.

f(...And if there is a good deed Allah will multiply it, and give an immense reward of His own.﴿ (an-Nisd '4. 40)

20:113. Thus We have sent it down, the Qur'an in Arabic, and given all kinds of warnings in it, so that they may fear Allah or pay heed.

That is, thus We have sent down this Book, in the noble Arabic language which you understand and comprehend, and none of its wordings or meanings are hidden from you.

﴾and given all kinds of warnings in it﴿ that is, We have given many various kinds of warnings, sometimes by mentioning divine names that are indicative of justice and vengeance, sometimes by giving examples of the punishments of previous nations and instructing later nations to learn from them, sometimes by mentioning the consequences of sin and how it makes a person look bad, sometimes by mentioning the horrors of the Day of Resurrection and what it involves of events that cause distress and anxiety, sometimes by mentioning hell and what it contains of all types of punishment and suffering. All of that is out of mercy towards people, so that they may fear Allah and give up evil and sin that bring them harm.

c-(or pay heed﴿ and thus start doing acts of obedience and good deeds that will benefit them. The fact that it is Arabic and that it gives all kinds of warnings is the greatest reason and greatest motive to follow the path of piety and righteous deeds, for if it was not Arabic or did not give all kinds of warnings, it would not have that impact.

20:114. So exalted be Allah, the True Sovereign. Do not hasten to repeat [the newly-revealed verses of] the Qur’an before its revelation to you is completed, and say: O my Lord, increase me in knowledge.

Having mentioned His decree concerning requital of His slaves and His decree concerning religious instructions that He revealed in His Book, which is a sign of His dominion, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) now says:

﴾So exalted be Allahthat is. He is most high and sublime, above having any defects or shortcomings.

﴾the True Sovereign﴿ Whose attribute is dominion and all creatures are His subjects, for the decree of the Sovereign with regard to universal or religious decrees is inevitable and binding. His existence, dominion and perfection are true; attributes of perfection cannot rightfully be attributed to any but the Owner of Majesty, which includes the attribute of sovereignty. Even if created beings may possess some sort of sovereignty at some times, over some things, this is sovereignty that is limited, imperfect and temporary. As for the Lord, He never ceases to be the Sovereign, Ever-Living, Self-Sustaining and All- Sustaining, and Majestic.

'﴾Do not hasten to repeat [the newly-revealed verses of] the Qur’an before its revelation to you is completed﴿ that is, do not hasten (O Muhammad [j^]) to repeat the verses of the Qur’an whilst Jibreel is still reciting them to you; be patient until he has finished, and when he has finished, then recite it, for Allah has guaranteed that you will be able to memorise it and recite it, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere: ﴾Do not move your tongue [O Prophet] in haste to repeat and memorize this revelation. Verily, it is incumbent upon Us to enable you to memorize it and enable you to recite it. So when We recite it [through Jibreel], follow its recitation attentively. Then it is incumbent upon Us to make its meanings clear.﴿ (al-Qiyamah 75:16-19)

Because the Prophet’s hastening to repeat the Revelation was indicative of his perfect love for knowledge and his eagerness to acquire it, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructed him to ask Him for more knowledge, for knowledge is good and to have a great deal of goodness is something that is required. It is from Allah, and the way to attain it is by striving, longing for knowledge, asking Allah for it, seeking His help and acknowledging one’s need for Him at all times.

From this verse we learn the etiquette of receiving knowledge, and that the one who listens to knowledge must be patient and waituntil the teacher has finished speaking, because what he wants to say is interconnected. Then when he has finished, the one who has questions may ask him. He should not hasten to ask questions and interrupt the teacher when he is speaking, because that is a cause of being deprived of knowledge. At the same time, the one who is asked a question should try to understand what the questioner is asking and find out what he really wants to know before answering, because that will help him to give the right answer.

20:115. Indeed We gave a command to Adam before, but he forgot, and We found him lacking in firm resolve.

That is, We instructed Adam and made a covenant with him so that he would adhere to it, and he did adhere to it, submit to it and comply with it, and he resolved to carry it out. Yet despite that, he forgot what he had been instructed to do and his strong resolve wavered. Therefore what happened to him happened. He became a lesson for his offspring, and their nature became like his. Adam forgot so his offspring forget; he did wrong so they do wrong. He could not adhere to what he firmly resolved to do, and they are the same. But he hastened to repent from his error, and he admitted and acknowledged it, so he was forgiven, and whoever does as his father (Adam) did will not go wrong.

