Surah 10. Yunus

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-20 [2], 21-30 [3], 31-40 [4], 41-53 [5], 54-60 [6], 61-70 [7], 71-82 [8], 83-92 [9], 93-103 [10], 104-109 [11]

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Quran Text of Verse 104-109قُلْSayیٰۤاَیُّهَاO (mankind)النَّاسُ(O) mankindاِنْIfكُنْتُمْyou areفِیْinشَكٍّdoubtمِّنْofدِیْنِیْmy religionفَلَاۤthen notاَعْبُدُI worshipالَّذِیْنَthose whomتَعْبُدُوْنَyou worshipمِنْbesides Allahدُوْنِbesides Allahاللّٰهِbesides Allahوَ لٰكِنْbutاَعْبُدُI worshipاللّٰهَAllahالَّذِیْthe One Whoیَتَوَفّٰىكُمْ ۖۚcauses you to dieوَ اُمِرْتُAnd I am commandedاَنْthatاَكُوْنَI beمِنَofالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَۙthe believers وَ اَنْAnd thatاَقِمْDirectوَجْهَكَyour faceلِلدِّیْنِto the religionحَنِیْفًا ۚuprightوَ لَاand (do) notتَكُوْنَنَّbeمِنَofالْمُشْرِكِیْنَ the polytheists وَ لَاAnd (do) notتَدْعُinvokeمِنْbesides Allahدُوْنِbesides Allahاللّٰهِbesides Allahمَاwhatلَا(will) notیَنْفَعُكَbenefit youوَ لَاand notیَضُرُّكَ ۚharm youفَاِنْBut ifفَعَلْتَyou did soفَاِنَّكَindeed, youاِذًاthen (will be)مِّنَofالظّٰلِمِیْنَ the wrongdoers 10. Yunus Page 221وَ اِنْAnd ifیَّمْسَسْكَAllah touches youاللّٰهُAllah touches youبِضُرٍّwith adversityفَلَا(there is) noكَاشِفَremoverلَهٗۤof itاِلَّاexceptهُوَ ۚHimوَ اِنْand ifیُّرِدْكَHe intends for youبِخَیْرٍany goodفَلَاthen (there is) noرَآدَّrepellerلِفَضْلِهٖ ؕ(of) His BountyیُصِیْبُHe causes it to reachبِهٖHe causes it to reachمَنْwhomیَّشَآءُHe willsمِنْofعِبَادِهٖ ؕHis slavesوَ هُوَAnd Heالْغَفُوْرُ(is) the Oft-Forgivingالرَّحِیْمُ the Most Merciful قُلْSayیٰۤاَیُّهَاO mankindالنَّاسُO mankindقَدْVerilyجَآءَكُمُhas come to youالْحَقُّthe truthمِنْfromرَّبِّكُمْ ۚyour LordفَمَنِSo whoeverاهْتَدٰی(is) guidedفَاِنَّمَاthen onlyیَهْتَدِیْ(he is) guidedلِنَفْسِهٖ ۚfor his soulوَ مَنْand whoeverضَلَّgoes astrayفَاِنَّمَاthen onlyیَضِلُّhe straysعَلَیْهَا ۚagainst itوَ مَاۤAnd I am notاَنَاAnd I am notعَلَیْكُمْover youبِوَكِیْلٍؕa guardian وَ اتَّبِعْAnd followمَاwhatیُوْحٰۤیis revealedاِلَیْكَto youوَ اصْبِرْand be patientحَتّٰیuntilیَحْكُمَAllah gives judgmentاللّٰهُ ۖۚAllah gives judgmentوَ هُوَAnd Heخَیْرُ(is) the Bestالْحٰكِمِیْنَ۠(of) the Judges

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Translation of Verse 104-109

(10:104) (O Prophet!) Tell them:¹⁰⁶ 'Men! If you are still in doubt concerning my religion, know that I do not serve those whom you serve beside Allah. I only serve Allah Who will cause (all of) you to die.¹⁰⁷ I have been commanded to be one of those who believe,

(10:105) and to adhere exclusively and sincerely to the true faith,¹⁰⁸ and not to be one of those who associate others with Allah in His divinity.¹⁰⁹

(10:106) Do not call upon any apart from Allah on those who have no power to benefit or hurt you. For if you call upon others than Allah you will be reckoned among the wrong-doers.

(10:107) If Allah afflicts you with any hardship, none other than He can remove it; and if He wills any good for you, none can avert His bounty. He bestows good upon whomsoever of His servants He wills. He is AllForgiving, All-Merciful.'

(10:108) Tell them (O Muhammad): 'Men! Truth has come to you from your Lord. Whosoever, then, follows the true guidance does so for his own good; and whosoever strays, his straying will be to his own hurt. I am no custodian over you.

(10:109) And follow, (O Prophet!), whatever is revealed to you, and remain patient until Allah brings forth His judgement. He is the best of those who judge.'

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Commentary

106. The theme broached at the beginning of this discourse is now resumed at the point of its conclusion. (Cf. verses 1-10.)

