Tafsir of Yunus 10:17

This is an interrogative sentence used for denial (istifham inkari), meaning negation: there is no one more unjust than that. Denying the superlative "most unjust"—as is well-known—is a metonym for denying equality; the intended meaning is that he is more unjust than any other unjust person, and the verification of this has already been addressed.

The verse is connected to what precedes it, in that its purpose is to exonerate the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from what they hinted at by attributing to him the fabrication of lies against Allah—far be it from him—and to condemn the polytheists for their denial of the Qur'an and their disbelief in it. The word "lie" (kadhban) is added, even though fabrication (iftira) can only be a lie, to indicate that what they hinted at implicitly and accused the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of explicitly—while being a fabrication against Allah—is also a lie in its own right. Sometimes a fabrication may be a lie only in its attribution, such as if you attribute the sin of Zayd to Amr. This [exoneration] is for the sake of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) extreme effort in distancing himself from what was mentioned. The "Fa" (the letter 'so') serves to connect the speech to what preceded it regarding the explanation that the Qur'an exists by the will and command of Allah, the Exalted. That is: since the matter is such, then whoever fabricates against Him, the Exalted, by creating speech and saying, "This is from Allah," or by exchanging some of His verses for others—as you allow yourselves to do regarding me—and likewise, whoever denies His verses, the Glorified—as you do—is more unjust than any other unjust person.

It has been said: The purpose of the verse is to condemn the polytheists for their fabrication against Allah in their saying—Exalted is He above what they say—that He has partners and offspring, and for their denial of His verses. It is connected to what precedes it on the basis that "I did not fabricate against Allah, nor did I lie about Him, and evidence has been established for that, whereas you have indeed done so by claiming that Allah has a partner and offspring, and by denying His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and what he brought from His presence."

It is also connected to His saying: { وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا الْقُرُونَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوا } (And We destroyed generations before you when they did wrong), etc., such that His saying: { ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ خَلَائِفَ } (Then We made you successors), and His saying: { وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ } (And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences), up to this point, serves as notification that the polytheists to whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent followed the traditions of those before them in denying the verses of Allah and the messengers. This would be a return to the first subject after finishing the story of the polytheists.

It has also been said: The aspect of its connection to what precedes is that they only asked him (peace and blessings be upon him) to exchange the Qur'an because it contained condemnation of their gods, which they had fabricated by making them into gods.

It has also been said: The verse is a preamble for what follows. It is not hidden that the first [interpretation] is the most suitable for the context, the most consistent with the "Fa," the furthest from affectation, and the most naturally flowing to a sound mind.

{ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ } That is: the matter is that the criminals will not succeed. Meaning: they will not escape from what is dreaded, nor will they attain what is sought. The intent is the category of "criminals," so the fabricator and the denier are included in this primarily. It is clear the importance placed on the matter being mentioned from the very beginning by choosing the "pronoun of the matter" (damir al-sha’n).