Then Allah discusses in detail that which He spoke of in general terms:

till jjc

20:116. And [remember] when We said to the angels: Prostrate before Adam, and they [all] prostrated except Jblees; he refused.

20:117. We said: O Adam, verily this is an enemy to you and your wife; do not let him drive you both out of paradise, for then you will be put to toil.

20:118. [But] here [in paradise] it is granted to you that you will not go hungry or be naked,

20:119. Nor will you be thirsty here [in paradise] or suffer from the sun’s heat.

20:120. Then Shaytan whispered to him, saying: O Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality and a dominion that will never decay?

20:121. So they both ate from the tree, then their private parts became visible to them, so they began to put together leaves from the garden to cover themselves. Thus Adam disobeyed his Lord, and fell into error.

20:122. Then his Lord brought him close, accepted his repentance, and guided him.

That is, after He had finished creating Adam with His Hand, and after He had taught him the names of all things and favoured and honoured him. He commended the angels to prostrate to him by way of honour and respect, and they hastened to prostrate in obedience to the command. But among them was Iblees, who was too arrogant to obey the command of his Lord. He refused to prostrate to Adam and he said:﴾...! am better than he; You created me from fire and You created him from clay.﴿ (al-A ‘rdf 7: 12)

At that point his extreme animosity towards Adam and his wife became clear, because he was an enemy to Allah. He also showed his envy, which was the reason for his animosity. So Allah warned Adam and his wife against him, saying: ﴾do not let him drive you both out of paradise, for then you will be put to toil﴿ if you are driven out of it. For in it you have readily available provision and a life of ease.

﴾f[But] here [in paradise] it is granted to you that you will not go hungry or be naked, nor will you be thirsty here [in paradise] or suffer from the sun’s heat﴿. Thus he was guaranteed a perpetual supply of food, drink, clothing and water, with no toil or exhaustion, but He forbade him to eat from a particular tree, and said:

«(...but do not approach this tree, or else you will both become transgressors.﴿ (al-A ‘rdf 7: 19)

But Shaytan kept on inciting them and making the idea of eating from that tree fair-seeming to them, saying:

Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality﴿ that is, a tree which whoever eats from it will live forever in paradise.

﴾and a dominion that will never decay﴿ that is, it will never end, if you eat from it. He approached him as a sincere adviser, using gentle words, and Adam was deceived by him. They both ate from the tree, then they fell into despair; their clothes fell from them and their sin became apparent to them. The private parts of each of them became visible to the other, after they had been covered, and they began to put together leaves from the garden to cover themselves. They felt very embarrassed before Allah, the extent of which only Allah knows.

﴾Thus Adam disobeyed his Lord, and fell into error﴿, but they both hastened to repent and turn back to Allah. They both said: ﴾f...Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be among the losers.﴿

So his Lord brought him close, chose him and enabled him to repent.

﴾accepted his repentance, and guided him﴿. After repenting, he was better than he had been before, so this scheme of his enemy backfired and his plot failed. The blessing was perfected for Adam and his offspring, and it became obligatory for them to show gratitude for the blessing and acknowledge it, and to beware of this enemy who was always with them, watching out by night and day.

﴾fO children of Adam, do not let Shaytan deceive you, as he caused your parents to be expelled from the garden, stripping them of their garments and making their private parts visible to them. For he and his offspring see you from where you cannot see them. We have made the devils friends and allies of those who do not believe.﴿ (al-A 'rdf 7: 27)

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20:123. Allah said: Go down from here, all of you, as enemies to one another. Then when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance will not go astray or suffer wretchedness.

20:124. But whoever turns away from My Reminder [the Qur’an] will have a miserable life, and on the Day of Resurrection We will raise him up blind.

20:125. He will say: O my Lord, why have You raised me up blind, when I was able to see before?

20:126. Allah will say: Just as Our revelations came to you and you disregarded them, so will you, on this day, be disregarded.

20:127. Thus do We requite him who transgresses beyond bounds and does not believe in the revelations of his Lord; and the punishment of the hereafter is more severe and more lasting.

Here Allah tells us that He instructed Adam and Iblees to go down to the earth, and He decreed that Adam and his offspring should take the Shaytan as their enemy and beware of him, and they should take precautions and be prepared to fight him. Allah told Adam that He would send down Books to them and would send Messengers to them to explain to them the straight path that leads to Him and to His paradise, and to warn them against this avowed enemy. Whenever guidance came to them, in the form of the Books and Messengers, whoever followed that guidance, did what he was instructed to do and refrained from what was prohibited, would not go astray in this world or the hereafter, and would not suffer wretchedness in either realm; rather he would be guided to the straight path in this world and the hereafter, and he would attain happiness and safety in the hereafter.

