Surah 20. Ta-Ha

and leave the earth⁸⁹ level and bare,

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "leave it" - the pronoun relating, by implication, to the earth (Zamakhshari and Razi).

He will turn the earth into a plain leveled ground,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

leaving the earth level and bare,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And leave it as an empty plain,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"He will leave them as plains smooth and level;"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[so that] thou wilt see no curve thereon, and no ruggedness."⁹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

In the eschatology of the Qur'an, the "end of the world" does not signify an annihilation-i.e., reduction to nothingness - of the physical universe but, rather, its fundamental, cataclysmic transformation into something that men cannot now visualize. This is brought out in many allegorical allusions to the Last Day, e.g., in 14:48 , which speaks of "the Day when the earth shall be changed into another earth, as shall be the heavens".

wherein you will not see neither any curve nor crease."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

with neither depressions nor elevations to be seen.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Wherein thou seest neither curve nor ruggedness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nothing crooked or curved wilt thou see in their place."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

On that Day, all will follow the summoning Voice from which there will be no escape;⁹¹ and all sounds will be hushed before the Most Gracious, and thou wilt hear nothing but a faint sough in the air.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the caller in whom there will be no deviation (la 'iwaja lahu)" - i.e., the summons to the Last Judgment.

- On that Day the people will follow the call of the Caller, no one will dare show any crookedness; their voices hushed before the Beneficent (Allah), and you shall here nothing but the sound of the marching feet.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On that Day all will follow the caller 'for assembly', 'and' none will dare to deviate. All voices will be hushed before the Most Compassionate. Only whispers¹ will be heard.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This can also mean “footsteps.”

On that day they follow the summoner who deceiveth not, and voices are hushed for the Beneficent, and thou hearest but a faint murmur.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On that Day will they follow the Caller (straight): no crookedness (can they show) him: all sounds shall humble themselves in the presence of (Allah) Most Gracious: nothing shalt thou hear but the tramp of their feet (as they march). ^{2632 2633}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Caller: the angel whose voice will call and direct all souls.

A beautiful personification of hushed Sound. First there is the loud blast of the Trumpet. Then there is the stillness and hush of awe and reverence: only the tramp of the ranks marching along will be heard.

On that Day, intercession shall be of no avail [to any] save him in whose case the Most Gracious will have granted leave therefor, and whose word [of faith] He will have accepted:⁹²

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the Qur'anic concept of "intercession" on the Day of Judgment, see note [7] on 10:3 . The "word [of faith]" referred to towards the end of the above verse is - according to Ibn 'Abbas (as quoted by Baghawi) - a metonym for the belief that "there is no deity save God", i.e., the realization of His oneness and uniqueness. See also 19:87 and the corresponding note [74].

On that Day, no intercession will avail except the one to whom the Beneficent (Allah) shall grant permission and would like to give him a hearing.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

On that Day no intercession will be of any benefit, except by those granted permission by the Most Compassionate and whose words are agreeable to Him.

  - Mustafa Khattab

On that Day no intercession availeth save (that of) him unto whom the Beneficent hath given leave and whose He accepteth:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

On that Day shall no intercession avail except for those for whom permission has been granted by (Allah) Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him. ²⁶³⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 255 in the Verse of the Throne. Here man is in the accusative case governed by tanfa'u, and it is better to construe as I have done. That is, intercession will benefit no one except those for whom Allah has granted permission, and whose word (of repentance) is true and sincere, and therefore acceptable to Allah. Others construe: no intercession will avail, except by those to whom Allah has granted permission, and whose word (of intercession) is acceptable to Allah. In that case the two distinct clauses have no distinct meanings.

[for] He knows all that lies open before men and all that is hidden from them,⁹³ whereas they cannot encompass Him with their knowledge.

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of this phrase - which occurs in exactly the same wording in 2:255 , {21: 28} and 22:76 as well - see surah {2}, note [247].

He knows what is before them and what is behind them while they do not encompass any knowledge about Him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He 'fully' knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them,¹ but they cannot encompass Him in 'their' knowledge.²

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Allah fully knows what fate awaits them and what they did in the world.

 Or “… they cannot encompass His knowledge.”

He knoweth (all) that is before them and (all) that is behind them, while they cannot compass it in knowledge.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them: but they shall not compass it with their knowledge. ²⁶³⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf.ii. 255 and n. 297. The slight difference in phraseology (which I have tried to preserve in the Translation) will be understood as a beauty when we reflect that here our attention is directed to the Day of Judgment, and in ii. 255 the wording is general, and applies to our present state also.

