Surah Yunus in english

Verse 1

Alif lām rā’: God knows best what He means by these [letters]. Those, namely, these signs, are the signs of the wise Book, that is, the Qur’ān (the genitive annexation [āyāt al-kitāb] has the meaning of min [sc. min āyāti’l-kitāb, ‘from among the verses of the Book’]), which has been made clear.

Verse 2

Is it for the people, the people of Mecca (this interrogative is meant as a disavowal; the preposition [li-, ‘for’] and its dependent genitive noun [al-nās, ‘the people’] constitute a circumstantial qualifier of His saying): a wonder (‘ajaban: read in the accusative as a predicate of kāna; or if read in the nominative [‘ajabun] as its subject: its predicate, which is also its subject if read according to the former [accusative] reading, is [the following, an awhaynā]) that We have inspired a man from among them, Muhammad (s), [saying] (an, ‘that’, is explicative): ‘Warn, threaten, the people, the disbelievers, with chastisement, and give good tidings to those who believe that they have a prior, a preceding, [promise of] truth with their Lord’?, that is a [preceding] fair reward, in return for the deeds they have sent forward. The disbelievers say, ‘Truly this, Qur’ān that comprises all of that [mentioned], is manifest sorcery’: a variant reading [for la-sihrun] has la-sāhirun, ‘a sorcerer’, where it is the Prophet (s) to whom they are referring [as being ‘a manifest sorcerer’].

Verse 3

Truly your Lord is God Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, of the days of this world, that is, in the same measure [of time], since there was no sun or moon then: had He willed He could have created them in an instant, but the reason for His not having done so is that He wanted to teach His creatures to be circumspect; then He presided upon the Throne, a presiding befitting of Him, directing affairs, among creatures. There is no (mā min indicates a relative clause) intercessor, to intercede for anyone, save after His permission: a refutation of their saying, ‘The idols intercede for us!’; that, Creator and Director, is God, your Lord, so worship Him, affirm His Oneness. Will you not remember? (tadhakkarūna: the original tā’ [of tatadhakkarūna] has been assimilated with the dhāl).

Verse 4

To Him, exalted be He, is the return of all of you: God’s promise, in truth (both [wa‘da and haqqan] are verbal nouns, and in the accusative because of the verbs implicit in them). Truly He (read innahu as a new sentence, or annahu with an implied lām [sc. li-annahu, ‘Because He’] originates creation, that is, He began it by originating [it], then recreates it, through resurrection, that He may requite, reward, those who believe and perform righteous deeds, justly. And those who disbelieve, for them will be a draught of boiling water and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved.

Verse 5

He it is Who made the sun a radiance, that is, emitting light, and the moon a light, and determined it, with respect to its movement, in stations: 28 stations in 28 nights every month, becoming concealed for two nights when a particular month has 30 days, or [concealed] for one night, when it has 29 days, so that you might know, thereby, the number of the years and the reckoning. God did not create that, which is mentioned, save in truth, not in vain, exalted be He above such things. He details (read yufassilu or nufassilu, ‘We detail’) the signs for a people who know, who reflect.

Verse 6

Truly in the alternation of night and day, in [their] coming and going, increasing and diminishing, and [in] what God has created in the heavens, of angels, sun, moon, stars and other things, and, in, the earth, of animals, mountains, seas, rivers, trees, and other things, there are signs, indications of His power, exalted be He, for a people who fear, Him, and so believe: He singles these out for mention because they are the ones to benefit from them [such signs].

Verse 7

Truly those who do not expect to encounter Us, through resurrection, and are content with the life of this world, instead of [the life] the Hereafter, since they reject [the truth of] it, and feel reassured, feel secure, in it, and those who are heedless of Our signs, [of] the proofs of Our Oneness, neglecting to ponder them,

Verse 8

those, their abode will be the Fire because of what they used to earn, in the way of [practising] idolatry and [performing] acts of disobedience.

Verse 9

Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds, their Lord will guide them, He will lead them, through their faith, in Him, by appointing for them a light with which they will be able to find their way on the Day of Resurrection. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Bliss,

Verse 10

their prayer therein, their request for what they desire in Paradise will be to say: ‘Glory be to You, O God!’, so that, lo!, what they request they find before them; and their greeting, between them, therein will be: ‘Peace.’ And their final prayer will be: ‘Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds’.

Verse 11

When the idolaters sought to hasten [their] chastisement, the following was revealed: And if God should hasten for mankind evil as they would hasten good, their term [of life] would already have been concluded for them (read as the passive, with nominative ajaluhum [sc. la-qudiya ajaluhum]; or read as the active with accusative ajalahum [sc. la-qadā ajalahum, ‘He would have already concluded their term’]), by His destroying them, but He gives them respite. But We leave those, who do not expect to encounter Us, to wander blindly in their insolence, hesistant and perplexed.

