Sūrah Ṭā Hā Ṭā Hā
سورة طه
A Makkan sūrah of 135 verses with the full story of Mūsā's call to prophethood, the confrontation with Pharaoh, and the aftermath. Al-Ṭabarī examines the nature of the divine voice, the meaning of the burning bush, and the story of the Sāmirī's calf.
Surah Overview
Key Themes from Al-Ṭabarī
The burning bush scene (20:11–16) "Indeed I am your Lord, so remove your sandals" is treated by al-Ṭabarī as evidence for direct divine speech to prophets. He collects narrations on how Mūsā heard Allah's voice: directly, from all directions simultaneously, from within the fire, from the tree. His preferred view based on strongest chains: Allah spoke directly to Mūsā (Kalīm Allāh the one who was spoken to by Allah directly) without any angelic intermediary making Mūsā's title "Kalīm Allāh" literally accurate.
The Sāmirī story (20:85–97) who was this person who led the Israelites to worship the golden calf in Mūsā's absence is examined carefully. Al-Ṭabarī presents the narrations on the Sāmirī's identity (a man from a tribe called al-Sāmirah, similar to the Samaritans) and his claim that he took a handful of soil from Jibrīl's footprint which gave the calf life. Al-Ṭabarī evaluates these narrations critically, noting which chains are strong and which come from Isrāʾīliyyāt sources.
- Kalīm Allāh: Al-Ṭabarī establishes through multiple chains that Mūsā's title (The one spoken to by Allah) means direct divine address a unique prophetic distinction.
- Sacred ground: The removal of sandals at Ṭuwā is traced through narrations on the holiness of the valley connecting to the broader Quranic theme of sacred spaces requiring reverence.
- Sāmirī's punishment: "Lā misās" (no touch) al-Ṭabarī presents narrations that this became a real physical condition: whoever touched him fell ill, making him socially isolated for life.
- ʿUmar's conversion: Al-Ṭabarī verifies the story of ʿUmar hearing this sūrah and converting through chain analysis before including it as historically reliable.
- Divine speech theology: Al-Ṭabarī's position on how Allah speaks (directly, without created intermediary for Mūsā) becomes a point of theology established through tafsīr.