Surah Ta Ha (Part 1) Chapter 20:1-8 Introduction to Surah 20 - Ta Ha

Surah Ta Ha (Part 1)
Chapter 20:1-8
Introduction to Surah 20 - Ta Ha

The chronology of the Surah has some significance: it has some relation to the spiritual lessons which it teaches.
It was used with great effect in the that remarkable scene which resulted in 'Umar's conversation, and which took place about the seventh year before the Hijrah.

The scene is described with dramatic details by Ibn Hisham. 'Umar had previously been one of the greatest enemies and persecutors of Islam. Like his blood-thirsty kinsmen the Quraysh, he meditated slaying the Prophet, when it was suggested to him that there were near relations of his that had embraced Islam. His sister Fatima and her husband Said were Muslims, but in those days of persecution they had kept their faith secret. When 'Umar went to their house, he heard them reciting this Surah from a written copy they had. For a while they concealed the copy. 'Umar attacked his sister and her husband,but they bore the attack with exemplary patience, and declared their faith. 'Umar was so struck with their sincerity and fortitude that he asked to see the leaf from which they had been reading. It was given to him: his soul was touched, and he not only came into the Faith but became one of its strongest supporters and champions.

The leaf contained some portion of the Surah, perhaps the introductory portion. The mystic letters Ta Ha are prefixed to this Surah. What do they mean? The earliest traditions is that they denote a dialectical interjection meaning "O man! " If so, the title is particularly appropriate in two ways. (1) it was a direct and personal address to a man in a high state of excitement, tempted by his temper to do grievous wrong, but called by ALLAH's Grace, as by a personal appeal, to face the realities, for ALLAH (Subhana Wa Ta'la)knew his inmost secret thoughts (20:7): the revelation was sent by ALLAH (Subhana Wa Ta'la)Most Gracious, out of His Grace and Mercy (20:5).(2) it takes up the story from the last Surah, of man as a spiritual being and illustrates it in further details. It tells the story of Moses in the crisis of his life when he received ALLAH's Commission and in his personal relation with his mother, and how he came to be brought up in the Pharaoh 's house, to learn all the wisdom of the Egyptians, for use in ALLAH's service, and in his personal relations with Pharaoh, whom we take to be his adoptive father (28:9). It further tells the story of a fallen soul who misled the Israelites into idolatry, and recalls how man's Arch-enemy Satan caused his fall. Prayer and Praise are necessary to man to cure his spiritual blindness and enable him to appreciate ALLAH's revelation.

ALLAH' s revelation is not an occasion for man's distress: it is a Message to show that ALLAH (Subhana Wa Ta'la)the All-Knowing sits on the throne of Mercy and guides all affairs. There is no god but He; to Him belong all the Most Beautiful Names.

Bismillah Ar Rahmaani Ar Raheem
" Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Quran to thee to be (an occasion)for thy distress, but only as an admonition to those who fear (ALLAH)-A revelation from Him Who created the earth and the heavens on high. (ALLAH) Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne (of authority). To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on earth, and all between them, and all beneath the soil. If thou pronounce the word aloud, (it is no matter): For verily he knoweth what is secret and what is yet more hidden. ALLAH! There is no god but He! To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. "
[Surah Ta Ha 20:1-8]

Ta Ha

For an explanation see the Introduction to this Surah. If the meaning is "O man! ", that is itself a mystic meaning, as explained, but the letters form a word and would not be classified stictly as Abbreviated Letters: see 2:1. This however, is a question of classification and does not affect the meaning. This conjectural, and no one can be dogmatic about it.