Tafsir of Yunus 10:23

“And when He delivers them,” from the hardship and distress that had descended upon them—the fa (And) denotes the speed of the response—“behold, they commit injustice upon the earth.” That is, they initiate corruption within it and hasten toward it, plunging into it and delving deep. This is derived from the saying: "The wound bagha (festered)," meaning it has spread in corruption. The addition of “upon the earth” is to denote that their injustice encompasses its regions. The use of the imperfect tense signifies renewal and continuity.

His saying, Exalted and Majestic be He, “without right,” is a confirmation of what baghy (injustice) implies, for its meaning is that it is also without any right in their view, in that it is manifest oppression whose ugliness is hidden from no one, similar to His saying, “And they kill the prophets without right.” Injustice has been interpreted as the corruption of the form of a thing and the destruction of its utility. Making “without right” a qualification serves to exclude that which occurs by right, such as the destruction of the homes of the disbelievers by conquerors, the cutting of their trees, and the burning of their crops, as the Prophet—may Allah exalt and grant him peace—did with the Banu Qurayza.

This has been challenged by the assertion that the noble arrangement of the text does not support it, for injustice in the first sense is more fitting to the state of the corruptors, and the speech should be built upon that. Al-Zamakhshari chose the interpretation that it acts as a caveat for what was mentioned, and in al-Kashshaf, he stated that by this, it is signaled that linguistic corruption is the departure of a thing from its utility. Thus, not every baghy (corruption/injustice) on the earth and overstepping of bounds is as such, as you have learned; even if its conventional usage is for overstepping without right, the consideration remains for its original lexical subject. It is said that baghy which takes the preposition fi (in) means destruction and corruption, which can be rightful or otherwise, while that which takes the preposition ala (upon) means oppression. Restricting the former with "without right" is for caveat, and restricting the latter with it is for emphasis. Perhaps those who hold baghy here to mean oppression say: "The meaning is that they commit injustice against the Muslims, for example." So understand this.

“O mankind!” The address is directed at those oppressors to intensify the threat and exaggerate the warning. “Your injustice is only against your own selves.” This—which you practice—is a subject whose predicate is His saying, Exalted be He, “against your own selves,” meaning it is truly against you, not against those you oppress, even if it is thought otherwise.

His saying, Exalted be He, “the enjoyment of the life of the world,” is in the accusative case as an absolute object (masdar) emphasizing a hidden verb by way of commencement: meaning, "You enjoy the enjoyment of the life of the world." The intent is to demonstrate that the immediate benefit found in the injustice is something uncounted, swift to perish, and lasting in its evil consequences.

It is also said that it is in the accusative as an absolute object acting as a state (hal), meaning "while enjoying," and the operative factor is the "stability" (al-istiqrar) implied in the predicate. It is not permissible for it to be the baghy itself, for it is not permissible to separate the absolute object from its governing verb by the predicate; furthermore, one does not report on an absolute object until its complements and adjuncts are complete. This has been challenged on the grounds that restricting their injustice to their own selves while they are enjoying the life of the world holds no meaningful significance.

It is said that it is an adverb of time, like "the arrival of the pilgrims," meaning "during the time of the enjoyment of the life of the world," and the operative factor in it is also the "stability." It suffers from the same objection as the previous view.

It is also said that it is the object of a verb implied by the absolute object, meaning: "You seek the enjoyment of the life of the world." This was objected to on the grounds that this requires baghy to mean "seeking," as that is what takes a direct object, and the masdar does not indicate this. To treat the masdar as having that meaning would also detract from the eloquence of the noble arrangement, because the commencement is for explaining the evil outcome of the injustice described—which, according to the preferred view, is excessive corruption fitting their state—and in that case, the relevance would vanish and the coherence would be lost. Treating the first [the verb] as having that meaning is something from which the realm of the Revelation must be sanctified.

It is said it is a "cause" (maf'ul lahu), meaning "for the sake of the enjoyment of the life of the world," and the operative factor in it is the "stability." This was challenged by saying that what is being explained is the injustice itself, not its being against their own selves.

