Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:139

"Yūnus" (Jonah): It is read with both the damma and kasra on the nūn. His fleeing from his people without the permission of his Lord is termed ibāq (absconding) by way of metaphor.

"Al-musāhamah": Drawing lots. It is said: "The people istahammu," meaning they cast lots.

"Al-madhad": The defeated one who has been cast out by lot. Its literal meaning is one who is caused to slip away from a position of victory and dominance. It is narrated that when he boarded the ship, it stopped. The sailors said, "There is a slave here who has fled from his master"—for it is a belief among sailors that if a runaway is on board, the ship will not move. They drew lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. He said, "I am the runaway," and cast himself into the water.

{Then the fish swallowed him, while he was mulīm}: Meaning, one who has entered into blame. It is said: "Many a blamer is mulīm," meaning he blames others while he is more deserving of blame than they. It is also read as malīm (with a fatḥa on the mīm), from līma (he was blamed), so he is malīm.

{Of those who glorify (Allah)}: From those who frequently remember Allah through glorification (tasbīḥ) and sanctification (taqdīs). It is said this refers to his words in the belly of the fish: {There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers} (Al-Anbiyāʾ: 87). Others say it means "of those who pray." Ibn Abbas said: "Every mention of tasbīḥ in the Quran refers to prayer." Qatādah said: "He was frequent in prayer during times of ease." It was said: "Righteous deeds lift their doer when he stumbles, and when he falls, he finds a support." This is an encouragement from Allah to the believer to increase in His remembrance, to turn to His worship, and to focus his efforts on binding His blessings with gratitude during times of leisure, so that it may benefit him in times of distress.

{Had he not been of those who glorify... he would have remained in its belly until the Day of Resurrection}: The apparent meaning is that he would have remained there alive until the Day of Resurrection. Qatādah said: "The belly of the fish would have been his grave until the Day of Judgment." It is narrated that when it swallowed him, Allah revealed to the fish: "I have made your belly a prison for him, not food for you." There is disagreement regarding the duration of his stay: Al-Kalbī says forty days; Al-Ḍaḥḥāk says twenty; ʿAṭāʾ says seven; some say three. Al-Ḥasan says he did not stay long, but was expelled shortly after he was swallowed. It is narrated that the fish traveled alongside the ship, raising its head so Jonah could breathe and glorify Allah, until they reached the shore, where it cast him out safe, nothing of him changed, and they (the people) embraced Islam. It is also said the fish cast him onto the shore of a village near Mosul.

"Al-ʿarāʾ": The empty land where there are no trees or anything to cover him.

{While he was sick}: Ailing from what had befallen him. It is narrated that his body returned to the state of a newborn child.

"Al-Yaqṭīn": Everything that spreads out on the face of the earth and does not stand on a trunk, such as the plants of watermelon, cucumber, and colocynth. It is yafʿīl from qaṭana (to dwell), meaning it stays on the ground. It is the gourd (dubbaʾ). The benefit of the gourd is that flies do not gather near it. It was said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "You love the gourd." He replied: "Yes, it is the tree of my brother Jonah." Others say it was a fig tree, or a banana tree, which covered him with its leaves. He sought shade under its branches and broke his fast on its fruit. It is said he sought shade under a tree, and a wild goat would come to him, and he would drink from its milk. It is narrated that time passed and the tree withered, so he wept in distress. Allah revealed to him: "You weep over a tree, yet you do not weep for a hundred thousand in the hands of the disbeliever?"

If you ask: What is the meaning of {And We caused a tree to grow over him}? I say: We caused it to grow above him as a canopy for him, just as a tent is pitched over a person.

{And We sent him to a hundred thousand}: The intent is his previous mission to his people, the people of Nineveh. It is said this was a second mission after what had happened to him, or a mission to others. It is said they embraced Islam and asked him to return to them, but he refused, for when a prophet migrates from his people, he does not return to reside among them. He told them: "Allah will send a prophet to you."

{Or more}: In the view of the observer; meaning, if one saw them, he would say: "They are a hundred thousand or more." The purpose is to describe them as numerous.

{For a time}: Until a specified term. It is also read as wa-yazīdūn (with a wāw). And "until a time."