Al-Qur'an Surah Taha Verse 94

Mufti Taqi Usmani

He said, “O son of my mother, do not hold me by my beard, nor by my head. I feared that you would say, ‘You have caused discord among the children of Isrā’īl and did not observe my advice.’”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Aaron pleaded, “O son of my mother! Do not seize me by my beard or ˹the hair of˺ my head. I really feared that you would say, ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and did not observe my word.’”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Aaron said, “O son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard or by my head! I feared that you would say, ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and did not heed my words.’”

A. J. Arberry

'Son of my mother,' Aaron said, 'take me not by the beard, or the head! I was fearful that thou wouldst say, "Thou hast divided the Children of Israel, and thou hast not observed my word."

Abdul Haleem

He said, ‘Son of my mother- let go of my beard and my hair!- I was afraid you would say, “You have caused division among the children of Israel and have not heeded what I said.”’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Harun said: O my mother's son! hold me not by my beard nor by my head verily feared that thou wouldst say, thou hast caused a division among the Children of Israel and hast not guarded my Word.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(Aaron) replied; "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard nor by (the hair of) my head! Truly I feared lest thou shouldst say, 'Thou has caused a division among the children of Israel, and thou didst not respect my word!'"

Abul Ala Maududi

Aaron answered: "Son of my mother! Do not seize me with my beard, nor by (the hair of) my head. I feared that on returning you might say: 'You sowed discord among the Children of Israel, and did not pay heed to my words.'"

Ahmed Ali

"O son of my mother," (Aaron cried), do not pull me by my beard or my hair! I was really afraid you may say that I had created a rift among the children of Israel, and did not pay heed to your command."

Ahmed Raza Khan

He said, “O son of my mother, do not clutch my beard nor the hair on my head; I feared that you may say, ‘You have caused a division among the Descendants of Israel and did not wait for my advice.’”

Ali Quli Qarai

He said, ‘O son of my mother! Do not grab my beard or my head! I feared lest you should say, ‘‘You have caused a rift among the Children of Israel and did not heed my word [of advice].’’’

Ali Ünal

Aaron said: "O son of my mother! Do not seize me by my beard, nor by my head! I was afraid lest you should say: ‘You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and paid no heed to my orders!’ "

Amatul Rahman Omar

(Aaron) said, `O son of my mother! do not hold me by my beard nor (pull me) by my head. (If I was not strict to them it was because) I was afraid lest you should say, "You have caused a disruption among the Children of Israel and did not preserve my word".´

English Literal

He said: "You son of my mother, do not take/receive by my beard , and nor with my head, that I, I feared, that you say: `You separated between Israel`s sons and daughters, and you did not observe/guard my saying/word .`"

Faridul Haque

He said, "O son of my mother, do not clutch my beard nor the hair on my head; I feared that you may say, ‘You have caused a division among the Descendants of Israel and did not wait for my advice.’ "

Hamid S. Aziz

From following me? Have you then rebelled against my bidding?

Hilali & Khan

He [Harun (Aaron)] said: "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: 'You have caused a division among the Children of Israel, and you have not respected my word!' "

Maulana Mohammad Ali

That thou didst not follow me? Hast thou, then, disobeyed my order?

Mohammad Habib Shakir

He said: O son of my mother! seize me not by my beard nor by my head; surely I was afraid lest you should say: You have caused a division among the children of Israel and not waited for my word.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

He said: O son of my mother! Clutch not my beard nor my head! I feared lest thou shouldst say: Thou hast caused division among the Children of Israel, and hast not waited for my word.

Muhammad Sarwar

Aaron replied, "Son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard or head. I was afraid that you might consider me responsible for causing discord among the children of Israel and would not pay attention to my words."

Qaribullah & Darwish

'Son of my mother' he replied, 'Do not seize my beard nor my head. I was afraid that you might say: "You have divided the Children of Israel and did not uphold my word."

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He (Harun) said: "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: `You have caused a division among the Children of Israel, and you have not respected my word!"'

Wahiduddin Khan

Aaron said, "Son of my mother! Do not seize me by my beard nor by my head. I was afraid that you would say, 'You have caused dissension among the Children of Israel and did not pay heed to my words.'"

Talal Itani

He said, “Son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard or my head. I feared you would say, `You have caused division among the Children of Israel, and did not regard my word.'“

Tafsir jalalayn

He, Aaron, said, `O son of my mother (read ya'bna'ummi or ya'bna'umma, meaning umm, `my mother') the mention of her is more effective in provoking the affection of his heart -- do not clutch my beard, which he had seized with his left hand, or my head!, for he had seized his hair with his right hand in anger. Indeed I feared that, if I followed you, for inevitably a group of those who did not worship the calf would have followed me, you would have said, "You have caused division among the Children of Israel -- and have been furious with me -- and you did not wait for my word"', concerning what my opinion would have been in this matter.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

قَالَ يَبْنَوُُمَّ

He (Harun) said;"O son of my mother!"

This mentioning of the mother was Harun's attempt to soften Musa's anger, because he was Musa's biological brother and they had the same parents. The mentioning of the mother here is more delicate and profound in bringing about gentleness and mildness. This is why he said,

يَبْنَوُُمَّ لَا تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتِي وَلَا بِرَأْسِي

O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head!

This was Harun's excuse to Musa for being delayed from coming to him and informing him of the great mishap that took place.

He said,

إِنِّي خَشِيتُ

Verily, I feared,

meaning, "I was afraid to come after you and inform you of this, because I thought you might accuse me of leaving them alone and causing division between them."

أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقْتَ بَيْنَ بَنِي إِسْرَايِيلَ

lest you should say;`You have caused a division among the Children of Israel,

وَلَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلِي




and you have not respected my word!

This means, "And you did not take care of what I commanded you to do when I left you in charge of them."

Ibn Abbas said,

"Harun was respectful and obedient to Musa.