10. Yunus Page 217 وَ اتْلُ And recite عَلَیْهِمْ to them نَبَاَ the news نُوْحٍ ۘ (of) Nuh اِذْ when قَالَ he said لِقَوْمِهٖ to his people یٰقَوْمِ O my people اِنْ If كَانَ is كَبُرَ hard عَلَیْكُمْ on you مَّقَامِیْ my stay وَ تَذْكِیْرِیْ and my reminding بِاٰیٰتِ the Signs of Allah اللّٰهِ the Signs of Allah فَعَلَی then on اللّٰهِ Allah تَوَكَّلْتُ I put my trust فَاَجْمِعُوْۤا So you all resolve اَمْرَكُمْ your plan وَ شُرَكَآءَكُمْ and your partners ثُمَّ Then لَا let not be یَكُنْ let not be اَمْرُكُمْ (in) your plan عَلَیْكُمْ for you غُمَّةً any doubt ثُمَّ Then اقْضُوْۤا carry (it out) اِلَیَّ upon me وَ لَا and (do) not تُنْظِرُوْنِ give me respite فَاِنْ But if تَوَلَّیْتُمْ you turn away فَمَا then not سَاَلْتُكُمْ I have asked you مِّنْ any اَجْرٍ ؕ reward اِنْ Not اَجْرِیَ (is) my reward اِلَّا but عَلَی on اللّٰهِ ۙ Allah وَ اُمِرْتُ and I have been commanded اَنْ that اَكُوْنَ I be مِنَ of الْمُسْلِمِیْنَ the Muslims فَكَذَّبُوْهُ But they denied him فَنَجَّیْنٰهُ so We saved him وَ مَنْ and (those) who مَّعَهٗ (were) with him فِی in الْفُلْكِ the ship وَ جَعَلْنٰهُمْ and We made them خَلٰٓىِٕفَ successors وَ اَغْرَقْنَا and We drowned الَّذِیْنَ those who كَذَّبُوْا denied بِاٰیٰتِنَا ۚ Our Signs فَانْظُرْ Then see كَیْفَ how كَانَ was عَاقِبَةُ (the) end الْمُنْذَرِیْنَ (of) those who were warned ثُمَّ Then بَعَثْنَا We sent مِنْۢ after him بَعْدِهٖ after him رُسُلًا Messengers اِلٰی to قَوْمِهِمْ their people فَجَآءُوْهُمْ and they came to them بِالْبَیِّنٰتِ with clear proofs فَمَا But not كَانُوْا they were لِیُؤْمِنُوْا to believe بِمَا what كَذَّبُوْا they had denied بِهٖ [it] مِنْ before قَبْلُ ؕ before كَذٰلِكَ Thus نَطْبَعُ We seal عَلٰی [on] قُلُوْبِ the hearts الْمُعْتَدِیْنَ (of) the transgressors ثُمَّ Then بَعَثْنَا We sent مِنْۢ after them بَعْدِهِمْ after them مُّوْسٰی Musa وَ هٰرُوْنَ and Harun اِلٰی to فِرْعَوْنَ Firaun وَ مَلَاۡىِٕهٖ and his chiefs بِاٰیٰتِنَا with Our Signs فَاسْتَكْبَرُوْا but they were arrogant وَ كَانُوْا and were قَوْمًا a people مُّجْرِمِیْنَ criminal فَلَمَّا So when جَآءَهُمُ came to them الْحَقُّ the truth مِنْ from Us عِنْدِنَا from Us قَالُوْۤا they said اِنَّ Indeed هٰذَا this لَسِحْرٌ (is) surely, a magic مُّبِیْنٌ clear قَالَ Musa said مُوْسٰۤی Musa said اَتَقُوْلُوْنَ Do you say لِلْحَقِّ about the truth لَمَّا when جَآءَكُمْ ؕ it has come to you اَسِحْرٌ Is this magic هٰذَا ؕ Is this magic وَ لَا But (will) not یُفْلِحُ succeed السّٰحِرُوْنَ the magicians قَالُوْۤا They said اَجِئْتَنَا Have you come to us لِتَلْفِتَنَا to turn us away عَمَّا from that وَجَدْنَا we found عَلَیْهِ on it اٰبَآءَنَا our forefathers وَ تَكُوْنَ and you two (may) have لَكُمَا and you two (may) have الْكِبْرِیَآءُ the greatness فِی in الْاَرْضِ ؕ the land وَ مَا And we (are) not نَحْنُ And we (are) not لَكُمَا (in) you two بِمُؤْمِنِیْنَ believers 10. Yunus Page 218 وَ قَالَ And Firaun said فِرْعَوْنُ And Firaun said ائْتُوْنِیْ Bring to me بِكُلِّ every سٰحِرٍ magician عَلِیْمٍ learned فَلَمَّا So when جَآءَ came السَّحَرَةُ the magicians قَالَ said لَهُمْ to them مُّوْسٰۤی Musa اَلْقُوْا Throw مَاۤ whatever اَنْتُمْ you مُّلْقُوْنَ (wish to) throw فَلَمَّاۤ Then when اَلْقَوْا they (had) thrown قَالَ Musa said مُوْسٰی Musa said مَا What جِئْتُمْ you have brought بِهِ ۙ [it] السِّحْرُ ؕ (is) the magic اِنَّ Indeed اللّٰهَ Allah سَیُبْطِلُهٗ ؕ will nullify it اِنَّ Indeed اللّٰهَ Allah لَا (does) not یُصْلِحُ amend عَمَلَ the work الْمُفْسِدِیْنَ (of) the corrupters وَ یُحِقُّ And Allah will establish اللّٰهُ And Allah will establish الْحَقَّ the truth بِكَلِمٰتِهٖ by His words وَ لَوْ even if كَرِهَ dislike it الْمُجْرِمُوْنَ۠ the criminals
(10:71) And narrate to them the story of Noah69 when he said to his people: 'My people! If my living in your midst and my effort to shake you out of heedlessness by reciting to you the revelations of Allah offend you, then remember that I have put all my trust in Allah. So draw up your plan in concert with those whom you associate with Allah in His divinity, leaving no part of it obscure, and then put it into effect against me, and give me no respite.70
