Tafseer of The Pen · Al-Qalam · 68:49
If not that a favor from his Lord overtook him, he would have been thrown onto the naked shore while he was censured.
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.
And His word: ( لَوْلا أَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ ) ("Had it not been that a grace from his Lord had reached him"). He, exalted is His praise, says: Had it not been that a grace from his Lord reached the companion of the fish (ṣāḥib al-ḥūt, that is, Yūnus), whereby He had mercy upon him and turned to him in forgiveness on account of his anger toward his Lord, ( لَنُبِذَ بِالْعَرَاءِ ) ("he would have been cast onto the barren field") — that is the open expanse of the earth. To this belongs the word of Qays ibn Jaʿda:
I raised a leg without fearing its stumbling, and I cast down my garments in the bare, open land.
( وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ ) ("while he was blamed"). The exegetes differed concerning the meaning of His word ( وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ ). Some of them said: its meaning is: while he was blameworthy (mulīm).
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to me, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: ( وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ ), he says: while he was blameworthy (mulīm).
And others said: no, its meaning is: while he was a sinner.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Bakr: ( وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ ), he said: he is a sinner.
