Verse:139 Commentary Commentary

The last event described in this Sarah is that of Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) . This event, along with its details, has appeared towards the later part of Surah Yunus (please see Ma' ariful-Qur' an, English, Volume IV, pages 573-588). However, a few necessary comments about these particular verses are being given below.

In the opening verse (139), it was said: وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْ‌سَلِينَ (And surely, Yunus (علیہ السلام) is from among the messengers). Was Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) ordained as a messenger much earlier than his encounter with the fish, or did it come to pass after that? This issue has been a subject of debate among some commentators and historians. Some of them think that he was made a messenger after this event. But, in view of the apparent order and style of the noble Qur'an, and from most Hadith narrations, it is more likely that he was invested with the mission of prophethood earlier. The event of the fish came later. Verse:140 Commentary The word: أَبَقَ (abaqa) in the next verse (140):إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ (when he ran towards the boat already loaded) has been derived from: اِبَاق (ibaq) which means 'escaping of a slave from his master'. Allah Ta' ala has used this word for Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) for the reason that he had started off without waiting for the revelation from his Lord. The noble prophets are the close ones among the servants of Allah. The slightest slip from them causes the swiftest grip. Hence comes this strong expression أَبَقَ ('abaqa': 'he ran' ). Verse:141 Commentary Verse 141 opens with the statement: فَسَاهَمَ (fasahama: Then he participated in drawing lots...). These lots were drawn at a time when the boat was caught by a storm while in the middle of the waters. It was apprehended that its excessive weight might cause it to drown. It was decided that one person from the boat should be cast off into the waters. Lots were drawn to determine who would it be.

The Injunction of drawing lots

At this point, it should be borne in mind that the drawing of lots is a method of selecting somebody to do something through which one can neither prove someone's right, nor indict someone as a criminal. For example, no one can be proved to be a thief by drawing lots. Similarly, should two persons differ about the ownership of some property, it cannot be decided by drawing lots as to who owns it. However drawing of lots is permissible - rather, better - on an occasion where a person is totally entitled, Shari'ah-wise, to opt for any course out of the few permissible courses of action available. Now, it is up to him. He can, rather than go by his will and choice and select a course of action, arrive at a decisive line of action by drawing lots. For example, someone who has more than one wife and is going on a journey, then, he has the right to take the wife he elects to take with him. Now, rather than do this following his will and choice, if he were to draw lots, it would be better - so that no one is disheartened. The Holy Prophet t used to do that.

The purpose behind the drawing of lots in this event relating to Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) was not to label anyone as some culprit. In fact, to save a whole boat-full of passengers, anyone could have been cast away into the waters. So, the name of the person to be cast was determined by drawing lots.

Immediately next in the verse, it was said: فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ and was the one who was defeated." The word: اِدحَاضُ (idhad) literally means to defeat someone or to make him fail, lose. The sense is that it was his name that came up in the draw - and he threw himself into the waters. No one should raise the objection that it was some sort of a suicide plunge, for it is possible that the shore was near and he intended to swim ashore. Verse:142 Commentary - - - Verse:143 Commentary In verse 143, it was said: فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ (Had he not been of those who proclaim Allah's purity,....). From this verse, it is wrong to assume that had Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) not been making tasbih, that fish would have been living right through the last day of Qiyamah. Instead, the sense is that the very belly of this fish would have been made the grave of Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) .

Distress is removed by tasbih (remembrance) and istighfar (repentance)

From this verse we also learn that tasbih لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ : the act of proclaiming the purity of Allah) and istighfar (...: the act of seeking forgiveness from Him) have a proven efficacy of their own. It has already appeared in Sarah Al-Anbiya' [ 21] that Sayyidna Yunus 'Sell while in the belly of the fish, used to recite the following sentence of tasbih:

لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

There is no god but You - Pure are You - Indeed I was among the wrongdoers - Al-Anbiya', 21:87.

By the Barakah of this very Tasbih, Allah Ta' ala had him delivered from this trial, and he came out safe and sound from the belly of the fish. Therefore, it has been continuously reported from pious elders that they recite this tasbih one hundred and twenty-five thousand times at the time they faced any individual or collective distress and, by virtue of its barakah, Allah Ta' ala would have this distress removed from them.

