Tafsir of Yunus 10:55-56

Yunus (10:55-56)

{أَلَا إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ} (Behold, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and on earth. Behold, the promise of Allah is true, but most of them do not know.)

It is noted that some commentators link this verse to the preceding one: {And if every soul that wronged had all that is in the earth, it would offer it for its ransom} (Yunus: 54). According to this view, the connection is: Since the wrongdoers could not ransom themselves with everything on earth, this verse follows by stating that nothing is theirs to ransom, as everything is the property and dominion of Allah Almighty. This interpretation is sound.

However, a more refined understanding suggests the following:

We have previously mentioned that people are of different classes. Some benefit more from persuasive arguments (iqnā‘iyyāt) than from demonstrative proofs (burhānīyāt), while the true scholars (muhaqqiqūn) rely solely on clear evidence and decisive proofs, disregarding mere persuasion.

When Allah recounted the disbelievers asking, "Is it true?" He commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him) to reply, "Yes, by my Lord!" (Yunus: 53). This reply serves as a persuasive statement (iqnā‘ī).

Following this, Allah immediately presented the decisive proof (burhān qāṭi‘) confirming the truth of prophethood and the Resurrection. This proof rests on establishing the existence of the Capable, Wise God, and that everything besides Him is His property and dominion.

Allah expressed this concept by saying: {Behold, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and on earth}.

Allah did not mention the proof for this assertion because He had already thoroughly established it earlier in this Surah, such as in: {Indeed, in the alternation of the night and the day and in what Allah has created in the heavens and the earth...} (Yunus: 6) and {It is He who made the sun a shining light and the moon a light and determined for it phases...} (Yunus: 5).

Since these overwhelming proofs were already presented, mentioning them again was unnecessary. Instead, Allah stated that everything in existence—plants, animals, bodies, spirits, darkness, and light—is His property and dominion.

If this is the case, then Allah is:

1. Capable of all possibilities (mumkināt).
2. Knowledgeable of all things known (ma‘lūmāt).
3. Independent of all needs (ḥājjāt).
4. Pure from all defects and afflictions.

Because He is capable of all possibilities, He is capable of:

• Sending down punishment upon enemies in this world and the Hereafter.
• Conveying mercy to the allies in this world and the Hereafter.
• Supporting His Messenger (PBUH) with decisive proofs and clear miracles.
• Exalting the status of His Messenger, manifesting His religion, and strengthening His Law.

When He is capable of all this, mockery and astonishment become baseless. Furthermore, since He is pure from defects and afflictions, He is pure from breaking promises or lying; thus, everything He promised must occur.

This holds true even if we assume Allah does not consider the welfare of His servants. If we assume He does consider their welfare, then lying originates from an intelligent being due to inability, ignorance, or need. Since the Truth (Allah) is pure from all these, lying about Him is impossible. Therefore, when He informed us about the descent of punishment upon these disbelievers and the occurrence of the Resurrection and Reinstatement, certainty regarding their occurrence is mandatory.

Thus, the statement {Behold, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and on earth} is established as a premise that necessitates certainty in the truth of His statement: {Behold, the promise of Allah is true}.

Then follows: {but most of them do not know}. This means they are heedless of these proofs and deluded by the superficial appearances of things. Consequently, they remain deprived of these true cognitions.

He then reinforces these proofs by saying: {It is He who gives life and causes death, and to Him you will be returned}. This implies that since He was capable of giving life the first time, once He causes death, He must remain capable of resurrecting them a second time.

It is thus clear that Allah commanded His Messenger to say: "Yes, by my Lord!" (Yunus: 53), and then He followed that statement with the mention of these overwhelming proofs.

There is another subtlety in the use of the particle أَلَا (Alā). This particle is used specifically to alert the heedless and awaken those who are asleep.

The people of this world are preoccupied with observing apparent causes: they attribute the garden to the prince, the house to the vizier, the slave boy to Zayd, and the slave girl to Amr. They attribute everything to some other owner. Because creation is immersed in the sleep of ignorance and the slumber of heedlessness, they believe these attributions are correct.

Therefore, the Truth calls out to these sleeping, heedless ones with the statement: {Behold, to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and on earth}.

This is because it is established by reason that anything other than the One, Unique Truth is contingent (mumkin) in its essence. And it is established that the contingent must ultimately depend on the Necessary Being (wājib bi-dhātihi), either directly or through intermediaries. Therefore, everything else is His property and dominion. If this is the case, then nothing else truly possesses ownership. Since the majority of creation is heedless of and unaware of this reality, Allah commanded His Messenger to utter this call, perhaps one of them might awaken from the sleep of ignorance and the slumber of misguidance.

{يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاءٌ لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ * قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ} (O mankind, there has come to you an admonition from your Lord and a healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers. Say, "In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy—in that let them rejoice; it is better than whatever they accumulate.")