Elsewhere, Allah tells us that such a one will not fear or grieve, as He says:

ff.. .whosoever follows My guidance will have no fear, nor will they grieve.﴿ (al-Baqarah 2: 38)

Following true guidance means believing in the text and not rejecting it on the basis of doubts and specious arguments, and complying with the command and not going against it by following whims and desires.

﴾But whoever turns away from My Reminder﴿ that is, My Book by means of which he will be reminded of all sublime aims and goals; whoever turns away from it due to lack of interest in it or - what is worse - turns away from it because he rejects it and does not believe in it﴾will have a miserable life﴿ that is, his requital will be that We will make his life difficult and hard; this cannot mean anything other than a life of pain and suffering.

The phrase ﴾miserable life﴿ has also been interpreted as referring to the punishment in the grave, for his grave will be narrow and he will be compressed in it and punished, as a requital for turning away from the reminder of his Lord. This is one of the verses that point to the punishment in the grave; the second such verse is:

.If you [O Muhammad] could but see the evildoers when they are in the throes of death and the angels are stretching out their hands...﴿

The third verse is:

?]We will surely cause them to taste a lesser punishment before the greater punishment...﴿ (as-Sajdah 32: 21)

- and the fourth verse is that in which Allah said concerning the people of Pharaoh:

﴾The fire, which will be shown to them morning and afternoon...﴿

What made some of the earlier scholars think that this refers to the punishment of the grave only and limit its interpretation to that only - and Allah knows best - is the end of the verse (20:124) quoted above, at the end of which Allah mentions the punishment of the Day of Resurrection.

Some commentators thought that the phrase ﴾miserable life﴿ applies to this world, and what befalls the one who turns away from his Lord’s reminder of distress, grief and pain, which is a kind of hastened portion of the punishment, as well as what will befall him in al-barzakh and in the hereafter, because the phrase ﴾miserable life﴿ is mentioned in general terms and is not specific, so it may refer to any stage.

﴾and on the Day of Resurrection We will raise him up blind﴿ in a real, physical sense, according to the correct view. This refers to the one who turns away from the reminder of his Lord. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

((...On the Day of Resurrection, We will gather them on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf... ﴿ (al-lsra' 17: 97)

He (the one who is raised in such a manner) will say, by way of feeling humiliation, enquiring, expressing pain and complaining about his situation:

c(0 my Lord, why have You raised me up blind, when I was able to see before?﴿ - that is, in the previous world. What has brought me to this horrible situation?

﴾Allah will say: Just as Our revelations came to you and you disregarded them﴿ by turning away from them ﴾so will you, on this day, be disregarded﴿ that is, you will be left to suffer the punishment.

So the answer will be that this is exactly what you did, for the requital is of the same nature as the deed. Just as you were blind to the remembrance of your Lord, and you turned away and forgot Him, and you forgot your share of the reminder, Allah will make you blind in the hereafter, and you will be resurrected to the fire, blind, deaf and dumb, for He will have turned away from you and forgotten you, leaving you to suffer the punishment.

﴾Thus﴿ with this punishment

﴾do We requite him who transgresses beyond bounds﴿ by overstepping the mark and going beyond the bounds of what is permissible to commit what is prohibited

﴾and does not believe in the revelations of his Lord﴿ that clearly point to the requirements of faith; Allah will not have wronged him and will not have punished him when he did not deserve it; rather the reason for that is his transgression and lack of faith.

﴾fand the punishment of the hereafter is more severe﴿ that is, many times more severe than punishment in this world ﴾fand more lasting﴿ because it never ends, unlike worldly punishment, which does come to an end. So what is required is to fear Allah and beware of the punishment of the hereafter.

20:128. Has it not become clear to them how many nations We destroyed before them, in whose dwelling places they now walk about? Surely in that there are signs for people of sound intellect.

That is, has it not become clear to these disbelievers who turn away? They should be prompted to follow the path of guidance and to avoid the path of misguidance and wickedness, by the punishment that Allah sent down upon the disbelievers who came before them, of past nations and successive nations whose stories they know, and they tell one another about their stories, and they see with their own eyes the dwellings left behind by those people, such as the people of Hood, Salih, Loot and others. When they rejected Our Messengers and turned away from our Books, we sent upon them the painful punishment.

What guarantee do these people have that the same fate will not befall them as befell those people?

