Tafsir of Yunus 10:37-39

Tafsir of Surah Yunus (10:37-39)

[10:37] And it was not possible for this Qur'an to be produced by other than Allah, but [it is] a confirmation of what came before it and a detailed explanation of the Book about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.

The First Issue: The Context and Order of Verses

When we began interpreting the verse, "And they say, 'Why are not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?'" (Yunus: 20), we mentioned that the disbelievers said this because they believed the Qur'an was not miraculous and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) fabricated it himself.

Allah provided numerous responses to this claim, which continued until this point. Here, Allah clarifies that Muhammad's bringing this Qur'an is not fabrication against Allah, but rather a revelation sent down to him from God.

Allah then proves the truth of this claim by saying: "Or do they say, 'He has invented it'? Say, 'Then bring forth a Surah like it and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.'" This indicates that it is a miracle sent down to him from God, free from fabrication or invention. This is the correct structure of these verses.

The Second Issue: The Meaning of "It was not possible for this Qur'an to be forged"

There are two interpretations for the phrase: { وما كان هاذا القرءان أن يفترى } (And it was not possible for this Qur'an to be forged):

1. The Masdar (Verbal Noun) Interpretation: The phrase { أن يفترى } is in the position of a verbal noun. The meaning is: "This Qur'an was not a fabrication apart from God," similar to saying, "This speech was nothing but a lie."
2. The Lām (Preposition) Interpretation: The word { أن } here means the preposition lām (for/to be). The meaning is: "This Qur'an was not to be forged apart from God," similar to His saying: "And it was not for the believers to go forth all together" (At-Tawbah: 122) and "Allah would never leave the believers in that state you are in until He separates the wicked from the pure" (Al 'Imran: 179). This implies that it is not appropriate for this Qur'an to be forged, as forging is attributed to human effort (from fariyta al-adīm, meaning to cut leather). The Qur'an is miraculous and beyond human capacity.

The essence of the statement is that no one except Allah Almighty can produce this Qur'an. Allah supports this claim with several proofs:

First Proof: { ولاكن تصديق الذى بين يديه } (But [it is] a confirmation of what came before it)

This proof has several aspects:

1. The Prophet's Illiteracy: Muhammad (peace be upon him) was an unlettered man (ummi). He did not travel to any city to learn, and Mecca was not a center of scholarship. There were no books of knowledge there. Yet, he brought the Qur'an, which contained the stories of the ancients. If these stories did not conform to the Torah and the Gospel, his enemies—who were intensely hostile—would have attacked him and claimed he narrated them incorrectly. Since no one made such a claim despite their eagerness to criticize him, we know he narrated these stories exactly as they were in the previous scriptures, even though he never studied them or sat with anyone knowledgeable in them. This proves he received this information through divine revelation.

2. Fulfillment of Previous Prophecies: The revealed Books indicated the coming of Muhammad (peace be upon him), as we detailed in the commentary on Surah Al-Baqarah (2:40). Therefore, Muhammad's arrival confirms the glad tidings of his appearance found in those Books. This is what is meant by "confirmation of what came before it."

3. Foretelling Future Unseen Events (Al-Ghayb): The Prophet (PBUH) informed about many future unseen matters in the Qur'an, which occurred exactly as foretold, such as: "Alif, Lam, Mim. The Romans have been defeated" (Ar-Rum: 1-2), and "Allah has certainly fulfilled the vision for His Messenger in truth" (Al-Fath: 27), and "Allah has promised those who believe among you and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the land" (An-Nur: 55). Reporting these future unseen events proves the information came via revelation from God, thus confirming what preceded it. (The first two points concern past unseen events, and the third concerns future unseen events; together they confirm what came before.)

Second Type of Evidence: { وتفصيل كل شىء } (and a detailed explanation of everything)

People differed on the source of the Qur'an's miraculous nature:

• Some say it is miraculous due to its narration of past and future unseen events, which is covered by { تصديق الذى بين يديه }.
• Others say it is miraculous due to its comprehensive knowledge, indicated by { وتفصيل كل شىء }.

The detailed knowledge in the Qur'an is either religious or non-religious. Religious knowledge is superior. Religious knowledge is further divided into:

1. Knowledge of Creed and Religions (Theology): This involves knowing Allah (His Essence, Attributes of Majesty, Attributes of Honor, Actions, Rulings, and Names). The Qur'an contains proofs, branches, and details of these matters in a way unmatched by any book.
2. Knowledge of Actions (Jurisprudence/Ethics):
   • External Rulings (Fiqh): All jurists derive their discussions from the Qur'an.
   • Purification of the Inner Self/Heart Cultivation: The Qur'an contains profound discussions on this, such as: "Take what is given freely, enjoin what is right, and turn away from the ignorant" (Al-A'raf: 199) and "Indeed, Allah commands justice, good conduct, and giving to relatives and forbids immorality, bad conduct, and oppression" (An-Naml: 90).

