Tā-Hā (20:80-82)

Exegesis of the Verses

Allāh, the Exalted, after enumerating the manifold blessings bestowed upon the Children of Israel, reminds them of these favors. It is established that removing harm must precede conferring benefit. Furthermore, conferring religious benefit is greater than conferring worldly benefit.

Therefore, Allāh began by mentioning the removal of harm: {We delivered you from your people} (referring to Pharaoh), which signifies the removal of affliction, as Pharaoh subjected them to various forms of oppression, including killing, humiliation, expulsion, and exhausting labor.

Then, He followed this by mentioning the religious benefit: {And We appointed for you a time on the right side of the Mount} (Mount Ṭūr). The benefit here is that the Torah, containing the explanation of their religion and the details of their Law, was revealed to them at that time.

Next, He mentioned the worldly benefit: {And We sent down upon you the Manna and the quails, [saying], "Eat from the good things We have provided for you"}.

Following this, He warned them against transgression: {And do not transgress therein, lest My wrath descend upon you}.

Finally, He clarified that whoever disobeys and then repents will be accepted by Allāh: {And indeed, I am forgiving to whoever repents}. This concludes the explanation of the intended meaning of the verse.

Herein lie several issues:

Ḥamzah and Al-Kisā’ī recited the verbs: anjaytukum (We delivered you), wa‘adtu-kum (We promised you), up to {from the good things We have provided for you} all in the second-person plural feminine form (using the tā’), except for {And We sent down upon you the Manna and the quails}, which they recited using the first-person plural (nūn). The rest of the reciters used the nūn throughout. Nāfi‘ and ‘Āṣim recited {wa‘adnā-kum} (We promised you) with the nūn. Ḥamzah and Al-Kisā’ī recited {wa‘adtu-kum} (You promised).

Al-Kalbī stated that when Moses (peace be upon him) led the Children of Israel across the sea, they asked him, "Did you not promise us that you would bring us a Book from our Lord containing obligations and rulings?" He replied, "Yes." Moses then hastened to his Lord to bring them the Book, promising them he would return within forty nights from the day they set out. The reason for using {wa‘adnā-kum} (We promised you) is that Allāh promised Moses to give him the Torah for their sake.

Muqātil said the address was directed to Moses and the seventy chosen men, and Allāh knows best.

The exegetes state that a mountain has no right or left side. The intended meaning is that Mount Sinai was to the right of those traveling from Egypt towards the Levant.

The word al-ayman (the right) was read in the genitive case due to proximity (juxtaposition), similar to the phrase ḥajaru ḍabbin kharib (a ruined rock of a lizard).

The benefit derived by the people from this event was either:

1. Allāh revealed the Torah to them, which contained the explanation of their religion.
2. Allāh spoke to Moses on the Mount, which brought great honor to the people as a consequence.

The command {Eat} is not one of obligation (ījāb) but one of permissibility (ibāḥah), similar to the verse: {And when you come out of Ihram, then hunt} (Al-Mā’idah: 2).

There are two opinions regarding {good things}:

1. Delights/Pleasures: Because the Manna and Quails were among the delicacies of food.
2. Lawful/Halāl: This is the view of Al-Kalbī and Muqātil, as it was something Allāh sent down to them that had not been touched by human hands.

It is possible to combine both meanings, as there is a shared concept between the two interpretations. A complete discussion of this story was presented earlier in Sūrat Al-Baqarah.

There are several interpretations for {And do not transgress therein}:

1. Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allāh be pleased with him): Do not oppress one another by taking what belongs to your brother.
2. Muqātil and Al-Ḍaḥḥāk: Do not wrong yourselves by exceeding the limits of permissibility.
3. Al-Kalbī: Do not be ungrateful for the blessings; that is, do not use My blessings to disobey Me, nor turn away from gratitude, nor deviate from the lawful to the unlawful.

Al-A‘mash and Al-Kisā’ī recited both {fayaḥilla} (will descend/become due) and {man yaḥlil} (whoever descends/becomes due) with the ḍammah (u-vowel). Al-A‘mash narrated from the companions of ‘Abdullāh that fayaḥilla is recited with the kasrah (i-vowel) and man yaḥlil with the raf‘ (nominative case). The common reading is kasrah for both words.

• If recited with kasrah (fayaḥilla): It implies obligation (wujūb), derived from ḥalla ad-daynu yaḥillu (the debt becomes due/obligatory to be paid), as in {until the offering reaches its destination} (Al-Baqarah: 196).
• If recited with ḍammah (fayaḥullu): It means descent or falling. {fa-qad hawā} means he became wretched, or it is said he fell into the abyss (hāwiyah). Hawā yahwī huwiyyan means to fall from a high place to a low one.

Allāh, the Exalted, described Himself with the names Ghāfir (Forgiver), Ghafūr (Most Forgiving), and Ghaffār (Relentless Forgiver). He also used past, future, and imperative forms related to forgiveness.