107. The Qur’anic expression یتوفکم literally means ‘who causes you to die’. This literal rendering, however, does not convey the spirit of the statement made here. For what is being said amounts to the following: God is the One Who has the power over your lives and Who enjoys such absolute control over you that as long as He wishes you to remain alive, you live, and no sooner than He signals you to surrender your lives to Him, you do so. It is Him alone that I worship, and it is to His service and obedience that I am bound.

In this context, it should be borne in mind that the Makkan polytheists believed, as do the present-day polytheists, that only God, the Lord of the universe, has the absolute power to cause death, a power that no one else shares with Him. They also believed that even those whom they associated with God in His attributes and authority were all too helpless to avert their own death. It is to be noted that of the numerous divine attributes, this particular attribute of God -— viz. that He alone has the power to cause death — is mentioned here alongside the doctrine that men ought to give themselves in total devotion and service to God alone. The reason for it seems to be that in addition to being the statement of an important fact, it also provides a rationale for exclusively serving and worshipping God.

In other words, the statement of the Prophet here amounts to saying that he is exclusively devoted to the service of God since the latter alone has all power over life and death. Conversely, why should anyone devote himself to worshipping others who, let alone having power over the life and death of others, do not have power even over their own life and death? The rhetorical force of the verse is also significant, for instead of saying that ‘He has power over my death’, the verse says: ‘He has power over your death’. Thus one simple sentence pithily embraces three things — the thesis, its supporting argument, and the exhortation to accept that thesis. Had it been said-that: ‘I only serve Allah Who has power over my death’, its logical implication would have been that in view of the fact that He had control over the Prophet’s life and death, the latter should have served only Allah. However, it has been said that: ‘I only serve Allah Who has power over your death’. In this form, the implication of the verse is that not only the Prophet but also others should serve only God and this even though they had succumbed to the error of serving others than God.

108. The emphatic form in which people have been urged to adhere to true faith is noteworthy. Here people are not simply being asked to ‘embrace the faith’, or to ‘follow the faith’, or to ‘become adherents of the faith’. Apparently such expressions were too weak and feeble to convey the idea of a total, firm, and steady adherence to faith as required of man. The actual words of the verse, أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا suggest that one should focus one’s attention on the true faith, that one ought not to waver and let one’s attention wander, that one ought to refrain from occasionally moving a step forward and another step backward, or turning alternately left and right. What one is rather required to do is to keep moving straight ahead on the path to which one has been directed. This is clear and forceful enough in itself. However, the Qur’an does not stop at that. It adds the condition that the attention should be حَنِيفًا , that is, one characterized by exclusive and sincere devotion. What is thus being demanded is that one should adhere to this religion, this way of serving God, this way of life comprising worship, service, servitude, and obedience and in such a way that man’s devotion and service to God are total. Once the true faith has been adopted, there should remain no trace of any liking for the false ways which have been forsaken.

109. The Prophet (peace be on him) is asked not to be one of those who associate others with God in His being, His attributes, His claims against His creatures, and His authority over those who set up others than God as partners to God. These others could be either one’s own self, or some other person, or a group of persons; a spirit, a jinn, an angel, or any tangible or imagined being.

Thus; the demand is not just a positive one to follow the path of serving the One True God with total devotion and steadfastness — there is also a negative aspect of the demand — that one ought to detach oneself from those who associate others with God in His divinity in whatever form. Moreover, one is required to be exclusively devoted to God not only in the realm of belief but also in the realm of conduct; not only in the individual but also in the collective sphere of life; not only when one is in a mosque, but also when one is in an educational institution, or in a court of law, or a legislative body, or in stately palaces where political decisions are made, or in market places bristling with trade and commerce. In short, one should adhere wherever one might be, to the doctrine of exclusive devotion to God. This is a way that should be quite distinct from the way of those who have developed in their lives a hodgepodge of two opposites: devotion to God and devotion to others than God. In short, one who believes in worshipping the One True God alone can never go hand-in-hand with those who believe in polytheism. For how could a Muslim conceivably be satisfied to go step-by-step with, let alone follow the way of those who associate others with God in His divinity? For in the latter eventuality the believer will be unable to fulfil the basic requisite of his faith, viz. the doctrine of monotheism.

Moreover, the Qur’an asks the believer not only to shun overt but also covert and subtle forms of polytheism. One should be especially cautious about the latter since the consequences of any kind of polytheism are dreadful. Some people, out of their naivety, however, are inclined to take a light view of covert polytheism, considering it to be of less consequence than the open variety. One should be wary of such complaisance for covert polytheism may, in fact, be even more serious than the open variety. For an enemy out in the open can be more effectively countered than the one who is hidden from sight, or one who masquerades as a friend. One may well ask: which disease is more fatal, the one with the obvious symptoms, or the insidious one which develops within, eating at the vital organs, and yet which shows no external symptoms? This analogy holds true for the subtle form of polytheism. For the danger of open polytheism, of one that can be easily identified, is obvious to all and sundry. However, it is the subtle form of polytheism whose diagnosis calls for unusual insight and a mature grasp of the requisites of monotheism. For polytheism in its subtle form goes about striking its roots imperceptibly. The result is that in the course of time the roots of the true faith are eaten away even before anyone is alerted to such a dangerous development.