Surah Ta Ha (Ta Ha) 20 : 127

Explanatory Note

Hence, he asks: “Lord, why have You raised me up blind, while I was endowed with sight?” (Verse 125) The answer is not long coming: “Thus it is.. Our revelations were brought to you, but you were oblivious to them. So today shall you be consigned to oblivion. For thus shall We reward him who transgresses and does not believe in his Lord’s revelations. Indeed the suffering in the lift to come shall be most severe and most enduring.” (Verses 126-127) Anyone who turns his back on God’s message certainly transgresses. He walks away from the guidance brought to him by God’s Messenger when it is the richest blessing and the most valuable resource. He transgresses as he turns his sight to objects he was not meant to look at, yet remains oblivious to God’s revelations. It is not surprising that he lives a straitened life. Moreover, on the Day of Resurrection he will be raised up blind.

We note here how the wording and the images drawn provide complementary and contrasting scenes: the fall from heaven is followed by misery and going astray. It contrasts with the return to heaven where one is free from all such misery. A life of ease contrasts with a straitened life, and guidance contrasts with blindness. All this comes by way of comment on Adam’s story, which is the story of all mankind. It starts and ends in heaven, as we saw earlier in Sūrah 7, The Heights. However the scenes here are different. In each case, they fit the general emphasis of the sūrah in which they are drawn.