Verse 12

If misfortune, illness or poverty, should befall a, disbelieving, man, he calls upon Us on his side, that is, lying down, or sitting or standing, in other words, in every state; but when We have relieved him of his misfortune, he passes on, in his unbelief, as if (ka-an is softened, its subject omitted, in other words [read as] ka-annahu) he had never called upon Us because of a misfortune that befell him. So, in the same way that supplication during misfortune and abstention [from supplication] in times of comfort were adorned for him, is adorned for the prodigal, the idolaters, that which they do.

Verse 13

And indeed We have destroyed generations, communities, before you, O people of Mecca, when they did evil, by way of idolatry, and, indeed, their messengers brought them clear proofs, indicating their truthfulness; but they would not believe (wa-mā kānū li-yu’minū: this is a supplement to zalamū, ‘they did evil’). So, just as We destroyed those, We shall requite the sinning, the unbelieving, folk.

Verse 14

Then We made you, O people of Mecca, successors (khalā’if is the plural of khalīfa) in the earth after them, that We might behold how you would behave, in it, and whether you would take heed from their example and believe in Our messengers.

Verse 15

And when Our clear, manifest (bayyināt is a circumstantial qualifier), verses, [from] the Qur’ān, are recited to them, those who do not expect to encounter Us, those who do not fear the Resurrection, say, ‘Bring a Qur’ān other than this, one in which our gods are not denigrated, or change it’, of your own accord. Say, to them: ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow that which is revealed to me. Truly I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, by changing it, the chastisement of a dreadful day’, that is, the Day of Resurrection.

Verse 16

Say: ‘If God had willed I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you, [nor] would He have made you aware of it (the lā [of wa-lā adrākum] is for negation, and is a supplement to what preceded; a variant reading has the lām [sc. la-adrākum, ‘He would have made it known to you’] as the response to the [conditional] law, ‘if’, in other words, He would have made it known to you by the tongue of someone other than myself). For I have already dwelt among you a [whole] lifetime, of forty years, before this [Qur’ān], not relating to you anything [of the sort], so will you not understand?’, that this [Qur’ān] is not from myself?

Verse 17

And who, that is, no one, does greater evil than he who invents a lie against God, by ascribing a partner to Him, or denies His signs?, [denies] the Qur’ān. Surely, it is that, the sinners, the idolaters, shall not prosper, they shall [never] find happiness.

Verse 18

And they worship, besides God, that is, other than Him, that which can neither hurt them, should they not worship it, nor profit them, if they do worship it — and these are the idols; and they say, of them: ‘These are our intercessors with God’. Say, to them: ‘Would you tell, would you inform, God of what He does not know in the heavens or in the earth?’ (the interrogative is meant as a disavowal), for if He had a partner, He [Himself] would know it, since nothing can be hidden from Him. Glory be to Him!, in [affirmation of] His transcendence, and High be He exalted above what they associate! with Him.

Verse 19

Mankind was but one community, following one religion, that is submission [to the One God], from the time of Adam to the time of Noah; but it is also said [that this was the case] from the time of Abraham to that of ‘Amr b. Luhayy; then they differed, some of them remaining firmly [upon belief in One God], while others disbelieved. And had it not been for a word that had already preceded from your Lord, [to the effect] that requital would be deferred until the Day of Resurrection, it would have been decided between them, that is, [between] mankind, in this life, regarding that over which they differed, in religion, by the disbelievers being punished.

Verse 20

And they, the people of Mecca, say, ‘Why has a sign not been sent down on him, on Muhammad (s), from his Lord?’, as was the case with [previous] prophets, in the way of a she-camel, a staff or a [glowing] hand. Then say, to them: ‘The Unseen, that which is concealed from servants, in other words, its affair, belongs only to God, and it is from this [Unseen] that signs come forth; therefore He alone can bring them forth: mine is only to covey the Message. So wait, for the chastisement, if you do not believe. I am waiting with you’.

Verse 21

And when We made people, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, taste of mercy, [of] rain and fertility, after adversity, misery and drought, that had afflicted them, behold! they have some plot concerning Our signs, in the way of mockery and denial. Say, to them: ‘God is swifter at plotting, at requiting; surely Our, guardian, messengers are writing down that which you are plotting’ (tamkurūn, is also read yamkurūn, ‘they are plotting’).

