Tafsir of Yunus 10:3

This is a resumption of the discourse, presented to expose the falsity of the astonishment they expressed—and the subsequent fallacious claims that followed their rejection and amazement. It establishes the truth of what they found astonishing and the validity of what they denied, by providing a summary indication of matters related to creation, ordainment, the states of formation, and governance. It guides them toward knowledge of these things through the slightest reminder, for they acknowledge these truths without denial, as is evidenced by more than one verse in the Noble Book. The emphasis is for the sake of increasing concern for the content of the sentence, as is apparent. That is: Your Lord, the Possessor of your affairs—He whom you find astonishing for sending to you a man from among yourselves with warnings and glad tidings, and whom you deem to be magic—is "Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days."

Meaning: six periods of time. The intent behind "day" here is its linguistic meaning: absolute time. Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—narrated that these days are from the days of the Hereafter, where one day is like a thousand years of what you count. It is also said: it is the duration of six days of worldly time, which is more appropriate in this context, as it signifies the overwhelming power to create these massive celestial bodies in such a short period, and because it is a definition using terms we understand. It is impossible for "day" here to mean the known day, for as it is said, a day is an expression of the sun being above the horizon, a condition that cannot be conceived when there was neither earth nor sky. A day in this sense is referred to as "the individual daytime." "Day" is also used to refer to the entirety of that daytime and its night; such a quantity of time is also possible to intend here. Some of the great scholars have stated that the "heavens" refers to everything except the Muhaddad (the outermost sphere), and that "day" here is the duration of a complete revolution of that sphere. It is not hidden that the linguistic "day" includes this, but intending it—like intending the quantity of the day and night together—requires a textual transmission, and it is not a matter known to the addressees such that it would dispense with the need for transmission. Moreover, the assertion depends on the Muhaddad moving with rotational motion, which also requires transmission. Similarly, it depends on the Muhaddad being outside the heavens created during the six days, but that causes no harm, for the verses and reports bear witness to its being outside, as is not hidden. In creating them gradually, despite His absolute power to bring them into existence in the blink of an eye, there is a consideration for the observers and an incitement for them to deliberate upon states and phases. According to some researchers, it also contains evidence of [Divine] Choice.

As for specifying it with this particular number, it has been said: it is a matter the knowledge of which is kept by the Knower of the Unseen, whose power is majestic and whose wisdom is subtle. It is also said that He—Glory be to Him—made for every material of the heavens and their forms and connected some to others, and created the material of the earth and its form and connected them to one another, a period of time; thus, the times became six. In this, there is reflection, and, God willing, an investigation of this subject will come in [Surah] Ad-Dukhan in a manner that clears the dust from the insights of the observers.

The preference for the plural "heavens" is due to the well-known indication that they are bodies of different natures, with varying effects and properties. Its priority over the earth is either because it is greater in creation or because it acts as the "agent" while the earth acts as the "recipient," as explained in its place. The priority of the earth over it in Surah Taha is because it is closer to the senses and more apparent to them; its investigation will also come there, God willing.

"Then He established Himself above the Throne."

This is according to the meaning that He—Glory be to Him—intended, and to refrain from [asking] "how" is a sound approach. It is said: the "establishment above the Throne" is a metaphor for sovereignty and authority, derived from the metonymy used for one for whom sitting on a seat is permissible. It is said: "So-and-so established himself on the seat," meaning he attained kingship, even if he did not sit on the seat at all. It is also said: the "establishment" means "taking possession" (istila'), referring it to the attribute of power. You know that this and its likes are among the ambiguous matters, regarding which people hold various schools of thought. What we have pointed out is the position held by most of the predecessors of the nation—may Allah be pleased with them. Some have explicitly stated that the "establishment" is an attribute other than the [eight] attributes, which no one knows except He to whom it belongs, and that inability to grasp its comprehension is [in itself] comprehension. Many of the successors chose the view that the meaning is sovereignty and authority, mentioned to declare the majesty of His kingship and authority after having declared the greatness of His state and the breadth of His power through the aforementioned creation of those massive celestial bodies.

