Which Surah and Juz is Quran 20:40 from?

This ayah is from Surah Taa-Haa (Taa-Haa), the 20th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 16.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 20:40?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Sahih Muslim, Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abu Dawud.

What tafsir is available for Quran 20:40?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Al-Jalalayn, Ibn Abbas — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

Ayah 39

أَنِ ٱقْذِفِيهِ فِى ٱلتَّابُوتِ فَٱقْذِفِيهِ فِى ٱ...

20:40Taa-Haa

Q: What does Quran 20:40 mean?

Quran 20:40 (Surah Taa-Haa, Ayah 40) translates to: "[And We favored you] when your sister went and said, 'Shall I direct you to someone who will be responsible for him?' So We restored you to your mother that she might be content and not grieve. And you killed someone, but We saved you from retaliation and tried you with a [severe] trial. And you remained [some] years among the people of Madyan. Then you came [here] at the decreed time, O Moses."

Q: What topics does Quran 20:40 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Prophet Musa, Divine Decree, Divine Protection, Patience, Trust in Allah (Tawakkul).

Ayah 41

وَٱصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِى...

إِذْ تَمْشِىٓ أُخْتُكَ فَتَقُولُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ مَن يَكْفُلُهُۥ ۖ فَرَجَعْنَٰكَ إِلَىٰٓ أُمِّكَ كَىْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ ۚ وَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًۭا فَنَجَّيْنَٰكَ مِنَ ٱلْغَمِّ وَفَتَنَّٰكَ فُتُونًۭا ۚ فَلَبِثْتَ سِنِينَ فِىٓ أَهْلِ مَدْيَنَ ثُمَّ جِئْتَ عَلَىٰ قَدَرٍۢ يَٰمُوسَىٰ

Iz tamsheee ukhtuka fataqoolu hal adullukum 'alaa mai yakfuluhoo faraja 'naaka ilaaa ummika kai taqarra 'ainuhaa wa laa tahzan; wa qatalta nafsan fanajjainaaka minal ghammi wa fatannaaka futoonaa; falabista sineena feee ahli Madyana summa ji'ta 'alaa qadariny yaa Moosa

[And We favored you] when your sister went and said, 'Shall I direct you to someone who will be responsible for him?' So We restored you to your mother that she might be content and not grieve. And you killed someone, but We saved you from retaliation and tried you with a [severe] trial. And you remained [some] years among the people of Madyan. Then you came [here] at the decreed time, O Moses.

Themes in this ayah

Explore in Habl →

Lessons from past peoples98 Mercy & forgiveness75 Decree & what is written74

Scores run 0–100: how strongly this ayah speaks to a theme. 70+ is central, 50+ is clear, under 50 is weak.

7 other themes with weak connections

Labeled by AI and people · How this works

Follow this theme through Taa-HaaFollow this theme

20:40Ayah 1135

43 ayahs in Taa-Haa are strongly about lessons from past peoples. This is one of them.

← Previous on Lessons from past peoples20:39[Saying], 'Cast him into the chest and cast it into the river, and the river will throw it onto the bank;Next on Lessons from past peoples →20:41And I produced you for Myself.

Tafsir

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 20:40→

When idh for explanation your sister Maryam walked up to obtain news of you for they had brought wet nurses for you but you would not take to the breast of any of them and she then said “Shall I show you someone who will take care of him?”. Her offer was accepted and so she brought them his mother and he took to her breasts. Thus We restored you to your mother that her eyes might rejoice in seeing you again and not grieve at that point anymore. Then you slew a soul namely the Copt in Egypt — and you became distressed for having slain him because of how Pharaoh would react; whereupon We delivered you from great distress and We tried you with various ordeals We tested you by landing you in some other ordeal and again delivered you from it. Then you stayed for several years ten years among the people of Midian after you had reached it having left Egypt staying with the prophet Shu‘ayb and marrying his daughter. Then you came hither as ordained in My knowledge with the Message that you will deliver — and this was when you were forty years old O Moses!

You sent me to a servant. who did not want to die. Allah restored his eye to its proper place (and revived his eyesight), and then said: Go back to him and tell him that if he wants life he must place his hand on the back of an ox, and he would be granted as many years of life as the number of hair covered by his hand. He (Moses) said: My Lord what would happen then He said: Then you must court death. He said: Let it be now. And he supplicated Allah to bring him close to the sacred land. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: If I were there, I would have shown you his grave beside the road at the red mound.

Sahih Muslim #5452Mughira b. Shu'ba reported:Sahih

When I came to Najran, they (the Christians of Najran) asked me: You read" O sister of Harun" (i. e. Hadrat Maryam) in the Qur'an, whereas Moses was born much before Jesus. When I came back to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I asked him about that, whereupon he said: The (people of the old age) used to give names (to their persons) after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them.

Sahih al-Bukhari #4191Narrated Abu Musa:Sahih

My brother and I came from Yemen (to Medina) and remained for some time, thinking that Ibn Masud and his mother belonged to the family of the Prophet (ﷺ) because of their frequent entrance (upon the Prophet) and their being attached to him.

Sahih al-Bukhari #5751Narrated Asma':Sahih

"My mother who was a Mushrikah (pagan, etc.), came with her father during the period of peace pact between the Muslims and the Quraish infidels. I went to seek the advice of the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "My mother has arrived and she is hoping (for my favor)." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Yes, be good to your mother."

Sunan Abu Dawud #5168Hilal b. Yasaf said :

We were staying in the house of Suwaid b. Muqarrin. There was among us an old man who was hot-tempered. He had a slave-girl with him. He gave a slap on her face. I never saw Suwaid more angry than on that day. He said: there is no alternative for you except to free her. I was the seventh child in order of Muqarrin and we had only a female servant. The youngest of us gave a slap on her face. The prophet (May peace be upon him) commanded us to set her free.