Sharh Riyad as-Saliheen by Ibn Uthaymeen — Volume 1 (شرح رياض الصالحين) — Page 763

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

شَرْحُ رِيَاضِ الصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ كَلَامِ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

A commentary on Riyadh al-Salihin, drawn from the words of the Master of the Messengers, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

ثُمَّ اسْتَشْهَدَ الْمُؤَلِّفُ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿طَهَ مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى﴾، وَطَهَ هَذِهِ حَرْفَانِ مِنْ حُرُوفِ الْهِجَاءِ، أَحَدُهُمَا طَاءٌ وَالثَّانِي هَاءٌ، وَلَيْسَتِ اسْمًا مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَمَا زَعَمَهُ بَعْضُهُمْ، بَلْ هِيَ مِنَ الْحُرُوفِ الْهِجَائِيَّةِ الَّتِي ابْتَدَأَ اللهُ بِهَا بَعْضَ السُّوَرِ الْكَرِيمَةِ مِنْ كِتَابِهِ الْعَزِيزِ، وَهِيَ حُرُوفٌ لَيْسَ لَهَا مَعْنًى؛ لِأَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ نَزَلَ بِاللُّغَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ، وَاللُّغَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ لَا تَجْعَلُ لِلْحُرُوفِ الْهِجَائِيَّةِ مَعْنًى، بَلْ لَا يَكُونُ لَهَا مَعْنًى إِلَّا إِذَا رُكِّبَتْ وَكَانَتْ كَلِمَةً.

The author cites the Almighty’s words: "Ta-Ha. We did not send down the Quran to you to cause you distress." Ta-Ha consists of two letters of the alphabet, Ta and Ha. It is not one of the names of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as some have claimed. Rather, these are among the alphabetical letters with which Allah begins certain noble surahs of His Mighty Book. Such letters carry no inherent meaning because the Quran was revealed in Arabic, a language that assigns no meaning to individual letters unless they are combined to form words.

وَلَكِنْ لَهَا مَغْزًى عَظِيمٌ، هَذَا الْمَغْزَى الْعَظِيمُ هُوَ التَّحَدِّي الظَّاهِرُ لِهَؤُلَاءِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ لِلرَّسُولِ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ، هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُكَذِّبُونَ لِلرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَجَزُوا أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِشَيْءٍ مِثْلَ الْقُرْآنِ؛ لَا بِسُورَةٍ وَلَا بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ وَلَا بِآيَةٍ، وَمَعَ هَذَا فَإِنَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ الَّذِي أَعْجَزَهُمْ لَمْ يَأْتِ بِحُرُوفٍ غَرِيبَةٍ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَعْرِفُونَهَا، بَلْ أَتَى بِالْحُرُوفِ الَّتِي يُرَكِّبُونَ مِنْهَا كَلَامَهُمْ.

They do, however, hold great significance: they serve as a manifest challenge to those who denied the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. These deniers were unable to produce anything like the Quran, whether a full surah, ten surahs, or even a single verse. Yet, this Quran that rendered them helpless did not use strange, unknown letters; it used the very letters they themselves use to construct their own speech.

…3 more translated lines, 15 more verbs and 53 more nouns on this page — subscribe to study every page.

Vocabulary · المفردات (18 verbs · 56 nouns)

• صَلَّى — to pray
• اسْتَشْهَدَ — to cite
• أَنْزَلَ — to send down
• شَرْح — explanation
• رِيَاض — gardens
• صَالِح — righteous person