20. Ta Ha/Ta Ha

I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah

The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.

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Ta Ha!

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a. WE have not sent down The Qur’an on to you - O The Prophet - to make you distressed,

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a. rather, it is a Reminder to those who stand in awe of Allah – The One and Only God.

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a. It is a sending down from the One WHO created the terrestrial world and the celestial realm, so high -

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- The Immensely Merciful,
On the Throne of Almightiness HE established HIMSELF.

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To HIM belongs whatever is within the celestial realm and whatever is within the terrestrial world,
as well as whatever is between and beyond them,
and whatever is even beneath the ground.

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And it does not matter whether you speak aloud, HE certainly Knows all that is even secret
- in a person’s consciousness,
and whatever is even more deeply concealed - a thought which is in the subconscious.

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Such is Allah!
There is no entity of worship apart from HIM!
For HIM are the Names, Most Glorious, and the Attributes of Perfection.

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a. And has the narrative of Moses reached you – O The Prophet?

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When Moses was traveling with his family in the Sinai desert he perceived a fire at some distance.
He said to his family:
‘Wait here!
In fact, I perceive a fire.
Maybe I can bring you a firebrand from it, or find some guidance by the fire’ on the direction of our way to Egypt.

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So when he came close to it -
he perceived a voice that called out to him:
‘O Moses!’

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‘Truly it is I - I am your Rabb - The Lord.
So take off your sandals - for you are in the Sacred Valley, Tuwa.’

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‘And I have chosen you from among all of your people for MY Messengership.
So listen attentively to what is now being spoken’ to you.

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‘Truly, I and I alone am Allah.
There is no entity of worship apart from ME.
So submit to ME in worship, awe, and reverence,
and establish the Salat/Prayers for MY Remembrance.’

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‘Surely, the Last Hour is coming – though I have chosen to keep it hidden,
so that everyone may be paid back for what one strives for.’

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‘Hence, do not let anyone, who does not believe in the truth of its coming, and only follows one’s base desires,
distract you from believing in it, else you be ruined.’

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The Divine Speech continued:
‘And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?’

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He answered:
‘This is my staff.’
Volunteering additional information, Moses added:
‘I lean upon it,
and I beat down the leaves and branches with it from trees for my sheep to feed,
and for me, it has many mundane advantages and other uses as well.’

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HE - The Voice - instructed:
‘Cast it down on the ground, O Moses!’

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So submitting in obedience he cast it down on the ground,
thereupon, it was a snake, moving rapidly and running.

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HE asked Moses:
‘Pick it up, and do not fear.
WE will return it to you to its former state’ as a staff!
Thus, it was the first Miraculous Sign assigned to Moses.

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The instruction continued:
‘Now fold your hand to your side,’
and it will come out glowing white, without any harm – another Miraculous Sign for you.

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WE have done this to show you some of OUR great Miraculous Signs.’
And an attestation to the truth of your upcoming Mission.

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‘Go to Pharaoh!
Invite him to accept the True Faith for he has, indeed, transgressed insolently.’

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He - Moses - said:
O ‘My People - The Lord!
Open up my heart for me.’

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a. ‘And make my Mission easy for me.’

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a. ‘And untie and free the knot from my tongue/speech,

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a. … so that they may understand my speech’ clearly.

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Being mindful of upcoming challenges, he further submitted:
‘Assign for me a helper from my own family.’

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a. Aaron, my elder brother,

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a. strengthen me through him,

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a. and associate him in my Mission,

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a. so that together we both may glorify YOU abundantly,

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a. and remember YOU unceasingly.

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a. YOU are definitely watching over us.’

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HE - The Voice responded:
‘Your request is granted, O Moses.’

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a. And, indeed, WE had also bestowed OUR Favor on you on another occasion when you were an infant, O Moses.

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a. Remember when WE inspired your mother what she was to be inspired with.

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‘Put baby Moses in the chest of bulrushes daubed with slime and pitch and set him afloat
in the River Nile.
And the River has been commanded that it will cast him to the bank, and he will be picked up by the one who is an enemy to ME - and an enemy to him as he despised the Descendants of Jacob/Israel and had ordered to kill all the new-born sons in whom Moses was born.
And, after he took you, I blessed you with affection and care from ME,
so that you may be raised directly under MY Eye.’