﴾Are your disbelievers [O Quraysh] better than those, or have you been promised immunity in the [earlier] scriptures? Or do they say: We are a united group, bound to prevail?﴿ (al-Qamar 54: 43-44)

The answer is none of these; these disbelievers are no better than those of the past, such that the punishment could be warded off fromthem because of their goodness. In fact they are worse than them, because they disbelieved in the noblest of the Messengers and the best of the Books. They have not been granted any immunity in the scriptures or any covenant with Allah, and they are not as they say, that their large number and unity will benefit them and protect them, for they are too insignificant for that.

The destruction of previous nations for their sins is one of the means of guidance, because it is one of the signs that point to the truthfulness of the message brought to them by the Messengers and the falseness of the path they were following. But not everyone benefits from the signs; rather it is people of sound intellect and upright nature who benefit, as these characteristics restrain them from doing that which is not appropriate.

20:129. Were it not for a prior decree from your Lord, and a term [of respite] already fixed, [their punishment in this world] would have been inevitable.

20:130. So bear patiently what they say, and glorify and praise your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting, and glorify Him during the night and during the day, so that you may be pleased [with the reward that Allah will give you].

These words offer consolation to the Messenger (ﷺ) and encourage him to be patient and not hasten to seek the destruction of the disbelievers who turn away, for their disbelief and rejection inand of themselves form a good reason for punishment to inevitably befall them, because Allah has made the punishments to be the result and inevitable consequence of sin.

These people have done that which leads to the cause of punishment, but what delayed its coming was the decree of your Lord, which dictated that they should be given respite and the punishment should be delayed, and the duration of the respite had already been determined. It is the predetermined period of respite, in fulfilment of the divine decree, that caused the punishment to be delayed until the time for it came, so that they might pay heed to the command of Allah and repent, so that He might accept their repentance and lift the punishment, if it had not yet become inevitable.

Therefore Allah instructed His Messenger (ﷺ) to be patient in bearing their offensive words, and He instructed him to seek His help by glorifying and praising his Lord at these times of virtue, before sunrise and sunset, and during the day, and at some times of the night. (In other words,) perhaps if you do that, you will be content with what your Lord has given you of reward in this world and the hereafter, your heart will be reassured, you will find joy in worshipping your Lord, and you will be distracted thereby from thinking about their offensive words, and thus patience will become easy for you.

20:131. Do not look longingly at the good things We have given some among them to enjoy, the splendour of the life of this world, so that We may test them thereby. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.

That is, do not be unduly impressed and do not look repeatedly and admiringly at different aspects of this world and those who are enjoying them, such as delicious food and drink, fine clothing, beautiful houses, and adorned women, for all of that is merely the splendour of the life of this world. People who are deceived by this life are excited about these things and they dazzle the eyes of those who turn away from the truth, and the wrongdoers enjoy these things without paying any attention to the hereafter. But this world will soon come to an end, and everything in it will cease to be; it destroys those who love it and are infatuated by it, but they will regret it at a time when regret will be of no benefit, and they will realise, when the Resurrection comes, that what they were pursuing was no more than a trial and test from Allah, to find out who would make this world his sole concern and be deceived by it, and who would do good, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾Verily, We have made all that is on earth as an adornment for it, in order to test them [humankind] and see which of them are best in conduct. And verily We will reduce all that is on it to a barren wasteland.﴿ (al-Kahf 18: 7-8)

﴾The provision of your Lord﴿ in this world of knowledge, faith, and righteous deeds, and in the hereafter of eternal bliss and a good life in closeness to the Most Gracious Lord,

﴾is better﴿ in essence and attributes than enjoyment in this life, c-(and more lasting﴿ because it will never end; its food and shade will be perpetual, as Allah says elsewhere:

﴾But you [O humankind] prefer the life of this world, even though the hereafter is better and more lasting.﴿ (al-A 'la 87: 16-17)

This verse indicates that if an individual notices in himself any aspiration for the adornment of this world and finds himself interested in pursuing it, he should remind himself of what lies ahead of the provision of his Lord, and he should weigh up the two matters.orr 4(ff)

20:132. Enjoin your family [and your people] to establish prayer and remain steadfast therein. We do not ask you for provision; rather it is We who provide for you. And the best outcome is for those who fear Allah.

That is, encourage and urge your family to establish prayer, both obligatory and supererogatory. Enjoining prayer also implicitly enjoins everything without which it cannot be done. Hence this is a command to teach them how to pray, teach them what could invalidate the prayer, and teach them how to pray properly.

