| Jonah: (104 - 106) Say, O People...

Know that when the Almighty mentioned the proofs leading to the highest goals and the ultimate limits, He commanded His Messenger to manifest his religion and to show clear separation from the polytheists. This was so that doubts and ambiguities concerning his message would be removed, and the worship of God would move from secrecy to open declaration. He said: {Say, O People...}

Know that the apparent meaning of this verse indicates that these disbelievers did not truly know the religion of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). It is narrated that they used to say about him, "He has apostatized," or "He is a Sabian." Therefore, God commanded him to clarify to them that he is upon the religion of Abraham, upright (Hanif) and a Muslim, based on His saying: {Indeed, Abraham was a nation, devoutly obedient to Allah, a Hanif...} (An-Nahl: 120), and His saying: {I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, inclining to truth...} (Al-An'am: 79), and His saying: {I do not worship what you worship} (Al-Kafirun: 2).

The meaning is: If you do not know my religion, then I will explain it to you in detail. Then, He mentioned several aspects within this explanation:

The precedence of this negation was necessary because, as we mentioned, removing corrupt inscriptions from a tablet must precede establishing correct inscriptions upon that tablet. This negation is obligatory because worship is the ultimate form of glorification, which is fitting only for the One possessing the utmost Majesty and Honor. As for idols, they are mere stones, and man is of a nobler status than them. How can the nobler one engage in worshipping the baser?

The purpose here is that after clarifying the obligation to abandon the worship of others besides God, He clarified the obligation to engage in the worship of God.

If it is asked: What is the wisdom in mentioning the True Object of Worship in this context with this specific attribute, {who causes you to die}?

We reply: There are several aspects:

1. It could mean: I worship Allah who first created you, then causes you to die (secondly), and then will resurrect you (thirdly). These three stages have been repeatedly established in the Qur'an. Here, mentioning only death suffices as a reminder of the other stages.
2. Death is the most terrifying of matters. Therefore, this attribute is singled out in this context to be the strongest in deterring and restraining (them).
3. Since they were hastening the descent of punishment, God said: **{Then do you await except the like of the days of those who passed on before you? Say, "Then wait; indeed, I am with you among those who wait." Then We will save Our messengers and those who believed...}* (Jonah: 102-103). This verse indicates that God will destroy those disbelievers and keep the believers, strengthening their dominion. Since this was recently mentioned, it is appropriate that He said here: {but I worship Allah, who causes you to die}. This points to what He established and clarified in those verses, as if He is saying: I worship the One who promised me their destruction and my preservation.

Know that after mentioning worship, which pertains to the actions of the limbs, He transitioned to faith (Iman) and gnosis (Ma'rifah). This indicates that unless the outward appearance is adorned with righteous deeds, the light of faith and gnosis will not enter the heart.

There are several issues concerning this:

Issue One: The conjunction 'Waw' (and) in {and to establish your face} is a particle of conjunction. There are two views regarding what it is connected to:

1. That {and I have been commanded to be among the believers} stands in place of saying, "And it was said to you: Be among the believers," and then {and to establish your face} is conjoined to it.
2. That {and to establish your face} stands in place of the command {and I have been commanded} regarding the establishment of the face. Thus, the meaning becomes: I have been commanded to be among the believers and to establish my face toward the religion, inclining to truth.

Issue Two: Establishing the face is a metaphor for directing the intellect entirely toward seeking the religion. This is because whoever intends to look at something exhaustively must set his face directly opposite it, so that he is not diverted from it, neither slightly nor greatly. If he were diverted, even slightly, that direct opposition would be nullified, and if that opposition is nullified, vision is impaired. For this reason, it is appropriate to make establishing the face toward the religion a metaphor for directing the intellect entirely toward seeking the religion.

His saying {Hanif} means inclining toward it with a complete inclination, turning away from everything else with a complete turning away. The essence of this statement is complete sincerity (Ikhlas) and abandoning attention to anything other than Him. Therefore, His saying first: {and I have been commanded to be among the believers} points to acquiring the foundation of faith, and His saying: {and to establish your face toward the religion, inclining to truth} points to being immersed in the light of faith and completely turning away from everything else.

Know that this cannot be a prohibition against worshipping idols, because that was already mentioned in His saying in this very verse: {I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah}. Therefore, this statement must be interpreted to carry an additional meaning: that whoever has recognized his Master, if he then turns his attention to anyone else, that constitutes polytheism. This is what the people of the heart call the hidden polytheism (Shirk al-Khafi).

That which is possible in itself is non-existent when considered by its own essence, and it exists only through the creation of the Truth (God). If this is the case, then anything other than the Truth has no existence except through the Truth's creation. Based on this understanding, nothing benefits except the Truth, and nothing harms except the Truth. Everything is perishing except His Face. If this is so, there is no judgment except for God, and there is no return in both worlds except to God.

Then He said at the end of the verse: {For if you did, then you would be of the wrongdoers}. This means: If you busy yourself seeking benefit and harm from other than God, then you are among the wrongdoers. This is because wrongdoing (Dhulm) is defined as placing a thing in other than its proper place. Since everything other than the Truth is stripped of agency, attributing agency to anything other than the Truth is placing a thing in other than its proper place, and thus it is wrongdoing.

If it is asked: Does seeking satiety from eating and quenching thirst from drinking compromise this sincerity?

We reply: No, because the existence of bread and all its attributes are through God's creation and decree. Seeking benefit from something God created for benefit is not contrary to complete reliance upon God. However, the condition for this sincerity is that the eye of one's intellect does not look upon any of these created beings except that it witnesses with the eye of its intellect that they are non-existent by their own essence, existent only by the creation of the Truth, perishing by themselves, and remaining only by the preservation of the Truth. Only then does one see everything besides the Truth as pure nothingness in terms of their essence, and sees the light of His existence and the effusion of His grace exalted above all things.

7 < {And if Allah should touch you with harm, none can remove it except Him; and if He intends for you good, none can repel His favor. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.} > 7 !