Tafsir of Yunus 10:58

(Say): This represents a shift in address, directing it toward the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so that he may command the people to seize the bounty and mercy contained within the Great Qur’an.

Meaning: Say to them: {With the bounty of Allah and His mercy}—this is attached to an elided verb, the original phrase being: "Let them rejoice with the bounty of Allah and His mercy." The prepositional phrase was then advanced before the verb to signify exclusivity (i.e., that they should rejoice only with these). Then, the fa was added to indicate causality, making it: "With the bounty of Allah and His mercy, then let them rejoice."

Then, His (the Exalted) statement came: {...therewith let them rejoice} for the purpose of emphasis and confirmation. The first verb was then deleted because the second one indicates it. Regarding the two fa’s: it is said that the first is conditional and the second is redundant for emphasis. The original structure would be: "If they rejoice in anything, then let them rejoice in that, and nothing else." Then the fa was added for the aforementioned reason, and then the conditional clause was deleted.

It is also said: The first fa is the redundant one, because the true response to the condition is {let them rejoice}, and {therewith} is advanced from its original place at the end due to the indication of what is referred to, and the fa was added to it for euphony. For this reason, it is permissible to consider it a substitute for His (the Exalted) statement: {with the bounty of Allah and His mercy}, in which case there is no need to postulate the deletion of its associated verb. A parallel to this disagreement regarding the nature of the "redundant" element is found in the line of Al-Nimr ibn Tawlab: "Do not grieve, for if you have lost a precious thing, then at that point, grieve."

One of the anomalies of the Arabic language is what some have indicated—that this verse belongs to the category of ishtighal (preoccupation), where the demonstrative pronoun is placed in the position of the pronoun of the governed object, singularized in accordance with what was mentioned. Its anomaly lies in the fact that the established condition for this grammatical category is that the governing agent should be preoccupied with the pronoun of the governed object; no grammarian has ever mentioned its preoccupation with a demonstrative pronoun referring to it.

It is also permissible to estimate the hidden verb associated with the prepositional phrase as "let them be concerned"—meaning, "With the bounty of Allah and His mercy, let them be concerned, and therewith let them rejoice." The evidence for this estimation is that what one rejoices over is necessarily something one is concerned with and pays attention to, or it is suggested by the precedence of the prepositional phrase. Al-Halabi said: The indication is clear from the context, and it is not a condition that the indication must be verbal. Therefore, the statement of Abu Hayyan—that this is an implicit meaning without evidence—is groundless.

It is also possible to estimate a verb like "has come to you" after "Say," indicated by what precedes it; meaning: "Say: There has come to you an exhortation, a healing, guidance, and mercy, with the bounty of Allah and His mercy." It is not permissible to attach it to the aforementioned "has come to you," because the command "Say" prevents this. "Therewith" refers to the verbal noun understood from the verb, which is "the coming"; meaning: "With the coming of these mentioned things, let them rejoice." The repetition of the ba in "and His mercy" on all these interpretations is to signal its independence in necessitating rejoicing.

The "bounty and mercy" refer either to the genus—in which case what is contained in the coming of the Qur’an enters into it primarily—or specifically to what is in its coming of those things. This is supported by what is narrated from Mujahid: that the bounty and mercy refer to the Qur’an. Abu al-Shaykh and Ibn Marduwayh recorded from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "The bounty of Allah is the Qur’an, and His mercy is that He made you among its people." This has also been narrated as a statement of the Prophet (mauquf) from Al-Bara’ and Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with them both). It has been narrated from a large group that the bounty is the Qur’an and the mercy is Islam, which conveys the same meaning as the aforementioned hadith. Abu al-Shaykh recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the bounty is knowledge and the mercy is Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Al-Khatib and Ibn ‘Asakir recorded from him the interpretation of the bounty as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the mercy as ‘Ali (may Allah honor his face). It is famous to describe the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as the "mercy," as indicated by the Almighty’s statement: {And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds}, rather than the Commander (may Allah honor his face), although he is indeed a great mercy (may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction). It is also said that they refer to Paradise and salvation from the Fire, other than the first interpretation, as is not hidden.

Ruways narrated from Ya‘qub that he recited: {faltafrahu} (let you rejoice) with the ta of address and the lam of command, based on the original form of the addressee—which is omitted—based on the view that the original form of the command is the command with the lam. Thus, it was deleted along with the present tense ta, and the connecting hamza was brought to initiate the word with a quiescent letter; not based on the view that it is an original, separate form. This recitation has appeared in a sound hadith from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and it has been recorded by a group, including Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and Al-Bayhaqi, through various chains from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) as an attributed statement. Ibn ‘Abbas, Qatada, and others also recited it this way.

In Al-Zamakhshari’s annotations on his Kashshaf, he suggests that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) preferred the recitation based on the original form because it is more indicative of the command to rejoice and more explicit in it, signaling that the rejoicing over the bounty and mercy of Allah is of such great importance that it deserves this instruction. This is to ensure that the confirmation, the repetition, and the inclusion of the conditional meaning correspond. A parallel to this, where a non-eloquent form becomes eloquent, is His (the Exalted) statement: {And there is not for Him any equivalent}, by advancing the prepositional phrase that is ostensibly redundant, so that the purpose is the exclusivity of the monotheism. This is taken from the words of Ibn Jinni in his justification of this. It is stated in Sharh al-Lub in its justification: Since the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was sent to both the present and the absent, he combined the lam and the ta. It is said: He meant that since the command was for the whole of the believers—the present among them and the absent—those present were made dominant in the address over the absent, and he brought the lam to account for the absent ones; this is a brilliant point, though it is a possibility, and what is transmitted from the author of the Kashshaf is more worthy of acceptance.

It has also been recited as {fafrahu} (so rejoice!), and this supports the previous recitation, for it is a command to the addressee in the original form. It has also been recited as {falyafrahu} with the kasra on the lam.

{...is better than what they accumulate} This refers to wealth, crops, livestock, and all the debris of the world, for these are destined to vanish and are on the verge of doing so. The pronoun (in "what they accumulate") refers back to "that" (in "therewith") considering its meaning; it is singular in its phrasing, even if it refers to the bounty and mercy. It is permissible to refer the pronoun to both of them initially by interpreting the "mentioned" as a singular concept, or by treating them as one thing. You may also refer it to the verbal noun—I mean "the coming" which was pointed to. The ma (what) can be interpreted as either a relative pronoun or a verbal particle. Ibn ‘Amir recited {tajma‘una} (you accumulate) as an address to those who were addressed: "O mankind," whether it is general or specific to the disbelievers of Quraysh. The pronoun in {let them rejoice} refers to the believers; meaning: "With that, let the believers rejoice; it is better than what you, O addressees, accumulate." On the recitation of {faltafrahu} and {fafrahu}, the address—as has been said—is to the believers. It is also permissible for it to be for them on the third-person recitation as well, by way of shift (iltifat). This has been countered by the claim that the third person is more appropriate for "others," yet even if they are described by it in a general sense, one should not be forced into this interpretation as long as there is room for another.