Verse 22

He it is Who conveys you (yusayyirukum: a variant reading has yanshurukum) across the land and the sea, until when you are in ships and they sail with them (there is a shift of address from second [to third] person) with a fair, gentle, breeze and they rejoice therein, there comes upon them a stormy wind, blowing violently, destroying everything, and waves come on them from every side, and they think that they are overwhelmed, that is, [that] they shall perish, they call upon God, secure in their faith, their supplication, only to Him: ‘If (la-in: the lām is for oaths) You deliver us from these, terrors, we shall verily be of the thankful’, [of those] who affirm [Your] Oneness.

Verse 23

Yet when He has delivered them, behold! they are insolent in the earth wrongfully, by associating others with God. O mankind, your insolence, wrongdoing, is only against yourselves, since the sin thereof shall fall against them; it is [but], the enjoyment of the life of this world, which you will enjoy for a short while, then to Us is your return, after death, and We shall inform you of what you used to do, and then requite you for it (a variant reading [for nominative matā‘u] has accusative matā‘a, ‘an enjoyment’, in other words [read as with an omitted verb such as] tatamatta‘ūna, ‘[one which] you shall enjoy’).

Verse 24

The likeness, the description, of the life of this world is only as water, rain, which We send down from the heaven, then the plants of the earth mingle with it, [they mingle] because of it, attaching themselves one to another, whereof mankind eat, [plants] such as wheat and barley and so on, and cattle [eat], of pasture, until, when the earth has taken on its ornaments, its splendour of plants, and has adorned itself, with flowers (izzayyanat, ‘adorned itself’, is originally tazayyanat, but the tā’ has been substituted with the zāy and assimilated with it) and its inhabitants think that they are masters of it, fully capable of harvesting its fruits, Our command, Our decree or Our chastisement, comes upon it by night or day, and We make it, that is, its crops, as reaped corn, like that which has been reaped with sickles, as though (ka-an is softened, in other words [read it as] ka-annahā) the previous day it had not flourished, [as though] it never were. Thus do We detail, [do] We make clear, the signs for a people who reflect.

Verse 25

And God summons to the Abode of Peace, that is, [the Abode] of security, which is Paradise, by summoning [people] to faith, and He guides whomever He wills, that he be guided, to a straight path, the religion of Islam.

Verse 26

For those who do good, by having faith, is the fairest reward, Paradise, and more, which is to contemplate God, exalted be He, as [reported] in a hadīth by Muslim [in his Sahīh]; neither dust, soot, nor ignominy, grief, shall overcome, envelop, their faces. Those, they are the inhabitants of Paradise: therein they will abide.

Verse 27

And for those (wa’lladhīna is a supplement to li’lladhīna ahsanū, ‘for those who do good’, so [understand it as] wa-li’lladhīna, ‘and for those’) who earn evil deeds, by practising idolatry, [there shall be] the requital of an evil deed by the like thereof; ignominy shall overcome them — they have no protector, no defender, against God — as if their faces had been covered with, cloaked [in], strips of darkest night (read qita‘an, as the plural of qit‘a; or qit‘an, meaning juz’an, ‘a part’). Those, they are the inhabitants of the Fire: therein they will abide.

Verse 28

And, mention, the day on which We shall gather them, that is, creation, all together, then We shall say to those who associated others [with God]: ‘In your place! (makānakum is in the accusative because ilzamū, ‘adhere to’, is implied [sc. ilzamū makānakum]). You (antum: this emphasises the [second person plural] subject concealed in the implied verb [ilzamū], and allows for the supplement [that follows]:) and your associates!’, that is, the idols. Then We shall make a separation, We shall distinguish, between them, and the believers, as [is stated] in the verse, wa’mtāzū’l-yawma ayyuhā’l-mujrimūn, ‘Now be separate, you sinners, upon this day!’ [Q. 36:59]; and their associates will say, to them: ‘It was not us that you were worshipping (mā [of mā-kuntum, ‘you were not …’] is for negation; the direct object [iyyānā, ‘us’] precedes the verb in order [to accord] with the end-rhyme [of the Qur’ānic verse];

Verse 29

God suffices as a witness between us and you, that indeed (in is softened, so [read as] innā) we were unaware of your worship’.

Verse 30

There, that is, on that day, every soul shall experience (tablū derives from balwā, ‘a trial’; a variant reading has tatlū, ‘it shall recite’, derived from tilāwa, ‘recitation’) what it did before, [what] it offered in the way of deeds, and they shall be returned to God, their rightful, [their] established, everlasting, Lord, and that which they were inventing, [of lies] against Him, in the way of associates, shall fail them, shall be absent [before them].