(10:72) When you turned your back on my admonition (what harm did you cause me?) I had asked of you no reward, for my reward lies only with Allah, and I am commanded to be of those who totally submit (to Allah)1.
(10:73) But they rejected Noah, calling him a liar. So We saved him and those who were with him in the Ark, and made them successors (to the authority in the land), and drowned all those who had rejected Our signs as false. Consider, then, the fate of those who had been warned (and still did not believe).
(10:74) Then We sent forth after him other Messengers, each one to his people. They brought to them clear signs, but they were not such as to believe in what they had rejected earlier as false. Thus do We seal the hearts of those who transgress.71
(10:75) Then, after them,72 We sent forth Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his chiefs with Our signs, but they waxed proud.73 They were a wickd people.
(10:76) And when truth came to them from Us, they said: 'Indeed this is plain sorcery.74
(10:77) Moses said: 'Do you say this about the truth after it has come to you? Is this sorcery? You call this sorcery although sorcerers never come to a happy end.75
(10:78) They replied: 'Have you come to turn us away from the way of our forefathers that the two of you might become supreme in the land?76 We shall never accept what the two of you say.'
(10:79) And Pharaoh said (to his) men: 'Bring every skilled sorcerer to me.'
(10:80) And when the sorcerers came Moses said to them: 'Cast whatever you wish to cast.'
(10:81) Then when they had cast (their staffs), Moses said: 'What you have produced is sheer sorcery.77 Allah will certainly reduce it to naught. Surely Allah does not set right the work of the mischief-makers.
(10:82) Allah vindicates the truth by His commands, howsoever much the guilty might detest that.'
69. In the preceding verses a combination of convincing arguments and persuasive instruction was employed to drive home to the people that their intellectual outlook and way of life were faulty. As opposed to that, the right way for mankind was highlighted and it was shown why that way was right.
Thereafter, attention was paid to candidly exposing the attitude which the unbelievers had adopted during the past eleven years: instead of mending their ways in the light of the reasonable criticism to which they had been subjected and in response to the right guidance offered to them, they became inveterate enemies of the very man who was expounding a message that could ensure their salvation and who sought their well-being and had no axe of his own to grind. Regrettably, they responded to his arguments by throwing brickbats and answered his sincere counsels by hurling filthy abuses at him. They found even the existence of this man in their midst, of one whose main fault was that he called a spade a spade, absolutely insufferable. They virtually said that if in a group of blind persons there is anyone possessed of sight, the only right course for him is to blind himself rather than try to restore the vision of others. And if such a person refused to do so, it was for them to pluck out his eyes and make him blind like themselves.
No direct comment is made here with regard to the attitude of those people.
Instead, God asks His Prophet (peace be on him) to narrate to them the story of Noah. Through this story the unbelievers would be able to see clearly their own predicament as well as the predicament of the believers.
70. Faced with determined opposition from the unbelievers, Noah made it quite clear that he would not cease to strive for his cause, regardless of what the unbelievers might do for it is in God that he put his trust. (Cf. Hud 11: 55.)
71. ‘Those who transgress’ mentioned in the present verse are those who, once they commit a wrong, cling to it out of adamancy and obstinacy. These are the ones who, out of sheer arrogance and egotism, would like to stick to the stand they once took even if it was erroneous. Such people remain unmoved even by the most reasonable arguments. As a result, they. become victims of a curse and are never able to find the right way.