• As Ghāfir: {Forgiver of sin} (Ghāfir: 3).
• As Ghafūr: {And your Lord is the Forgiving, the Possessor of Mercy} (Al-Kahf: 58).
• As Ghaffār: {And indeed, I am Forgiving to whoever repents} (Tā-Hā: 82).
• The verbal noun Ghufrān: {Our Lord, [grant us] Your forgiveness} (Al-Baqarah: 285).
• The verbal noun Maghfirah: {And indeed, your Lord is the Possessor of forgiveness for the people} (Ar-Ra‘d: 6).
• Past Tense: Regarding David (peace be upon him): {So We forgave him that} (Ṣād: 25).
• Future Tense: {Indeed, Allāh does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that of whom He wills} (An-Nisā’: 48), and {Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins} (Az-Zumar: 53). Regarding the Prophet (peace be upon him): {That Allāh may forgive you your past and future sins} (Al-Fatḥ: 2).
• The command/request for forgiveness (Istighfār): {And ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women} (Muḥammad: 19). Regarding Noah (peace be upon him): {And I said, "Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He was ever a Forgiver"} (Nūḥ: 10). Regarding the angels: {And they ask forgiveness for those on the earth} (Ash-Shūrā: 5).

All prophets sought forgiveness:

• Adam (PBUH): {If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will certainly be among the losers} (Al-A‘rāf: 23).
• Noah (PBUH): {And unless You forgive me and have mercy upon me, I will be among the losers} (Hūd: 47).
• Abraham (PBUH): {And who I hope will forgive me my sin on the Day of Recompense} (Ash-Shu‘arā’: 82), and he sought it for his father: {I will ask forgiveness for you of my Lord} (Maryam: 47).
• Joseph (PBUH) regarding his brothers: {No blame will there be upon you today. May Allāh forgive you} (Yūsuf: 92).
• Moses (PBUH) regarding the Copt: {My Lord, forgive me and my brother} (Al-A‘rāf: 151).
• David (PBUH): {So he asked forgiveness of his Lord} (Ṣād: 24).
• Solomon (PBUH): {My Lord, forgive me and grant me dominion} (Ṣād: 35).
• Jesus (PBUH): {If You should punish them - indeed, they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise} (Al-Mā’idah: 118).
• Muhammad (PBUH): {And ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women} (Muḥammad: 19).
• The Ummah: {And those who came after them, saying, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith} (Al-Ḥashr: 10).

To elaborate here, we must first explain the reality of forgiveness, then discuss Allāh being Ghāfir, Ghafūr, and Ghaffār, then discuss the generality of His forgiveness, and finally, how forgiveness applies to the prophets (PBUH) despite their lack of sin.

This leads to our scholars' argument for establishing the concept of pardon (‘Afw). The argument is that a sin is either minor or major, either before repentance or after repentance. The first two categories (minor sins, or major sins after repentance) make it inappropriate for Allāh to punish, and He must overlook them. Since leaving what is inappropriate is not called forgiveness (ghufrān), forgiveness is only realized in the third category (major sin before repentance), which is what is sought.

If one argues that this contradicts the explicit verse, as it establishes forgiveness for one who combines four things: repentance, faith, righteous deeds, and guidance—we reply: If someone repents, believes, does righteous deeds, is guided, and then sins afterward, they are still repentant, believing, righteous, and guided, yet they are still a sinner. In that case, our statement holds true.

There is a subtle point here: The servant has three designations: Ẓālim (wrongdoer), Ẓalūm (very unjust), and Ẓallām (most unjust, when the wrongdoing is frequent). Allāh has a corresponding name for each: If you are Ẓālim, I am Ghāfir (Forgiver); if you are Ẓalūm, I am Ghafūr (Most Forgiving); and if you are Ẓallām, I am Ghaffār (Relentless Forgiver), as in {And indeed, I am Forgiving to whoever repents and believes} (Tā-Hā: 82).

There is much disagreement among exegetes regarding {then is guided}. The reason for this disagreement is that whoever repents, believes, and does righteous deeds must necessarily be guided. So, what is the meaning of {then is guided} after mentioning these things?

The summarized views are three:

1. Perseverance: It means continuing upon that path. For one who is guided in the present, that is not enough to attain salvation unless they continue upon it in the future and die upon it. This is supported by {Indeed, those who say, "Our Lord is Allāh," and then remain steadfast} (Fuṣṣilat: 30). The word thumma (then) here indicates a temporal sequence, not a difference in rank, meaning that while repentance, faith, and good deeds might happen easily, the difficulty lies in maintaining and persevering in them.
2. Acknowledgement of Divine Help: It means he realized that this [guidance] was through Allāh's guidance and success, and he remained seeking Allāh's help to sustain it without falling short. This is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās.
3. Spiritual Stations (Sufi View): Faith (īmān) refers to belief based on proof, and righteous deeds (al-‘amal aṣ-ṣāliḥ) refer to the actions of the limbs. What remains is the purification of the heart from blameworthy characteristics, which is called the Ṭarīqah (Path) in Sufi terminology. Then comes the unveiling of the realities of things to him, which is called the Ḥaqīqah (Reality) in Sufi terminology. These two stations are what is meant by {then is guided}.

Some scholars argue that repentance from disbelief must occur first, followed by faith, citing this verse because Allāh preceded repentance with faith. Our scholars use this verse to argue that righteous deeds are not included within faith, because Allāh connected righteous deeds to faith with a conjunction (wa), and the conjunct is distinct from the thing it is conjoined to.

Tā-Hā (20:80-82)

{And what hastened you away from your people, O Moses?}

{He said, "They are close behind me, and I hastened to You, my Lord, that You might be pleased."}