Surah As-Saffat (The Arrangers in Rows): Verse 139

Commentary on Verse 139

This is the sixth and final story mentioned in this Surah. It concludes the narratives because when [Jonah] did not patiently endure the harm from his people and fled to the ship, he fell into those severe trials. This serves as a reason to encourage the Prophet (peace be upon him) to be patient with the harm inflicted by his people.

Regarding the Almighty's saying: {And indeed, Jonah was of the messengers * When he fled to the laden ship}: There are several issues concerning this:

It can also be argued that many narrations state he was sent by the king of his time to call those people to God, and then he fled and was swallowed by the whale. Following that, God Almighty sent him [again, or confirmed his mission].

However, the phrase {was of the messengers} does not necessarily prove he was a messenger sent by God at that specific moment. A possible response is that God Almighty mentioned this description to honor him, and this honor is only meaningful if {was of the messengers} means he was a messenger sent by God.

1. Fleeing from God: Some said he fled from God. This is considered remote because this term is usually applied to one who deliberately disobeys his Lord, which is impermissible for the Prophets.
   • They differed on what constituted his error:
     • It was said he erred because he was commanded to go out to the Israelites but refused this assignment and left in anger with his Lord. This is remote, whether God commanded him through revelation or through another prophet.
     • It was said his sin was abandoning the call to his people and not being patient with them. This is also remote, as he should not have abandoned a command from God.
   • The most probable view has two aspects:
     • First View: His error was that God promised him the punishment would descend upon his people who denied him. Jonah assumed the punishment was inevitable. Because of this assumption, he did not remain patient in calling them. The obligation upon him was to continue the call, as it was possible God might not inflict the punishment even after announcing it. This is the closest view because he acted based on signs that appeared, so it was not a deliberate act of disobedience. However, it was better in such matters not to act based on assumption. It later became clear to Jonah that his assumption was mistaken because faith eventually appeared among his people. Thus, the meaning of {When he fled to the laden ship} is as we have mentioned.
     • Second View: Jonah had promised his people punishment. When the punishment was delayed, he left as if concealing himself from them, headed to the sea, and boarded the ship. This is the meaning of {When he fled to the laden ship}.

The full discussion regarding the complexities of this verse is covered in our commentary on the Almighty's saying: {And remember Dhul-Nūn (Jonah) when he departed in anger and supposed that We would not constrain him} (Al-Anbiya: 87).

{To the laden ship}: This is explained in Surah Yunus. A ship carrying a large cargo and many people is called mashḥūn (laden).

Al-Musāhamah (casting lots) means drawing lots or competing. It is said, As-hama al-qawm if they drew lots. Al-Mubarrid said it is derived from the arrows (sihām) used for drawing lots.

{And he was among the losers (al-mudḥaḍīn)}: Meaning, the defeated. It is said, "God refuted his argument (adḥaḍa ḥujjatuhu), so it was refuted (fadahaḍat)," meaning it was removed and vanished. The root of the word comes from ad-daḥḍ, which means slipping. It is said, daḥaḍat rijlu al-baʿīr if the camel's foot slipped.

Ibn Abbas narrated concerning the story of Jonah (peace be upon him) that he resided with his people in Palestine. A king attacked them and enslaved nine and a half tribes, leaving two and a half tribes remaining. God had revealed to the Israelites: "If your enemy attacks you or a calamity befalls you, call upon Me, and I will answer you." When they forgot this and were enslaved, God revealed after a while to one of their prophets to go to the king of those people and tell him to send a prophet to the Israelites. Jonah (peace be upon him) was chosen due to his strength and trustworthiness. Jonah asked, "Did God command this?" The messenger replied, "No, but I was commanded to send someone strong and trustworthy, and you are such." Jonah objected, "There is someone stronger than me among the Israelites, why don't you send him?" The king insisted, so Jonah became angry and left until he reached the Roman sea. He found a ship being loaded (masjūnah) and they took him aboard. When the ship entered the deep sea, it was on the verge of sinking. The sailors said, "There is a disobedient person among us, otherwise we would not be experiencing what we see without apparent cause or profit." The merchants said, "We have experienced this before; when it happens, we draw lots. Whoever's lot is drawn, we throw him overboard, as it is better for one to drown than all of us." Jonah's lot was drawn. The merchants said, "We are more deserving of sin than the Prophet of God." They drew lots a second and a third time, and Jonah's lot was drawn each time. He said, "O people, I am the disobedient one," wrapped himself in a cloak, and threw himself overboard.

The fish swallowed him. God revealed to the whale: (Do not break a bone of his, nor sever any joint of him). Then the fish brought him out to the Nile of Egypt, then to the Persian Gulf, then to the Marsh Sea, and finally to the Tigris, where it cast him out onto the barren land of Nisibis, looking like a plucked chick, without hair or flesh. God caused a gourd plant (shajarah min yaqṭīn) to grow over him, under which he took shade and from whose fruit he ate until he regained strength. Then the earth consumed the plant, and it fell from its roots. Jonah grieved intensely over this, saying, "O Lord, I used to take shade under this tree from the sun and wind and eat its fruit, and now it has fallen!" He was told, "O Jonah, you grieve over a tree that grew in an hour and was uprooted in an hour, yet you do not grieve over one hundred thousand people or more whom you left? Go to them!" God knows the reality of the event best.

