'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Yunus, blessings be upon him.

This Surah is Makki, except for two verses, which are His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "So if you are in doubt" [Yunus: 94] which was revealed in Medina. Al-Kalbi said: It is Makki except for His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And among them are those who believe in it and among them are those who do not believe in it" [Yunus: 40] which was revealed regarding the Jews in Medina. A group said: About forty verses were revealed from the beginning in Mecca and the rest in Medina.

His saying, exalted is He:

"Alif Lam Ra. Those are the verses of the Wise Book. Was it a wonder for the people that We revealed to a man among them to warn the people and give good tidings to those who believe that they will have a firm position with their Lord?" The disbelievers said, "Indeed, this is a clear magician."

The mention of the disagreement regarding the openings of the Surahs has preceded in the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah, and all those sayings are applicable here. In this context, there is a saying specific to it. Ibn Abbas, Salim ibn Abdullah, Ibn Jubair, and Al-Sha'bi said: "Alif Lam Ra" and "Ha Mim" and "Nun" is "the Most Gracious." The wording was cut in the beginnings of these Surahs. There is a disagreement regarding Nafi' in the inclination of the letter Ra, and the standard is that it should not be inclined. Likewise, the readers disagreed, and the reason for those who inclined the Ra is that it indicates that it is a name for the letter and not a letter in itself; rather, the letter is "R."

And His saying, exalted is He: "Those are" it was said: It means: "These," and it may seem that the meaning connects with "those" without us estimating it as a substitute for another. The consideration of this word is based on the disagreement in the openings of the Surahs, so reflect on it. And "the Book" was said by Mujahid and Qatadah: It refers to the Torah and the Gospel. Mujahid also said, and others: It refers to the Quran, and this is the more apparent. And "the Wise" is a form meaning firm, as He, exalted is He, said: "This is what is with Me, prepared" [Q: 23], meaning prepared and ready. It can also be that "Wise" means: One who possesses wisdom, so it is on the basis of attribution. Al-Tabari said: "It is like 'painful' meaning 'causing pain.'" Then he said: It is that which He has made firm and clarified.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, presented two sayings as if they were one.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Was it a wonder for the people" the verse, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Jurayh, and others said: This verse was attributed to the Quraysh who found it hard to believe that Allah would send a messenger from among humans. Al-Zajjaj said: They were astonished by His informing them that they would be resurrected from the graves, as the warning and the good tidings entail that. Their speech about this was abundant until some of them said: Did Allah not find anyone to send except the orphan of Abu Talib? And similar to this are the sayings that I have summarized due to their fame, so the verse was revealed. And His saying: "Was it" is an affirmation, and the intended meaning of "the people" is those who made this statement. And "a wonder" is the news of "was," and its subject is "that We revealed." In the Mus'haf of Ibn Mas'ud: "Was it a wonder for the people?" and he made the news in His saying, glorified is He: "that We revealed," and the first is more correct because the subject is definite and the news is indefinite, and this inversion is not valid and does not occur except rarely, and among it is the saying of Hassan:

Its mixture will be honey and water. The expression of amazement here does not only mean amazement, but its meaning is: Did their denial and amazement reach the point of disbelief? A group read: "to a man" with the jīm being silent. Then the revelation explained and divided it into warning for the disbelievers and glad tidings for the believers. The foot here refers to what has been presented. There is disagreement regarding its intended meaning here. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Dahhak, Al-Rabi' ibn Anas, and Ibn Zayd said: It refers to the good deeds of worship. Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan and Qatadah said: It is the intercession of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Zayd ibn Aslam and others said: It is the calamity of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, with his death. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said, and others: It is the prior happiness for them in the preserved tablet. This is the most fitting of the sayings with the verse. From this expression is the saying of Hassan: We have the upper foot to you and behind us is the follower of our first in obedience to Allah. And the saying of Dhī al-Rummah: You have a foot that people do not deny that it, along with the high lineage, has overwhelmed the sea. From this expression is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding the description of Hell: "Until the Compeller places His foot in it, and it says: Enough, enough." This means what He has presented to it from His creation. This is based on the fact that "the Compeller" is a name of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. Whoever made it a generic name as if he intended the compellers from the children of Adam, then the foot, according to this interpretation, is the injurious one. The truth in this verse means righteousness, as you say: A truthful man and a wicked man. His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "The disbelievers said" can be understood as an explanation of His saying: "Was our revelation to a human being a wonder?" The disbelievers said about him such and such. Al-Tabari went to the view that there is an omission in the speech indicated by the apparent meaning, its estimation being: So when he warned and gave glad tidings, the disbelievers said such and such. The majority of the people read, and this is the reading of Nafi', Abu Amr, and Ibn 'Amir: "Indeed, this is clear magic." Masruq ibn Al-Ajda', Ibn Jubayr, and the rest of the seven, Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Razin, Mujahid, Ibn Wathab, Talhah, Al-Amash, and 'Isa ibn 'Umar read differently, and Ibn Muhaysin and Ibn Kathir read differently from him: "Indeed, this is a sorcerer," and the meaning is similar. In the Mushaf of Ubayy, it is: "The disbelievers said: This is nothing but clear magic." Their saying regarding the warning and glad tidings being magic is because it separated their words and placed a barrier between the near and his relative, resembling what the magician does, so they thought it was from that category.