20 Sura Taha
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَهَلْ
أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ
مُوسَى ﴿٩﴾
20: 9. Has the story of Moses reached thee?
C2540. The story of Moses in its different incidents is told in many places in the Quran, and in each case the phase most appropriate in the context is referred to or emphasised.
- In 2:49-61, it was a phase from the religious history of mankind;
- in 7:103-162, it was a phase from the story of the Ummah (or nation) of Israel, and the story was continued to the times after Moses,
- in 17:101-103, we have a picture of the decline of a soul in the arrogance of Pharaoh;
- here, in 20:9-24, we have a picture of the rise of a soul in the commission given to Moses from Allah;
- in 20:25-36, we have his spiritual relationship with his brother Aaron;
- in 20:37-40, we have his spiritual relation with his mother and sister, and his upbringing;
- in 20:41-76, we have his spiritual combat with Pharaoh; and
- in 20:77-98, we have his spiritual combat with his own people, the Israelites. For other incidents, consult the Index.
20: 10. Behold, he saw a fire:
C2541. A fire: It appeared like an ordinary fire, which always betokens the presence of men in a desert or a lonely place.
Moses made for it alone, to fetch the wherewithal for making a fire for his family, and perhaps to find some direction as to the way, from the people he should meet there.
But it was not an ordinary fire. It was a Burning Bush: a Sign of the Glory of Allah.
... فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا...
so he said to his family, "Tarry ye; I perceive a fire;
...لَّعَلِّي آتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى ﴿١٠﴾
perhaps I can bring you some burning brand therefrom or find some guidance at the fire."
C2542. The spiritual history of Moses begins here.
It was the beginning of his mission. His physical life, infancy, and upbringing are referred to later on, to illustrate another point.
Moses, when he grew up, left the palace of Pharaoh and went to the Midianite people, in the Sinai peninsula. He married among them, and was now traveling with his family, when he was called to his mission by Allah.
He went to look for a fire for comfort and guidance. He found a higher and holier comfort and guidance. The whole passage is full of portent meaning, which is reflected in the short rhymed verses in the original. (R).
فَلَمَّا
أَتَاهَا نُودِي
يَا مُوسَى ﴿١١﴾
20: 11. But when he came to the fire, a voice was heard:
"O Moses!
إِنِّي
أَنَا رَبُّكَ
فَاخْلَعْ
نَعْلَيْكَ...
20: 12. "Verily I am thy Lord!
Therefore (in My presence) put off thy shoes:
C2543. The shoes are to be put off as a mark of respect.
Moses was now to put away his mere worldly interests, he having been chosen by Allah, the Most High. (R).
...إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى ﴿١٢﴾
thou art in the sacred valley Tuwa.
C2544. This was the valley just below Mount Sinai, where subsequently he was to receive the Torah.
وَأَنَا
اخْتَرْتُكَ
فَاسْتَمِعْ
لِمَا يُوحَى ﴿١٣﴾
20: 13. "I have chosen thee:
listen, then, to the inspiration (sent to thee).
20: 14. "Verily, I am Allah:
...لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا...
there is no god but I:
...فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي ﴿١٤﴾
so serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.
20: 15. "Verily the Hour is coming --
C2545. The first need is to mend our lives and worship and serve Allah, as in the last verse.
The next is to realise the meaning of the Hereafter, when every soul will get the meed of its conduct in this life.
...أَكَادُ أُخْفِيهَا لِتُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَى ﴿١٥﴾
My design is to keep it hidden -- for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its endeavour.
C2546. Ukhfi may mean either "keep it hidden", or "make it manifest",
and the Commentators have taken, some one meaning and some the other.
- If the first is taken, it means that the exact hour or day when the Judgment comes is hidden from man;
- if the second, it means that the fact of the Judgment to come is made known, that man may remember and take warning.
I think that both meanings are implied. (R).
Asad’s Version:
20:9 [Ta ha (O Man) Mecca 45]
AND HAS the story of Moses ever come within thy ken? 6
(20:10) Lo! he saw a fire [in the desert]; 7 and so he said to his family: "Wait here! Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]: perhaps I can bring you a brand therefrom, or find at the fire some guidance."
20:11 But when he came close to it, a voice called out: 8 "O Moses!
(20:12) Verily, I am thy Sustainer! Take off, then, thy sandals! Behold, thou art in the twice -hallowed valley,'
(20:13) and I have chosen thee [to be My apostle]: listen, then, to what is being revealed [unto thee].
20:14 "Verily, I - I alone - am God; there is no deity save Me. Hence, worship Me alone, and be constant in prayer, so as to remember Me! 10
(20:15) "Behold, [although] I have willed to keep it" hidden, the Last Hour is bound to come, so that every human being may be recompensed in accordance with what he strove for [in life]. 12
[[Asad’s notes:
5 For an explanation of this rendering of al-asma' al-husna, see surah 7, note 145.
6 Apart from two short references to Moses in earlier surahs (53:36 and 87:19), the narrative appearing inverses 9-98 is undoubtedly the earliest Qur'anic exposition of the story of Moses as such. Its mention at this stage is connected with the reference to revelation at the beginning of this surah (verses 2-4) and, generally, with the Qur'anic doctrine of the basic ideological unity of all revealed religions.
7 From the sequence (here as well as in 27:7 and 28:29) it appears that Moses had lost his way in the desert: probably a symbolic allusion to his dawning awareness that he was in need of spiritual guidance. This part of the story relates to the period of his wanderings subsequent to his flight from Egypt (see 28:14 ff). Regarding the allegory of the "fire" - the "burning bush" of the Bible see note 7 on 27:7-8.
8 Lit., "he was called".
9 Whereas some commentators assume that the word tuwan (or tuwa) is the name of the
"hallowed valley", Zamakhshari explains it, more convincingly, as meaning "twice" (from tuwan or Owan, "twice done") - i.e., "twice-hallowed" - apparently because God's voice was heard in it and because Moses was raised there to prophethood.
10 Thus, conscious remembrance of God and of His oneness and uniqueness is declared to be the innermost purpose, as well as the intellectual justification of all true prayer.
1 1 I.e., the time of its coming.
12 The expression "what he strove for" implies consciousness of endeavour and thus excludes involuntary actions (in the widest sense of the latter term, comprising everything that is manifested in word or actual deed), as well as involuntary omissions, irrespective of whether the relevant action or omission is morally good or bad. By enunciating the above principle within the context of the story of Moses, the Qur'an stresses the essential identity of the ethical concepts underlying all
true religions. (See also 53:39 and the corresponding note 32.)
13 Lit, "in it". ]]