Та Ха 20:13–19

How to conduct oneself when the Qur'an is being recited

فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَىٰ (So listen to what is revealed - 20:13). Sayyidna Wahb Ibn Munabbih has said that the correct behavior while listening to the recitation of the Qur'an is, that one sits still, refrains from any unnecessary movement in a way that no organ of his body is involved in any other work, keeps eyes down - concentrates the mind towards understanding its meaning. The person who listens to the Holy Qur'an in this respectful manner is rewarded by Allah Ta` ala with a better understanding of His word.

إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِ‌ي (Surely I am ALLAH. There is no god but I, so worship Me and establish Salah for My remembrance - 20:14): with these words Allah Ta` ala bestowed upon Sayyidna Masu (علیہ السلام) knowledge of all the basic principles of the true Faith, namely the Oneness of Allah Ta` ala, the prophethood and the Hereafter. فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَىٰ (So listen to what is revealed) refers to prophethood. فَاعْبُدْنِي means "worship Me alone and no one else". This points to the Oneness of Allah Ta` ala.إِنَّ السَّاعَةَ آتِيَةٌ (Surely, the Hour has to come) points to the inevitability of the Hereafter. Although the word فَاعْبُدْنِي (worship Me) encompasses the injunction for prayers also yet it has been mentioned separately to stress its special merit relative to the other forms of worship. It is the pillar of the Faith and its neglect is the mark of the infidels.

أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِ‌ي (Establish Salah for My remembrance - 20:14): means that the essence of prayer is the remembrance of Allah Ta` ala and that the Salah, from beginning to end is nothing but remembering Allah - with the tongue, the heart and the other organs of the body. Therefore, one should not neglect to remember Allah Ta` ala while praying. This sentence also means that if a person omits to say his prayers at the appointed time due to over-sleeping or forgetfulness while engrossed in some other task, he should say his prayers as soon as he wakes up from sleep or becomes aware of his lapse. This is according to Hadith.

أَكَادُ أُخْفِيهَا (I would keep it secret - 20:15): Allah Ta` ala says that He wishes to keep the circumstances relating to the Day of Judgment hidden from all created things including prophets and angels. The word أَكَادُ (I would) gives a subtle hint that it is only to induce people to good deeds that the coming of the Day of Judgment has been disclosed, otherwise even this fact would have been concealed.

لِتُجْزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَىٰ (So that everyone is given a return for the effort one makes - 20:15). If this phrase is taken to be linked with the word آتِيَةٌ (has to come) then it would mean that this world is not a place of requital. Here a person does not receive recompense according to his merits and even if he receives some reward in this world it is just a token which does not constitute the full recompense of his deeds. It is, therefore, essential that there should be a time when everybody would receive his due reward.

Another possibility about the construction of this phrase is that it is taken to be linked with the words أَكَادُ أُخْفِيهَا (I would keep it secret - 20:15). In this case, it would mean that the philosophy in not revealing the time of death and the Day of Judgment is that people should continue in their endeavours and should not cease to strive in the belief that their own death or the Day of Judgment are still far away in the future. (Ruh)

فَلَا يَصُدَّنَّكَ عَنْهَا (must not make you neglectful of it - 20:16 ) Here Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) is cautioned by Allah Ta’ ala lest he should allow himself to be led away by the infidels and become negligent about the Day of Judgment because that would be the cause of his ruination. It is clear that a Prophet and a Messenger who is impeccable cannot commit such a lapse but the fact that such a warning has been addressed to him is meant to warn his followers as well as mankind at large to be cautious in the matter

Commentary

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَىٰ The question: "What is in your right hand, 0 Musa"? - 20:17 marks the beginning of the special favour which Allah Ta` ala showed towards Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) in order to dispel the fear created by the unusual sights that he had seen and the Divine Word that he had heard. The style in which Allah Ta` ala addressed him was friendly, inquiring from him what he held in his hand. Besides there was a subtle purpose in the question, namely to make him aware that what he held in his hand was a staff made of wood and nothing more. And when he had satisfied himself again that it was indeed a wooden staff, then the miracle of turning it into a serpent was revealed, thus precluding any doubt in his mind that in the darkness of the night he might have picked up a serpent instead of his staff.

قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ (He said, “ It is my staff” – 20:18. The simple question which was put to Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) i.e. "What is in your hand?" called for an equally brief answer, such as, "It is a staff'. But he volunteered additional information which was outside the scope of the question put to him. First, he said that the staff belonged to him; second, that it served him many purposes, namely that he often reclined on it, and also beat down leaves from trees for his goats; third, that he put it to many other uses. This long and detailed reply is a perfect combination of extreme love and adoration on the one hand and profound reverence on the other. It is a natural human instinct that when a person finds the object of his adoration to be kind and attentive, he wishes to prolong the conversation in order to get the best advantage. At the same time the dictates of extreme respect require that the conversation should remain within proper limits and not become too lengthy. For this reason he ended his reply with a brief statement وَلِيَ فِيهَا مَآرِ‌بُ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ i.e. "And for me it has many other uses", but he did not give any detail of those "other uses". (Ruh and Mazhari)

From this verse Qurtubi has deduced in his Tafsir that when needed, it is permissible, while answering a question, to include matters which are not specifically covered in the question.

Rule

This verse also shows that carrying a staff is a practice followed by the prophets. The Holy Prophet ﷺ also used to carry a staff in his hand and this practice has numerous religious as well as mundane advantages.