In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A Gentle Commentary
on the book "Identification Cards
for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah Ta-Ha.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
We are still continuing with our gentle commentary on the identification cards,
and here we are with Surah Ta-Ha.
The first point of reflection
concerns the opening of the Surah.
He mentioned here in the book that it opens generally with the letters of the alphabet,
which are known as the disjointed letters (al-huruf al-muqatta'ah).
In truth, I followed in this regard the source
upon which I relied, namely al-Suyuti,
who followed those before him
in classifying the openings of the Surahs
into ten categories,
among which are the disjointed letters,
and he included "Ta-Ha" among them.
Otherwise, "Ta-Ha"
is not considered one of the disjointed letters
by consensus.
We have "Alif-Lam-Mim",
which is definitively among the disjointed letters,
and we have "Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad", which is also among the disjointed letters.
As for "Ta-Ha", there is disagreement concerning it,
and Imam al-Tabari preferred
a different view,
giving preponderance to the meaning: "O man."
However, I followed
al-Suyuti's classification
for the sake of simplicity.
Here is a second point of reflection,
and this second point
stems from the first:
namely, that the disjointed letters
should not all be treated
in the exact same manner.
Imam al-Tabari,
across many Surahs,
states: "The discussion regarding the disjointed letters has preceded,"
and then he cites some other narrations.
Yet his methodology requires further induction
in the way he cites
the discussion on the disjointed letters throughout the different Surahs.
In certain Surahs, however,
such as Surah Ta-Ha,
he mentions a dispute that takes it outside the category of disjointed letters,
and indeed,
he concluded, as I mentioned to you,
that "Ta-Ha"
means: "O man."
This is what is expected of a researcher:
the disjointed letters
are not all equal
in terms of the certainty of their belonging to this category.
There are certain openings
concerning which there is extensive debate,
and which warrant
closer examination,
such as Surah Qaf, Surah Ta-Ha,
and Surah Nun.
These,
even if the preponderant view
among the reciter or reader
is that they are disjointed letters,
ought not to be treated
in the same way as those that are
unequivocally considered disjointed letters by consensus.
It is an issue that requires
thorough research,
and perhaps some researchers will step forward
to undertake this matter.
The third and final point of reflection
concerns the occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) of the Surah.
He said: "No occasion of revelation has been mentioned for it."
I have previously clarified
that when I say "none has been mentioned for it,"
it differs from saying "I did not
find any for it."
When I state on the very same page,
regarding the virtues of the Surah: "and I did not find for it
an independent virtue,"
this means that I searched across various works
to the best of my ability and found none.
However, "no occasion of revelation has been mentioned for it" is said
because regarding the occasions of revelation,
despite the abundance of references, I relied
specifically on sources where no occasion of revelation was recorded for it.
Otherwise, the author himself,
Dr. Isam al-Humaydan,
the author of "Al-Sahih min Asbab al-Nuzul",
in his critical editing
of al-Wahidi's "Asbab al-Nuzul"—
meaning, this scholar
critically edited al-Wahidi's "Asbab al-Nuzul"—
and in al-Wahidi's work,
an occasion of revelation is mentioned for the beginning of the Surah,
but it was not deemed acceptable
by Isam al-Humaydan in terms of chain of transmission (isnad),
so he did not cite it.
I have noted that once a person reads al-Humaydan's book,
they gain a sound conception of the occasions of revelation,
after which they should expand further,
according to whatever Allah grants them,
by reading other works on the occasions of revelation.
One should add to it whenever finding a report
that appears verified or suitable
for citation, incorporating it
into what they already know.
With this, I conclude
these points of reflection
on Surah Ta-Ha.
May the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and all his Companions.
And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.