20:40
‘And then when your sister Miriam walked along by the river-side and said to the daughter of the Pharaoh who had rescued you while playing on the riverside:
‘Would you like me to direct you to someone who can nurse him and take care?’
And WE had already barred Moses from accepting any nursing woman – Q.28:12.
The advice was accepted and terms for nursing were settled.
Thus WE brought you back to your mother
so that she might be comforted and not grieve.
And when you came of age you killed a person of the Egyptians,
but WE brought you out of the trouble, although later WE tested you repeatedly with other ordeals.
And you then stayed among the people of Midian with Sho’ayb for several years,
and now after all this, you are here, as I decreed for you, O Moses.

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a. And after causing you to go through all these experiences I have prepared you for MYSELF
- MY Service.

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So ‘go now, you and your brother to Pharaoh with MY Miraculous Signs and Messages,
and do not slacken – both of you - in MY Remembrance and delivering MY Messages.’

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‘Go, both of you, to Pharaoh.
Indeed, he has transgressed insolently.’

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‘But speak to him gently with soft words no matter how arrogant, insulting, and perverse he may become.
Perhaps he may either take to the advice or be in awe’ of ME.
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The two said:
O ‘Our Rabb - The Lord!
In fact we are afraid that he may act harshly against us even before listening to us,
or he may transgress insolently against us.’

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The assurance came, HE said:
‘Do not be afraid.
Surely I am with both of you.
I listen all and I see all.’

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The command continues:
‘So go both of you to him – Pharaoh - and proclaim:
‘We are indeed two Messengers assigned by/of your Rabb - The Lord.
So let the Descendants of Jacob/Israelites go free with us, and do not oppress them
anymore.
We have brought you a Miraculous Sign from your Rabb - The Lord as proof of our truthfulness.
And peace be upon him who follows HIS Guidance.’
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Moses continued:
‘It has been revealed onto us that severe punishment will befall anyone who denies and belies what we have brought and turns away’ in disbelief and arrogance.

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So when the Message had been conveyed, he - Pharaoh - said:
‘Who, then, is this Rabb - The Lord of the two of you, O Moses?’

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He - Moses - replied:
‘Our Rabb - The Lord is the One WHO gave everything its existence, nature, and qualities,
and then guided it aright.’

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He - Pharaoh - said:
‘And what about the case of the former generations?’

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He - Moses - answered:
‘My Rabb - The Lord has knowledge of them, all in a Book of Record.
My Rabb - The Lord neither makes a mistake nor does HE forget.’

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It is HE WHO made the earth a habitat for you,
and made pathways through it for you as means to gain your livelihood on/from the earth, or traced in it routes for you,

and made rain water descend from the sky clouds,
with which WE bring out pairs of diverse types of plants/vegetation.

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So eat of it yourselves and graze your livestock on it too.
Surely, in all this are Wondrous Signs for those with intellect.

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WE created you from this earth, and
into it WE are going to return you upon death, and
out of it WE will bring you out in another dimension of existence once again.

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And, indeed, WE showed Pharaoh OUR Miraculous Signs – all of them and made him consciously aware of them,
yet he denied and belied them,
and refused to believe and reform.

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He - Pharaoh - said:
‘Have the two of you come to us to drive us out of our land and deprive us of our culture
through your magic, O Moses?’

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In that case, ‘we too shall bring the like of your magic to confront you.
Set, then, an appointment between us and you -
we will not back out, nor will you - at a mutually agreeable place.’

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He said:
‘Your appointment is on the Day of Festivities -
and that people be gathered at morning light.’

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Thereupon Pharaoh left to put together his strategy,
and, then, he came back on the appointed day.

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In pursuance of the teaching of his Mission, Moses said to the magicians summoned by Pharaoh:
‘Woe to you!
Do not fabricate any falsehood against Allah, lest HE destroys you with a severe
Punishment.
Indeed, whoever fabricates falsehood against Allah will surely fail.’

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So they discussed and argued their situation among themselves as to what to do,
and they kept their discussions secret.

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They said:
‘For sure these two men are just magicians.

They intent on driving you out from your land and depriving you of your self-rule by their
skillful magic,
and thus do away with your honored traditions.

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O Sorcerers of Egypt!
‘So put together a strategy, gather your devices, and then line up for the contest.
Today - whoever has the upper hand will definitely stand high’ in terms of official rewards and life-long benefits, declared Pharaoh.

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They - magicians of Egypt - said:
‘O Moses!
Are you going to cast your stick down, or we be the first to cast’ our sticks and strings?

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He - Moses - said:
‘No! Not me, instead you cast first!’
It so happened that by virtue of their magic, their strings and sticks suddenly appeared to him as if these were really alive and moving like snakes.

