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Chapter 20

Ṭā ḤāṬā Ḥā ( طه )

135 verses • revealed at Meccan

»The surah that opens with the discrete Arabic letters Ṭā Hā. Like “Yā Sīn” (surah 36), “Ṭā Hā” is said to be one of the names of the Prophet Muḥammad. The surah both begins and ends with mention of the Quran: it was not sent to the Prophet to cause him grief but is a clear proof from his Lord. The example of Moses is given as a lengthy account in order to encourage the Prophet and show the end of the disbelievers. The destruction of earlier generations is cited as a lesson from which the disbelievers should learn. The Prophet is ordered to be patient and to persevere with his worship.«

The surah is also known as Ta-Ha, Taa Haa

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Muhammad Asad: In The Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:

1
طه

Muhammad Asad

FOR THE RENDERING of the title of this surah as "O Man", see note 1 below. As is the case with the preceding surah, its position in the chronology of Qur'anic revelation is not difficult to establish. Despite the vague assertions of some of the later authorities that it was revealed during the last phase (or even in the last year) of the Prophet's sojourn in Mecca, we know for certain that it was fully known to his Companions as early as the sixth year of his mission (that is, at least seven years before he left Mecca for Medina): for it was this very surah which at that period accidentally fell into the hands of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab - who until then had been a bitter opponent of the Prophet - and caused his conversion to Islam (Ibn Sad 111/1, 191 ff.). The main theme of Ta Ha is the guidance which God offers man through His prophets, and the fact that the fundamental truths inherent in all revealed religions are identical: hence the long story of Moses in verses 9-98, and the reference to the "clear evidence [of the truth of this divine writ]", i.e., of the Qur'an, forthcoming from "what is [to be found] in the earlier scriptures" (verse 133).
O MAN!1
  • According to some commentators, the letters t and h (pronounced ta ha) which introduce this surah belong to the group of al-muqatta'at - the "single [or "disjointed"] letters" - which are prefixed to a number of the Qur'anic surahs (see Appendix II). However, in the opinion of some of the Prophet's Companions (e.g., 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas) and a number of outstanding personalities of the next generation (like Said ibn Jubayr, Mujahid, Qatadah, Al-Hasan al-Basri, 'Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Kalbi, etc.), ta ha is not just a combination of two single letters but a meaningful expression of its own, signifying "O man" (synonymous with ya rajul) in both the Nabataean and Syriac branches of the Arabic language (Tabari, Razi, Ibn Kathir), as well as in the - purely Arabian - dialect of the Yemenite tribe of 'Akk, as is evident from certain fragments of their pre-Islamic poetry (quoted by Tabari and Zamakhshari). Tabari, in particular, gives his unqualified support to the rendering of ta ha as "O man".