Tafseer of Jonas · Yunus · 10:54
And if each soul that wronged had everything on earth, it would offer it in ransom. And they will confide regret when they see the punishment; and they will be judged in justice, and they will not be wronged
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 discussion of the explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَلَوْ أَنَّ لِكُلِّ نَفْسٍ ظَلَمَتْ مَا فِي الأَرْضِ لافْتَدَتْ بِهِ وَأَسَرُّوا النَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْقِسْطِ وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ (54)
(And if every soul that has done wrong possessed all that is on the earth, it would surely offer it as ransom. And they will conceal their regret when they see the punishment. And it will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted says: And if every soul that has denied Allah — for its "wrongdoing" (ẓulm) in this place is its worship of someone other than the One Who deserves worship, and its neglect of obedience to the One Whose obedience is obligatory upon it — possessed all that is on the earth, little or much, then it would surely offer that as ransom — that is to say: it would offer all of that as ransom to avert the punishment of Allah, when it beholds it with its own eyes.
As for His words — وَأَسَرُّوا النَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ (and they will conceal their regret when they see the punishment) —: this means that the leaders of these polytheists (mushrikīn) conceal their regret from their followers and their lower ranks at the moment they see the punishment of Allah which has completely encompassed them, and they have attained certainty that this punishment will befall them.
وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْقِسْطِ (and it will be judged between them with justice): that is to say: Allah judges on that day between the followers and the leaders among them with justice.
وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ (and they will not be wronged): this is so because none of them is punished except for his own crime, and no one is held accountable for the sin of another, and no one is tormented unless he had already been warned in the world and the proofs had been conveyed to him repeatedly.
