فَتَعَٰلَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْحَقُّ وَلَا تَعْجَلْ بِٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يُقْضَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَحْيُهُۥ وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِى عِلْمًا
Fa-taʿāla'llāhu'l-maliku'l-ḥaqq, wa lā taʿjal bi'l-Qurʾāni min qabli an yuqḍā ilayka waḥyuh, wa qul rabbi zidnī ʿilmā
"Exalted is God, the True Sovereign. Do not hasten with the Qurʾān before its revelation to you is completed, and say: 'My Lord, increase me in knowledge.'"
In the eighty-third and eighty-fourth verses the root ع-ج-ل had occurred twice and was tabulated there. This is the third and last verse of the link.
| Verse | Expression | To whom | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | Wa mā aʿjalaka ʿan qawmik | To Moses | A question |
| 84 | Wa ʿajiltu ilayka rabbi li-tarḍā | Moses's answer | The ground: good pleasure |
| 114 | Wa lā taʿjal bi'l-Qurʾān | To the Prophet | A prohibition |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is that the three verses carry the same root. The link has three notes:
One — neither haste is ill-intentioned. Moses hastens for his Lord's good pleasure; the haste forbidden to the Prophet is the haste of not losing the revelation. The sūra records that a well-intentioned haste can also break an order.
Two — in both hastes there is a leaving behind. Moses left his people behind; hasty reciting leaves the completing of the revelation behind. That is, in both cases the haste leaves something wanting behind it.
Three — and the sūra answers the two hastes in two different ways: Moses is told what has happened (fa-innā qad fatannā qawmaka min baʿdik), the Prophet what he is to do (wa qul rabbi zidnī ʿilmā).
And the root had occurred three times in the seventy-second verse (faqḍi mā anta qāḍ innamā taqḍī) — in the sorcerers' answer. The same root, there for the limit of a decree, here for the completing of the revelation.
The object of the prohibition must be recorded: hastening to recite or to take. The verse commands waiting for the revelation to be finished.
I record this as an observation: the prohibition is placed not on the addressee's desire but on his timing. What is wanted is not wrong — its turn has not been waited for.
The same line occurs at al-Qiyāma 75/16-19 (lā tuḥarrik bihi lisānaka li-taʿjala bih) and was treated at al-Qiyāma. I rely on that treatment. The difference between the two verses is worth recording: in al-Qiyāma the object of the prohibition is the movement of the tongue, in Ṭāhā the haste itself.
A point of word order: the prayer comes immediately after a prohibition. Do not hasten — and say: increase me in knowledge.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the adjacency of the two sentences: the prohibition could have stood as a subtraction — "wait, do not take". The prayer that follows does not remove the desire; it changes its direction. That is, not to hasten does not mean not to want.
And the choice of verb is worth recording: zid — "increase". Not ʿallimnī (teach me); what is asked is an addition upon what is already there.
| Verse | Expression | What |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Lā yaḍillu rabbī wa lā yansā | The unerringness of knowledge |
| 98 | Wasiʿa kulla shayʾin ʿilmā | Encompassing |
| 110 | Wa lā yuḥīṭūna bihi ʿilmā | Inability to encompass |
| 114 | Rabbi zidnī ʿilmā | A request for increase |
Four verses, one word. I record this as my own reading: the sūra first says where knowledge is complete, then that the human being cannot encompass it; and after that an increase is asked for. That is, the request is built on ground where the claim to encompass has been refused.
On one side there is a prohibition: not to take hastily what is not yet complete. On the other a prayer: to ask for more. The two do not conflict — because the prohibition looks to speed, the prayer to quantity.
And I record one last datum of the text: a prayer for increase commanded to the Prophet occurs in this verse and its subject is knowledge. This is a verifiable record, and I build no claim upon it.