According to a narration from Sayyidna Sa'd Ibn AbI Waqqas ؓ appearing in Abu Dawad, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Any Muslim who recites the prayer Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) had made while in the belly of the fish, that is: لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ (la ilaha anta - subhanaka - inni kuntu minaz-zalimin: There is no god but You - Pure are You - Indeed I was among the wrongdoers - 21:87) for any (permissible) objective, his du'a or prayer will be answered." (Tafsir Qurtubi) Verse:144 Commentary - - - Verse:145 Commentary In verse 145, it was said: فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَ‌اءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ (Then We cast him ashore in the open while he was ill.) The word: اَلعراء (al-'ara) used in the text means an open land with no trees. Some narrations tell us that, at that time, Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) had become very weak because of having remained confined within the belly of the fish and that he had no hair left on his body. Verse:146 Commentary Said next, it was: وَأَنبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَ‌ةً مِّن يَقْطِينٍ (and We caused a tree of gourd to grow over him. - 146). The word: يَقْطِينٍ (yagtin) signifies every such tree that has no trunk. It appears in Hadith narrations that it was a gourd creeper. The purpose of having a tree grow there was to make the provision of shade for Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) . The word: شَجَرَ‌ةً (shajarah: tree) at this place serves as an indicator of two possibilities: Either Allah had made this very plant of gourd grow with a trunk by way of a miracle, or it was some other tree on which the creeping plant of gourd was made to wind its way up, so that it could provide a thick shade, otherwise, having enough shade from a winding plant alone would have been difficult. Verse:147 Commentary It was said in verse 147: Y); وَأَرْ‌سَلْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ (And We had sent him [ as messenger ] to one hundred thousand, or more). A difficulty may arise here. Is it not that Allah Ta' ala is Knowing and Aware? Why would He have to express the doubt that the number of those people was 'one hundred thousand, or more?' It can be answered by saying that this statement has been made in congruity with the view of common people, that is, if an average person would have seen them, he would have said that their number is one hundred thousand or somewhat more than that (Mazhari). Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) has said that nothing is being doubted here in the text itself. They could be called one hundred thousand, and also more than that - for example, if one eliminates the fraction, their number was one hundred thousand, and if the fraction were also taken into account, it would be more than one hundred thousand. (Bayan-ul-Qur' an) Verse:148 Commentary The expression: إِلَىٰ حِينٍ (ila hin: for a time) in: فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ ([ 147] So, they believed, then, We let them enjoy for a time.- 148) means that as long as they did not revert to their kufr and shirk, no punishment visited them.

Exposing the fraud of the Qadyani imposter

It has already been demonstrated in the Tafsir of Surah Yunus (علیہ السلام) (Ma' ariful-Qur' an, English, Volume IV), and it is clear from this verse too, that the reason why the punishment due to visit the people of Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) was averted was that his people had started believing on time - before it actually materialized. This puts the fraudulent claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (the false pretender to prophethood from Qadian located in Punjab, now called Haryana in India) when he had challenged his adversaries that, should they continue to oppose him, it stood decreed that Divine punishment would descend upon them by such and such time. But, quite conversely, the adversaries became stronger and more vocal, yet the punishment never came. At that time, iii order to salvage himself out from the disgrace of failure, the Qadiani imposter started saying that since his adversaries were really scared in their hearts, therefore, this punishment stood removed from them - as it had stood removed from the people of Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) . But, this verse of the noble Qur'an declares this interpretation to be false and rejected. The reason is that the people of Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) had stayed safe from the punishment because of their 'iman, belief and faith. Contrary to this was the case of the adversaries of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian - not only that they did not believe in him, in fact, their struggle against him gained more strength and momentum. Verse:149 Commentary Commentary

Events relating to the noble prophets described earlier provided some good counsel and some lessons to learn. Now, once again, the text turns to the essential subject of the affirmation of pure monotheism (tauhid) and the refutation of ascribing partners to the pristine divinity of Allah (shirk). Then, described at this particular place is the shirk of a particular kind. The disbelievers of Arabia believed that angels were the daughters of Allah Ta' ala, and the daughters of the chieftains of Jinns were the mothers of angels. According to ` Allamah Whidi, this belief was not restricted to the Quraish alone. It also prevailed among the tribes of Juhainah, Banu Salamah, Banu Khuza'ah and Banu Malih (Tafsir Kabir, p. 112, v. 7)