Verse 31

Say, to them: ‘Who provides for you, rain, out of the heaven, and, plants [out of], the earth, or Who owns hearing, meaning the ability to make hear, that is, the creation of this [faculty], and sight, and Who brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living, and Who directs affairs?’, between creatures? They will surely say, ‘It is He, God.’ Then say, to them: ‘Will you not then fear?’, Him, and believe?

Verse 32

That, Doer of all these things, then is God, your true, established, Lord: so what is there, after truth, except error? (the interrogative is meant as an affirmative, in other words, there is nothing after it [truth] other than that [error]; thus he who mistakes the truth, which is the worship of God, has fallen into error). How then are you turned away, from faith, despite the proofs having been established?

Verse 33

Thus, just as those are turned away from faith so, the Word of your Lord is justified concerning those who are wicked, [those who] disbelieve, and this [Word] is [either] the verse, [Q. 32:13]‘Verily I shall fill Hell [with jinn and mankind, together]’, or it is [the following:] that they do not believe.

Verse 34

Say: ‘Is there of those whom you associate [with God] one that originates creation, then recreated it?’ Say: ‘God originates creation, then recreates it. How then are you deviated?’, turned away from worshipping Him, despite proof having been established.

Verse 35

Say: ‘Is there of those whom you associate [with God] one that guides to the truth?’, by [means of] setting up [definitive] arguments and creating guidance. Say: ‘God guides to the truth; is One Who guides to the truth — and this is God — more deserving of being followed, or one who does not guide, [one who] is not [himself] guided, unless he is guided?, more deserving of being followed? (the interrogative is meant as an affirmation and a rebuke, in other words, the former is more deserving). So what is wrong with you, how do you judge?’, [how do you make] this corrupt judgement, one where what does not deserve to be followed is followed?

Verse 36

And most of them, in worshipping idols, follow nothing but conjecture, since they imitate their fathers therein; truly conjecture avails nothing against truth, when what is sought is knowledge. Surely God is Knower of what they do, and will requite them for it.

Verse 37

And this Qur’ān is not such as could ever be produced, that is, [it could not be] a fabrication, [by anyone] besides God; but it is, revealed [as], a confirmation of what is before it, of Scriptures, and a detailing of the Book, a exposition of the rulings and other matters which God has prescribed — wherein is no doubt, no uncertainty — from the Lord of the Worlds (min rabbi’l-‘ālamīn is semantically connected to tasdīqa, ‘a confirmation’, or to an omitted unzila, ‘revealed’; a variant reading [for accusative tasdīqa] has the nominative tasdīqu and nominative tafsīlu, ‘a detailing’, [for the accusative tafsīla] by [reading] an implied huwa, ‘it is’).

Verse 38

Or do they say, ‘He has invented it’?, Muhammad (s) has invented it. Say: ‘Then bring a sūra like it, in terms of the clarity and the rhetorical excellence of its language, by way of invention, for you are eloquent speakers of Arabic like me; and call upon whom you can, for help in this [matter], besides God, that is, other than Him, if you are truthful’, in [saying] that this is an invention. But they were not able to do this.

Verse 39

God, exalted be He, says: Nay, but they denied that, the knowledge whereof they did not comprehend, that is, [they denied] the Qur’ān and did not reflected upon it; and whereof the interpretation, the consequence of the threats [made] therein, has not yet come to them. So, in the same [manner of] denial, those who were before them denied, their messengers. Behold then what was the consequence for the evildoers!, for denying the messengers, in other words, [behold] how their affair was concluded, by their being destroyed. In a similar manner, We shall destroy these [people].

Verse 40

And of them, that is, [of] the people of Mecca, are some who believe in it, God being aware of this in their case, and some who would never believe therein. And your Lord knows very well the corrupters: this is a threat for them.

Verse 41

If they deny you, then say, to them: ‘Unto me is my work, and to you your work, that is, for each there will be a [due] requital of his deeds; you are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do’: this was abrogated by the ‘sword’ verse [Q. 9:5].

Verse 42

And of them are some who listen to you, when you recite the Qur’ān. But will you make the deaf to hear — He likens them [the Meccan disbelievers] to these [the deaf] because they are not able to benefit from what is recited to them — even though, with their deafness, they do not understand?, [even though they do not] reflect?

Verse 43

And of them are some who look toward you. But will you guide the blind, even though they do not see? — He likens them [the Meccan disbelievers] to these [the blind] because they fail to be guided, nay, [they are] much worse [since God says]: It is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts within the breasts [Q. 22:46].

Verse 44

Verily God does not wrong mankind in any way, but mankind wrong themselves.

