Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:9

His saying, Exalted is He, "And has there reached you the story of Moses?" is presented to confirm the matter of monotheism (Tawhid) which concluded the preceding discourse, and to clarify that it is an established affair among the Prophets—peace be upon them—handed down from the eldest to the next. Moses—peace be upon him—was addressed with it when it was said to him, "Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me," and he concluded his discourse with it when he said, "Your god is only Allah, except for whom there is no deity."

It is also said: It is presented to console him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), similar to His saying, "We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed," based on what is narrated from Muqatil regarding the cause of the revelation. However, the first [view] is a consolation by refuting what his people said, whereas this is a consolation to him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) by showing that his brothers among the Prophets—peace be upon them—were afflicted by their nations just as he was afflicted, and the final outcome was for them. The mention of the beginning of Moses' prophethood is analogous to the mention of sending down the Qur'an upon him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

It is also said: It is presented to encourage the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to emulate Moses—peace be upon him—in bearing the burdens of prophethood and enduring the hardships in conveying the rulings of the Message, after the Glorified one addressed him, tasking him with the difficult conveyance. This is based on the interpretation that the meaning of His saying, "We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed, but only as a reminder for those who fear," is: We have sent down the Qur'an to you so that you may endure the hardships of conveyance, the debate with the insolent among the enemies of Islam, fighting them, and other types of difficulties and the obligations of prophethood. We have not sent down this exhausting and difficult [Book] except to be a reminder. Thus, the waw (and), as many have stated, is for connecting one story to another; there is no regard here for their sequence in terms of goodness or seeking, rather, appropriateness is required in what they are presented for, and the conjoined element here may be interpreted as news.

It is not hidden that what preceded holds true for all the interpretations and opinions regarding the previous verse and the reason for its revelation; nothing in that refutes it. The interrogative is for confirmation (taqrir). It is also said that "Hal" (Has) carries the meaning of "Qad" (Indeed). It is further said that the interrogative is for denial (inkar), with its meaning being negation, i.e., "We have not informed you of the story of Moses before this surah, and We are now informing you of it." The reliance is upon the first [view].

Hadith (story/narrative) is the report (khabar); it applies to both little and much, and its plural is ahadith, which is irregular. Al-Farra said: We see that the singular of ahadith is uhdutha, then they made it a plural for hadith. Al-Raghib said: Hadith is any speech that reaches a person through hearing or revelation, in their wakefulness or sleep; it is a verbal noun (masdar) meaning "speaking," and some have interpreted it as such here, due to the context of the subsequent "He said..."