(1) It was narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talhah from Ibn Abbas. See Zad al-Masir, 5:205, 270. (2) Al-Tabari, 16:36; al-Bahr al-Muhit, 6:224; Zad al-Masir, 5:270. (3) See al-Tabari, 16:135-136; Zad al-Masir, 5:270; al-Bahr al-Muhit, 6:224. Al-Tabari preferred this view because it is a known expression among the tribe of Akk, where it means, “O man.” He cited the following line by Mutammim ibn Nuwayrah: “I called out, ‘O man!’ amid the fighting, but he did not answer; I feared that he had sought refuge.” (4) Ibn al-Jawzi also cited it on his authority in Zad al-Masir, 5:270. Abd ibn Humayd narrated in his Tafsir from al-Rabi ibn Anas, who said: When the Prophet, peace be upon him, prayed, he would stand on one foot and raise the other. Allah then revealed: “Ta Ha,” meaning, “Place both feet upon the ground, O Muhammad.” Ibn Mardawayh narrated, through Qays ibn al-Rabi, from Ali: When “O you who wraps himself” was revealed, he spent the entire night standing in prayer until his feet became swollen. He began lifting one foot and placing down the other, whereupon Gabriel descended and said: “Ta Ha: place both feet upon the ground, O Muhammad.” Al-Bazzar also transmitted it from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, through another chain, and al-Bayhaqi transmitted it in al-Shuab through another chain from Maymun ibn Mihran, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. See al-Kafi al-Shaf by Ibn Hajar, p. 108; Ibn Kathir, 3:142. (5) This view is close in meaning to the statement of Ibn Abbas narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talhah. See Zad al-Masir, 5:270. (6) Al-Bazzar also narrated a similar report from Ali. Al-Haythami said, 7:56: “Its chain contains Yazid ibn Bilal, concerning whom al-Bukhari said, ‘There is serious reservation about him’; and Kaysan Abu Amr, whom Ibn Hibban declared reliable but Ibn Ma'in declared weak. The rest of its transmitters are transmitters of the Sahih collections.” (7) See Zad al-Masir, 5:269-270. Compare Adwa al-Bayan, 4:400, where this view is judged weak. It has preceded that al-Tabari preferred the interpretation “O man,” but such a form of address is not known elsewhere in the Noble Quran. For this reason, Abu Hayyan preferred in al-Bahr al-Muhit, 6:224, the view that “Ta Ha” consists of the disjointed letters, like Ya Sin, Alif Lam Ra, and similar openings. Shaykh al-Shanqiti said in Adwa al-Bayan, 4:399: “The strongest view is that it is among the disjointed letters at the beginnings of surahs. This is supported by the fact that the letters Ta and Ha mentioned at the opening of this surah occur elsewhere, where there is no disagreement that they are disjointed letters. As for Ta, it occurs at the beginning of al-Shuara in Ta Sin Mim, at the beginning of al-Naml in Ta Sin, and at the beginning of al-Qasas. As for Ha, it occurs at the beginning of Maryam in the words Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad. . . . The best interpreter of the Quran is the Quran itself.”