Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 126

(Ayah 126) ➊ By “{قَالَ كَذٰلِكَ اَتَتْكَ …: ’’ كَذٰلِكَ ‘‘} (in this way)” is meant “to be blind,” as mentioned in the question: O my Lord! Why have You raised me blind? The answer will be: «{قَالَ كَذٰلِكَ اَتَتْكَ اٰيٰتُنَا فَنَسِيْتَهَا}» that in the same way Our signs came to you, but you forgot them. The words of both verses show that a lengthy matter has been summarized in such a way that the omitted words are understood automatically. In the question, blindness is mentioned; in the answer, forgetting is mentioned. This brevity occurs in three places: the first brevity is in {’’ وَ نَحْشُرُهٗ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ اَعْمٰى ({وَ نَنْسَاهُ} “We will raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection (and forget him),” the second and third brevity are in {’’ قَالَ كَذٰلِكَ اَتَتْكَ اٰيٰتُنَا فَنَسِيْتَهَا ( {وَ عَمِيْتَ عَنْهَا} ) وَ كَذٰلِكَ الْيَوْمَ ( {وَ تُحْشَرُ أَعْمٰي} ) “He will say: In the same way, Our signs came to you, but you forgot them (and became blind to them), and in the same way today you will be forgotten (and raised blind).” In the terminology of rhetoric, this is called {’’ اِحْتِبَاكٌ ‘‘}. (Ibn Ashur)

➋ Note that forgetting the verses here means not believing in them and not acting upon them; it does not mean forgetting after memorizing. The evidence for this is in the next verse: « {وَ كَذٰلِكَ نَجْزِيْ مَنْ اَسْرَفَ وَ لَمْ يُؤْمِنْۢ بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّهٖ} » [ طٰہٰ : ۱۲۷ ] “And thus do We recompense him who transgresses and does not believe in the signs of his Lord.” A person who believes and, due to illness or preoccupation, forgets some verses after memorizing them is not included in this.

➌ There is no authentic hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) threatening those who forget the Qur’an after memorizing it. A few weak narrations are as follows: (1) In Musnad Ahmad (5/285, H: 22524), it is narrated from Sa’d bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ وَمَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ قَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ فَنَسِيَهٗ إِلاَّ لَقِيَ اللّٰهَ يَوْمَ يَلْقَاهٗ وَهُوَ أَجْذَمُ ] “And any person who recites the Qur’an and then forgets it, he will meet Allah on the Day of Judgment as a leper.” In one chain, ‘Isa bin Faid is a majhool (unknown) narrator, and his sheikh is also unknown. In the other chain, ‘Isa bin Faid is also majhool. (2) In Sunan Abu Dawood (461) and Tirmidhi (2916), it is narrated from Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ عُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ أَجُوْرُ أُمَّتِيْ حَتَّی الْقَذَاةُ يُخْرِجُهَا الرَّجُلُ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ وَعُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ ذُنُوْبُ أُمَّتِيْ فَلَمْ أَرَ ذَنْبًا أَعْظَمَ مِنْ سُوْرَةٍ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ أُوْتِيَهَا رَجُلٌ ثُمَّ نَسِيَهَا ] “The rewards of my ummah were presented before me, even the straw that a man removes from the mosque, and the sins of my ummah were presented before me, and I did not see any sin greater than that a man was given a surah or an ayah of the Qur’an and then he forgot it.” Shaykh Nasiruddin al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said that its chain is weak, because Ibn Jurayj and Mutalib bin Abdullah are both mudallis, and they narrate with “an” (uncertain transmission), and Bukhari and Tirmidhi have declared it weak. For details, see Da’if Abi Dawood (71).

➍ The extent of harm caused to the ummah by weak and fabricated narrations cannot be estimated. I have seen many men and women who, because of these narrations, were deprived of memorizing the Qur’an, even though it is clear that someone who forgets the Qur’an due to preoccupation, illness, or negligence is a thousand times better than the one who never read or memorized the Qur’an, because in any case, he has more knowledge of the Qur’an than the latter, and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. To equate this with the greatest sin of shirk or to declare it a cause of leprosy is nothing but the result of the narrators’ ignorance and tadlis.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

Allah will say: "Just as Our signs came to you and you forgot them, so today you will be forgotten in the same way [92]."

[92] That is, Allah the Exalted will reply that We recompense people in this way, giving them a fitting return in a similar manner. You heard Our verses and ignored them, and you completely forgot Us. Today, We too are making you forgotten, and you will remain distant from Our mercy. This punishment is what you are receiving in this plain of resurrection according to your deeds, and the torment that is yet to be given to you will be even more severe and everlasting, which will never end.