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So Moses felt fear within himself -
becoming apprehensive of his own success as people may have already been influenced by
their magic.

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But WE said reassuring him:
‘Do not fear!
Indeed, you will be the superior/winner.’

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‘And now cast down that staff which is in your right hand!
It will quickly swallow up all moving strings and sticks that they have devised.
For what they have devised is only a magician’s trick -
and the magician will never succeed, no matter what tricks he tries.’

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And so it happened, and, the magicians fell down in prostration -
proclaiming:
‘We believe in Rabb - The Lord of Aaron and Moses.’

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He - Pharaoh was thus disgraced before his public, so he stormed at the magicians and
screamed:
‘Have you believed in him – Moses – even before I gave you permission?
Surely, he must be your master, the very one who taught you magic!
So I am going to have your hands cut off and your feet on opposite sides,
and, then, indeed I am going to crucify you on the trunks of the date palm trees where you would remain hanging until you die of torture and starvation.
And you will then know for certain which one of us - me or Rabb of Moses – is more severe in punishment, and whose punishment is long-lasting.’

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The magicians did not waver in the face of the Pharaoh’s threats.
They answered:
‘We will neither prefer you any longer to the Clear Sign that has come before us, nor over
The One WHO created us.
So order whatever you are going to order.
You can only order for this life of the world.’

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As for us, ‘we have definitely believed in the Supremacy of our Rabb - The Lord,
hoping that HE may forgive us our sins and the magic you forced upon us to practice.
And Allah is certainly far better to be worshiped and seek reward from than you, and HE is also the Eternal.’

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Indeed, whoever comes to his Rabb - The Lord as a criminal – guilty of disbelief and a life full of sin,
surely for him will be the Hell - wherein he will neither be dyeing nor living a life worth living.

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Whereas whoever comes to HIM as a believer, having practiced righteousness -
those - for them are going to be the highest of ranks.

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For them will be Paradise of Perpetual Bliss beneath which rivers/streams flow,
therein to remain – never to leave, never to die.
And that will be the reward for the one who purifies himself of spiritual impurities.

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Then, in due course, WE revealed on to Moses instructing:
‘Move out of the city by night along with MY servants - your followers;
and when you reach the sea’s edge with Pharaoh and his troops in the chase, then
strike for them with your staff a dry passage through the Red Sea -
neither fearing to be overtaken by Pharaoh’s troops nor dreading drowning through the Red Sea.’

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So Pharaoh chased them with his troops.
And there they were wrapped by the sea the way it wrapped them.
They were drowned and were thus overwhelmed by the Divine Power.

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Thus, Pharaoh truly led his people astray, and
he did not guide them aright.

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‘O Descendants of Jacob!
This is how WE salvaged you from your enemy.
And then WE made a covenant with you at the right side of the Mountain – Mt. Sinai.

And repeatedly and freely sent down the gift of sustenance for you by way of the manna/
resins sweet like honey and the salwa/quails,’
without much exertion on your part, while being in the wilderness of Sinai Desert.

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Saying:
‘So eat of the good and clean things thus made lawful which WE have provided for you.
And do not transgress insolently in it considering these favors to your own supposed excellence and transgress in respect of food items, lest you incur MY Wrath.
And whoever incurs MY Wrath is certainly doomed/perished -
just as Pharaoh perished: falling off his throne to drowning in the sea.

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And yet, undoubtedly, I am All-Forgiving towards anyone who
repents, and
believes, and
practices righteousness, then,
keeps himself on to the right path.’

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When Moses came to OUR Presence on Mt. Sinai earlier than the appointed time, WE asked him:
‘Now what has made you come in such a haste leaving behind your people, O Moses?’

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He - Moses - submitted:
‘They are treading on my footsteps, I presume,
but I have hastened to YOU, O My Rabb - The Lord, so that YOU may be pleased’ with me even more.

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HE spoke:
‘Then know that in your absence WE put your people to test, and
Samiri has led them astray.’

20:86
So Moses returned to his people, angry and sorrowful being fully mindful of how Allah had saved them from the humiliating subjugation of Pharaoh and favored them with easy provisions and care in the desert.
He said:
‘O My People!
‘Did your Rabb - The Lord not promise you a good promise of giving you a Scripture for guidance and a homeland, the environs of which HE has blessed?
Did the time appointed for fulfillment of the promise become too long for you?
Or disregarding the consequences of your doings you decided that wrath from your Rabb
- The Lord should befall you, and so you backed out of the promise to me?

