{"collection":"Texts of Islam","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_pick_020_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_pick_020_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_isl_pick_020_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/isl/pick/020.htm","summary":"This is Surah Ta Ha, the twentieth chapter of the Quran, presented in M.M. Pickthall's early 20th-century English translation, which aimed for literal fidelity while preserving the elevated register of the original Arabic. The surah opens by addressing the Prophet Muhammad directly, reassuring him that the Quran was not given as a burden but as guidance for the God-fearing, then establishes Allah's absolute sovereignty over creation. The bulk of the chapter retells the story of Moses at length: his divine commissioning at the burning bush, his confrontation with Pharaoh and the contest with Egyptian sorcerers, the Exodus, and the Israelites' subsequent worship of the golden calf crafted by a figure called As-Samiri. The narrative closes with eschatological warnings \u2014 vivid descriptions of the Day of Resurrection when the guilty appear white-eyed with terror, mountains are scattered to dust, and intercession belongs only to those Allah permits. A distinctive feature is the surah's frame structure: it begins and ends by addressing Muhammad, embedding the Moses story as a precedent meant to console and instruct a prophet facing his own opposition. Pickthall's rendering, with its archaic \"thee/thou\" diction and parenthetical glosses, reflects a translation philosophy that prioritizes solemnity over accessibility.","tags":[],"text":null,"title":"The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'\u00e2n,: 20. Ta Ha: Ta Ha","tradition":"Texts of Islam","translated_text":null,"word_count":2951}