In verses beginning with: فَاستَفتِھِم (So ask them... -149) and ending at: إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (if you are truthful - 157), arguments have been given in support of the refutation of this belief of the disbelievers of Arabia. In gist, it has been said here: To begin with, this belief of yours is totally wrong in terms of your own recognized practice and customs, since you yourself regard daughters to be a source of shame. Now, what is a source of shame for you personally, how could this thing be proved to be good for Allah Ta' ala? Then, you have declared angels to be daughters of Allah. What proof do you have for saying so? There could be three kinds of arguments to prove a claim: (1) Observation (2) Report, that is, the saying of an entity or person whose veracity is established and (3) Reason. As far as observation is concerned, it is obvious that you have just not seen Allah Ta' ala creating angels that could have given you the knowledge of the gender of angels. Therefore, you have no proof from observation with you. When it was said: أَمْ خَلَقْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةَ إِنَاثًا وَهُمْ شَاهِدُونَ (Or, did We create the angels as females while they were witnessing? - 150), this is what it means. As for a reported proof, you do not have that too because one only goes by the word of people who are trustworthy and whose veracity is well established. Quite contrary to this, there are those who hold this kind of belief but they are liars. Nothing they say can be a binding argument. When it was said: أَلَا إِنَّهُم مِّنْ إِفْكِهِمْ لَيَقُولُونَ (Beware! They are the ones who, by way of a lie of theirs, [ have the audacity to ] say, Allah has children" - and they are absolute liars - 151, 152), this is what it means. As for the rational argument, even that does not go in your favor because, in your view, daughters have a lower status as compared to that of the sons. Now, think of the great Being of Allah that holds the superior most status in the entire universe - how can this superior most Being like to have something of a lower status? When it was said: أَصْطَفَى الْبَنَاتِ عَلَى الْبَنِينَ (Is it that Allah has chosen daughters (for Himself) instead of sons? - 153), this is what it means. Now, this leaves only one likelihood unexplored - may be, you have been blessed with some scripture from the heavens through the medium of revelation (wahy) in which you have been asked to believe as you do. So, if this be the case, come out and show us the proof - where is that revelation and where is that Book? When it was said: أَمْ لَكُمْ سُلْطَانٌ مُّبِينٌ فَأْتُوا بِكِتَابِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (Or, is it that there is some open authority with you? Then bring your book if you are truthful - 156, 157) this is what it means.

An ilzami (الزامی) answer (based on adversary's assumption) is more appropriate for the obstinate

From these verses we learn that it is more appropriate to tackle people bent on obstinacy with an ilzami response. An ilzami response means that their claim should be refuted through the analogy of some other view of things they themselves have. In doing so, it is never necessary to concede that we too subscribe to this other view, in fact, there could be occasion when that other view is also incorrect. But, it is only to drive some sense into the obstinate adversary that it is put to use functionally. Here, to refute their belief, Allah Ta' ala has used their own view that the existence of daughters is a cause of disgrace. It is obvious that it does not mean that it is so with Allah Ta' ala as well, nor does it mean that, had they called angels 'sons of God' rather than 'daughters of God,' it would have been correct. In fact, this is an ilzami response, and its aim is to refute their belief by citing their own claims. Otherwise, the real response to beliefs of this nature is no other but that which finds mention in the noble Qur'an itself - that Allah Ta' ala is independent and need-free and neither does He need any children, nor does it befit His Most Exalted State of Being. Verse:150 Commentary - - - Verse:151 Commentary - - - Verse:152 Commentary - - - Verse:153 Commentary - - - Verse:154 Commentary - - - Verse:155 Commentary - - - Verse:156 Commentary - - - Verse:157 Commentary - - - Verse:158 Commentary In verse 158, it was said: وَجَعَلُوا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجِنَّةِ نَسَبًا (And they have made up between Him and the Jinns some kinship). There are two explanations of this sentence. According to the first Tafsir, this is a description of the false belief held by the Mushriks of Arabia that the daughters of the chieftains of the Jinns are mothers of the angels. As if, God forbid, the daughters of the chieftains of the Jinns have marital relations with Allah Ta' ala and, as a result of this bond, angels have come to exist. Hence, it appears in an exegetical narration when the Mushriks of Arabia declared angels to be the daughters of Allah, Sayyidna Abu Bakr 4 asked, "Who is their mother?" They said, "Daughters of the Jinns" (Tafsir ibn Kathir, p. 23, v. 4). But, this Tafsir leaves an unresolved difficulty behind: The verse is talking about the attribution of kinship between Allah Ta' ala and the Jinns, while the marital relationship of a husband and wife is not based on kinship.