And [on that Day] all faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being; and undone shall be he who bears [a burden of] evildoing⁹⁴ -

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., evildoing which has not been atoned for by repentance before death (Razi). In this particular context, it may be an allusion to the rejection of God's guidance - His "reminder" - spoken of in verses {99-101}.

Their faces shall be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Ever-existent (Allah). The one who is carrying the burden of iniquity will be doomed:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And all faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. And those burdened with wrongdoing will be in loss.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And faces humble themselves before the Living, the Eternal. And he who beareth (a burden of) wrongdoing is indeed a failure (on that Day).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) the Living the Self-Subsisting Eternal: hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back). ²⁶³⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The metaphor of the burden of sin which the unjust carry on their backs is referred to in xx. 100-101 (see n. 2626), in vi. 31, and in other passages. Note that all faces, those of the just as well as of the unjust, will be humble before Allah: the best of us can claim no merit equal to Allah's Grace. But the just will have Hope: while the unjust, now that the curtain of Reality has risen, will be in absolute Despair!

whereas anyone who will have done [whatever he could] of righteous deeds, and was a believer withal, need have no fear of being wronged or deprived [of aught of his me it].⁹⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "no fear of [any] wrong" - i.e., punishment for any sin which he may have contemplated but not committed-"and neither of a diminution", i.e., of his merit: cf. the twice-repeated statement in {16:96-97} that the righteous shall be recompensed in the hereafter "in accordance with the best that they ever did".

but the one who is a believer and does good deeds shall fear no tyranny or injustice.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But whoever does good and is a believer will have no fear of being wronged or denied 'their reward'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And he who hath done some good works, being a believer, he feareth not injustice nor begrudging (of his wage).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But he who works deeds of righteousness and has faith will have no fear of harm nor of any curtailment (of what is his due). ²⁶³⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See the last note. Unlike the unjust, the righteous, who have come with Faith, will now find their Faith justified: not only will they be free from any fear of harm, but they will be rewarded to the full, or, as has been said in other passages, where His bounty rather than His justice is emphasised, they will get more than their due reward (iii. 27; xxxix. 10).

AND THUS⁹⁶ have We bestowed from on high this [divine writ] as a discourse in the Arabic tongue,⁹⁷ and have given therein many facets to all manner of warnings, so that men might remain conscious of Us, or that it give rise to new awareness in them.⁹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

As in verse {99} above - with which this passage connects - the adverb kadhalika ("thus") refers to the method and purpose of the Qur'an.

Lit., "as an Arabic discourse (qur’an)". See, in particular, 12:2 , 13:37 , 14:4 and 19:97 , as well as the corresponding notes.

Lit., "so that they might be [or "remain"] God-conscious, or that it create for them a remembrance", i.e., of God. The verb ahdatha signifies "he brought [something] into existence", i.e., newly or for the first time, while the noun dhikr denotes "remembrance" as well as the "presence [of something] in the mind" (Raghib), i.e., awareness.

Thus have we sent down this Qur'an in Arabic and clearly proclaimed in it some of the warnings so that they may take heed or that it may serve as a reminder to them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And so We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran and varied the warnings in it, so perhaps they will shun evil or it may cause them to be mindful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Thus We have revealed it as a Lecture in Arabic, and have displayed therein certain threats, that peradventure they may keep from evil or that it may cause them to take heed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thus have we sent this down an Arabic Qur'an and explained therein in detail some of the warnings in order that they may fear Allah or that it may cause their remembrance (of Him). ²⁶³⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Qur-an is in clear Arabic, so that even an unlearned people like the Arabs might understand and profit by its warnings, and the rest of the world may learn through them, as they did in the first few centuries of Islam and may do again when we Muslims show ourselves worthy to explain and exemplify its meaning. The evil are warned that they may repent; the good are confirmed in their Faith and strengthened by their remembrance of Him.

[Know,] then, [that] God is sublimely exalted, the Ultimate Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth:⁹⁹ and [knowing this,] do not approach the Qur'an in haste,¹⁰⁰ ere it has been revealed unto thee in full, but [always] say: "O my Sustainer, cause me to grow in knowledge!¹⁰¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Whenever the noun al-haqq is used as a designation of God, it signifies "the Truth" in the absolute, intrinsic sense, eternally and immutably existing beyond the ephemeral, changing phenomena of His creation: hence, "the Ultimate Truth". God’s attribute of al-malik, on the other hand, denotes His absolute sway over all that exists and can, therefore, be suitably rendered as "the Ultimate Sovereign".

