20. Sura Taha

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

قَالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمَى وَقَدْ كُنتُ بَصِيرًا ﴿١٢٥﴾

20: 125. He will say: "O my Lord! why hast thou raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)?"

C2649. Because Allah gave him physical sight in this life for trial, he thinks he should be favoured in the real world, the world that matters! He misused his physical sight and made himself blind for the other world.

وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي مَنْ أَسْرَفَ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِن بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ...

20: 127. And thus do We recompense him who transgresses beyond bounds and believes not in the Signs of his Lord:

...وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَشَدُّ وَأَبْقَى ﴿١٢٧﴾

and the Penalty of the Hereafter is far more grievous and more enduring.

C2651. Blindness in the world of enduring Reality is far worse than physical blindness in the world of probation.

أَفَلَمْ يَهْدِ لَهُمْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّنَ الْقُرُونِ...

20: 128. It is not a warning to such men (to call to mind) how many generations before them We destroyed,

...يَمْشُونَ فِي مَسَاكِنِهِمْ...

in whose haunts they (now) move?

...إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ

This phrase concluded the argument of لِّأُوْلِي النُّهَى ﴿١٢٨﴾

Verily, in this are Signs for men endued with understanding.

C2652. Cf. 20:54.

Moses with Pharaoh about Pharaoh's blindness to Allah and the Signs of Allah.

Now it concludes the more general argument about men, concerning whom the saying arose: 'none are so blind as those who will not see.'

وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِّنْهُمْ...

20: 131. Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them,

...زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ...

the splendor of the life of this world, through which We test them:

...وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى ﴿١٣١﴾

but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring.

C2656. The good things of this life make a brave show, but they are as nothing compared with the good of the Hereafter.

Both are provided by Allah. But the former are given to the just and the unjust as a test and trial, and in any case will pass away; while the latter come specially from Allah for His devoted servants, and are incomparably of more value and will last through eternity.

Asad’s Version:

[[20:125

[And so, on Resurrection Day, the sinner] will ask: "O my Sustainer! Why hast Thou raised me up blind, whereas [on earth] I was endowed with sight?" (20:126) [God] will reply: "Thus it is: there came unto thee Our messages, but thou wert oblivious of them; and thus shalt thou

be today consigned to oblivion!"

20:127

For, thus shall We recompense him who wastes his own self... and does not believe in his Sustainer's messages: and, indeed, the suffering [of such sinners] in the life to come shall be most severe and most enduring!

20:128

CAN, THEN, they [who reject the truth] learn no lesson by recalling how many a generation We have destroyed before their time? 111 " - [people] in whose dwelling-places they [themselves now] walk about? In this, behold, there are messages indeed for those who are endowed with

reason! ]]

20:131

Wala tamuddanna AAaynayka ila ma mattaAAna bihi azwajan minhum zahrata alhayati alddunya linaftinahum feehi warizqu rabbika khayrun waabqa

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Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad	And never turn thine, eyes [with longing] towards whatever splendour of this world's life We may have allowed so many others 115 to enjoy in order that We might test them thereby: for the sustenance which thy Sustainer provides [for thee] is better and more enduring. 116	&#x21E8
M. M. Pickthall	And strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby. The provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting.	&#x21E8
Shakir	And do not stretch your eyes after that with which We have provided different classes of them, (of) the splendor of this world's life, that We may thereby try them; and the sustenance (given) by your Lord is better and more abiding.	&#x21E8
Yusuf Ali	Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendour of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and more enduring.	&#x21E8
Wahiduddin Khan	Do not regard with envy the worldly benefits We have given some of them, for with these We seek only to test them. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.	&#x21E8
[Al-Muntakhab]	And do not direct your sight wistfully O Muhammad at the advantages We gave to some among the various sects; it is the flower of life below and it is a means of trial. It is the gist with which We test their response and their behaviour, whereas the blessed victual provisioned by Allah Hereafter is excellence personified and more lasting.	&#x21E8
[Progressive Muslims]	And do not strain your eyes on what We have given other people as luxuries of this worldly life, where We are testing them with it. The provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.

[[Asad’s notes - 115 Lit., "groups for "kinds"] of them" (azwajanminhum ). According to most of the commentators, this relates to the deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding passages; but since the above

injunction has obviously a wider purport, condemning envy in general, I have rendered this expression as "so many others".

116 Implying that whatever God grants a person is an outcome of divine wisdom and, therefore, truly appropriate to the destiny which God has decreed for that person. Alternatively, the phrase may be understood as referring to the life to come and the spiritual sustenance which God bestows upon the righteous. ]]

[[Ali’s notes -

2656 The good things of this life make a brave show, but they are as nothing compared with the good of the Hereafter. Both are provided by Allah. But the former are given to the just and the unjust as a test and trial, and in any case will pass away; while the latter come specially from Allah for His devoted servants, and are incomparably of more value and will last through eternity. (20.131) ]]