Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:16
So do not let one avert you from it who does not believe in it and follows his desire, for you [then] would perish.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His saying فَلا يَصُدَّنَّكَ عَنْهَا — Allah, exalted be His praise, says: Let not the one who does not believe in it — that is, the one who does not acknowledge the coming of the Hour, does not believe in the resurrection after death, expects no reward and fears no punishment — turn you away, O Moses, from preparing yourself for the Hour. His saying وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ — He says: who follows his own desire and defies the command and the prohibition of Allah. فَتَرْدَى — He says: then you will perish, if you turn away from preparing for the Hour and from believing in it and in the fact that Allah will raise the creatures from their graves for its standing-place after their perishing, by being turned away by the one who does not believe in it.
Some claimed that the hāʾ and the alif in His saying فَلا يَصُدَّنَّكَ عَنْهَا (from her/it) refer back to faith (al-īmān), and they said: it says عَنْهَا as a reference back to faith, just as it is said إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (referring back to the deed), without faith having been explicitly mentioned beforehand. But the Hour (al-sāʿa) has indeed been mentioned beforehand, so it is more correct that it refers back to that.
