Ta Ha (Ta Ha) طه 118–122
118
إِنَّ لَكَ أَلَّا تَجُوعَ فِيهَا وَلَا تَعْرَى
‘Here you shall not go hungry or be naked,
119
وَأَنَّكَ لَا تَظْمَأُ فِيهَا وَلَا تَضْحَى
you shall not thirst, nor feel the sun’s heat.’
120
فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ قَالَ يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَى
But Satan whispered evil to him, saying, ‘Adam, shall I lead you to the tree of immortality and to a kingdom that never declines?’
121
فَأَكَلَا مِنْهَا فَبَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْآتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ الْجَنَّةِ وَعَصَى آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَغَوَى
They both ate the fruit of this tree, and so they became conscious of their nakedness and began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden. Thus Adam disobeyed his Lord and fell into error.
122
ثُمَّ اجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَهَدَى
Then his Lord had mercy on him, accepted his repentance and guided him.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
(a) God kept Adam, with his spouse, in paradise, where he was freely and amply provided with all the necessities of life – food, clothing, water and shelter. Adam was not required to do anything in return for these blessings, unlike in the present world where man has to earn all these things by his own hard labour. In paradise, the fruit of a certain tree was prohibited for Adam. But Satan came and described to him the eternal advantages of this fruit. Adam, influenced by what he said, ate it, then immediately felt that he was naked. This was symbolic of the fact that God had instantly withdrawn the guarantee of providing him with sustenance without his having to earn it by his own labour. Thereafter, on his supplication and repentance, he was pardoned. However, he was removed from a world where God’s bounty had been freely given and sent to a world where he had to earn his living by the sweat of his brow. Such was the beginning of human existence on this earth.