Surah 20. Ta-Ha

[God] will reply: "Thus it is: there came unto thee Our messages, but thou wert oblivious of them; and thus shalt thou be today consigned to oblivion!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah will say: "Just as Our revelation came to you and you played blind; so are you blind today."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He will say: So (it must be). Our revelations came unto thee but thou didst forget them. In like manner thou art forgotten this Day.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For, thus shall We recompense him who wastes his own self¹¹⁰ and does not believe in his Sustainer's messages: and, indeed, the suffering [of such sinners] in the life to come shall be most severe and most enduring!

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding this rendering of the phrase man asrafa, see surah {10}, note [21], in which I have discussed the meaning of the participial noun musrif, derived from the same verbal root.

Thus do We reward the one who is a transgressor and does not believe in the revelations of his Rabb. The punishment of the Hereafter is more terrible and more lasting.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Thus do We reward him who is prodigal and believeth not the revelations of his Lord; and verily the doom of the Hereafter will be sterner and more lasting.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

CAN, THEN, they [who reject the truth] learn no lesson by recalling how many a generation We have destroyed before their time¹¹¹ - [people] in whose dwelling-places they [themselves now] walk about? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for those who are endowed with reason!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "Is it, then, no guidance for them how many a generation.. .", etc. It is to be borne in mind that, in Qur'anic usage, the noun -tarn signifies not only "a generation", but also - and rather more often-"people belonging to one particular epoch", i.e.. "a civilization" in the historical sense of this term.

Have these people not learned a lesson that; We have destroyed before them many generations in whose ruins they walk through? Certainly in these ruins there are Signs for people of understanding.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Is it not a guidance for them (to know) how many a generation We destroyed before them, amid whose dwellings they walk? Lo! therein verily are signs for men of thought.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Now were it not for a decree that has already gone forth from thy Sustainer, setting a term¹¹² [for each sinner's repentance], it would inescapably follow [that all who sin must be doomed at once].¹¹³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and a term set [by Him]". This phrase, placed in the original at the end of the sentence, connects - as most of the classical commentators point out - with the opening clause of this verse, and has been rendered accordingly.

Cf. 10:11 and 16:61 .

Had it not been already decreed by your Rabb and a term for respite been appointed, they would have been punished.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And but for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Lord, and a term already fixed, the judgment would (have) been inevitable (in this world).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, bear with patience whatever they [who deny the truth] may say, and extol thy Sustainer's limitless glory and praise Him before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and extol His glory, too, during some of the hours of the night as well as during the hours of the day,¹¹⁴ so that thou might attain to happiness.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "at the sides [or "extremities"] of the day". See in this connection also 11:114 and the corresponding note [145].

Therefore be patient with what they say. Glorify your Rabb with His praise before sunrise and before sunset, glorify Him during the hours of the night as well as at the ends of the day, so that you may find satisfaction.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Therefor (O Muhammad), bear with what they say, and celebrate the praises of thy Lord ere the rising of the sun and ere the going down thereof. And glorify Him some hours of the night and at the two ends of the day, that thou mayst find acceptance.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And never turn shine eyes [with longing] towards whatever splendour of this world's life We may have allowed so many others¹¹⁵ to enjoy in order that We might test them thereby: for the sustenance which by sustainer provides [for thee] is better more enduring.¹¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "groups [or "kinds"] of them" (azwajan minhum). According to most of the commentators, this relates to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding passages; but since the above injunction has obviously a wider purport, condemning envy in general, I have rendered this expression as "so many others".

Implying that whatever God grants a person is an outcome of divine wisdom and, therefore, truly appropriate to the destiny which God has decreed for that person. Alternatively, the phrase may be understood as referring to the life to come and the spiritual sustenance which God bestows upon the righteous.

Do not strain your eyes with envy regarding the worldly benefits We have bestowed on some among them, for with these We seek to test them, the lawful provision of your Rabb is better and more lasting.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby. The provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And bid thy people to pray, and persevere therein. [But remember:] We do not ask thee to provide sustenance [for Us]:¹¹⁷ it is We who provide sustenance for thee. And the future belongs to the God-conscious.¹¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

My interpolation of the words "for Us" is based on Razi’s interpretation of the above sentence: "God makes it clear that He has enjoined this [i.e., prayer] upon men for their own benefit alone, inasmuch as He Himself is sublimely exalted above any [need of] benefits." In other words, prayer must not be conceived as a kind of tribute to a "jealous God" - as the Old Testament, in its present corrupted form, frequently describes Him - but solely as a spiritual benefit for the person who prays.

Lit., "to God-consciousness".

Enjoin Salah on your people and be diligent in its observance. We demand nothing of you; instead We provide you sustenance. Blessed shall be the end of the Righteous.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And enjoin upon thy people worship, and be constant therein. We ask not of thee a provision: We provide for thee. And the sequel is for righteousness.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

NOW THEY [who are blind to the truth] are wont to say, "If [Muhammad] would but produce for us a miracle from his Sustainer!"¹¹⁹ [But] has there not come unto them a clear evidence [of the truth of this divine writ] in what is [to be found] in the earlier scriptures?¹²⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in proof of his prophetic mission: cf. 6:109 and many other instances in which the deniers of the truth are spoken of as making their belief in the Qur'anic message dependent on tangible "miracles".

I.e., "Does not the Qur'an express the same fundamental truths as were expressed in the revelations granted to the earlier prophets?" Beyond this, the above rhetorical question contains an allusion to the predictions of the advent of Muhammad to be found in the earlier scriptures, e.g., in Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18 (discussed in my note [33] on 2:42 ) or in John xiv, 16, xv, 26 and xvi, 7, where Jesus speaks of the "Comforter" who is to come after him. (Regarding this latter prediction, see my note on 61:6 .)

They say: "Why does he (Muhammad) not bring us a Sign from His Rabb?" Has not a clear Sign (The Qur'an) come to them containing all the teachings of the former Scriptures?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they say: If only he would bring us a miracle from his Lord! Hath there not come unto them the proof of what is in the former Scriptures?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For [thus it is:] had We destroyed them by means of a chastisement ere this [divine writ was revealed], they would indeed [be justified to] say [on Judgment Day]: "O our Sustainer! If only Thou hadst sent an apostle unto us, we would have followed Thy messages rather than be humiliated and disgraced [in the hereafter]!"¹²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 6:131 , 15:4 or {26:208-209}, where it is stressed that God never punishes man for any wrong committed in ignorance of what constitutes right and wrong in the moral sense - i.e., before making it possible for him to avail himself of divine guidance.

Had We destroyed them as punishment before its revelation, they would have said: "Our Rabb! If only You had sent us a Rasool, we would certainly have followed Your revelations before being humiliated and disgraced."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if We had destroyed them with some punishment before it, they would assuredly have said: Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent unto us a messenger, so that we might have followed Thy revelations before we were (thus) humbled and disgraced!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Everyone is hopefully waiting [for what the future may bring]:¹²² wait, then, [for the Day of Judgment - ] for then you will come to know as to who has followed the even path, and who has found guidance!"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., human nature is such that no man, whatever his persuasion or condition, can ever cease to hope that the way of life chosen by him will prove to have been the right way.

Say: "All are waiting: so wait if you will. Very soon you shall find out, who is following the Right Way and who has been rightly guided."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Each is awaiting; so await ye! Ye will come to know who are the owners of the path of equity, and who is right.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall