LISANULLAH (tongue of Allah)

SURAH (37) AL-SAFFFAT (AYA 141 to 182)

فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ {37:141}

[Q37:141] Fasaahama fakaana minal mudhadeen;
[Q37:141] So he shared (with them), but was of those who are cast off.

[Q37:141] (Dengan satu keadaan yang memaksa) maka dia pun turut mengundi, lalu menjadilah dia dari orang-orang yang kalah yang digelungsurkan (ke laut).

When the lot was cast as to who in the boat should be cast off into the sea, it is said that forty times consecutively the lot fell to the name of Jonah (Yunus) AND ultimately he was cast out from the boat into the sea.

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(37:141) cast lots, and was among the losers.

فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ {37:142}

[Q37:142] Faltaqamahul hootu wa huwa muleem.
[Q37:142] So the fish swallowed him while he did that for which he blamed himself.

[Q37:142] Setelah itu dia ditelan oleh ikan besar, sedang dia berhak ditempelak.

JONAH WAS SWALLOWED BY A FISH---AND it is said that Jonah felt miserable in the belly of the fish and was caused to REMAIN THERE FOR THREE DAYS and when he prayed to ALLAH (SWT) reciting:

Ì “La ilaha illa anta Subhanaka inni kunto minaz-zallimun” i.e., THERE IS NO ALLAH (SWT) SAVE THEE, THOU ART THE PURE AND VERILY I AM OF THE UNJUST ONES.

Jonah was caused to be cast out from the belly of the fish and was restored to ordinary life on earth.

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(37:142) Then a fish swallowed him, and he was blameworthy. *79

*79 This is what one understands from a study of these sentences: (1) The vessel which the Prophet Jonah boarded was already overloaded. (2) Lots were drawn in the vessel probably at a time when during the voyage it was felt that the lives of the passengers had been endangered due to the overloading; therefore, lots were cast to pick out a person to be thrown overboard. (3) The lot fell on the Prophet Jonah, and so he was thrown into the sea and a fish swallowed him. (4) The Prophet Jonah was so afflicted because he had fled and abandoned the place of his mission without the permission of his Master (Allah Almighty). This meaning is confirmed by the word abaqa as has been explained in E.N. 78 above, and also by the word mulim. Mulim is a blameworthy person, who becomes worthy of blame by himself because of his sin and error, whether somebody else blames himfor it or not. (Ibn Jarir).

فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ {37:143}

[Q37:143] Falaw laaa annahoo kaana minal musabbiheen,
[Q37:143] But had it not been that he was of those who glorify (Us),

[Q37:143] Maka kalaulah dia bukan dari orang-orang yang sentiasa mengingati ALLAH (SwT) (dengan zikir dan tasbih),

(see commentary for verse 139)

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(37:143) Had he not been one of those who glorify Allah, *80

*80 It has two meanings and both are implied: (1) That the Prophet Jonah was not of the people who are heedless of God, but was of those who glorify and adore Allah constantly and perpetually; and (2) that when he went inside the fish, he turned to AIlah alone and glorified Him. In Surah AI-Anbiya' it has been said: He invoked Us from the depths of the darkness, saying: `There is no god but You: Glory be to You: I am indeed blameworthy.’“ (v. 87).

لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ {37:144}

[Q37:144] Lalabisa fee batniheee ilaa Yawmi yub'asoon
[Q37:144] He would certainly have tarried in its belly to the day when they are raised.

[Q37:144] Tentulah dia akan tinggal di dalam perut ikan itu hingga ke hari manusia dibangkitkan keluar dari kubur.

(see commentary for verse 139)

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(37:144) he would certainly have remained in its belly till the Day of Resurrection. *81

*81 This does not mean that the fish would have lived till Resurrection and the Prophet Jonah would have remained alive in its belly till then, but that the fish's belly would have become his grave till Resurrection. The famous commentator Qatadah has given this same meaning of this verse. (Ibn Jarir).

فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ {37:145}

[Q37:145] Fanabaznaahu bil'araaa'i wa huwa saqeem.
[Q37:145] Then We cast him on to the vacant surface of the earth while he was sick.

[Q37:145] Oleh itu Kami campakkan dia keluar (dari perut ikan) ke tanah yang tandus (di tepi pantai), sedang dia berkeadaan sakit.

The fish was commanded by ALLAH (SWT) to cast out Jonah from its stomach---upon a barren plain.

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(37:145) But We threw him on a wide bare tract of land while he was ill; *82

*82 That is, "When the Prophet Jonah confessed his fault, and began to glorify AIlah like a true and sincere believer, the fish spat him up on the beach by Allah's Command. The beach was a bare plain, without any vegetation on it, or anything to provide him shade, or any means of food". Here, the rationalists have been heard expressing the misgiving that it is impossible for a tnan to come out alive from the belly of a fish. But, towards the end of the last century, an event took place near the sea-shores of England (the centre of this so-called rationalism), which belies this claim. In August, 1891, some fishermen went to the high sea to hunt whales in a ship called Star of the East. There they injured a great fish which was 20 feet long, 5 feet wide and weighed a hundred tons, but during the struggle the fish swallowed a fisherman, .lames Bartley, in front of the very eyes of his companions. Next day the same fish was found dead on the sea. The fishermen hauled it up on board and when they cut open its belly, James Bartley came out alive. He had remained in the fish's belly for full 60 hours. (Urdu Digest, February, 1964). Obviously, when such a thing is possible in normal circumstances naturally, wiry should it be impossible under abnormal conditions as a miracle of God?

وَأَنْبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِنْ يَقْطِينٍ {37:146}

[Q37:146] Wa ambatnaa 'alaihi shajaratam mai yaqteen
[Q37:146] And We caused to grow up for him a gourdplant.

[Q37:146] Dan Kami tumbuhkan (untuk melindunginya) sebatang pokok yang berdaun lebar.

When Jonah was cast out of the fish’s belly, he was very ill---with his skin worn out. ALLAH (SWT) caused gourd plant to grow which provided Johan with its wide leaves with which he protected his body against the sun and prevented flies troubling his wounded body. A wild goat at the command of ALLAH (SWT), used to come and feed Jonah. When he got better and could move about and had been out somewhere and returned to his place he found the gourd plant dried away. Jonah felt for losing the useful plant.

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(37:146) and caused a gourd tree *83 to grow over him,

*83 The Arabic word yaqtin applies to a tree which does not stand on a stem but grows and spreads like a creeper, e.g. a pumpkin, cucumber, water-melon, etc. In any case, a creeper was produced miraculously, so that its leaves should provide shade to the Prophet Jonah and its fruit should serve him both as food and as shade.

وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ {37:147}

[Q37:147] Wa arsalnaahu ilaa mi'ati alfin aw yazeedoon
[Q37:147] And We sent him to a hundred thousand, rather they exceeded.

[Q37:147] Dan (Nabi Yunus yang tersebut kisahnya itu) Kami utuskan kepada (kaumnya yang seramai) seratus ribu atau lebih.

ALLAH (SWT) addressing Jonah said: “O’ Jonah! Thou didst not feel for a lakh and several thousands of thy fellow men having been made to perish for rebellion against thee and now thou feelest for merely losing a gourd tree which thou needest no more. Now go thou to thy people for a thousand and even more of them have turned faithful and eagerly await to meet thee.”

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(37:147) and We sent him forth to a nation of a hundred thousand or more, *84

*84 The mention of "a hundred thousand people or more" does not mean that Allah had any doubt about their number, but it means that a casual observer would have estimated the population to be more than a hundred thousand people in any case. Probably it was the same place which the Prophet Jonah had left and fled. After his departure when the people of the place saw the scourge approaching they believed, but this was only a kind of repentance which was accepted and the scourge averted. Now, the Prophet Jonah was again sent to them so drat the people should believe in him as a Prophet and become Muslims formally. To understand this, one should keep in view verse 98 of Surah Yunus.

فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ {37:148}

[Q37:148] Fa aamanoo famatta' naahum ilaa heen
[Q37:148] And they believed, so We gave them provision till a time.

[Q37:148] (Setelah berlaku apa yang berlaku) maka mereka pun beriman, lalu Kami biarkan mereka menikmati kesenangan hidup hingga ke suatu masa (yang ditetapkan bagi masing-masing).

When Jonah reached the outskirts of the town of Nineveh, he met a shepherd who did not believe him to be Jonah, for the people knew him to be drowned. Jonah prayed to ALLAH (SWT) and a sheep cried out in clear words bearing testimony to Jonah’s identification. The shepherd went to his people and announced to them about Jonah’s return BUT the people first disbelieved, BUT when they heard the sheep bearing testimony to his claim they believed in him.

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(37:148) and they believed. So We let them enjoy life for a while. *85