Verse 45

And on the day when He shall gather them, it is, as if they had not tarried, in this world, or in the grave, but an hour of the day, because of the terror of what they see (the comparative sentence is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the [third person] pronoun); recognising one another, knowing one another, upon their being resurrected, but thereafter the recognition ceases on account of the severity of the terrors (the [last] sentence is either an implied circumstantial qualifier or one connected to the adverbial qualifier [yawma, ‘on the day’]); those will verily have lost who denied the encounter with God, through resurrection, for they were not guided.

Verse 46

And whether (wa-immā: the nūn of the conditional particle in has been assimiliated with the extra mā) We show you something of that which We promise them, of chastisement, during your lifetime (the response to the conditional statement has been omitted, in other words [understand it as being] fa-dhāka, ‘then so shall it be’), or We take you [to Us], before punishing them, to Us they shall return, and God, moreover, is Witness, Aware, of what they do, in the way of their denials and disbelief, and so will chastise them with the severest punishment.

Verse 47

And for every community, of the communities [of this world], there is a messenger. And when their messenger comes, to them, and they deny him, judgement is passed between them justly, fairly, such that they are punished and the messenger, and all those who accepted his truthfulness, are delivered; and they are not wronged, by being punished for no crime: similarly, We shall deal with these [disbelievers of your community].

Verse 48

And they say: ‘When will this promise, of chastisement, come to pass, if you are truthful, about it?’

Verse 49

Say: ‘I have no power to, avert, hurt, from, myself, or to, bring, benefit, except as God might will, to give me power over: so how could I possess the power to bring about the chastisement? For every community there is an appointed time, a fixed period until they perish. When their time comes, they cannot put it off, they will not miss it, by a single hour, nor bring it forward, [nor] overtake it’.

Verse 50

Say: ‘Have you considered?, [Say] inform me: If His, God’s, chastisement comes upon you by night or day, what, part, is there of it, that is, [of] the chastisement, that the sinners, the idolaters, seek to hasten? (an overt noun [al-mujrimūn, ‘the sinners’] has replaced the [second person, ‘you’] pronominalisation. The interrogative sentence is the response to the conditional, as [in the case where] you might say, ‘If I come to you, what would you give me?’; the intention here is to provoke terror [in them], in other words: how awful is that which they seek to hasten!)

Verse 51

Is it [only] then, when it has come to pass, [when] it has befallen you, that you will believe therein?, that is, in God, or [it means] in the chastisement, when it has come down (the [use of] hamza [in a-thumma, ‘is it then’] is to deny [the possibility of] deferrment [of chastisement], in other words, it [your belief] will not be accepted from you [in that instance] and it will be said to you: Now, do you believe, when [until now] you have been hastening it on?’, in mockery [of it].

Verse 52

Then will it be said to those who were evildoers: ‘Taste the everlasting chastisement!, that is, the one in which you shall abide. Are you, you are not, requited for anything but, the requital of, what you used to earn?’

Verse 53

And they ask you to tell, to inform, them, ‘Is it true?’, that which you promise us in the way of chastisement and resurrection? Say: ‘Aye, indeed, by my Lord! Verily it is true and you cannot escape’, [you cannot] elude the chastisement.

Verse 54

And if each soul that has done wrong, [that] has disbelieved, had all that is in the earth, of riches, it would offer it as ransom, against chastisement on the Day of Resurrection; and they will feel remorse within them, for having neglected faith, when they see the chastisement, their leaders keep it [their remorse] secret from the weak ones whom they had led astray, fearing reproach, but it has been decided justly between them, [between] all creatures, and they are not wronged, in anything.

Verse 55

Why, surely to God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Why, surely God’s promise, of resurrection and requital, is true, [is] fixed, but most of them, people, do not know, this.

Verse 56

He gives life and makes to die, and to Him you shall be returned, in the Hereafter, and He shall requite you for your deeds.

Verse 57

O people, that is, inhabitants of Mecca, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord, a Book which contains [mention] of that which is [permissible] for you and that which is enjoined on you, and this [Book] is the Qur’ān; and a healing, a cure, for what is in the breasts, of corrupt beliefs and uncertainties, and a guidance, from error, and a mercy for those who believe, in it.

Verse 58

Say: ‘In the bounty of God, [that is] Islam, and in His mercy, the Qur’ān, in that, bounty and mercy, let them rejoice: it is better than what they hoard’, in this world (read yajma‘ūn, ‘they hoard’, and tajma‘ūn, ‘you hoard’).

Verse 59

Say: ‘Have you considered, inform me, what provision God has revealed, has created, for you, how you have made some of it unlawful and some lawful?’, as in the case of [the camels called] al-Bahīra or al-Sā’iba, and carrion. Say: ‘Has God given you permission, to make that lawful or unlawful? No! Or do you, nay [you], invent lies concerning God?’, by attributing that to Him.

