Jonah: (71-72) And recite to them the news...

When the Almighty has thoroughly established the proofs and clear signs, and responded to the doubts and inquiries, He then proceeds to narrate the stories of the Prophets (peace be upon them) for several reasons:

1. To Alleviate Boredom: When discourse is prolonged on one branch of knowledge, it can cause a degree of weariness. Transitioning to another subject refreshes the heart, brings new desire, and generates renewed strength and inclination.
2. For Emulation (Uswah): So that the Messenger (PBUH) and his Companions may have an example in the Prophets who preceded them. When the Prophet hears that the treatment from these disbelievers was similar to that received by previous Prophets, it lessens the burden on his heart, as the saying goes: "When a calamity is shared, it becomes lighter."
3. To Deter Disbelievers: When these disbelievers hear these stories and realize that although the ignorant greatly harmed past Prophets, God ultimately aided, supported, and granted them victory over their enemies, hearing such narratives should cause their hearts to break, instilling fear and apprehension in their breasts, thus reducing their harmful and foolish actions.
4. Proof of Revelation: We have already demonstrated that Muhammad (PBUH), having never studied or read a book, recounted these stories without variation, addition, or omission. This proves that he learned them only through divine revelation and descent (of the Qur'an).

In this Surah, God mentions three stories of the Prophets (peace be upon them).

The first story is that of Noah (peace be upon him), mentioned in this verse. It contains two points of benefit:

1. A Warning: Since the people of Noah persisted in disbelief and denial, God hastened their destruction by drowning. Narrating this story serves as a lesson for these disbelievers, urging them to abandon denial of monotheism and prophethood.
2. Addressing Demands for Punishment: The disbelievers of Mecca were hastening the punishment that the Messenger (PBUH) warned them about, saying, "You have lied; this punishment has not come to us." God mentions the story of Noah because Noah used to warn his people of this punishment, and they denied him, yet it eventually occurred as he informed them. The same applies here.

The Second Issue: Noah's Statement

Noah (peace be upon him) said to his people: {If it weighs heavily upon you, my stay and my reminding you of the signs of Allah, then upon Allah I have relied.}

This is a conditional sentence structure. The condition is composed of two constraints:

Al-Wahidi in Al-Basit states: Kabura (to weigh heavily) can refer to age, or it can mean the matter or thing became great (yakburu kubran wa kibāratan). Ibn Abbas said it means: "It became burdensome and difficult for you, and its importance grew large in your eyes."

Al-Maqām (with a fatḥa on the mīm) is the verbal noun (masdar) like al-iqāmah (staying). It is said: "He stayed among them maqāman or iqāmatan." Al-Maqām (with a ḍammah on the mīm) is the place where one stays. Here, he means his dwelling and remaining among them. In essence, {If it weighs heavily upon you, my stay} is like saying, "So-and-so has a heavy shadow (i.e., is burdensome)."

The reason for this burden is twofold:

1. He stayed among them for nine hundred and fifty years (a thousand years less fifty years).
2. Those disbelievers were accustomed to their corrupt doctrines and false ways. Generally, whoever becomes accustomed to a certain religious path finds it burdensome to be called to abandon it and have its flaws pointed out. If this is coupled with a long duration of preaching, it becomes heavier and more detested. If this is further coupled with presenting overwhelming proofs against their doctrine, the aversion becomes stronger. This is the reason for the occurrence of that heaviness.

It is known that natures preoccupied with worldly matters and eager for pleasures are strongly averse to being commanded to obedience and forbidden from sins and evils, and they strongly dislike hearing mention of death or the vilification of the world's image. For someone like this, the person who commands good and forbids evil becomes burdensome.

Another interpretation of the verse is that {If it weighs heavily upon you, my stay and my reminding you of the signs of Allah} means that when they were advised as a group, they would stand up to advise them in return, so their position would be prominent and their speech audible, just as it is narrated that Jesus (peace be upon him) used to preach to the disciples while standing, and they were seated.

The Consequence (The Answer to the Condition)

This is the condition mentioned in the verse. As for the consequence, there are two views:

View 1: The consequence is {then upon Allah I have relied}. This means: "Your intense hatred for me drives you to harm me, and I counter that evil only by relying upon Allah."

It should be noted that he was always reliant upon God, but this phrasing suggests reliance specifically at that moment. The meaning is that he relied upon God to repel this specific harm at this specific time.

View 2 (The Majority View): The answer to the condition is {So gather your plan and your partners}, and the phrase {then upon Allah I have relied} is an inserted statement between the condition and its consequence, similar to saying in speech: "If you disapprove of something I did, God is sufficient for me; so do what you want."

The answer to this condition encompasses five constraints, in order:

First Inquiry: Al-Farra' said that al-ijmāʿ (gathering) means preparation and firm resolve regarding the matter. He cited poetry:

“Oh, if only I knew, though wishes avail not, If I shall wake one day and my affair is resolved.”

If you wish to gather dispersed things, you say: "I gathered the people, and they became gathered." Abu al-Haytham said: "He gathered his affair," meaning he made it unified after it was scattered (i.e., he was contemplating it, thinking, 'I will do this one moment, and that the next.' When he resolved upon one thing, he gathered it, making it unified." This is the origin of ijmāʿ. It is related to the verse: {Nor were you with them when they gathered their plan} (Yusuf: 102). It then came to mean resolve, so it was linked with ʿalā (upon), and one says: "I resolved upon the matter" (ajmaʿtu ʿalā al-amr), though the origin is "I gathered the matter" (ajmaʿtu al-amr).