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They answered:
‘We did not back out of our promise to you by our choice,

but we were loaded with burdens of jewelry of the Egyptian people,
so we cast them into the fire pit and that is what Samiri suggested’ to do.

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Then he – Samiri – brought out for them molten jewelry a sculpture the like of a golden
calf that lowed.
Whereupon they said to one another:
‘This is the entity for your worship and the entity for worship of Moses too,
but he has just forgotten’ this that is why he has gone elsewhere in search of finding one.

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Could they not see that this sculpture, the like of a calf neither gave them any response to their pleas,
nor had any power to do them any harm or benefit?

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And, indeed, even before the return of Moses, Aaron had told them:
‘O My People!
You are merely being tried and led astray by this sculpture, the like of a calf.
And, in fact, your Rabb - The Lord is The Immensely Merciful.
So follow me, and obey my order.’

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But they told Aaron:
‘We are not going to stop worshiping it - until Moses returns to us.’

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Moses rushed back and unaware of Aaron’s warning, he turned to his brother and shouted:
‘O Aaron!
What prevented you from stopping them, when you saw them going astray …

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…. from following me?
How could you disobey my order?’

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He - Aaron - said with compassion:
‘O Son of My Mother!
Do not grab me by my beard nor by my head.
Being fully mindful of your instructions to ‘take my place among my people and keep things right’ to mean that I should maintain harmony among the people and prevent differences at all cost, I was thus afraid that you might say:
‘You have divided Descendants of Jacob and paid no heed to my word.’

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He - Moses then turned to Samiri and - reprimanded him:
‘And what was your purpose O Samiri’ in doing such a monstrous thing?

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He - Samiri - answered:
‘I saw something what they did not see;

and so I picked up a handful of the dust from the traces of the messenger,
and I flung it into the molten jewelry sculpture –
for thus did my soul prompt me to do.’

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He - Moses warned him of the punishment and - said:
‘Then go away!
It is yours fate in this life to say:
‘Do not touch’ me.
And surely there is a promise of punishment for you in the Hereafter which you will never
be able to escape.
And now look at this worshipful entity of yours which you remained devoted to:
We are going to burn it all up -
and then scatter its particles over the sea’ - like powder.

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O Descendants of Jacob!
Your entity of worship is Only Allah, other than whom there is no entity of worship.
HIS Knowledge encompasses all things.

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In this way WE recount to you – O The Prophet - some of the historical events of what has happened before,
and indeed WE have given you the Remembrance - The Qur’an – from US.

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Whoever turns away from it - The Qur’an,
he will certainly bear a heavy burden of disobedience and its consequences during the Time of Resurrection.

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… there to remain in Hell forever.
And awful will be the burden for them during the Time of Resurrection!

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The Time when the Trumpet will be sounded -
and WE will gather the disbelieving criminals together struck blue with fright.

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They will be murmuring in subdued voices among themselves:
‘You may not have spent more than ten’ days on earth.

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WE Know very well what they say when they learned of them will say:
No.
‘You may have spent no longer than a day’ on earth.

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And given that everything will be destroyed while the Trumpet is sounded, the disbelievers are asking you – O The Prophet - about the state of mountains that are so firmly entrenched in the earth.

Tell them:
At that Time ‘my Rabb - The Lord will blast them up and scatter them far and wide as dust,

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a. and HE will level them as empty plain,

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a. in which you will neither see any crookedness/slope nor loftiness/obverse.’

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At that Time, everyone will follow the Caller/Calling Voice from which there will be no escape.
Then all voices will be silenced in awe of The Infinitely Merciful,
and you will hear nothing but murmuring in subdued voices.

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At that Time, intercession will be of no benefit to anyone -
except for the one to whom The Immensely Merciful will have granted permission to intercede,
and whose word of faith pleased HIM.

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HE Knows their present affairs and their past,
whereas they can never encompass anything of HIS Knowledge.

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And all faces will be humbled before the Ever- Living and the Self-Subsisting,
and whoever is burdened with being unjust/evildoing will have failed.

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But whoever will have practiced righteousness, being a believer,
he will neither fear any injustice, nor be deprived of a reward.

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And thus WE have sent it down as a Qur’an in Arabic,
and WE have detailed in it all manner of warnings and consequences of its disobedience repeatedly,
so that they may guard themselves against its disobedience/evil,
or at least it may inspire them to remembrance.

