Surah Yunus 10:32
ﳇ ﳈ ﳉ ﳊ ﳋ ﳌ ﳍ ﳎ ﳏ ﳐ ﳑ ﳒ ﳓ
For that is Allah, your Lord, the Truth. And what can be beyond truth except error? So how are you averted?
Tafsir of Yunus 10:32
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 10:32
"So that is Allah, your Lord, the Truth." This is a summary to confirm [what preceded]. The demonstrative pronoun refers to the One characterized by the aforementioned attributes, according to what they [the disbelievers] admitted. It is the subject (*mubtada'*), and the Majestic Name is an adjective for it, and "your Lord" (*rabbukum*) is the predicate (*khabar*). "The Truth" (*al-haqq*) is either a second predicate, an adjective, or the predicate of an omitted subject. It is also permissible for the Majestic Name to be the predicate, while "your Lord" acts as a substitute (*badal*) or an explanatory phrase for it, and "the Truth" is an adjective for "Lord"—meaning the One who owns you and manages your affairs, whose Lordship is established and whose Divinity is realized with a realization in which there is no doubt.
"So what is there after the Truth except error?" That is, there exists nothing after the Truth that is followed except error. Whoever deviates from the Truth—which is the worship of Allah, the Exalted, alone—must inevitably fall into error, which is the worship of other than Him, whether exclusively or in association [with Him], because the worship of Him, Majestic is His glory, while associating others with Him is not considered.
Fā (What) is an interrogative noun, and dhā is a relative pronoun. It is also permissible for the whole to be a single compound noun in which the interrogative aspect prevails over the demonstrative aspect; it is the subject, and its predicate is "after the Truth" (ba'da al-haqq), according to what is in al-Nahr. The interrogation is one of denial, meaning the negation and denial of [the possibility of such] an occurrence. "After" (ba'da) is used in the sense of "other than" (ghayr) figuratively. "The Truth" here is what has preceded, and it is distinct from the first instance [in the previous verse], which is why it is explicitly mentioned [again]. The application of "Truth" to His worship, and likewise the application of "error" to the worship of others besides Him, is because the pivot of worship is belief.
It is also possible that "the Truth" refers to the first instance, and its explicit mention is for the sake of additional confirmation and to observe the perfect symmetry between it and "error." What is intended by "error" is the idols. The meaning is: what is there after the True Lord—whose Lordship is established—except error, i.e., falsehood that is lost and vanishing? It is named by the source noun (al-dalal) for hyperbole, as if it were the very essence of straying and loss. It is said: the intended meaning of "Truth" and "error" is that which encompasses monotheism and the worship of other than Him, as well as other things, and what the context demands here enters into this primarily. This is supported by what Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ashhab, who said: Malik was asked about the testimony of one who plays chess and dice. He replied: "As for the one who is addicted to it, I do not consider their testimony to be of any weight. Allah the Exalted says: 'So what is there after the Truth except error?' So all of this is from error."
"How then are you turned away?" That is, how are you turned away from the Truth toward error? The interrogation is one of denial, meaning the denial of the occurrence, deeming it improbable, and expressing astonishment at it. In this lies a hyperbole not found in directing the denial to the action itself, for every existing thing must exist in some state or another; so if all states of its existence are negated, then its existence is negated by way of logical demonstration. The *Fā* (*Fa-annā*—"How then") is for ordering the denial and astonishment based on what preceded it.
Perhaps this denial and astonishment are, in reality, directed at the source of this "turning away." Otherwise, the turning away itself is from Allah, the Exalted—according to the truth—so there is no meaning in denying it or being astonished by it while it is His act, Majestic is His glory. The reason the act was not attributed to the [Divine] Agent is because there is no purpose attached to that. The Mu'tazila maintained that the agent of the "turning away" is the polytheists themselves; they are the ones who turned themselves away and deviated from the Truth toward error, based on their view that the servants are the creators of their own actions. The case for denial and astonishment according to them is manifest. The reason the act was not attributed to their pronoun as the subject is to indicate that it [the act] has reached such a degree of repulsiveness that it should not be explicitly stated as having occurred from them. So reflect on this.