It is said the operative factor is a verb implied by the masdar, meaning: "You commit injustice for the sake of the enjoyment of the life of the world," on the basis that the sentence is a new commencement.

It is said it is a direct object of the masdar, and “against you” is connected to it, not the predicate of what passed. The "selves" is used generically, and the predicate is omitted due to the length of the speech; the estimation being: "Your injustice against your fellow kind—the enjoyment of the life of the world—is blameworthy, or forbidden, or error, or manifest corruption," or the like. This relies on baghy meaning "seeking," and you have learned what that entails. Yes, if its accusative were made for the cause—that is: "Your injustice against your fellow kind, for the sake of the enjoyment of the life of the world, is blameworthy"—as some have chosen, it would have some validity, but the truth which the eloquence of the arrangement requires is the first [interpretation].

The majority read “mata’u” (enjoyment) in the nominative. The author of al-Murshid said: "There are two aspects to it: first, that it is the predicate, and the prepositional phrase is a connector to the masdar; second, that it is the predicate of an omitted subject, meaning 'It is, or that is, enjoyment.'" Another aspect was added: that it is a predicate after a predicate for “your injustice.” The chosen—or rather, the inevitable—interpretation on the first aspect is that “against your own selves” means "against your fellow kind" or "your peers" by way of metaphor, and expressing them as such is to express pity and urge the abandonment of preferring the mentioned enjoyment over the rights that are due. There is no obstacle to interpreting it literally in the last two aspects, as our master, the Shaykh al-Islam, has explained.

There is a reading with the accusative of al-mata'a (the enjoyment) and al-hayata (the life). The accusative of the first is explained by what has passed, and the second as a substitution of inclusion (badal al-ishtimal) for the first. It is also said it is a direct object to it if its accusative is not as an absolute object, for an emphasizing masdar does not govern. Abu al-Baqa' mentioned that it was read with the genitive for both, the second being a possessive (mudaf ilayhi) and the first an adjective for "selves," meaning "those possessing enjoyment." It is permitted that the masdar be in the sense of the active participle, meaning "enjoying." Its being a substitute (badal) is weak, as it is possible for it to be an adjective.

“This.” In the verse is a warning against injustice that is not hidden. Abu al-Shaykh, Abu Nu'aym, al-Khatib, al-Daylami, and others recorded from Anas that he said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah exalt and grant him peace—said: "Three things return upon their doers: plotting, breaking of promises, and injustice." Then the Prophet—upon him be peace—recited: “O mankind! Your injustice is only against your own selves... and the evil plot does not encompass except its own people. And whoever breaks a promise, he only breaks it against his own self.”

Al-Bayhaqi recorded in al-Shu'ab from Abu Bakrah that he said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah exalt and grant him peace—said: "No sin is more deserving of having its punishment hastened for its doer in this world than injustice and severing ties of kinship." He also recorded through Bilal ibn Abi Burdah, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet—may Allah exalt and grant him peace—that he said: "No one commits injustice against people except a child of injustice, or someone who has a trace of it in him."

Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar—may Allah be pleased with them—that they said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah exalt and grant him peace—said: "If a mountain were to commit injustice against a mountain, the unjust one among them would be crushed." Al-Ma'mun used to recite these two lines of verse to his brother: O master of injustice, for injustice is a place of ruin, so desist; for the best of a person's deeds is the most just. If a mountain were one day to commit injustice against a mountain, its peaks and its base would be crushed. Al-Shihab expressed this, saying: If a person of injustice acts toward you, leave him and await a time for the revenge of the unjust. Beware of grievous injustice; for if a mountain were to commit injustice against a mountain, the unjust one would be crushed.

“Then to Us is your return.” This is a conjunction to what has passed from the implied commencement, as if it were said: "You enjoy the enjoyment of the life of the world, then you return to Us." The structure was changed to that which is in the noble text to denote firmness and finality.

“And We will inform you of what you used to do.” In the world, with the continuity of injustice. It is a warning and a threat of requital and punishment. The discussion on its equivalent has already preceded.