Taha · Makki · ayah 122 of 135

Taha 20:122

ثُمَّ ٱجْتَبَـٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَهَدَىٰ

“Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him].”

Saheeh International

Essence

After the fall comes 'then': his Lord drew him in, turned to him and guided him, like a bolting horse walking home.

A reflection

The horse that gathers itself after bolting

Thumma jtabāhu rabbuh: then his Lord chose him. The verb carries pictures the first hearers knew. The lexicons say the root means gathering. You jabā water into a trough, and the trough that holds it is a jābiya. One lexicon defines ijtibāʾ as gathering by way of choosing out: not sweeping everything in, but drawing in the one thing picked.

One classical commentary adds a third picture, and it is the most moving. The Arabs said of a horse, ijtabat al-faras nafsahā: the mare gathered herself, when she pulled herself together and came back after shying and bolting.

Picture a riding school on a windy morning. A young mare is spooked by a plastic bag and bolts across the paddock, mane flying. The instructor does not chase her. She stands still in the middle, one hand out. At the far fence the mare slows, turns, stands trembling. Then, gathering herself, she walks back across the grass, and puts her nose into the waiting hand.

That is the shape of this ayah. Adam had bolted. Then his Lord drew him in. And notice the order. The commentaries explain that He chose him and brought him near by moving him to repent and enabling him to do it. The choosing came first. Even the turning back was a gift.

One commentary notes that the ayah says his Lord, rabbuhu. That joins Adam to Allah's care, a further honour, right after the word 'disobeyed'.

If you have bolted, from prayer, from a promise, from the person you meant to be, this is the picture to hold. The hand is still out. The One who holds it is the one who drew the water into the trough. Slow down, turn, and walk back. You will find He started the gathering before you did.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.