020-Surah-Taha.pdf

Surat Ta-Ha is the 20th surah of the Qur'an with 135 ayat. It is named "Ta-Ha" because the sura starts with the Arabic letters (see Muqatta'at). It is a Meccan sura, from the second Meccan period. The main theme of the sura is about the existence of God. It addresses this theme through stories about Moses and Adam. Sura 20 displays several thematic and stylistic patterns described by Angelika Neuwirth in Jane McAuliffe's book "The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an." These include the chatological prophecies of the Qur'an, signs of God's existence, and debate. Additionally, sura 20 employs what has been termed the "ring structure" to reinforce its central theme. Among the subjects treated in this sura are God's call of Moses (Quran 20:10), the Exodus of the Israelites and the crossing of the Red Sea (20:77), the worship of the Golden Calf (20:88) and the Fall of Man (20:120). This is the Surah that convinced Umar to revert to Islam. --- Updated: 2018-08-18