Lit., "be not hasty with the Qur'an" (see next note).

Although it is very probable that - as most of the classical commentators point out - this exhortation was in the first instance addressed to the Prophet Muhammad, there is no doubt that it applies to every person, at all times, who reads the Qur’an. The idea underlying the above verse may be summed up thus: Since the Qur’an is the Word of God, all its component parts - phrases, sentences, verses and surahs - form one integral, coordinated whole (cf. the last sentence of 25:32 and the corresponding note [27]). Hence, if one is really intent on understanding the Qur’anic message, one must beware of a "hasty approach" - that is to say, of drawing hasty conclusions from isolated verses or sentences taken out of their context - but should, rather, allow the whole of the Qur'an to be revealed to one’s mind before attempting to interpret singe aspects of its message. (See also {75:16-19} and the corresponding notes.)

High and exalted be Allah, the True King! Do not hasten to recite the Qur'an before its revelation is completely conveyed to you, and then say: "O Rabb! Increase my knowledge."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Exalted is Allah, the True King! Do not rush to recite 'a revelation of' the Quran 'O Prophet' before it is 'properly' conveyed to you,¹ and pray, 'My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The Prophet (ﷺ) was eager to recite the Quran while it was being revealed to him through the angel Gabriel. So he (ﷺ) was told to take his time to learn it by heart once the verses are properly delivered to him.

Then exalted be Allah, the True King! And hasten not (O Muhammad) with the Quran ere its revelation hath been perfected unto thee, and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

High above all is Allah the King the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee is completed but say "O my Lord! advance me in knowledge." ²⁶³⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah is above every human event or desire. His purpose is universal. But He is the Truth, the absolute Truth; and His kingdom is the true kingdom, that can carry out its will. That Truth unfolds itself gradually, as it did in the gradual revelation of the Qur-an to the holy Prophet. But even after it was completed in a volume, its true meaning and purpose only gradually unfold themselves to any given individual or nation. No one should be impatient about it. On the contrary, we should always pray for increase in our own knowledge, which can never at any given moment be complete.

AND, INDEED, long ago did We impose Our commandment on Adam;¹⁰² but he forgot it, and We found no firmness of purpose in him.

  - Mohammad Asad

The relevant divine commandment - or, rather, warning - is spelled out in verse {117}. The present passage connects with the statement in verse {99}, "Thus do We relate unto thee some of the stories of what happened in the past", and is meant to show that negligence of spiritual truths is one of the recurrent characteristics of the human race (Razi), which is symbolized here - as in many other places in the Qur'an - by Adam.

We had taken a covenant from Adam before, but he forgot. We did not find in him firm determination.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And indeed, We once made a covenant with Adam, but he forgot, and 'so' We did not find determination in him.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And verily We made a covenant of old with Adam, but he forgot, and We found no constancy in him.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We had already beforehand taken the covenant of Adam but he forgot: and We found on his part no firm resolve. ²⁶⁴⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The spiritual fall of two individual souls, Pharaoh and the Samiri, having been referred to, the one through overweening arrogance, and the other through a spirit of mischief and false harking back to the past, our attention is now called to the prototype of Evil (satan) who tempted Adam, the original Man, and to the fact that though man was clearly warned that satan is his enemy and will only effect his ruin, he showed so little firmness that he succumbed to it at once at the first opportunity.

For [thus it was:] when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" - they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis, who refused [to do it],¹⁰³

  - Mohammad Asad

See {2:30-34} and the corresponding notes, especially [23], [25] and [26], as well as note [31] on 15:41 . Since - as I have shown in those notes - the faculty of conceptual thinking is man’s outstanding endowment, his "forgetting" God’s commandment - resulting from a lack of all "firmness of purpose" in the domain of ethics - is an evidence of the moral weakness characteristic of the human race (cf. 4:28 - "man has been created weak"): and this, in its turn, explains man s dependence on unceasing divine guidance, as pointed out in verse {113} above.

When We said to the angels "Prostrate yourselves before Adam", they all prostrated themselves except Iblees (Shaitan),: who refused.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And 'remember' when We said to the angels, 'Prostrate before Adam,' so they all did- but not Iblîs,¹ who refused 'arrogantly'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 2:34.