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Exalted is Allah, the True Sovereign!
And do not be in a hurry with committing to memory The Qur’an – O The Prophet - before its revelation onto you is completed.
Rather say:
O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!
Increase me in knowledge’ of what YOU have revealed on to me and the wisdom of its understanding.

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And earlier, WE had also warned Adam about wickedness of Iblees and forbidden him to approach a tree in Paradise;

but he forgot it,
and WE did not find in him determination and resolve to comply with OUR Warning.

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And remember when WE commanded the angels:
‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam!’
So they prostrated themselves, all except Iblees – of jinn species.
He refused.

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Therefore, WE warned Adam:
‘O Adam!
Indeed, this Iblees is an enemy to you and to your wife.
So let him not get the two of you out of Paradise,
else you will become miserable.’

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Four things needed for the sustenance of your life will be guaranteed in Paradise without any effort on your part:
It is granted to you that you will neither go hungry in it,
nor feel unclad.

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And, you will neither be thirsty therein,
nor suffer the heat of the blazing sun’ and swelter.

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Then Satan instigated him with an evil suggestion.
He said:
‘O Adam!
d . Shall I direct you to the Tree of Eternity, and,
e. to a kingship that will never extinct?’

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So they both - Adam and Eve - ate of it: a misguidance, Satanic instigation,
and thereupon privacy of their bodies became apparent to each of the two - unilaterally and bilaterally,
and by becoming conscious of having done something terribly shameful, they both began covering themselves with some leaves pieced together from the Paradise.
And, thus, Adam disobeyed the Command of his Rabb - The Lord, so he went astray.

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Then Adam fell in repentance and sought sincere forgiveness.
Notwithstanding his grievous error, his Rabb - The Lord chose him for HIS Grace and
purified him,
and accepted his repentance,
and guided him aright.

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After having accepted their repentance and blessed them with forgiveness and Guidance,
HE Commanded:

‘Get down, both of you, Adam and Eve, all together with Satan, and now you will live a life where ….
some of you will be enemies to some others.
Then whenever Guidance comes to you from ME, and
whoever follows MY Guidance will neither go astray in his life nor become miserable in his after-life, the Hereafter.

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But whoever turns away from MY Message/Reminder, he will have a life of hardship,
and WE will raise him up blind at the Time of Resurrection.’

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And so, at the Time of Resurrection, he will cry:
O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!
Why have YOU raised me up blind, while I could see before?’

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HE will say:
‘So it is.
Just as you ignored OUR Messages when they came to you by having turned a blind eye;
so, in the same way, you are blind now and will be ignored.’

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And in this way, WE payback whoever oversteps the limits and does not believe in the Messages of his Rabb - The Lord.
Yet the punishment of the Hereafter will be far more grievous and longer lasting.

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Do they not get guided by the history of many generations before their time that WE destroyed as they disobeyed OUR Messages -
they walk now as tourists in their ruined dwellings?
Surely, in this are lessons for a people of wisdom.

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And were it not for a Word/Decree from your Rabb - The Lord, and for a time already
appointed -
their punishment would indeed have been executed.

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O The Prophet!
So endure whatever they are saying while ridiculing your Mission and passing derogatory remarks against your person.
And Exalt your Rabb - The Lord, and praise HIM:
before the rising of the sun, and
before its setting.
And Exalt HIM
during some hours of the night,
as well as at the end of the day,
so that you can have spiritual peace and contentment.

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And do not let your eyes gaze longingly to those material riches WE have given to some of them to enjoy –
it is merely a splendor of the life of this world so WE can test them in it.
And the provision of your Rabb - The Lord is far better and longer-lasting.

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And enjoin the Salat/Prayer on your family and people, and be diligent in its observance.
WE are not asking you for any provision for OURSELVES.
On the contrary, it is WE WHO are providing for you.
And the good-end, the Hereafter, is for the righteousness – those who do deeds, speech, and dealings of righteousness.

20:133
And they say:
We will believe ‘only if he – Muhammad – would bring us a Sign/miracle from his Rabb - The Lord.’
Were they not given enough of Signs in the former Scriptures, which they belied and ridiculed?

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And had WE destroyed them with a punishment before this, they would have certainly said
at the Time of Final Judgment:
O ‘Our Rabb - The Lord!
If only YOU had assigned for us a Messenger, we would have obeyed him and followed
YOUR Commandments long before being thus humiliated and disgraced.’

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Say to them:
‘Every one of us is waiting for what the future will bring,
so you just wait!
And then you will know - in the Hereafter - who have been the People of the Straight Path, and
who have been guided’ along the Straight Path.