Jonah: (50 - 52) Say: "Have you considered if..."

This is the second response to their demand: "When is this promised [punishment] if you are truthful?"

There are several points to consider here:

The essence of the response is to ask those disbelievers who demand the punishment: If what you ask for actually happens and the punishment descends, what benefit will you gain from it?

If you say, "We will believe then," this is false. Belief at the time of compulsion and force yields absolutely no benefit. Thus, what you seek, if it occurred, would only result in worldly punishment, followed immediately by a more severe punishment on the Day of Resurrection, where it will be said: {To those who did wrong, taste the eternal punishment.} This punishment will be coupled with words indicating humiliation and contempt: {Are you repaid except for what you used to earn?}

The summary of this response is that what you are demanding is pure harm, devoid of any benefit. A rational person would not seek such a thing.

{At night} (بياتًا): This means during the night. It is said, "I spent the night doing such-and-such" (بت ليلتي). The reason for this term is that a person is typically indoors at night, so the word became a metaphor for nighttime. Bayātan is a verbal noun (masdar), similar to al-widāʿ (farewell) and al-sarāḥ (release). Conversely, during the day, one says, "I spent the day doing such-and-such" (ظللت أفعل كذا), because a person is typically in the shade during the day.

Bayātan is in the accusative case, functioning as an adverb of time (a circumstantial adverb).

Regarding {What} (ماذا), there are two interpretations:

1. Mādhā is a single word, and its position is accusative, as if one said, "What did God intend?"
2. Mā means "that which" (the relative pronoun), making Mādhā two words. In this case, Mā is in the nominative case (as the subject), and dhā (meaning "that which") is the predicate. The meaning then becomes: "What is the thing that the criminals hasten to receive?" i.e., "Which thing concerning the punishment are the criminals hastening?"

Know that the statement {If it comes to you as punishment by night or by day} is the conditional clause. Its response is {What do the criminals hasten to receive?} This is like saying, "If I come to you, what will you feed me?" meaning: If this demanded event occurs, what purpose are you hastening it for?

The statement {Then, when it happens, will you believe in it?} (أثم إذا ما وقع ءامنتم به) — the entry of the interrogative particle (أ) before thumma (then) is similar to its entry before wāw or fā’ in verses like {Or have the people of the towns felt secure...} (7:98) or {Have they then felt secure...} (7:97). This usage conveys reproach and reprimand.

The Almighty then informs us that this belief will not actually occur for them; rather, they will be mocked and rebuked. It will be said to them: "Now you believe? And you hope to benefit from belief, when before you were demanding it out of mockery and derision?"

It is also recited as {الئان} (Al-ān) with the hamza after the lām omitted and its vowel moved to the lām.

As for {Then it will be said to those who did wrong, "Taste the eternal punishment"} (ثم قيل للذين ظلموا ذوقوا عذاب الخلد), this is connected to the implied verb preceding al-ān (now). The implied structure is: "It will be said: 'Now [you believe] when you were hastening it?' Then it will be said to those who did wrong, 'Taste the eternal punishment.'"

The statement {Are you repaid except for what you used to earn?} (هل تجزون إلا بما كنتم تكسبون) contains three points:

Point 1: Justice in Punishment Wherever the Almighty mentions retribution or punishment, He mentions this reason. It is as if a questioner asks: "O Lord of Might, You are self-sufficient from all things. How is such severity and warning fitting for Your Mercy?" The Almighty replies: "I did not initiate this treatment upon them; rather, this is a consequence of their corrupt deeds." This indicates that the aspect of Mercy outweighs and dominates, while the aspect of punishment is secondary and overcome.

Point 2: The Causal Link Between Action and Recompense The apparent meaning of the verse suggests that recompense necessitates the action.

• According to the Philosophers: It is an effect of the action. Righteous action necessitates the illumination and brightening of the heart, establishing the cause with its effect.
• According to the Mu'tazila: Righteous action necessitates that God is obliged to reward it.
• According to the Ahl al-Sunnah: The recompense is obligatory by virtue of a pure promise (from God).

Point 3: Affirmation of Human Agency (Kasb) The verse indicates that the servant is an agent (مكتسب), contrary to the position of the Jabriyya (fatalists). For us (the Ash'arites), being an agent means that the combination of ability (qudra) and sincere inclination (dā'iya khāliṣa) necessitates the action. The lengthy discussion regarding this matter, along with its proofs, is well-known.

< { And they ask you to hasten it. Say: "Yes, by my Lord, it is the truth, and you will not escape [Him]." *And if every soul that wronged had all that is on earth, it would offer it for ransom, and they will conceal their regret when they see the punishment, and judgment will be passed between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.} >