Tafsir of Yunus 10:101

(Say, "Observe...") This is an address to the Master of those addressed—may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him—commanding him to instruct the disbelievers, among whom he resides, to contemplate the dominion of the heavens and the earth and the wondrous signs contained within them, both in the horizons and in their own selves. This is so it may become clear that they are people who do not use their reason.

It is as if this command is linked to what is already with him (the Prophet). Linking it to His, the Exalted’s, saying: “Will you then force the people...” etc., carries the meaning: "Do not force the people to believe, but command them to perform that which customarily leads to faith—namely, observation." This interpretation is not free from debate.

It is also said that when He, the Exalted, conveyed earlier that faith is created by Him, that no one believes except by His permission, and that those against whom the decree has been justified will not believe, He commanded His Prophet—peace be upon him—to command them to observe, so that they might not lose interest in it after that declaration. However, the first interpretation is more appropriate.

The lam (l) in qul (say) is recited both with a damma and a kasra, and these are two of the seven canonical recitations.

His, the Exalted’s, saying: “what is in the heavens and the earth” is in the accusative position due to the omission of the preposition, because the verb preceding it is made conditional by the interrogative. Ma is interrogative and serves as the subject (mubtada’), while dha is in the sense of alladhi (that which), and the adverbial phrase (in the heavens and the earth) is its relative clause, serving as the predicate of the subject. It is also permissible for madha in its entirety to be an interrogative noun functioning as the subject, with the adverbial phrase as its predicate; that is: "What wondrous thing is in the heavens and the earth, from the marvels of His creation—the Exalted—which indicate His unity and the perfection of His power—glorious is His majesty?"

It is also permitted that madha in its entirety be a relative noun in the sense of alladhi (that which), and it would be in the accusative position governed by the verb preceding it. Al-Samin deemed this weak, arguing that in such a case, the observation must either be intellectual (in which case it is governed by fi), or visual (in which case it is governed by ila).

“But neither signs nor warnings avail a people who do not believe” (i.e., they do not suffice them, nor do they benefit them). It is also recited in the masculine form. By "signs," it refers to what was indicated by His, the Exalted’s, saying: "what is in the heavens and the earth." This is an instance of using the manifest noun in place of the pronoun.

“Warnings” (nudhur) is the plural of nadhir, meaning mundhir (warner)—that is, the warning messengers—or it means indhar (warning)—that is, the warnings themselves—and it is pluralized to denote various types. It is also permissible that nudhur is itself a verbal noun in the sense of warning.

By "these people," it refers to those whose hearts have been sealed—that is, those who do not believe in the knowledge and decree of Allah, the Exalted. The ma (neither) is negative, and the sentence is parenthetical. It is also possible that it is in the state of being a circumstantial qualifier (hal) to the pronoun in "Say." There is hesitation in making it a circumstantial qualifier to the pronoun in "Observe," because of the phrasing "So observe." It is determined to be parenthetical if ma is taken as a negative interrogative, in which case it is in the accusative position as a cognate object (masdari) for the verb that follows, or as its direct object. The object in this case, as well as in the interpretation of it being a negation, is omitted if it is not treated as an intransitive verb; that is: "It does not avail [anything]."