72. For a full appreciation of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, see the explanatory notes in Towards Understanding the Qur’ an, vol. Ill, al-A‘raf7,n. 83 ff. The points elucidated in these notes will not be repeated here.
73. Intoxicated by their riches, political power and glory they considered themselves to be well above the level of ordinary human beings. Thus, instead of humbly submitting themselves to God, they waxed proud.
74, The response of the Pharaonites to the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) was exactly the same as the response of the Makkan unbelievers to the Prophet (peace be on him). This response has been mentioned earlier (see verse 2 above) in these words: ‘This man is indeed an evident sorcerer.’ The context makes it clear that the Prophets Moses and Aaron (peace be on them) were entrusted with the same mission which had formerly been entrusted to Prophet Noah (peace be on him), then to the Prophets who followed him and finally to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) who was the last in the chain of such Prophets.
From the outset, the thrust of the surah has been the same — that man should take God, the Lord of the universe, and Him alone, as his Lord and as the sole object of his worship, service and obedience, and that he has to render to Him an account of all his deeds. Now, those who had rejected the message of the Prophet (peace be on him) are being told that their well-being as well as that of all human beings rests on affirming their belief in the One True God and in the Hereafter, a belief which has been invariably expounded by the Prophets down the ages. Man’s well-being depends on affirming this belief, and on fashioning his entire behavior on the basis of that.
This constitutes the pivotal point of the whole surah. The reference to other Prophets (peace be on them) in this surah by way of historical illustration indicates that the message of all the Prophets was the same as the one embodied in this surah. The Prophets Moses and Aaron (peace be on them) had conveyed the same message to Pharaoh and his chiefs. Had the mission of these two Prophets been merely to liberate a specific nation, as some people are inclined to believe, reference to this event for the purpose of historical illustration would have been quite discordant with the context in which it occurs. There can be no doubt that the mission of Moses and Aaron partially aimed at bringing about the liberation of the Israelites (then, a Muslim people) from the domination of an unbelieving nation. This was, however, a secondary rather than the central purpose of raising those Prophets. According to the Qur’4n the main objective of the mission of these two Prophets was the same as that of all other. Prophets. An objective which has been clearly set forth in the following verses of: ‘Go to Pharaoh for he has certainly transgressed all bounds (of servitude to Allah). And say to him: ‘‘Would you rather be purified; and that I guide you to your Lord that you may fear Him’ (al-Nazi‘at 79: 17-19).
Now, since Pharaoh and his nobles did not respond positively to this call, the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) was ultimately left with no other choice but to secure the liberation of his people, who were Muslims, and to take them away from the area dominated by Pharaoh. This was of course a fairly important event, and the Qur’anic narration of it also treats it as such. However, all those who are not inclined to view the detailed teachings of the Qur’an in isolation from its general principles, can never commit the mistake of considering the liberation of a people to be the basic purpose of raising a Prophet, whereas inviting people to the true faith is of secondary significance. (For further details see Ta Ha 20: 44-52; al-Zukhruf 43: 46-56; and al-Muzzammil 73: 15-16.)
75. In view of the apparent similarity between sorcery and miracle the Israelites hastily branded Moses (peace be on him) a sorcerer. In relegating Moses to the role of a sorcerer, however, these simpletons ignored the fact that the character and conduct as well as the motives underlying the activity of sorcerers are entirely different from those of the Prophets. Is it consistent with the known character of a sorcerer that he should fearlessly make his way to the court of a tyrant, reproach him for his error, and summon him to exclusively devote himself to God and to strive for his self-purification? What would rather seem to be consistent with the character of a sorcerer is that if he had gained access ‘to the courtiers he would have gone about flattering them, soliciting their help in securing an opportunity to show his tricks. And if ever he succeeded in finding his way to the royal court, he would probably have resorted to flattery in an even more abject and dishonorable manner, would have made himself hoarse in publicly praying for the long life and abiding glory of the ruler, and would then have humbly pleaded that he might be allowed to perform his show. And once the show was over, he would have disgracefully stretched forth his hands in the style of a beggar, entreating for an appropriate award. All this has been condensed into the succinct statement that ‘sorcerers never come to a happy end’.
76. Had the sole demand of Moses and Aaron (peace be on him) been the liberation of the Israelites, Pharaoh and his courtiers would not have suspected that the spread of these Prophets’ message would transform the religion of the land and that the supremacy of Pharaoh and his courtiers would be undermined. What made them uneasy was the fact that Prophet Moses (peace be on him) was inviting the people of Egypt to the true faith and that this posed a threat to the whole polytheistic way of life which was the very cornerstone of the predominance of Pharaoh and his chiefs and clergy. (For further details see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, al-A‘raf7,n. 44 and al-Mu’ min 40, n. 43 - Ed.)
77. What Moses (peace be on him) presented before the court was no sorcery; rather it was the sorcerers who had made a show of their tricks of sorcery.