Surah 20. Ta-Ha

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 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

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

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

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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

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

[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

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

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

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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

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

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

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

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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

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

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And so the two ate [of the fruit] thereof: and thereupon they became conscious of their nakedness and began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And [thus] did Adam disobey his Sustainer, and thus did he fall into grievous error.¹⁰⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the symbolism of Adam and Eve's becoming "conscious of their nakedness", see note [105] above as well as the reference, in {7:2-27}, to "the garment of God-consciousness", the loss of which made man's ancestors "aware of their nakedness", i.e., of their utter helplessness and, hence, their dependence on God.

They both end up eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. As a result their private parts became apparent to them and they both began to cover themselves with the leaves from the Garden. Thus did Adam disobey His Rabb and go astray.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then they twain ate thereof, so that their shame became apparent unto them, and they began to hide by heaping on themselves some of the leaves of the Garden. And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thereafter, [however,] his Sustainer elected him [for His grace], and accepted his repentance, and bestowed His guidance upon him,

  - Mohammad Asad

Later on Adam repented and his Rabb chose him, accepted his repentance and gave him guidance,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then his Lord chose him, and relented toward him, and guided him.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

saying: "Down with you all¹⁰⁸ from this [state of innocence, and be henceforth] enemies unto one another! None the less, there shall most certainly come unto you guidance from Me: and he who follows My guidance will not go astray, and neither will he be unhappy.

  - Mohammad Asad

See surah {7}, note [16].

saying: "Get down from here all of you (Adam, Eve and Iblees); you will remain enemies to one another, whenever there comes to you guidance from Me and whosoever will follow My guidance will neither go astray nor get into trouble;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: Go down hence, both of you, one of you a foe unto the other. But if there come unto you from Me a guidance, then whoso followeth My guidance, he will not go astray nor come to grief.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But as for him who shall turn away from remembering Me - his shall be a life of narrow scope;¹⁰⁹ and on the Day of Resurrection We shall raise him up blind."

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., sterile and spiritually narrow, without any real meaning or purpose: and this. as is indicated in the subsequent clause, will be a source of their suffering in the hereafter.

but the one who will turn away from My reminder shall live a meager life and We shall raise him back to life as a blind person on the Day of Resurrection."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But he who turneth away from remembrance of Me, his will be a narrow life, and I shall bring him blind to the assembly on the Day of Resurrection.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And so, on Resurrection Day, the sinner] will ask: "O my Sustainer! Why hast Thou raised me up blind, whereas [on earth] I was endowed with sight?"

  - Mohammad Asad

He will say: "O Rabb! Why have you raised me up blind here, while I was clear-sighted before?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He will say: My Lord! Wherefore hast Thou gathered me (hither) blind, when I was wont to see?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall