Sūrah Yūnus

Overview

Sūrah Yūnus is a Makkan sūrah with 109 āyāt. It is so named due to a single āyah within it, which uniquely and explicitly among all other sūrahs mentions a special respite which the people of Prophet Yūnus enjoyed. Once Allah’s punishment is decreed upon a people, their faith—if they then believe—can no longer avail them. It is too late. This is the sunnah (pattern or way) of Allah in dealing with the disbelieving nations. The sole exception were the people of Yūnus. Allah says: “If only there had been a community that believed and profited by its belief as did the folk of Yūnus! When they believed We drew off from them the torment of disgrace in the worldly life and gave them comfort for a while” (10:98). Sūrah Yūnus speaks about the marvels of creation: the heavens and the earth, the day and the night, the land and the sea. In this same vein, good and evil are juxtaposed along with the adherents to either principle: the blind and the deaf against the seeing and the hearing. The sūrah speaks about the heedlessness of man and his forgetfulness. When all goes well, he is jovial, but at times of hardship, it is as if he never tasted goodness (10:12). An especially striking rendition of a thematic qur’anic image is given in the sūrah. The solemn sailors making promises to Allah as the sea’s unforgiving waves crash into their vessel, “If you save us from this, God Almighty, we shall surely be strict devotees!” When He returns them to shore safe and sound, they quickly forget the pledges they had made to Him and how ardently they had called upon Him (10:21-23). There are also brief mentions of prophetic narratives, those of Nūḥ and Mūsā and Hārūn specifically (10:71-92). In the sūrah, Allah honours His awliyāʾ (committed friends and allies); there is no fear over them nor do they grieve. (10:62-64)

Context

Sūrah Yūnus was revealed in Makkah before Sūrah Hūd and after Sūrah al-Isrāʾ. Two contentions the Arabs had upon the advent of the Chosen One ﷺ is that:

• I. He was a human being, a mortal just like them.
• II. The Qur’an he came with refuted their ways, causing societal upheaval.

Sūrah Yūnus was revealed in part to respond to both points. The pagan Arabs had ignorantly proclaimed, “Allah is too great to have His messenger be a mortal.” Allah revealed: “Is it a wonder for mankind that We have inspired a man among them, saying, ‘Warn people and bring unto those who believe the good tidings that they have a sure footing with their Lord’? The disbelievers say, ‘This is clearly a sorcerer’” (10:2). The idolaters also objected to the Prophet ﷺ regarding the Qur’an. It is reported that five among them in particular said to him ﷺ, “Bring us a recital that does not shun al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā (heathen deities).” Allah revealed: “When Our āyāt are recited to them in all their clarity, say those who do not believe in meeting Us, ‘Bring a Qur’an other than this or change it.’ Say, ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. If I disobey my Lord, I fear the punishment of a terrible day’” (10:15).

Themes

Makkan sūrahs are a consolement for the Prophet ﷺ and the early Muslim community. Sūrah Yūnus reinforces the main Makkan motifs of tawḥīd via the following:

• Affirming the message of Muhammad ﷺ. (10:2, 94, 104)
• Allah’s divinity and lordship. (10:3-6, 31-35)
• Affirming the resurrection. (10:7-10, 26-30)
• A reminder of the end of previous peoples. (10:71-92)
• The inimitability of the Qur’an. (10:37-38)
• Giving glad tidings to and inciting steadfastness in the believers. (10:25-26, 101-103)
• If Allah wished, He would destroy the deniers immediately. (10:47-52)
• If Allah wanted, everyone would believe—absolute wisdom is His alone. (10:99-101)

Unique Features

• It is in Sūrah Yūnus where Allah mentions how He will preserve Firʿawn’s body as a warning for mankind: “So, on this day, We shall save you in your body that you may be a sign for those after you, and many people are heedless of Our signs.” (10:92)
• The exclamation ﴿ءآلْئان﴾ comes up twice in the Qur’an, both times in this sūrah. (10:51, 91)
• Sūrah Yūnus contains the following phrase (10:81), often used for ruqyah (spiritual purification and exorcism): ﴿إنَّ اللَّهَ سَيُبْطِلُه﴾

Lessons

• We are only responsible for embodying and delivering the message to the best of our ability. We cannot force anyone to accept it. That is not Allah’s will. He says: “Had your Lord willed, everyone on earth would have believed, all of them together. Will you compel mankind so that they become believers?” (10:99)
• Allah’s sunnah in creation is that tests are inevitable. What is equally inevitable, though, is His succour for the believers: “Then We deliver Our messengers and those who believe. It is so—We take it upon Ourself to save the believers!” (10:103)
• It is boggling to consider at times, but every creation of Allah is interconnected. Everything in the cosmos is there so that we ultimately stand before Allah and are recompensed for our deeds: “To Him is your return, all of you: the true promise of Allah. Indeed, He initiates the creation then restores it in order to reward those who believe and work righteousness with equity; and those who disbelieve will have a drink of scalding liquid and a painful punishment due to how they disbelieved.” (10:4)

Virtues and Valuable Information

• It is from al-Mathānī that the Prophet ﷺ has been given.
• Allah says: “To those who are excellent is excellence, and more (ziyādah)” (10:26). The ziyādah here, the unmerited favour of God, is to gaze upon His Noble Countenance.
• It has been relayed that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz recited: “In whatever condition you are, and whatever portion of the Qur’an you recite therein, and whatever work you all do, We are witness over you when you are engaged in it” (10:61). He wept profusely upon reciting it until his whole household heard him. His wife Fāṭimah came and wept with him. ʿAbd al-Malik entered upon them and asked, “Why do you weep so, father?” He replied, “For good reason, son. Your father wishes that he never knew this world and it never knew him. By Allah, son, I fear that I may be destroyed. By Allah, son, I fear that I am from the fellows of the Fire.”