Surah Ta Ha (Ta Ha) 20 : 36

Overview (Verses 35 - 36)

Requests Granted
 
So, Moses requests his Lord to open up his heart, so that the hard task before him would be a pleasure to undertake. It would also motivate him to carry on with it without impediment. He further prays to God to facilitate his task. When God facilitates a task for anyone, it is certain to succeed. For, what can man accomplish on his own, unless God facilitates matters for him? How can he achieve success when he has only limited ability and deficient knowledge while the road ahead is long, difficult and unknown.
 
The first thing Moses prayed for was heart reassurance that he would clearly feel, and then that God should facilitate things for him. What can man do without such help, relying on his little ability and limited knowledge? But Moses requests more to help him with his task. He wanted his tongue to be freed so that people could understand him easily when he spoke. It has been reported that he suffered from some sort of speech impediment. Most probably this is what he means here. It is further supported by what he is quoted as saying: “My brother Aaron is far better in speech than I am.” (28: 34) The prayer Moses said here was made first in general terms. Now he adds details which he feels necessary for the task ahead.
 
First he asks for a helper from his own family, and that was Aaron. He knew Aaron to be outspoken, courageous and yet someone who could control his feelings. Moses himself was passionate and rather hot-tempered. Therefore, he requested his Lord for support, letting his brother share in the fulfilment of his task. He realized that his task required much glorification of God, constant remembering of Him and contact with Him through prayers. Thus we see Moses requesting God to open up his heart and facilitate his task, to free him of his speech difficulty, and give him a helper from among his family. All this he needed not to carry on the task entrusted to him, but rather so that he and his brother could glorify God and remember Him often as He should be remembered and glorified. Thus, they would be able to receive His guidance, as He is the One who knows their situation best. “You are surely watching over us.” (Verse 35) You know our limited resources and our need for Your help.
 
God, benevolent and compassionate as He is, does not let His guest go back empty-handed. Nor does He delay answering his prayer: “Said He: ‘You are granted all that you have asked for, Moses.’” (Verse 36)
 
Just a simple word, without the need for detail, sums up the positive and immediate response. Moses has been granted all that he requested. The way this response is phrased indicates that all that Moses requested became a reality immediately. Then, Moses hears his Lord addressing him by name. What is more honourable than that God in His majesty should mention one of His servants by name?
 
This is more than anyone can hope for of God’s grace and compassion. The meeting took its time and the address was made in full, with a complete and positive response to Moses’ prayer. Yet God’s grace continues to be bestowed in abundance. There is no check to slow down or prevent God’s mercy when He grants it. Therefore, He gives Moses even further reassurance as He reminds him that His grace has been shown to him for a long time. Moreover, every moment longer he stays in his Lord’s presence gives him further happiness and greater strength to pursue his mission. And indeed We bestowed Our favour upon you in a time gone by, when We inspired your mother, saying: Place [your child] in a chest and throw it into the river. The river will cast him ashore, and one who is an enemy to Me and an enemy to him will pick him up.’ I lavished My love on you, so that you may be reared under My watchful eye. Then your sister went forth and said [to Pharaoh’s people]: ‘Shall I direct you to one who might take care of him?’ Thus did We restore you to your mother, so that her mind might be set at ease and that she might not grieve. And [when you came of age,] you killed a man; but We saved you from all grief although We tested you with various trials. You then stayed for years among the people of Madyan; and now you have come here, Moses, as ordained [by Me]; for I have chosen you for Myself (Verses 37-41) Moses was going to meet the most powerful man on earth, a tyrant who knew no mercy. Against him he was to conduct the battle between faith and unfaith. He would be in the thick of things, facing all sorts of difficulties, against Pharaoh at first, then against his own people whose nature had been corrupted by long subjugation. They did not have the necessary qualities to fulfil the mission entrusted to them after they were liberated from Pharaoh’s tyranny. Hence, God tells him that he, Moses, has been fully equipped for the task, as he was reared under God’s watchful eye, given the necessary skills for taking on seemingly impossible tasks, right from the time of his infancy. God took care of him in his formative years when he placed him right under Pharaoh’s nose, without any other care or support. Yet Pharaoh’s hand could not harm him, because it was God who took care of him. He need not worry now about Pharaoh’s power, as he still enjoys God’s help and care in his adulthood. It is God who has chosen him for His mission.