For this reason, another Tafsir that has been reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Hasan al-Basri and Dahhak seems to be weightier. According to this Tafsir, some of the people of Arabia also believed that, God forbid, Iblis was a brother to Allah Ta' ala who was the creator of good while he was the creator of evil. Here, this very false belief has been refuted (please see Tafsir ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qurtubi and Tafsir Kabir).

Immediately next within verse 158 it was said: وَلَقَدْ عَلِمَتِ الْجِنَّةُ إِنَّهُمْ لَمُحْضَرُ‌ونَ 158) ', while the Jinns already know that they are bound to appear (before Him).' Here, 'they' could be referring to the kinds of Mushriks who took Jinns and Shaitans as equals of God, meaning thereby that the Jinns know that these Mushriks will appear before Allah Ta' ala for being punished, and could also refer to the Jinns themselves. In this situation, the sense of the verse would come to be that 'the Shaitans and Jinns you have taken to be associated with Allah in one or the other form already know very well that they are going to face a terrible fate in the Hereafter. For example, Iblis is perfectly aware of his evil end. Now, someone who himself believes that he has to taste his punishment could hardly be the equal of God and taking him to be so would certainly be a gross lack of good sense. Verse:159 Commentary - - - Verse:160 Commentary - - - Verse:161 Commentary - - - Verse:162 Commentary - - - Verse:163 Commentary - - - Verse:164 Commentary - - - Verse:165 Commentary - - - Verse:166 Commentary - - - Verse:167 Commentary Commentary

After having provided proofs of the basic beliefs of Islam, these verses now mention the obstinacy of the disbelievers. It has been said that, before the blessed appearance of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ، these people used to crave for the coming of some prophet from Allah, so that they could follow him. But, when he did come, they started confronting him with a posture of obstinacy and hostility. After that, the Holy Prophet has been comforted that he should not worry about the pain these people cause to him. The time was coming very soon when he will prevail, and his oppressors will be defeated and punished. That this will unfold comprehensively in the Hereafter is already settled, but in the mortal world too, Allah Ta' ala showed the spectacle that, in every Jihad from the battle of Badr up to the conquest of Makkah, His blessed rasul came out victorious and his adversaries, disgraced. Verse:168 Commentary - - - Verse:169 Commentary - - - Verse:170 Commentary - - - Verse:171 Commentary The sense of 'the victory of the people of Allah'

In verses 171-173, it was said: وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا الْمُرْ‌سَلِينَ إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ الْمَنصُورُ‌ونَ وَإِنَّ جُندَنَا لَهُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ (And Our Word has already gone ahead in favor of Our servants - the messengers - they are the ones who will have Allah's support, and verily it will be Our army that prevails). The sense of these verses is that it stands predetermined with Allah that His chosen servants, that is, the prophets would be the ones to prevail. This may raise a difficulty, for in the mortal world, some prophets did not. For an answer to this, it could be said that the majority of prophets consists of the noble souls whose people belied them and met their punishment while they were kept safe from it. There are only a few among the blessed prophets who, though, could not prevail outwardly and physically right up to the end of their tenure in this world, but they always enjoyed ascendancy in the field of logic and argument, and the ultimate intellectual victory remained always theirs. However, the physical traces of this ascendancy were - due to some consideration of wisdom, such as a trial, or its likes - deferred until the Hereafter. Hence, as said by sage Thanavi, it is like the case of a highway robber, who starts harassing a high appointee of the state while on his journey. But, this appointee would never, by virtue of his God-given intellectual sobriety, stoop to the low-down robber, until he reaches the capital of his state where the robber will be seized and punished. Therefore, simply due to this temporary ascendancy, neither can we call that robber an authority, nor that authority a subject. In fact, given the true state of affairs, that robber - despite this temporary ascendancy - is still a subject, while that man of authority - despite his temporary lack of ascendancy - is still the authority he had been all along. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما has expressed this more briefly and lucidly by saying: اَن لَّم یُنصَروا فِی الدُّنِیَا یُنصرُا فِی الاٰخرِۃِ (Those who' are not helped to ascend in the present world are helped to ascend in the Hereafter) - Bayan-ul- Qur' an, the Tafsir of Surah al-Ma'idah (5).