Second Inquiry: Al-Asma'i narrated from Nafi' the reading {Fa-jmaʿū amrakum} (with a connecting alif for the plural command). There are two interpretations:

1. Abu Ali al-Fārisī said: "Gather those among you who possess authority," implying a suppressed noun (muḍāf), and the following noun (muḍāf ilayhi) took the grammatical role that the suppressed noun would have had.
2. Ibn al-Anbārī said: The intended meaning of "the plan/affair" (al-amr) here is the means of their deceit and plotting. The meaning is: "Do not leave anything of your plan except that you bring it forth."

First Research: The conjunction wāw (and) here means maʿa (with). The meaning is: "Gather your plan with your partners." This is analogous to saying: "If you leave the she-camel with her young one, she will nurse it," or "If you leave yourself with the lion, it will eat you."

Second Research: It is possible that "partners" refers to the idols they named as gods. It is also possible that it refers to those who shared their saying and religion. If the former is meant, it encourages the disbelievers to seek help from the idols based on their belief that idols can harm and benefit. If the latter is meant, the reason for seeking their help is clear.

Third Research: Al-Hasan and a group of reciters read {wa shurakā'ukum} (and your partners) with the rāfʿ (nominative case), connecting it to the implied nominative pronoun (in the command ijmaʿū). The meaning is: "You yourselves and your partners gather." Al-Wahidi said this is permissible without explicitly confirming the pronoun (like ant), because the word {amrakum} separates the pronoun from the conjunction, acting as a substitute for confirmation. Al-Farra' disliked this reading because it would necessitate writing wa shurakā'ukum with a wāw (which is not present in the Mus'hafs).

Abu al-Haytham said this means "unclear" or "ambiguous," derived from the saying: "The crescent moon became mughammah (obscured) to us," meaning it was confusing. Ṭarafah said:

“By my life, my affair is not obscure to me by day, Nor is my night perpetual.”

Al-Layth said: "He is in ghummah regarding his affair if he cannot find the right path to it." Al-Zajjāj said: "Let your plan be manifest and clear."

First Research: Ibn al-Anbārī said the meaning is: "Then come to me with what you intend of harm and what you threaten me with." The Arabs say qaḍā fulān (so-and-so passed away/departed). Some said that qaḍā’ (judging/decreeing) means finalizing, executing, and finishing something, which is why the judge (qāḍī) is named so—once he judges, he is finished. Thus, {then proceed to me} means: "Finish your matter, execute what is in your minds, and cut off what is between me and you." This is supported by: {And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture} (Al-Isrā’: 4), meaning We informed them with a decisive notification. Also: {And We revealed to him that matter} (Al-Hijr: 66).

Al-Qaffāl (may God have mercy on him) said the entry of the preposition ilā (to) here is like the usage in: "I declare my innocence to you" (bari’tu ilayka) or "I have discharged my obligation to you" (kharajtu ilayka min al-ʿahd), which carries a meaning of informing. It is as if God is saying: "Then decree what you settle upon, making it firm and finalized."

Second Research: It was recited as {Thumma afḍū ilayya} (Then approach me) with a fā’ (Fā’), meaning: "Then come to me with your evil tidings." It is also said that afḍā means a man went out into the open space (al-faḍā’), meaning: "Be open with it to me and bring it out into the open."

This means: "Do not grant me respite after you have informed me of what you have agreed upon."

This is the interpretation of these words. Al-Qāḍī organized this speech in the most excellent manner, saying that the Prophet (PBUH) first said: {then upon Allah I have relied}, meaning: "I trust God's promise, certain that He does not fail His appointment. Do not think that your threats of killing and harming prevent me from calling to God."

Then, the Prophet (PBUH) presented what proves the validity of his call: {So gather your plan}, as if saying: "Gather every means you can that leads to achieving your goal. Then he did not stop there but commanded them to join their partners, those whom they claimed their status was strengthened by their presence and proximity to them. Then he did not stop there, but added a third element: {then let not your plan be a confusion to you}, meaning they should reach the utmost limit in openness and declaration. Then he did not stop there, but added a fourth: {then proceed to me}, meaning direct all those evils toward me. Then he added a fifth: {and do not delay me}, meaning hasten that with the utmost intensity you can, without any delay. This concludes this speech. It is evident that such speech indicates that the Prophet (PBUH) had reached the peak of reliance upon God, and he was certain that their plotting would not reach him, nor would their deceit affect him.

Regarding His Statement: {But if you turn away, then I have asked of you no reward}

The commentators said this indicates that he did not take any wealth from them for inviting them to the religion of God. When a person is free from greed, his word has a stronger impact on the heart.

I have another view on this: it can be said that he clarified that he does not fear them in any way. Fear arises from one of two things: either the infliction of harm, or the cutting off of benefits. He clarified in the preceding verses that he does not fear their harm. By this verse, he clarifies that he does not fear them cutting off a benefit, because he did not take anything from them, so he would not fear them cutting off something he possessed.

Regarding His Statement: {My reward is only with Allah, and I have been commanded to be among the Muslims}

There are two views:

1. Whether you accept the religion of Islam or not, I am commanded to be upon the religion of Islam.
2. I am commanded to submit to whatever reaches me concerning this call. This second view is more appropriate for this context, because after saying {then proceed to me}, he clarified that he is commanded to submit to whatever comes to him in this matter. And God knows best.

{So they denied him, and We saved him and those with him in the Ark, and We made them successors, and We drowned those who denied Our signs. Then see how was the end of those who were warned!}