Verse 60

And what do they suppose, those who invent lies concerning God, [will happen to them] on the Day of Resurrection?: do they reckon that He will not chastise them? No! Truly God is Bountiful to mankind, by granting them respite and bestowing graces upon them, but most of them do not give thanks.

Verse 61

And you, O Muhammad (s), are not occupied with any business, any matter, nor do you recite anything regarding it, that is, regarding such a matter — [or it means: nor do you recite anything] from God, by way of the Qur’ān, which He has revealed to you, nor do you perform any action, God is addressing him and his community, but We are witnesses, watchers, over you when you are engaged therein, that is, [in] the action. And not so much as the weight of an atom, [the weight of] the smallest ant, in the earth or in the heaven escapes, is hidden from, your Lord, nor what is less than that or greater, but it is in a clear, a manifest, Book, namely, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz).

Verse 62

Assuredly God’s friends, no fear shall befall them, neither shall they grieve, in the Hereafter.

Verse 63

They are, those who believe and fear, God, by observing His commandments and prohibitions.

Verse 64

Theirs are good tidings in the life of this world: in a hadīth verified by al-Hākim this has been explained as [referring to] a propitious vision which an individual might have or [a vision] which another might have of that person; and in the Hereafter: Paradise and reward. There is no changing the Words of God, no failing of His promises; that, mentioned, is the supreme triumph.

Verse 65

And let not what they say, to you, that you have not been sent [as a prophet] or otherwise, grieve you. Truly (inna: indicates a new sentence) power, might, belongs wholly to God. He is the Hearer, of speech, the Knower, of deeds, and will requite them and grant you victory.

Verse 66

Why, surely to God belongs all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth, as servants, possessions and creatures. Those who call upon, [those who] worship, besides God, that is, other than Him, idols, are not following associates, of His, in reality, exalted be He above this: they are following nothing but conjecture, in this [matter], that is, their supposition that these are gods who intercede for them, and they are only telling lies, in this [matter].

Verse 67

He it is Who made for you the night that you should rest therein, and the day to see: the attribution of sight (ibsār) to ‘the day’ is figurative, since one is able to see during it. Surely in that are signs, indications of His Oneness, exalted be He, for a folk who are able to hear, hearing [in such a way so as] to reflect and be admonished.

Verse 68

They, that is, the Jews and the Christians, and those who claim that the angels are the daughters of God, say, ‘God has taken [to Him] a son’. God, exalted be He, says to them: Glory be to Him!, [in affirmation of] His transcending having offspring. He is Independent, [without need] of anyone, for only he who has need of a child would desire [to have] one. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants. You have no warrant, [no] proof, for this, that you say. Do you say about God what you do not know? (an interrogative meant as a rebuke).

Verse 69

Say: ‘Truly those who invent lies concerning God, by attributing offspring to Him, shall not prosper’, they shall not find happiness.

Verse 70

Theirs will be, enjoyment, [only] a little, in this world, which they will enjoy for the duration of their lives, then to Us is their return, at death, then We shall make them taste terrible chastisement, after death, because they used to disbelieve.

Verse 71

And recite, O Muhammad (s), to them, that is, [to] the Meccan disbelievers, the story, the tale, of Noah (Nūhin is substituted by [the following, idh qāla]) when he said to his people, ‘O my people, if my sojourn, my stay among you, is too great [to bear], is a hardship, for you, as is my reminding you, my admonishing you, by the signs of God, in God have I put my trust; so decide upon your course of action, resolve upon what you will do to me, together with your associates (wa-shurakā’akum: the wāw [wa-] means here ‘with’), then let not your decision be a secret between you, concealed, nay, manifest it and proclaim it to me; then implement it against me, carry out what you desire, and do not put it off, [do not] give me respite, for I am not concerned by you.

Verse 72

But if you turn away, from my reminding [you], I have not asked you for any wage, any reward for it, so turn [and go] away: my wage, my reward, falls only on God, and I have been commanded to be of those who submit [to God]’.

Verse 73

But they denied him, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark, and made them, that is, those with him, successors, in the earth, and We drowned those who denied Our signs, by [unleashing] the Flood. Behold then the nature of the consequence for those who had been warned!, in that they were destroyed: likewise We deal with those who deny.

Verse 74

Then, after him, that is, [after] Noah, We sent messengers to their people, such as Abraham, Hūd and Sālih, and they brought them clear proofs, miracles, but it was not for them to believe in that which they had denied before, that is, before the sending of messengers to them. Thus do We seal, stamp [upon], the hearts of the transgressors — so that they cannot accept faith — in the same way that We sealed the hearts of those [before].

