Surah Yunus 10:83-92 - Quran Translation Commentary

(10:83) But believed not in Musa¹¹⁹ except a few¹²⁰ of his people for fear of Fir`awn and their chiefs that they would persecute them. Surely, Fir`awn was mighty on the earth and indeed he was of those given to excesses.¹²¹

(10:84) Musa said, 'O my people, if you have believed in Allah, then have trust in Him, if you are Muslims.'

(10:85) They said, 'In Allah we have placed our trust. (So) O Lord! Do not allow us to be made an object of oppression for the transgressors.¹²²

(10:86) And deliver us by Your mercy from an oppressive people.'

(10:87) So We revealed to Musa and his brother that, 'The two of you take for your people in Egypt some houses,¹²³ and make your houses the direction (for prayers).¹²⁴ And, establish the Prayers¹²⁵ and give glad tidings to the faithful.'

(10:88) (At length) Musa prayed, 'Our Lord! You have bestowed on Fir`awn and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the life of this world in order that¹²⁶ they may mislead away from Your path. Our Lord! Destroy¹²⁷ their wealth and harden their hearts so that they do not believe until they have witnessed a painful chastisement.'

(10:89) He replied, 'The prayer of you two has been answered.¹²⁸ Therefore, keep to the straight path, and follow not you two the path of those who do not know.'

(10:90) And we took the Children of Israel across the sea. Fir`awn and his army followed them in (downright) insolence and spite; until, when the drowning overtook him he cried out, 'I confess that there is no deity save the One in whom the Children of Israel have believed, and I am of those who have submitted.'¹²⁹

(10:91) Now!? While you had disobeyed earlier and you were of those who work corruption.¹³⁰

(10:92) So, today We shall rescue you in body¹³¹ so that you may be a sign to those behind you.¹³² But surely, a great many of the people are oblivious of Our signs.

Commentary

119. Asad suggests a possibility: A... the sequence shows that not belief as such but its open profession is referred to here ...

120. Although literally Adhurriyah is for offspring, Ibn `Abbas and Dahhak have explained the term as meaning Aa few. Mujahid and A`mash have however held the opinion that since Musa (asws) had been commissioned after most of those among whom he was raised had died, to be replaced by their offspring, the word Adhurriyah was used in reference to them. A third opinion is that the allusion is to a few people of Fir`awn's folk who believed in Musa. This happens to be a second opinion of Ibn `Abbas. A few grammarians have believed that the believing ones were called Adhurriyah because their fathers were Copts while their mothers Israelites (since Fir`awn had been slaughtering the males: Au.) Ibn Jarir, Razi.

121. The Qur'an did not say Ahis chiefs rather Atheir chiefs. Why? One answer given by the commentators is that the allusion is to the ruling class, who were also the rulers over Israelites. A second opinion is that the allusion is to the chiefs of the Fir`awn's folk (and not chiefs of the Israelites). And a third is that perhaps those who believed were a few young men of the Fir`awn's folk who feared persecution at the hands of their own chiefs. It is also possible that the Qur'an, by using this single term, meant to cover all these possibilities (Au.).

122. There have been two opinions. First, as expressed in the translation. Mujahid and Ibn Zayd are of this opinion. Tabari is with them. Abu Mijlaz however thought that the meaning is, 'O Allah, do not expose us to them as better than them (enjoying a happier life), which will invoke their anger all the more.'

Razi, Ibn Kathir and others allow for both possibilities.

123. Since the directives to the Israelites about making their homes a place of worship had to pass through Musa and Harun, it is they who were first addressed (Shafi`).

124. The textual word Aqiblah is understood by Ibn `Abbas, Ibrahim, Mujahid and others as Amasaajid i.e., places of worship (in plural). This is because they could not pray openly and so were ordered to pray at home. However, Ibn `Abbas himself, in a second opinion, as well as Mujahid, Qatadah, Dahhak and others believe that the meaning is, Aconvert your houses into places of worship facing the Qiblah, albeit the Ka`bah" (Ibn Jarir, Razi).

Ibn Kathir expresses the possibility that when the tribulation grew real hard, the Israelites were ordered to resort to Prayers at home.

125. Majid quotes from the Jewish Encyclopedia that at least one Prayer a day was obligatory on the Jews from the time of Moses until Ezra's advent.

