Tafseer of Jonas · Yunus · 10:11
And if Allah was to hasten for the people the evil [they invoke] as He hastens for them the good, their term would have been ended for them. But We leave the ones who do not expect the meeting with Us, in their transgression, wandering blindly
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the word of Allah, the Exalted: وَلَوْ يُعَجِّلُ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ الشَّرَّ اسْتِعْجَالَهُمْ بِالْخَيْرِ لَقُضِيَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلُهُمْ فَنَذَرُ الَّذِينَ لا يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءَنَا فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ (11)
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, may His remembrance be glorified, says: And were Allah to hasten for mankind the answering of their supplication for evil — that is to say: that which brings harm upon themselves in body or property — (as they would have the good hastened) — that is to say: as He hastens the good for them by answering them when they call upon Him for it — (their term would surely have been decreed for them): that is to say: they would have perished and death would have been hastened for them; and that is the term. (21)
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By the words (would surely have been decreed) He means: He would have made an end of them with their term (22), and it would have been cast unto them, (23) as Abū Dhuʾayb said:
And upon them both [lie] two coats of mail which Dāwūd fashioned for them, or the maker of the flawlessly forged [armor], Tubbaʿ. (24)
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(Then We leave those who do not hope for the meeting with Us) — that is to say: We leave those who do not fear Our chastisement and do not firmly believe in the resurrection and the raising up (25) — (in their insolence) — that is to say: in their rebellion and arrogance (26) — (wandering blindly), that is to say: straying to and fro. (27)
He, Whose praise is exalted, informs concerning these unbelievers who deny the resurrection what He informs about them regarding their insolence and their turning about therein — which would lead, were He to hasten their supplication for evil should He answer them, to their being driven thereby to draw near to the idol by which one of them associates partners with Him (shirk), or to their attributing that to the work of that idol.
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According to what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also said.
* Mention of who said that:
17572 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word (And were Allah to hasten the evil for mankind as they would have the good hastened): he said: this concerns the exclamation of a man when he is in anger over his child or his property: "May Allah not bless him and may He curse him!"
17573 — Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And were Allah to hasten the evil for mankind as they would have the good hastened): he said: the exclamation of a man toward his child and his property when he is in anger at him: "O Allah, do not bless him and curse him!" But were Allah to hasten the answering of them in that, as the good is hastened for the righteous, He would annihilate them.
17574 — Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word (And were Allah to hasten the evil for mankind as they would have the good hastened): he said: the exclamation of a man toward his child and his property when he is in anger at him: "O Allah, do not bless him and curse him!" (Their term would surely have been decreed for them): he said: He would destroy the one against whom he prayed and cause him to die.
17575 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word (And were Allah to hasten the evil for mankind as they would have the good hastened): he said: the exclamation of a man toward his child when he is in anger at him, or toward his property: "O Allah, do not bless him and curse him!" Allah said: (Their term would surely have been decreed for them): he said: He would destroy the one against whom he prayed and cause him to die. He said: (Then We leave those who do not hope for the meeting with Us): he said: He does not annihilate the people who associate partners with Allah, but rather leaves them wandering blindly in their insolence.
17576 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the word (And were Allah to hasten the evil for mankind as they would have the good hastened): he said: this concerns the supplication of a man against himself and his property for that which he does not wish to be granted.
17577 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the word (Their term would surely have been decreed for them): he said: We would have destroyed them. And he recited: مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ [Sūrah Fāṭir: 45]. He said: Allah would destroy them all.
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The word (as they would have the good hastened) is in the accusative because (to hasten) governs it, as one says: "I rose today as you rose" — with the meaning: I rose as you rose — and it is not a verbal noun (maṣdar) derived from (to hasten), for if it were a verbal noun, the insertion of the kāf therein — that is, the kāf of comparison — would not be sound. (28)
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The Qurʾān-reciters differed over the reading of the word (Their term would surely have been decreed for them).
The majority of the reciters of the Ḥijāz and Iraq read it as (لَقُضِيَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلُهُمْ) — in the form of the unnamed agent (passive), with a ḍamma on the qāf of "qudiya" and a rafʿ on "al-ajal."
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The majority of the people of Syria read: (لَقَضَى إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلَهُمْ) — with the meaning: Allah would surely have decreed their term for them.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: Both are readings that agree in meaning; whichever of the two a reciter reads, he is correct. I, however, read it in the form of the unnamed agent (passive), because the majority of the reciters read it thus.
