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Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
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Translators: Ahmed Ali ● Amatul Rahman Omar ● Daryabadi ● Faridul Haque ● Hamid S. Aziz ● Maulana Mohammad Ali ● Pickthall ● Sarwar ● Shakir ● Yusuf Ali
Recitation by Mishary Al-Alfasy
The Surah takes its name from V. 98, in which there is a reference to Prophet Yunus (Jonah). The name, as usual, is symbolical and does not indicate that the Surah deals with the story of Prophet Jonah.
Period of Revelation
We learn from traditions, and
this is supported by the contents of the Surah itself, that the whole of this
Surah was revealed at Makkah. But there are some people who are of the opinion,
that some of its verses were revealed at Al-Madinah. This is, however, a
superficial view. The continuity of the theme clearly shows that this does not
comprise isolated verses or discourses that were revealed at different times and
on different occasions. On the contrary, it is, from the beginning to the end, a
closely connected discourse which must have been revealed at one sitting.
Besides this, the nature of its theme is itself a clear proof that the Surah
belongs to the Makkan period.
Time of Revelation
We have no tradition
in regard to the time of it's revelation, but its subject matter gives clear
indication that it must have been revealed during the last stage of the Holy
Prophet's residence at Makkah. For the mode of the discourse suggests that at
the time of its revelation, the antagonism of the opponents of the Message had
become so intense that they could not tolerate even the presence of the Holy
Prophet and his followers among themselves, and that things had come to such a
pass as to leave no hope that they would ever understand and accept the Message
of the Prophet. This indicates that the last stage of the Prophet's life among
thee people had come, and the final warning like the one in this Surah had to be
given. These characteristics of the discourse are clear proof that it was
revealed during the last stage of the Movement at Makkah.
Another thing
that determines more specifically the order of the Surahs of the last stage at
Makkah is the mention (or absence) of some open or covert hint about Hijrat
(Emigration) from Makkah. As this Surah does not contain any hint whatsoever
about this, it is a proof that it preceded those surahs which contain it.
Now that we have specified the time of its revelation, there is no need of
repeating its historical background because that has already been stated in
Surahs VI and VII.
Subject
This discourse deals with the invitation to
the Message, admonition and warning. In the very introductory verses, the
invitation has been extended like this:-
"The people consider it a
strange thing that this Message is being conveyed by a human being and charge
him with sorcery, whereas there is nothing strange in it nor has it any
connection with sorcery or sooth saying. It simply informs you of two realities.
First, Allah, Who has created the universe and manages it, is, in fact, your
Master and Lord, and He alone is entitled to your worship. The second reality is
that after the life in this world, there will be another life in the Next World,
where you shall have to render full account of the life of this world and be
rewarded or punished according to whether you adopted the righteous attitude as
required by Him after acknowledging Him as your Masters or acted against His
will. Both of these realities, which the Messenger is presenting before you, are
"realities" in themselves whether you acknowledge them as such or not. He is
inviting you to accept these and regulate your lives in accordance with them; if
you accept these, you will have a very blessed end; otherwise join shall meet
with evil consequences."
Topics
After the introduction, the following
topics have been dealt with in an appropriate order:-
Proofs of the
doctrines of Tauhid, Providence and Life-after-death have been given by such
arguments as may satisfy the minds and hearts of those who listen to the Message
without prejudice and bigotry with the sole intention of safeguarding themselves
against deviation and its evil results and not for the sake of seeking
opportunities for useless discussions.
Those misunderstandings which were
(and always are) hindering people from accepting the doctrines of Tauhid and the
Hereafter, have been removed and they have been warned to guard against those
negligences that stand in their way.
Those doubts have been removed and
answers to those objections given which were being raised about the Prophethood
of Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him) and the Message brought by him.
Graphic descriptions of the life in the Hereafter have been presented in order
to warn the people beforehand so that they should mend their ways here and be
not sorry afterwards for their conduct in this world.
They have been
admonished and warned that the life in this world is really a test and a trial,
and that the time allowed for it is only up to the last moment of the earthly
life, and that this is the only opportunity that shall be given to them for
accepting the Message and achieving success in the test. Therefore, they should
make the best use of the opportunity that has been provided for them by the
appointment of Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him) for their guidance
and obtain the true knowledge of the Reality from the Quran that is being sent
down to him. Otherwise, they shall be remorseful for ever and ever.
Their
attention has been drawn to some of their acts of manifest ignorance and
deviation which were the direct result of discarding Divine Guidance from their
lives.
In this connection, the story of Prophet Noah has been related in
brief and that of Prophet Moses in detail in order to impress four things on the
minds :-
First, "As your behavior towards Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace
be upon him) is like that of the peoples of Prophet Noah and Prophet Moses
towards them, you should know it for certain that you also shall meet with the
same consequences which they met with." Secondly, "You should not be deluded
into believing by the helpless and weak condition of the Prophet and his
followers, you are witnessing today, that it will always remain like this. You
should know that the same All-Powerful Allah Who supported Prophets Moses and
Aaron, is supporting them and that He changes the circumstances in such a sudden
and thorough manner that none can foresee it." Thirdly, "If you do not make use
of the term that has been granted to you by Allah and mend your ways now, and
postpone this to the last moment like followers of th Holy Prophet have been
reassured that they should not lose heart because of the severity of the
circumstances created by their opponents, especially at the time when they
themselves were in an utterly helpless condition. They have also been given
instructions as to how they should carry on their Mission under those harsh
conditions. Moreover,they have been warned to be on their guard against the kind
of behavior which was adopted by the Israelites, when they were rescued by Allah
from the tyranny of the People of Pharaoh.
At the end of the Surah, the
Holy Prophet has been commanded to make a declaration to this effect: "This is
the Creed and this is the rule of conduct that has been prescribed for me by
Allah: no change can be made at all in this: whoso will accept this will do so
for his own good and whoso will reject this will do so at his own peril."