It is said, alqamahu and tahumahu, and both mean the same thing.

{And he was blameworthy (mulīm)}: It is said, alāma if he did something deserving of blame. Thus, al-mulīm is one who deserves blame, the doer of what warrants blame.

There are two interpretations regarding his being {of those who glorify God (al-musabbiḥīn)}:

1. It refers to what God recounted about him in another verse, where he said in those darknesses: {There is no god but You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers} (Al-Anbiya: 87).
2. It means that before being swallowed by the whale, he was habitually among those who prayed (al-muṣallīn) and was constantly engaged in the remembrance of God and obedience to Him. If not for this, he would have remained in the whale's belly until the Day of Resurrection, his belly becoming a grave for him.

Some said: Remember God in ease, and He will remember you in hardship. Jonah (peace be upon him) was a righteous, God-remembering servant. When he fell into the whale's belly, God said: {Now? After you have disobeyed?} (Yunus: 91).

They differed on how long he remained in the whale's belly; the text of the Qur'an does not specify this duration. Al-Hasan said he remained only a short time and was expelled shortly after being swallowed. Muqatil ibn Hayyan said three days. 'Aṭā' said seven days. Ad-Ḍaḥḥāk said twenty days, and some say a month. I do not know the evidence by which they determined these measures.

Abu Hurairah narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "Jonah glorified God in the belly of the whale, and the angels heard his glorification. They said, 'O Lord, we hear a faint voice from a strange land.' He replied, 'That is My servant Jonah; he disobeyed Me, so I confined him in the belly of the whale in the sea.' They asked, 'The righteous servant whose righteous deeds used to ascend to You every day and night?' He said, 'Yes.' So they interceded for him, and He commanded the whale to cast him onto the shore."

This is the meaning of {Then We cast him onto the open land}. There are discussions regarding this:

First Discussion: Al-ʿArāʾ (the open land) means a desolate place. Abu 'Ubaydah said it is called al-ʿarāʾ because it has no trees or anything to cover it.

Second Discussion: God Almighty said, {Then We cast him onto the open land}, attributing the casting (nabdh) to Himself, even though the casting was done by the whale. This indicates that the actions of a servant are created by God.

He then said: {And He caused to grow over him a plant of gourd}. The apparent meaning suggests that when the whale cast him onto the open land, God caused a gourd plant to grow for him—a miracle for him. Al-Mubarrid and Al-Zajjaj said that any tree that does not stand on a trunk but spreads along the ground is a gourd (yaqṭīn), such as squash (dubāʾ), colocynth (ḥanẓal), and melon. Al-Zajjaj thought its derivation comes from qaṭana bi-l-makān (to reside in a place), and since this plant spreads along the ground, it is called yaqṭīn. Al-Farrā' narrated that Ibn Abbas was asked about it, and he said it was the leaves of the pumpkin (qaraʿ). Ibn Abbas replied, "Who made the pumpkin one of the gourds? Every leaf that spreads wide and covers is a gourd." Al-Wahidi (may God have mercy on him) noted that the verse implies two things not mentioned by the exegetes:

1. This gourd plant did not exist before; God caused it to grow specifically for him.
2. The gourd plant was trained to climb (maʿrūsh) so that he could take shade under it, as if it were spread flat on the ground, he could not be shaded by it.

There are two points of discussion here:

First Point: It is possible that {And We sent him} refers to the mission before he was swallowed by the whale. In this case, although mentioned after the swallowing, it is a case of fronting (mentioning something earlier than its chronological occurrence), and the conjunction waw (and) means conjunction in time. It is also possible that it refers to the mission after being cast out. Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them both) said that Jonah's mission was after the whale cast him out. If this is the case, he might have been sent to different people than the first group, or he might have been sent to the first group again with a new law, and they believed it.

Second Point: The phrase {or more (aw yazīdūn)} suggests doubt, which is impossible for God Almighty. Similar examples include: {as a justification or a warning} (Al-Mursalat: 6), {that he may remember or fear} (Ṭā-Hā: 44), {so that they may become righteous or that a reminder may occur to them} (Ṭā-Hā: 113), {And the command of the Hour is not but like a glance of the eye or quicker} (An-Naḥl: 77), and {And the command of the Hour is not but like a glance of the eye or quicker} (An-Naḥl: 77) [repeated], and {Then he was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer} (An-Najm: 9).

They offered many answers to this, the soundest of which is that the meaning is: "or more, in your estimation," meaning that when an observer saw them, he would say, "These are one hundred thousand, or they exceed one hundred thousand." This is the answer for all similar constructions.

This means that when those people believed, God removed the fear from them and granted them security from the punishment, and God allowed them to enjoy life until a term, meaning until the time God had set as an appointed end for each one of them.

Surah As-Saffat (The Arrangers in Rows): Verses 158–170