Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:148

It has been objected against this that what is narrated is that they saw the punishment, or feared it, after he had parted from them, and thus they believed. Therefore, His saying—Exalted is He—(So they believed) in the Glorious Arrangement here refuses to be interpreted as a second mission. It has been answered that it is permissible that the faith accompanied by the particle of immediate sequence (fa) is a specific type of faith, or that "they believed" is to be interpreted as "they purified their faith and renewed it," because the first was the faith of despair. It is also said that it refers to a mission to others. It is further said: that the first ones, after they had believed, asked him to return to them, but he refused, because a prophet, once he has migrated from his people, does not return to them to reside among them, and he said to them: "God—Exalted is He—shall send a prophet to you."

In a long report extracted by Ahmad in Al-Zuhd and a group [of scholars] from Ibn Mas‘ud: that he—peace be upon him—after he was cast into the open wilderness and God—Exalted is He—made the tree grow over him and improved his condition, he went out and encountered a boy tending sheep. He said: "To whom do you belong, boy?" He said: "To the people of Yunus." He said: "When you return to them, convey my greetings to them and inform them that you have met Yunus." The boy said to him: "If you are indeed Yunus, you know that whoever lies and has no proof is killed. So who will testify for me?" He said: "This tree and this plot of land shall testify for you." The boy said to Yunus: "Command them." Yunus said to them: "When this boy comes to you, bear witness for him." They said: "Yes." The boy returned to his people; he had brothers and was in a position of strength. He came to the King and said: "I have met Yunus, and he sends you his greetings." The King ordered that he be killed, but the boy said: "I have proof." The King sent men with him, and they arrived at the tree and the plot of land. The boy said to them: "I adjure you by God, did Yunus ask you to bear witness?" They said: "Yes." The people returned terrified, saying: "The tree and the land testify for you!" They came to the King and told him what they had seen. The King took the boy’s hand, seated him in his own place, and said: "You are more entitled to this place than I." That boy managed their affairs for forty years.

This, in its apparent meaning, indicates that he—peace be upon him—did not return to them after what befell him. If this is authentic, then by "the mission" here is intended either the first mission mentioned in His saying—Exalted is He—(And indeed, Yunus was among the messengers), or another mission to people other than those. It is well-known to the People of the Book that he—peace be upon him—was sent only to the people of Nineveh, and the details of his story according to them will come shortly, if God wills.

As for "or" (aw)—based on what is narrated from Ibn Abbas—it means "rather" (bal). It is also said to mean "and" (waw), and Ja'far ibn Muhammad—may God be pleased with both of them—recited it as such. It is also said to be for the purpose of keeping the addressee in ambiguity. Al-Mubarrad and many of the Basrians said: it is for doubt, looking at the human observer, meaning that whoever saw them doubted their number and said "a hundred thousand or more." The intent is to demonstrate their multitude, or that the "increase" is not an excessive magnitude, as one says "they are a thousand and more." Ibn Kamal said: the intent of "they exceed" is from another consideration, which is that the legally responsible adults among them were a hundred thousand, and when the adolescents approaching the age of responsibility were added, they were more. From this appears the reason for expressing it in the form of renewal (yazidun) rather than stability. This is countered by the fact that—while "and" (waw) would be appropriate for it—this is a far-fetched interpretation. Closer to the truth is that the "increase" is in accordance with the second mission, for which the form of renewal is appropriate, even if it is for the sake of the verse ending. It is a conjunction to the sentence (We sent him) with the estimation of "they exceed," not to "hundred" with the estimation of "persons who exceed," or treating it as a verbal noun; for that is weak. The increase, according to what is narrated from Ibn Abbas, is thirty thousand; in another report from him, a few tens of thousands; in another, forty-odd thousand. From Nawf and Ibn Jubayr, seventy thousand.

At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Ibn Marduyah extracted from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, who said: "I asked the Messenger of God—peace and blessings of God be upon him—about the saying of God—Exalted is He—(And We sent him to a hundred thousand or more). He said: 'Twenty thousand more.'" If this report is authentic, all others are rendered void.

