Tafsir of Yunus 10:22

"It is He who enables you to travel..."

Zayd ibn Thabit recited: (yanshurukum) [He spreads you out]. Similar to this is His saying: "Then disperse in the land" (Jumu'ah: 10), and "Then, behold, you are human beings dispersing" (Rum: 20).

If you ask: How is being in the ships made the limit (goal) for traveling on the sea, when traveling on the sea is only achieved by being in the ships?

I say: Being in the ships is not the limit of traveling on the sea. Rather, it is the content of the conditional sentence that follows "until" (hatta), along with what is included in its scope. It is as if it were said: "He enables you to travel until this event occurs—that is, such and such happens: the coming of a stormy wind, the piling up of waves, the assumption of destruction, and the supplication for salvation."

If you ask: What is the response (jawab) to "when" (idha)?

I say: "It came to them" (ja'atha).

If you ask: Then what about "they called upon" (da'aw)?

I say: It is a substitute (badal) for "they assumed" (zannu), because their supplication is a necessary consequence of their assumption of destruction; it is intertwined with it.

If you ask: What is the benefit of shifting the speech from the second person (address) to the third person (absence)?

I say: Hyperbole. It is as if He is mentioning their state to others so that they may marvel at it, thereby inviting them to reject and condemn it.

If you ask: What is the basis for the recitation of Umm al-Darda’: (fi al-fulki) with the addition of the relative ya?

I say: It is said that the two are extra, as in al-khariji and al-ahmari. It is also permissible that it refers to the deep sea and the vast water in which ships only sail.

The pronoun in "they sailed" (jarayna) refers to the ships (al-fulk), because it is a collective noun like al-asad (lion), in the pattern of fi'l (like fi'l). In the recitation of Umm al-Darda’, it is also (lil-fulki), because al-fulki points to it. "It came to them" (ja'atha)—the favorable wind came to them, meaning it met them. It is also said the pronoun refers to the ships.

"In every place"—from all the locations of the waves.

"They were surrounded"—meaning they were destroyed. He makes the enemy's surrounding of the living a metaphor for destruction.

"Sincere to Him in religion"—without associating partners with Him, because at that moment they do not call upon anyone else alongside Him.

"If You save us"—based on the intent of speech, or because "they called" is part of the statement.

"They commit injustice in the earth"—they corrupt and act wantonly, escalating and persisting in it. From your saying: "The wound bagha (festered)," when it progresses toward corruption.

If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying: "Without right" (bi-ghayr al-haqq), when injustice (baghy) cannot be with right?

I say: Yes, it can. It refers to the Muslims taking over the land of the disbelievers, demolishing their homes, burning their crops, and cutting their trees, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did with Banu Qurayza.

It is recited: (mata'u al-hayati al-dunya) in the accusative case.

If you ask: What is the difference between the two recitations?

I say: If you read it in the nominative (marfu'), then al-mata'u is the predicate for the subject which is "your injustice" (baghyukum), and "against yourselves" ('ala anfusikum) is its connection, like His saying: "It is the same for them." Its meaning is: Your injustice is only against your peers—those whose kind is your kind—meaning some of you against others, for the benefit of the life of this world, not for its permanence.

If you read it in the accusative (mansub), then "against yourselves" is the predicate, not a connection. Its meaning is: Your injustice is a burden upon yourselves. And "they said, 'We will not...'" is in the place of an emphatic verbal noun, as if it were said: "You enjoy the enjoyment of the life of this world." It is also possible that the nominative is based on: "It is the enjoyment of the life of this world" after the completion of the sentence.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do not plot, and do not help a plotter; do not commit injustice, and do not help an unjust person; do not break a covenant, and do not help a covenant-breaker." He used to recite this.

And from him (peace be upon him): "The swiftest of good in reward is maintaining family ties, and the swiftest of evil in punishment is injustice and the false oath."

It is narrated: "Two things Allah hastens in this world: injustice and disobedience to parents."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If a mountain were to commit injustice against another mountain, the unjust one would be crushed."

Al-Ma'mun used to recite these two verses regarding his brother: O you who commit injustice, for injustice is a place of destruction, So restrain yourself, for the best of a man's deeds is the most gentle. If a mountain were to commit injustice one day against another mountain, Its heights and its depths would be crushed.

Muhammad ibn Ka'b said: "Three things, whoever possesses them, they will be against him: injustice, breaking covenants, and plotting." Allah the Exalted says: "Your injustice is only against yourselves."