﴾and remain steadfast therein﴿? that is, remain steadfast in performing the prayer in the proper manner, paying attention to its essential parts, etiquette and focus of mind. If anyone finds that difficult, he should force himself to do it and strive to achieve that, and he should be patient in so doing. If he performs his prayer in the manner enjoined, he will be more careful and observant with regard to other matters of his religion, but if he neglects it, he will be more careless with regard to other matters. Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) guarantees provision to His Messenger (ﷺ), so he should not be distracted by thinking of it from carrying out the commands of his religion.

﴾rather it is We who provide for you﴿ that is, your provision is due from Us and We guarantee it, just as We guarantee the provision of all creatures, so how about one who complies with Our commands and focuses on remembering Us? The provision of Allah is guaranteed to all, both those who fear Him and others, so we should focus our attention on that which will bring eternal happiness, which is piety or fear of Allah (taqwa). Hence Allah says:f﴾And the best outcome﴿ in this world and the hereafter ﴾is for those who fear Allah﴿, which means doing what is enjoined and refraining from what is prohibited. Whoever does that will have the best outcome, as Allah says elsewhere:

. .and the best outcome is for those who fear Allah. j﴿ (al-A 'rdf 7:128)

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20:133. They say: Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord? Has there not come to them that which explains and confirms what was in the earlier scriptures [namely the Qur’an]?

20:134. If We had destroyed them with a punishment before this, they would have said: Our Lord, why did You not send to us a Messenger so that we could have followed Your revelations before we were humiliated and disgraced?

20:135. Say: Each of us is waiting; so wait, and you will come to know who is following the straight path and who is rightly guided.

Those who disbelieved in the Messenger (ﷺ) said: Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord? What they meant was the signs that they themselves demanded. This is like the verse in which Allah

﴾They say: We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us; or you have a garden of date palms and vines, and you cause rivers to gush forth in their midst; or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, as you claimed [will happenon the Day of Resurrection]; or you bring Allah and the angels before

This was obstinacy, stubbornness and wrongdoing on their part, for they and the Messenger (ﷺ) were all humans and slaves of Allah, so it was not appropriate for them to demand signs according to their own whims and desires; rather it is the One Who sends down the signs Who chooses them according to His wisdom, and that is Allah.

Because their words ﴾Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?﴿ implied that he had not brought them a sign to confirm his truthfulness, these words are to be regarded as a lie and fabrication, because he had indeed brought clear miracles and overwhelming signs, any one of which would be sufficient to achieve the purpose. Hence Allah says:

﴾Has there not come to them﴿, if they are sincere in what they say and are really seeking truth that is based on evidence,

﴾that which explains and confirms what was in the earlier scriptures?﴿ namely this Qur’an, which confirms that which was in the earlier scriptures, such as the Torah, Gospel and so on, with which it is in harmony, and it tells of what they told before, and they also offer testimony for the Qur’an and foretell of the Messenger (ﷺ). This is like the verse in which Allah says:

﴾Is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book [Qur’an] which is recited to them? Verily, in that is mercy and a reminder for people who believe.﴿ (al- ‘Ankaboot 29: 51)

The signs benefit the believers, and increase them in faith and certainty; as for those who turn away from them and oppose them, they will not believe in them and will not benefit from them.

﴾Verily, those against whom the decree of your Lord is fulfilled will not believe, even if every sign were to come to them, until they see [for themselves] the painful punishment.﴿ (Yoonus 10: 96-97)

Rather the benefit in showing them Our signs is to establish the proof of Allah against them, lest they say when the punishment befalls them: ﴾Our Lord, why did You not send to us a Messenger so that we could have followed Your revelations before we were humiliated and disgraced﴿ by the punishment? For His Messenger did indeed come, bringing with him His signs and proof; so if you are as you claim, then believe in him.

Say, O Muhammad (ﷺ), to those who reject you and who say: wait for some misfortune to befall him

﴾Say: Each of us is waiting﴿, so wait for my death, and I will wait for the punishment to befall you.

c-(Say: Are you waiting for anything to happen to us except one of the two good things [victory or martyrdom]? But we are waiting for Allah to afflict you with a punishment, either from Himself or at our

﴾so wait, and you will come to know who is following the straight path and who is rightly guided﴿ in his attitude, me or you, because the one who has the right attitude is the winner and is rightly guided, and he will be saved and will triumph. But the one who diverts from that path will be a loser and a failure, and he will be punished.

Thus it is known that it is the Messenger (ﷺ) who is like that, and his enemies are something other than that. And Allah knows best.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat fa Ha.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.