Verse 75

Then, after them, We sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his council, that is, his folk, with Our, nine, signs, but they were disdainful, to believe in them, and were a sinful folk.

Verse 76

So, when the Truth came to them from Us, they said, ‘Surely this is manifest sorcery’, [sorcery that is] clear and evident.

Verse 77

Moses said, ‘Do you say [so] of the Truth when it has come to you, that it is sorcery? Is this sorcery?, when the one who has brought it has indeed prospered and has invalidated the sorcery of the sorcerers? Now sorcerers do not prosper’ (the interrogative in both instances is meant as a disavowal).

Verse 78

They said, ‘Have you come to us to divert us, to turn us away, from what we found our fathers following, and that yours both might be the greatness, the kingship, in the land, the land of Egypt? We will not believe you two’.

Verse 79

And Pharaoh said, ‘Bring me every cunning sorcerer’, [every] individual excelling in the art of sorcery.

Verse 80

And when the sorcerers came, Moses said to them, after they had said to him, Either you cast, or we shall be the casters! [Q. 7:115]: ‘Cast your cast!’

Verse 81

Then, when they had cast, their ropes and staffs, Moses said, ‘What (mā is interrogative and the subject, its predicate being [the following, ji’tum bihi]) have you brought? Sorcery? (ā’l-sihru [a-al-sihru] is a substitute [for the predicate ji’tum bihi, ‘have you brought’]; a variant reading has al-sihru with a single hamza, making it predicative, in which case mā is the relative particle of the subject) Verily God will bring it to nothing, He will efface it. Truly God does not make right the work of those who do corruption.

Verse 82

And God will vindicate, He will establish and make prevail, the Truth by His words, by His promises, however much the sinners be averse’.

Verse 83

But with Moses, none believed save a few descendants, a party, of, the children of, his, that is, Pharaoh’s, folk, out of fear of Pharaoh and their council, that he [Pharaoh] might persecute them, turn them away from his [Moses’s] religion by torturing them; and truly Pharaoh was despotic, arrogant, in the land, the land of Egypt, and truly he was of the prodigal, [of] those who transgress the bounds by claiming to be Lords.

Verse 84

And Moses said, ‘O my people, if you have believed in God then put your trust in Him, if you have [truly] submitted [to Him]’.

Verse 85

So they said, ‘In God we have put our trust. Our Lord, make us not a [cause of] temptation for the evildoing folk, that is, do not make them prevail over us, lest they then think that they are upon the right path and so end up succumbing to [the] temptation [of thinking that they are upon the right path] because of us;

Verse 86

and deliver us by Your mercy from the unbelieving folk’.

Verse 87

And We inspired Moses and his brother [saying]: ‘Appoint houses for your people in Egypt and make your houses oratories, places in which to perform prayers, so that you might be secure from fear — for Pharaoh had prohibited them from performing prayers — and establish, fulfil, worship; and give good tidings to the believers’, of victory and Paradise.

Verse 88

And Moses said, ‘Our Lord, You have indeed given Pharaoh and his council splendour and riches in the life of this world. Our Lord, You have given them this, that they may lead [people] astray, as a consequence thereof, from Your way, [from] Your religion. Our Lord, obliterate, transform, their riches and harden their hearts, stamp upon them and shackle [them], so that they do not believe until they see the painful chastisement’: he [Moses] invoked God against them and Aaron said ‘Amen’ at the end of his invocation.

Verse 89

He, [God] exalted be He, said, ‘Your prayer has been answered: thus their riches were transformed into stones and Pharaoh did not believe until he was about to drown. So the two of you remain upright, with the Message and the Call until such time as chastisement befalls them, and do not follow the way of those who have no knowledge’, when they seek to hasten on My judgement — it is reported that he [Moses] remained [alive] a further forty years thereafter.

Verse 90

And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh pursued them, he caught up with them, together with his hosts, in insolence and transgression (baghyan wa-‘adwan: these constitute the [direct] object denoting reason), until, when the [fate of] drowning overtook him, he said, ‘I believe that (annahu is [to be understood as] bi-annahu; a variant reading has innahu, ‘truly it is …’ indicating a new sentence) there is no god save Him in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit [to Him]’: he reiterated this [his submission to God] so that it might be accepted from him, but it was not; and Gabriel thrust mud from the sea into his mouth, lest [God’s] mercy embrace him. And he [Gabriel] said to him:

Verse 91

‘Now, do you believe, when hitherto you have disobeyed and been of those who do corruption?, on account of your being astray and your leading [others] astray, away from belief.