*85 Some people have taken exception to what we have written concerning this story of the Prophet Jonah in our commentary of Surahs Yunus and AI-Anbiya'. It would therefore be proper that we should reproduce here the explanations given by the other commentators in this regard. The famous commentator Qatadah in his commentary of verse 98 of Surah Yunus says: There has been no habitation which disbelieved and might have believed after the arrival of the scourge, and then might have been left unpunished. The only exception were the people of the Prophet Jonah. When they searched for their Prophet and did not find him, and felt that the scourge had approached near at hand, Allah put repentance in their hearts." (Ibn Kathir, vol. II, p. 433). Commenting on the same verse 'Allama Alusi; says: "The Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him) had been sent to the people of Nineveh in the land of Mosul. They were polytheistic people. The Prophet Jonah invited them to believe in Allah, the One, and to give up idol-worship. They refused to believe and belied him. Jonah gave them the news that they would be visited by a scourge after three days and he left the place at midnight before the expiry of the three days. Then, in the day time when the scourge approached...... and the people realized that they would all perish, they began to search for the Prophet but did not find him. At last, they took their families and their cattle and came out in the desert and expressed belief and repentance.......So, AIlah showed them mercy and accepted their prayer." (Ruh al-Ma ani, vol. XI, p. 170). Commenting on v. 87 of Surah Al-Anbiya', `Allama Alusi writes: "The Prophet Jonah's forsaking his people in anger was an act of migration, but he had not been commanded to do so." (Ruh al-Ma'ani, vol. XVII, p. 77). Then he explains the meaning of the sentence, "Inna kun-tu min-az-zalimin ", of Jonah's prayer, thus: `That is, I was blameworthy in that I hastened to migrate, against The way of the Prophets, before receiving the command for it. "This was, in fact, a confession of his sin and expression of repentance so that Allah might remove his affliction. (Ruh al-Ma'ani, vol:XVII, p. 78). Maulana Ashraf `Ali Thanwi's note on this verse is: "He became angry with his people when they did not believe, and forsook them, and did not return to them of his own accord when the scourge had been averted, and did not await Our Command for the migration." (Bayan al-Qur’an). Maulana Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmani writes in his note on this verse: "Vexed at the misconduct of his people he left the city in anger, did not await the Divine Command and threatened the people that they would be visited by a torment after three days......lnni kun-tu min az-Zalimin: He confessed his error that he had made haste and left the habitation without awaiting Allah's Command., "Explaining these verses of Surah Saaffat, Imam Razi writes: "The Prophet Jonah's fault was that when Allah threatened to destroy the people who had belied him, he thought that the scourge would inevitably befall them. Therefore, he did not show patience and abandoned his mission and left the place, whereas he ought to have continued the work of his mission, for there was a possibility that Allah might not destroy those people." (Tafsir Kabir, vol. VII, p. 158). Explaining the verse Idh abaqa......, Allama .Alusi writes: `literally, abaqa means the escape of a slave from his master's house. Since Jonah had run away from his people without Allah's leave, the word has been rightly used about him." Then he writes: "When the third day came, the Prophet Jonah left the place without Allah's permission. Thus, when his people did not find him, they came out along with their young and old people and their cattle, and they implored Allah and begged for His forgiveness and Allah forgave them.' (Ruh al-Ma 'ani, vol. XXII, p. 13). Maulana Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmani has explained the words wa huwa mulim thus: `The accusation against him was that he had left the city because of an error of judgement, without awaiting the Divine Command, and even specified the day for the coming of the scourge." Then Maulana Shabbir Ahmad's note on v. 48 of Surah AI-Qalam is: "Do not be perplexed and agitated with regard to the deniers like the Man of the Fish (i.e. the Prophet Jonah)." And about the sentence: wa huwa makzum of the same verse, he writes: "That is, he was full of anger against his people, so he prayed for the tomunt, rather foretold it, in fretful haste." These explanations by the commentators clearly show that there were three offences on account of which the Prophet Jonah was made to suffer Allah's displeasure: (1) That he himself fixed the day of the torment, whereas Allah had not made any declaration in this regard; (2) that he emigrated from the city even before the day came; whereas a Prophet should not leave the place of his mission until Allah commands him to do so; and (3) that he did not return to his people after the tomunt had been averted from them.

فَاسْتَفْتِهِمْ أَلِرَبِّكَ الْبَنَاتُ وَلَهُمُ الْبَنُونَ {37:149}

[Q37:149] Fastaftihim ali Rabbikal banaatu wa lahumul banoon.
[Q37:149] Then ask them whether your Lord has daughters and they have sons.

[Q37:150] Atau adakah mereka hadir sendiri menyaksikan Kami mencipta malaikat-malaikat itu perempuan?

Refer to the commentary of Nisa 4:117 and Nahl 16:57 to 60. After giving a brief account of the prophets who preached against idolatry in general and the Starworship in particular, Qur’an turns back addressing the pagans of the time of the HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) attacking the paganic idea of the time.

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(37:149) So ask their opinion: *86 “(Are you convinced) that your Lord should have daughters and you should have sons? *87

*86 Another theme starts from here. In the preceding theme that started from v. 11, the Quraish had been put this question: "Ask them: what is more difficult: their own creation or of those things that We have created?" Now, they are being asked this second question. The object of the first question was to warn the disbelievers of their deviation because of which they regarded life-after-death and the meting out of rewards and punishments as impossible, and therefore, mocked the Holy Prophet for it. Now they are being asked this second question to warn them of their ignorance due to which they attributed children to Allah and would join anybody with Allah in any relationship they liked on mere conjecture.
*87 Traditions show that in Arabia the tribes of Quraish, Juhainah, Bani Salimah, Khuza'ah, Bani Mulaih, etc., held the belief that the angels were Allah's daughters. This belief of their ignorance has been referred to at several places in the Qur'an, e.g. in An-Nisa': 117, An-Nahl: 57-58, Bani Isra'il: 40, Az-Zukhruf: 16; 19, An-Najm: 21-27.

أَمْ خَلَقْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةَ إِنَاثًا وَهُمْ شَاهِدُونَ {37:150}

[Q37:150] Am khalaqnal malaaa'i kata inaasanw wa hum shaahidoon
[Q37:150] Or did We create the angels females while they were witnesses?

[Q37:150] Atau adakah mereka hadir sendiri menyaksikan Kami mencipta malaikat-malaikat itu perempuan?