Thus, the Qur'an contains details of all noble sciences, rational and transmitted, in a manner impossible for other books to achieve. This is the miracle indicated by { وتفصيل الكتاب } (detailed explanation of the Book).

Regarding: { لا ريب فيه من رب العالمين } (about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds)

A lengthy book containing such vast knowledge would inevitably contain contradictions. Since this Book is free from contradiction, we know it is from God, revealed by Him. This is similar to His saying: "If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction" (An-Nisa: 82).

After establishing that the Qur'an's nature precludes it from being a human fabrication, and presenting these two types of evidence, Allah returns to denial using an interrogative form: { أم يقولون افتراه } (Or do they say, 'He has invented it'?).

Allah then presents another argument to refute this claim: { قل فأتوا بسورة مثله وادعوا من استطعتم من دون الله إن كنتم صادقين } (Say, "Then bring forth a Surah like it and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.").

We have elaborated on this challenge in the commentary on Surah Al-Baqarah (2:23). Here are some related questions:

First Question: Why did Al-Baqarah say, { من مثله } (like it), while here it says, { بسورة مثله } (a Surah like it)?

Answer: Since Muhammad (PBUH) was an unlettered man who studied nothing, Al-Baqarah said: "Let someone equal to Muhammad in his lack of study, reading, and engagement with knowledge bring forth a Surah equal to this Surah." When inability was demonstrated, the miracle was clear. This initially proved that the appearance of such a Surah from someone like Muhammad was miraculous, not necessarily the Surah itself. However, in this Surah (Yunus), Allah clarifies that the Surah itself is miraculous, because even if people study, learn, read, and reflect, they cannot produce even one Surah as a counter-challenge. Hence, He said here: { فأتوا بسورة مثله } (Then bring forth a Surah like it). This is a remarkable sequence in the challenge and demonstration of the miracle.

Second Question: Does { فأتوا بسورة مثله } encompass all Surahs, small and large, or is it restricted to the large ones?

Answer: This verse is in Surah Yunus, which is Meccan. Therefore, the reference is to a Surah similar to the Surahs of this context, as they are the closest available reference point.

Third Question: The Mu'tazila used this verse to argue that the Qur'an is created. They argued that the challenge implies that producing a similar Surah is possible in principle, even if they were incapable of doing it. If the Qur'an were eternal (uncreated), producing its like would be inherently impossible, invalidating the challenge.

Answer: The term "Qur'an" is used equivocally: it refers both to the eternal Attribute existing with Allah's Essence, and to these created letters and sounds. There is no dispute that the words composed of these letters and sounds are newly created. The challenge was directed at the created form, not the eternal Attribute.

Regarding: { وادعوا من استطعتم من دون الله إن كنتم صادقين } (and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful)

This teaches them how they could produce a counter-challenge if they were capable. When a group cooperates, their collective intellects function as one. If they focus on one goal, their combined power can achieve what individuals cannot. Allah is essentially saying: "Suppose the intellect of one or two of you is insufficient to produce a counter-challenge to the Qur'an. Then gather together, and let each assist the other in this endeavor. When you realize your collective and individual inability to produce this counter-challenge, it becomes clear that the inability stems from human power being insufficient for it. Thus, it becomes evident that this is the work of God, not humans."

It has become clear from our discussion that there are six levels in the challenge issued by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) regarding the Qur'an:

1. Challenge with the Entire Qur'an: "Say, 'If mankind and jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants'" (Al-Isra: 88).
2. Challenge with Ten Surahs: "Then bring ten Surahs like it, invented" (Hud: 13).
3. Challenge with One Surah: "Then bring a Surah like it" (At-Tur: 34).
4. Challenge with a Hadith like it: "Then let them produce a Hadith like it" (At-Tur: 34).
5. Challenge based on the Prophet's Status (in the first four levels): In the first four challenges, the demand was for someone equal to the Prophet (PBUH) in his lack of study and learning to produce the counter-challenge. However, in Surah Yunus, the demand was for anyone to produce a counter-challenge to one Surah, regardless of whether they were learned or not.
6. Challenge involving Collective Effort (in this Surah): In the preceding levels, each individual was challenged. In this level, the entire group was challenged, and they were permitted to seek assistance from one another, as stated: { وادعوا من استطعتم من دون الله }. This is the final level of the challenge.