And when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, they fell prostrate (all) save Iblis; he refused.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When We said to the angels "Prostrate yourselves to Adam" they prostrated themselves but not Iblis: he refused.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

and thereupon We said: "O Adam! Verily, this is a foe unto thee and thy wife: so let him not drive the two of you out of this garden and renderthee unhappy.¹⁰⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "so that thou wilt become unhappy". Regarding the significance of "the garden spoken of here, see surah {2}, note [27].

Then We said: "O Adam! This Shaitan is a real enemy to you and to your wife. Do not let him get you both out of Paradise and get you in trouble.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We cautioned, 'O Adam! This is surely an enemy to you and to your wife. So do not let him drive you both out of Paradise, for you 'O Adam' would then suffer 'hardship'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Therefor We said: O Adam! This is an enemy unto thee and unto thy wife, so let him not drive you both out of the Garden so that thou come to toil.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then We said: "O Adam! verily this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden so that thou art landed in misery. ²⁶⁴¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See last note. The story is referred to in order to draw attention to man's folly in rushing into the arms of satan though he had been clearly forewarned.

Behold, it is provided for thee that thou shalt not hunger here or feel naked,¹⁰⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "be naked": but in view of the statement in verse {121} (as well as in {7: 22}) to the effect that only after their fall from grace did Adam and Eve become "conscious of their nakedness", it is but logical to assume that the words "that thou shalt not... be naked" have a spiritual significance, implying that man, in his original state of innocence, would not feel naked despite all absence of clothing. (For the deeper implications of this allegory, see note [14] on 7:20 .)

Here in Paradise you shall go neither hungry nor naked;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Here it is guaranteed that you will never go hungry or unclothed,

  - Mustafa Khattab

It is (vouchsafed) unto thee that thou hungerest not therein nor art naked,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor to go naked" ²⁶⁴²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Not only had the warning been given that satan is an enemy to man and will effect his destruction, but it was clearly pointed out that all his needs were being met in the Garden of Happiness. Food and clothing, drink and shelter, were amply provided for.

and that thou shalt not thirst here or suffer from the heat of the sun."

  - Mohammad Asad

you shall neither suffer from thirst nor from the scorching heat."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

nor will you 'ever' suffer from thirst or 'the sun's' heat.'¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 There is no sun or cold weather in Paradise, only light. See 76:13.

And thou thirstest not therein nor art exposed to the sun's heat.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Nor to suffer from thirst nor from the sun's heat."

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But Satan whispered unto him, saying: "O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the tree of life eternal, and [thus] to a kingdom that will never decay?"¹⁰⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

This symbolic tree is designated in the Bible as "the tree of life" and "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis ii, 9), while in the above Qur'anic account Satan speaks of it as "the tree of life eternal (al-khuld)". Seeing that Adam and Eve did not achieve immortality despite their tasting the forbidden fruit, it is obvious that Satan's suggestion was, as it always is, deceptive. On the other hand, the Qur'an tells us nothing about the real nature of that "tree" beyond pointing out that it was Satan who described it - falsely - as "the tree of immortality": and so we may assume that the forbidden tree is simply an allegory of the limits which the Creator has set to man's desires and actions: limits beyond which he may not go without offending against his own, God-willed nature. Man's desire for immortality on earth implies a wishful denial of death and resurrection, and thus of the ultimate reality of what the Qur'an describes as "the hereafter" or "the life to come" (al-akhirah). This desire is intimately connected with Satan's insinuation that it is within man's reach to become the master of "a kingdom that will never decay": in other words to become "free" of all limitations and thus, in the last resort, of the very concept of God - the only concept which endows human life with real meaning and purpose.

- But Shaitan seduced him saying: "O Adam! Should I show you the Tree of Immortality and an everlasting kingdom?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But Satan whispered to him, saying, 'O Adam! Shall I show you the Tree of Immortality and a kingdom that does not fade away?'

  - Mustafa Khattab

But the Devil whispered to him, saying: O Adam! Shall I show thee the tree of immortality and power that wasteth not away?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But Satan whispered evil to him: he said "O Adam! shall I lead thee to Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?" ²⁶⁴³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The suggestion of satan is clever, as it always is: it is false, and at the same time plausible. It is false, because (1) that felicity was not temporary, like the life of this world, and (2) they were supreme in the Garden, and a "kingdom" such as was dangled before them would only add to their sorrows. It was plausible, because (1) nothing had been said to them about Eternity, as the opposite of Eternity was not yet known, and (2) the sweets of Power arise from the savour of Self, and Self is an alluring (if false) attraction that misleads the Will.