126. Imam Razi discusses the probability that the Alaam of Ali yudillu is Alaam al `aaqibah meaning, Ain consequence of, or, Aas a result of although he concedes that it does not have a strong case.

127. The translation of Autmus follows Mujahid's understanding as in Ibn Jarir.

Ibn `Abbas was of the same opinion (Ibn Kathir).

Another opinion is that their gold and silver became stones (Ibn Jarir, Razi and others).

Alusi however is skeptic about gold and silver becoming stones.

128. The clause is dual because either both supplicated, or when Musa supplicated, Harun said aamin.

129. Abu Hurayrah has reported Jibra'il as saying to the Prophet,

يَا مُحَمَّدُ لَوْ رَأَيْتَنِي وَقَدْ أَخَذْتُ حَالًا مِنْ حَالِ الْبَحْرِ فَدَسَّيْتُهُ فِي فِيهِ مَخَافَةَ أَنْ تَنَالَهُ الرَّحْمَةُ

AO Muhammad. Only if you had seen me! I was filling Fir`awn's mouth with clay in fear that Allah's mercy might touch him. (Ibn Jarir).

The hadith is in Tirmidhi and various other collections, and has been variously evaluated, from da`if to hasan to sahih (Ibn Kathir).

It must not be overlooked though, that figuratively treated, the hadith is a beautiful illustration of Allah's quality of mercy. Scientific precision may not be sought in religious literature (Au.).

Zamakhshari accepts the above hadith, but rejects the ending part which says, A .. in fear that Allah's mercy might touch him. His objection is, (a) a dying man's faith is unacceptable anyway, (b) belief does not necessarily require utterance faith resides in the heart as in the case of a dumb person, (c) whoever wishes a man to die on disbelief, is a disbeliever himself. Imam Razi raises similar objections.

Shawkani comes down heavily on Zamakhshari who he thinks is, after all, an upstart in hadith, not capable of distinguishing between the trustworthy and the spurious one.

What Shawkani means is that once a hadith is proven trustworthy, it must be treated religiously, whether we can understand it or not (Au.).

Mubarakpuri has, in his Tuhfah, summed up Khazin's answer to Zamakhshari's objection. This summary can be further summed up in one line as: Jibril's action had Allah's approval who knew that Fir`awn would not believe until he had seen the punishment, which is the time when the disbeliever's belief is of no profit. Every unbeliever is a passionate believer at the time of his death.

The Qur'an has a verse that denies the acceptance of repentance in the situation of final despair. It said (4: 18),

وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ [النساء : 18]

AIt is no repentance at all of those who work evil until when death comes to one of them he says, 'Now I repent.' Nor is there any repentance of those who die in the state of unbelief (Rashid Rida).

130. When all signs of imminent death have appeared, and the Unseen becomes the Seen, then declaration of faith is of no avail. In fact, the scholars have said that it is such a difficult situation that, were a believer to utter words of disbelief, they would not be taken seriously. At that moment they are not well thought out utterances (Shafi`).

131. It is said that after Fir`awn's army was drowned, the Israelites expressed the fear that Fir`awn himself might have escaped. (They held him in such awe as to consider him above being drowned in that humiliating manner: Zamakhshari). So Allah brought his dead body to the surface. It looked like a red bull (Ibn Jarir).

Zamakhshari states that an alternative explanation of Abi badanika is Abody alone," i.e., barren of clothes, or, naked, and quotes a poetic piece in support.

Interestingly, it is well known that quite often a drowned person's body shows up on the beaches naked. This is another example of the Qur'anic usage of words and phrases that allow for a variety of reconcilable meanings (Au.).

132. Majid quotes the Jewish Encyclopedia: AHis mummy has been found at Thebes, and is now in the Museum at Cairo.

Shafi` has his reservations saying that Fir`awn, a title for every ruler of Musa's time, has not been identified beyond doubt.

But Maurice Bucaille (The Bible, the Qur'an and Science), is almost certain that the mummy discovered by Loret in 1898 at Thebes (where it lay in the underground tomb for 3000 years) and which now lies in the Cairo Museum, is of Mernepath, (son of Ramesses II) who was Musa's contemporary. In 1975 special investigations were conducted on the mummy involving radiographic studies. Endoscopic examination of the thorax and the abdomen was also conducted. Although it was not possible to determine definitely, but drowning seemed to be the cause of death, or from very violent shocks preceding the moment when he was drowned.