These are the proofs Allah provided to establish the miraculous nature of the Qur'an.

Allah then mentions the reason they rejected the Qur'an: { بل كذبوا بما لم يحيطوا بعلمه ولما * يأتهم تأويله } (Nay, they denied that which they could not comprehend, and its explanation had not yet come to them).

This statement can be understood in several ways:

First Interpretation: Whenever they heard a story, they dismissed it as "legends of the ancients" ({ أساطير الأولين }). They failed to realize that the purpose of these stories was not merely the narration itself, but other underlying meanings:

1. To demonstrate God's power to manage the world, shifting people from honor to disgrace and vice versa, proving complete power.
2. To serve as a lesson ('ibrah), showing that the world is transient—every moving thing ends in stillness, and every created thing eventually ceases to be—thereby encouraging focus on the Hereafter (as in Yusuf: 111).
3. Since the Prophet (PBUH) narrated these stories without alteration, despite his illiteracy, it proves the revelation came from God (as in Ash-Shu'ara: 192-194).

Second Interpretation: They became suspicious when they heard the disconnected letters at the beginning of some Surahs (like Alif, Lam, Mim) and did not understand their meaning. Allah responded to this by saying: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses of precise meaning—they are the foundation of the Book—and others of ambiguous meaning" (Al 'Imran: 7).

Third Interpretation: They objected to the Qur'an being revealed gradually, asking why it was not sent down all at once. Allah answered this in Surah Al-Furqan: "Thus [We have sent it down] so that We may strengthen your heart thereby" (Al-Furqan: 32), which we explained previously.

Fourth Interpretation: The Qur'an is full of proofs for the Resurrection and Gathering. Since they were accustomed only to sensory perceptions, they found life after death improbable and did not accept it in their hearts, thus assuming Muhammad was lying. Allah clarified the truth of the Resurrection with overwhelming proofs.

Fifth Interpretation: The Qur'an commands prayer, charity, and other acts of worship. They argued that the Lord of the worlds is self-sufficient and does not need their obedience, nor would He command something useless. Allah responded with: "Did you think that We created you in vain?" (Al-Mu'minun: 115) and "If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, it is against yourselves" (Al-Isra: 7).

In summary, the disbelievers had many doubts. Because the Qur'an contained matters whose reality and wisdom they did not grasp, they rejected it. { بل كذبوا بما لم يحيطوا بعلمه } refers to their lack of knowledge of these divine realities, and { ولما يأتهم تأويله } refers to their lack of effort in seeking the interpretation of these secrets.

{ فانظر كيف كان عاقبة الظالمين } (Then see what was the end of the wrongdoers).

This means they sought the world and abandoned the Hereafter. When they died, they lost both, resulting in immense loss. Some scholars interpret this as the punishment of annihilation that descended upon nations who denied the Messengers.

The truthful scholars state that { ولما يأتهم تأويله } indicates that whoever does not know the interpretations (ta'wil) falls into disbelief and heresy. This is because the apparent meanings of the texts might seem contradictory. If one does not know the path of interpretation, doubt enters the heart, making them question the book's truthfulness. But if one knows the path of interpretation, they align the revelation with the interpretation, resulting in light upon light, guiding whomever Allah wills to His Light.

[10:37-39] *And among them are those who believe in it, and among them are those who do not believe in it. And your Lord is most knowing of the corrupters. And if they deny you, then say, "For me is my deed, and for you is your deed. You are free from what I do, and I am free from what you do."

[10:38] And among them are those who believe in it, and among them are those who do not believe in it. And your Lord is most knowing of the corrupters.

This verse confirms that among the people addressed, some believed in the Qur'an, and some did not. Allah knows best who the corrupters are—those who persist in denial despite the clear proofs.

[10:39] And if they deny you, then say, "For me is my deed, and for you is your deed. You are free from what I do, and I am free from what you do."

This is a declaration of dissociation and a cessation of argument. When denial persists despite the evidence, the Prophet (PBUH) is commanded to cease engaging them in debate about belief.

• "For me is my deed, and for you is your deed": This establishes complete separation regarding accountability. The deeds of the Prophet (PBUH) will be judged by God, and their deeds will be judged by God.
• "You are free from what I do, and I am free from what you do": This emphasizes the complete severance of responsibility between the two parties concerning their actions in this world, leading to the final judgment.