But, it should always be borne in mind that no group of people achieves this supremacy or ascendancy, whether in the present world or in the Hereafter, simply by having particular racial traits, or by belonging to a religion only in name. In fact, this actually happens only when every human being makes himself a member of 'the army of Allah.' It necessarily implies that he or she should be committed to the obedience of Allah in every department of life as the objective of his or her life. Here, the word: جُندَنَا (Our army) is telling us very clearly that the person who embraces Islam will have to enter into a solemn pledge to devote his or her entire life in waging a struggle against the forces of self and Satan - and his or her supremacy, whether material or moral, whether in this world or in the Hereafter, depends on this condition.

In verse 177, it was said: فَإِذَا نَزَلَ بِسَاحَتِهِمْ فَسَاءَ صَبَاحُ الْمُنذَرِ‌ينَ (So, when it descends in their courtyard, then, evil with be the dawn of the warned). The word: سَاحَۃُ (sahah) appearing in this verse literally means a courtyard, and the expression: نَزَلِ بِسَاحَتِہٖ (nazala bisahatihi: descended in his courtyard) is an Arabic idiom that denotes the appearance of a calamity face to face, while the time of morning has been specified, as an attack would usually come at that hour among the people of Arabia. This also used to be the practice with the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that, should he reach the territorial jurisdiction of some enemy at the time of night, he used to postpone his attack until the morning (Mazhari). According to Hadith narrations, when the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم attacked the fort of Khaibar during the morning hours, he said: اللہ اکبر، خربت حیبر، انّا اذا نزلنا قوم فساء صباح المنذرین (Allahu Akbar, Khaibar is destroyed. Verily, when we descend on the courtyard of a people, the morning of those who had been already warned is too bad). Verse:172 Commentary - - - Verse:173 Commentary - - - Verse:174 Commentary - - - Verse:175 Commentary - - - Verse:176 Commentary - - - Verse:177 Commentary - - - Verse:178 Commentary - - - Verse:179 Commentary - - - Verse:180 Commentary Commentary

Surah As-Saffat has been concluded on these verses, and the truth of the matter is that it would take volumes to explain this beautiful finale. In sum, Allah Ta' ala has compressed all subjects of this Surah in these three verses. The Surah began with a description of tauhid, the theme of the Oneness of Allah, the essence of which was that Allah Ta' ala is free from everything the Mushriks attribute to Him. Accordingly, the first verse serves as an indicator of this very detailed subject. After that, described in the Surah there were events relating to the noble prophets. Accordingly, a hint towards these has been made in the second verse. After that, it was very openly and explicitly that the beliefs, doubts and objections of disbelievers were refuted, both in terms of report and reason and, along with that, it was also declared that supremacy will ultimately be the lot of the people of truth - and whoever listens to these statements with good sense and insight is bound to end up praising Allah Ta' ala. Accordingly, it is on this note of praise for Allah that the Surah has been concluded.

In addition to that, in these verses, the basic beliefs of Islam - tauhid (Oneness of Allah) and risalah (prophethood) - were mentioned clearly, while the mention of the Hereafter also came up as a corollary, things the confirmation of which was the real purpose of the Surah. Along with it, given there was the teaching that it is naturally expected of a true Muslim that he or she would conclude every article, every address and every sitting by admitting and stating the greatness of Allah Ta' ala, and by saying words of praise for Him. Accordingly, at this place, ` Allamah al-Qurtubi has, on his authority, reported this saying of Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri ؓ :

"I have heard it many times from the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that he, after the Salah was over, used to recite these verses:

سُبْحٰنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوْنَ

"Pure is your Lord, Lord of great might and honor, from what they describe and salam be on the messengers and all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds - 180 - Qurtubi.

In addition to that, there are several commentaries in which the following saying of saying of Sayyidna Ali has been reported with reference to Imam al-Baghawi:

"Whoever wishes to have the best of return filled to the brim on the Day of Judgment should recite this at the end of every sitting attended:

سُبْحٰنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوْنَ

Ibn Abi Hatim (رح) has also reported this very saying from a narration of Sha'bi that ascends to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

سُبْحٰنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوْنَ وَسَلٰمٌ عَلَي الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَالْحَـمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ

By the grace of Allah Ta ala

The commentary on

Surah As-Saffat

Ends here. Verse:181 Commentary - - - Verse:182 Commentary - - -