His saying—Exalted is He—"He arranges the matter" is a resumption to explain the nature of His—Glory be to Him—establishment above the Throne and to affirm His greatness. "Arrangement" (tadbir) in the language means looking into the ends of matters and their consequences so that they occur in a praised manner. The intent here is the decree that proceeds according to wisdom and the most complete and perfected path. Abu al-Shaykh and others narrated from Mujahid that the meaning is "He decides the matter." The "matter" refers to the affairs of created beings, both high and low, even the Throne; thus, the alif-lam (definite article) is for reference, meaning: He decrees the matter of all that according to the most superior manner and the appropriate mode, as necessitated by benefit and required by wisdom. Included in what was mentioned is that which they found astonishing. Some claimed the meaning is that He arranges that according to what His wisdom necessitates and prepares its causes by means of the movement of the Throne—which is the sphere of spheres to them—and by its movement, it moves others of the spheres, the Muthallathah (spheres that have similar motions) and others, due to the strength of its soul. It is also said: because all are within its interior, its movement necessitates their movement, as the movement of the container necessitates the movement of the contained. This is based on the [assumption] that the container is a natural place for the contained, which is a view that has its points of criticism. You know that such a claim, with its shortcomings, is not accepted by the traditionists or the predecessors of the nation, as it is neither witnessed by the Book nor the Sunnah, and thus it should not be issued as a legal opinion, even if the judge ruled it.

It is permissible for the sentence to be in the place of an accusative as a state for the pronoun in istawa, and it is permissible for it to be in the place of a nominative as a second predicate. In any case, the preference for the imperfect verb form (yudabbiru) is to signify the renewal of the arrangement and its continuity from Him—Exalted is He.

His saying—Glory be to Him—"There is no intercessor except after His permission" is an explanation of His—Exalted is He—exclusivity in arrangement and decree, and a negation of intercession in the most emphatic way. For the negation of all individuals of the "intercessor" by the min of totalization necessitates the negation of intercession in the most perfect way, so there is no need to say: the intended meaning is "there is no intercession for an intercessor." In this, there is also an affirmation of His greatness—Glory be to Him—following the previous affirmation. The exclusion is "empty" (mufarragh) from the most general of times, meaning: there is no intercessor who intercedes for anyone at any time except after His permission—Exalted is He—which is based on overwhelming wisdom. That is when the intercessor is one of the chosen elite, and the one interceded for is one worthy of intercession. The judge held that it is a rebuttal to those who claimed that their gods intercede for them before Allah. This was countered by saying it is not complete, because when they claimed their intercession, they might also claim permission for them; so how can this rebuttal be complete? There is no evidence in the verse that permission is not given to them. What was said—that it is an unacknowledged claim and its possibility is useless—has no benefit, unless one says: his intent is that the idols neither perceive nor speak, so that it is self-evident that they are not of the type that would be granted permission.

His saying—Exalted is He—"That is Allah, your Lord" is a resumption to increase affirmation and emphasis in reminding, and to derive the command to worship by His—Exalted is He—saying: "So worship Him." The indication is to the Essence described by those attributes that necessitate the entitlement to what was informed about Him, which is "Allah," and "your Lord," for they are both predicates for "That." Since the basis of this being established for Him—what was mentioned—is not found in any other, it necessitates exclusivity to Him and excludes others, and there is no object of worship other than Him. It is permissible for the Majestic Name to be an adjective for the demonstrative pronoun and "your Lord" to be its predicate, and it is permissible for it to be the predicate and "your Lord" to be an explanation of it or a substitute for it. The discourse is not devoid of conveying exclusivity. When the command mentioned is derived from that, it conveys the command to worship Him—Glory be to Him—alone. Meaning: so worship Him—Glory be to Him—without associating with Him anything—not a king nor a prophet—let alone that which neither sees, nor hears, nor harms, nor benefits. The motivator for this application is not that the essence of worship is established for them, and thus the command is applied to that; rather, it is because, as it is said, the address is to the polytheists, and there is no worship alongside polytheism.

"Will you not then take heed?" Meaning: do you know that the matter is as detailed, yet you do not take heed so that you may stand before the corruption of what you are upon, then desist from it and worship Allah—Exalted is He—alone? The preference for tadhakkurun (taking heed/remembrance) over tafakkarun (thinking/reflection) is to signify the clarity of the matter and that it is like a known truth that does not require complete thinking or perfect reflection, but merely a turning of the mind and bringing it to heart.