(So we gave them enjoyment) with life (until a time): until their appointed terms designated in eternity. This was said by Qatadah and As-Suddi. Some have claimed that their enjoyment of life continues until the time of the Mahdi, and that when he appears, they will be among his supporters; they are alive today in the mountains and wildernesses, not seen by everyone, like the Mahdi according to the Imamiyyah and Al-Khidr according to some scholars and Sufis. It may be revealed to some people, and they see one of them, but this is a fabricated lie.

Perhaps the failure to conclude this story and the preceding one with the likes of what other stories were concluded with—such as His saying: (And We left for him [favorable] mention among the later generations)—is a distinction between the status of Lot and Yunus—peace be upon them—and the status of the possessors of the great laws and the Messengers of firm resolve (Ulul-'Azm), while sufficing in their case with the comprehensive greeting for all the messengers mentioned at the end of the Surah, and because of their late mention, being near to it. And God—Exalted is He—knows best.

[Regarding the story of Yunus in the books of the People of the Book]: It is mentioned that God—the Almighty—commanded him to go and invite the people of Nineveh, and it was at that time very great, not to be traversed except in about three days. Their evil had become great, and their corruption had multiplied. He considered the matter daunting and fled to Tarshish. He came to Jaffa, found a ship whose people intended to go to Tarshish, so he rented space, paid the fare, and boarded. A great wind blew, the waves surged, and it was on the verge of sinking. The sailors were terrified and threw some of the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. At that time, Yunus went down into the belly of the ship and slept until he was overcome by slumber. The captain approached him and said: "What is the matter with you, sleeping? Get up and call upon your God, perhaps He will save us from what we are in and not let us perish." They said to one another: "Come, let us cast lots to know who is the cause of this evil that has befallen us." They cast lots, and the lot fell on Yunus. They said to him: "Tell us, what have you done? From where have you come? To where are you going? From which land are you? And from which people are you?" He said: "I am a servant of the Lord, God of Heaven, the Creator of the land and the sea," and he told them his story. They feared with a great fear and said to him: "Why did you do what you did?"—blaming him for that. Then they said to him: "What shall we do with you now so the sea may calm for us?" He said: "Cast me into the sea and it will calm, for because of me this great surge has come." The men strove to return the ship to land, but they could not. So they took Yunus and cast him into the sea for the salvation of all who were on the ship, and the sea calmed. God—Exalted is He—commanded a great whale, and it swallowed him. He remained in its belly for three days and three nights, praying in its belly to his Lord and calling for help. The Almighty commanded the whale, and it cast him upon the dry land.

Then the Almighty said to him: "Arise and go to Nineveh, and call out to its people as I commanded you before." He went—peace be upon him—and called out, saying: "Nineveh shall be overturned after three days." The men of Nineveh believed in God—Exalted is He—and proclaimed a fast, and they all put on sackcloth. The news reached the King, so he rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat on ashes. It was proclaimed that no person or beast should taste food or drink. They cried out to God—Exalted is He—and turned back from evil and oppression. God—Exalted is He—had mercy on them and did not send the punishment upon them. Yunus was saddened and said: "My God, it is from this that I fled, for I knew that You are the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Patient, the Relenting. O Messenger of God, take my soul, for death is better for me than life." He said: "O Yunus, are you very sad about this?" He said: "Yes, my Lord." Yunus went out and sat opposite the city, and a shelter was made for him there, and he sat under it until he could see what would happen in the city.

God—Exalted is He—commanded a gourd vine, and it grew over his head to be a shade for him from his distress. He rejoiced greatly in the gourd. Then God—Exalted is He—commanded a worm, and it struck the gourd, and it withered. Then a hot wind blew, and the sun shone on the head of Yunus—peace be upon him—so the matter became grievous for him, and he desired death. The Lord said to him: "O Yunus, are you very sad for the gourd?" He said: "Yes, my Lord, I am very sad." He said: "You are sad for it, yet you did not toil for it nor did you raise it; rather, it came up in a night and perished in a night. Yet I should not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than twelve myriads of people who do not know their right hand from their left, and many beasts?" End of quote. It contains that which contradicts the truth, but I have transcribed it for you so that you may know his situation and the falsehoods of the People of the Book.