Tafsir of Yunus 10:71

{كبر عليكم} It means: it became great, difficult, and burdensome for you. From this is the Almighty’s saying: {And it is indeed a great burden, except for the humble} (Al-Baqarah: 45). It is said: "The matter became ta‘āẓama (too great) for him."

{مقامي} (My station) It means my place, i.e., my person. Just as you say: "I did such-and-such for the sake (li-makān) of so-and-so." It is also said: "So-and-so is heavy-shadowed" (i.e., burdensome). From this is: {And for he who has feared the station (maqām) of his Lord} (Al-Raḥmān: 46), meaning he feared his Lord.

Or it means my standing and my remaining among you for long periods—{a thousand years less fifty years}. Or it refers to my standing while preaching; for when they would preach to a group, they would stand on their feet so their position would be clear and their speech audible, as is narrated of Jesus (peace be upon him) that he would preach to the disciples while standing, and they would be seated.

{فأجمعوا أمركم وشركاءكم} From ajma‘a al-amr and azma‘ahu, meaning he intended it and resolved upon it. The poet says: Shall I depart one day, while my affair is resolved?

The wāw (in wa-shurakā’akum) is in the sense of "with" (ma‘a), meaning: "Resolve your affair along with your partners."

Al-Ḥasan read it as wa-shurakā’ukum (nominative), as a conjunction to the hidden pronoun (in ajma‘ū). It is permissible to omit the emphatic pronoun (anfusakum) because the separation (by the object amrakum) acts as a substitute due to the length of the sentence, as you would say: "Strike Zayd and ‘Amr."

It is also read as fa-ijma‘ū (from jam‘—to gather). Shurakā’akum is then in the accusative as a conjunction to the object, or because the wāw is in the sense of "with." In Ubayy’s reading: fa-ajma‘ū amrakum wa-d‘ū shurakā’akum (Resolve your affair and call your partners).

If you ask: How is it permissible to attribute "resolving" to the partners? I say: It is by way of mockery, like His saying: {Call your partners, then conspire against me} (Al-A‘rāf: 195).

If you ask: What is the meaning of the two "affairs"—the affair they resolve, and the affair that should not be a ghumma (distress/concealment) for them? I say: As for the first, it is the intent to destroy me. He means: "Gather whatever you wish for my destruction, mobilize for it, and exert your efforts in conspiring against me." He said this to demonstrate his lack of concern and his trust in what his Lord promised him of protection and immunity, and that they would find no way to harm him.

As for the second (ghummatan), there are two views:

1. It refers to their companionship with him and the difficult, hateful situation they were in with him. He means: "Then destroy me, so that your life may not be a source of grief (ghuṣṣa) because of me, and your state may not be a ghumma (distress/anxiety) for you." Ghamm and ghumma are like karb and karba (anguish).
2. It refers to the same as the first affair. Ghumma means a covering; from ghammahu (he covered it). From this is the Prophet’s saying: "There is no ghumma (concealment) in the obligatory duties of Allah," meaning they are not to be hidden, but rather made public. He means: "Let not your intent to destroy me be hidden from you, but rather open and public, which you declare to me."

{ثم اقضوا إلى} That is, the matter you intend for me. Meaning: "Execute it and finalize it against me," like His saying: {And We conveyed to him that matter} (Al-Ḥijr: 66). Or: "Render to me what you believe is your right regarding my destruction, just as a man pays his creditor."

{ولا تنظرون} Do not grant me respite. It is read as thumma afḍū ilayya (with fā’), meaning: "Then come to me with your evil." It is also said it is from afḍā al-rajul, meaning when one goes out into the open space (faḍā’), i.e., "Bring it out into the open for me."

{فإن توليتم} If you turn away from my preaching and advice.

{فما سألتكم من أجر} There was nothing with me that would make you averse to me or cause you to accuse me, such as greed for your wealth or seeking payment for preaching to you.

{إن أجري إلا على الله} This is the reward He will grant me in the Hereafter. Meaning: I did not advise you except for the sake of Allah, not for any worldly purpose.

{وأمرت أن أكون من المسلمين} Those who do not take payment for teaching religion and do not seek worldly gain through it. He means that this is the requirement of Islam, which every Muslim is commanded to follow. The intent is to make the argument binding upon them and to clear his own conscience. He mentions that their turning away was not due to any negligence on his part in delivering the message as it should be delivered, but rather due to their stubbornness and rebellion.

{فكذبوه} They persisted in denying him. Their denial at the end of the long period was like their denial at the beginning, specifically when they were on the verge of destruction by the flood.

{وجعلناهم خلائف} Succeeding those who were destroyed by drowning.

{كيف كان عاقبة المنذرين} This is to magnify what befell them, a warning to those whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) warns of a similar fate, and a consolation for him.

{Then We sent after him messengers to their peoples, and they brought them clear proofs, but they were not to believe in that which they had denied before. Thus do We seal the hearts of the transgressors.}