Verse 92

But this day We shall save you, We shall bring you out of the sea, in your body, your lifeless corpse, that you may be, for those after you a sign, a lesson, that they might come to know your servitude and not venture upon deeds like yours. According to Ibn ‘Abbās, some of the Children of Israel doubted his death and so he was brought out [of the sea] for them to see. And truly most people, that is, the people of Mecca, are heedless of Our signs’, not learning the lesson therefrom.

Verse 93

And verily We appointed for the Children of Israel an excellent abode, a noble [place of] residence, namely, Syria and Egypt, and We provided them with good things; and they did not differ, such that some believed while others disbelieved, until the knowledge came to them. Truly your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they used to differ.

Verse 94

So, if you, O Muhammad (s), are in doubt concerning what We have revealed to you, of stories — hypothetically speaking — then question those who read the Scripture, the Torah, before you, for it is confirmed [therein] with them and they can inform you of its truth. The Prophet (s) said, ‘I have no doubt, nor will I question’. Verily the Truth from your Lord has come to you; so do not be of the waverers, [of] those who have doubts about it.

Verse 95

And do not be of those who deny God’s signs and so be of the losers.

Verse 96

Truly those against whom your Lord’s Word, of chastisement, is justified, [against whom] it is due, will not believe,

Verse 97

though every sign come to them, until they see the painful chastisement, at which time it [their belief] will be of no use to them.

Verse 98

If only there had been one town — meaning its inhabitants — that believed, before chastisement befell it, and profited by its belief — except for the people of Jonah: when they believed, after seeing a portent of the chastisement, for they did not wait [to believe] until it came to pass, We removed from upon them the chastisement of degradation in the life of this world and We gave them comfort for a while, until the conclusion of their terms [of life].

Verse 99

And if your Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Would you then compel people, to do what God did not will that they do, until they are believers? No!

Verse 100

And it is not for any soul to believe save by the permission of God, by His will, and He causes abomination, chastisement, to fall upon those who have no understanding, [those who do not] reflect upon God’s signs.

Verse 101

Say, to the disbelievers of Mecca: ‘Behold what is in the heavens and in the earth!’, of signs indicating God’s Oneness, exalted be He. But signs and warners (nudhur is the plural of nadhīr, that is, messengers) do not avail a folk who will not believe, according to God’s knowledge, in other words, these [signs and warners] will not benefit them.

Verse 102

What do they await, when they deny you, but the like of the days of those who passed away before them?, of communities, that is, the like of chastisements that befell them. Say: ‘Then await, this: I shall indeed be with you among the waiting’.

Verse 103

Then We shall deliver (nunajjī: the imperfect tense is [being used] to narrate a past situation) Our messengers and the believers, from the chastisement. In like manner, to [that] deliverance, it is incumbent upon Us to deliver the believers, the Prophet (s) and his Companions, when [the time comes for] chastising the idolaters.

Verse 104

Say: ‘O people, that is, O people of Mecca, if you are in doubt of my religion, [and] whether it is true, then [know that] I do not worship those whom you worship besides God, that is, [worshipping] other than Him — namely, idols — for you have doubts concerning God; but I worship God Who will take you to Him, [Who] will seize your souls, and I have been commanded to be of the believers.

Verse 105

And, it has been said to me: “Set your purpose for religion, as a hanīf, inclining towards it, and do not be of the idolaters;

Verse 106

and do not call upon, [do not] worship, besides God, that which can neither profit you, should you worship it, nor hurt you, should you not worship it; for if you do, this, hypothetically speaking, then you will surely be of the evildoers.

Verse 107

And if God afflicts you, smites you, with some hurt, such as impoverishment or illness, there is none who can remove it save Him; and if He desires good for you, there is none who can repel His bounty, that [bounty] which He has intended for you. He strikes with it, that is, with [such] good, whomever He will of His servants.” He is the Forgiving, the Merciful’.

Verse 108

Say: ‘O people, that is, people of Mecca, the Truth has come to you from your Lord. So whoever is guided, is guided only for the sake of his own soul, since the reward of his being guided will be his, and whoever errs, errs only against it, since the evil consequence of his erring shall befall [only] it [his soul]. And I am not a guardian over you’, that I might then compel you to [accept] guidance.

Verse 109

And follow what is revealed to you, from your Lord, and endure [patiently], the Call and their hurting [you], until God give judgement, concerning them, by giving His command, and He is the Best of Judges, the fairest of them: he [the Prophet] endured patiently until God judged that the idolaters be fought and that the People of the Scripture pay the jizya-tax.

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Surah YUNUS / Jonah in English | Surah 10

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