Part 90

him to death. A nd it was also sa id that they leapt upon him

as one man a nd ki ll ed him. Ib n Ishaq related from one of hi s

compan ions, who repo rted on the authority of •Abdullah Ibn

398 The SUNY of 'he People of )'aSeel1

Mas'ood ~ that he sa id, "They stamped o n him un til they had

spilled hi s entra il s."

'A bdullah Ibn 'Ab bas ~ said, " I-I e advised his people whil e

he li ved: ( " 0 , my people! O bey the Messengers." ) (SoO/'oll

Ya Seen 36:20) ~ and after hi s dea th: ( He sa id, "Would that

my people knew ! That my Lord (A ll ah) has forg iven me, a nd

made Ille of the honored ones!") (SoO/'oll Ya Seen 36:26,27)

This was narrated by Ibn Ab i Ha tim. Qatadah said: "You will

never find a be liever but he is since re and is neve r insincere.

Whe n he saw with hi s own eyes how A llah had honored hi m.

He said, ( ' Wou ld that my people knew! T hat my Lord (A llah)

has forgivc lll11c, and made I11Co rthe honored o nes!' ) (Soomh

Ya Seen 36:26,27). He wished tha t hi s peop le could know abo lit

what he was see ing with hi s own eyes of the honor of All ah,"

Qa tadah added, "A nd no, by A ll ah! All ah did no t censure hi s

peop le after they had kill ed him." ( It was but o ne Saihah and

lo ! They (a ll) were si lent (dead - destroyed ). ) (SoO/'oil Yo Seen

And He, Most I-Iigh, says, ( And We sent not aga inst his

people afte r him a host from heaven, nor do We send (such a

thing) . ) (Soorall Yo Seen 36:28) That is, We di d not need to

send down an army from th e heaven in order to exact retribut ion

upon them . Th is was the meanin g narrated by Ibn Ishaq, who

report ed on the aut hority or

o ne o f his co mpanions, who in

tum reported on th e authority of' Abd ullah Ibn Mas'ood 4i>.

Mujahid and Qatadah sa id, that Hi s not se ndin g upon the m a

host mea ns: I-Ie did not send down to them another Message.

But Ibn Jareer At-Tahari said, " But the fir st exp lanat ion is more

I say th at it is a lso stronger, which is why A llah says, ( nor

do We send (s uch a thing). ) (SoOl-aII Ya Seell 36:28) That is,

The SlOr..!' of the People of }hSee" 399

We did not need to do thi s in order to exac t ret ribution, whe n

they be lied Q ur Messengers and ki ll ed Qu r /Va/i. ( It WllS but

aile Sailwh and 10! They (all) were si lent (dead - destroyed). )

The scho lars of ta!'ieer said tha t All ah sen t Jibrace l ~ to

them and he seized the posts of the gates 10 their city, then he

unlcashed a single shout upon them ( and lo! They (a ll ) were

silent (dead - destroyed) ) (SoO/'oil Yo See" 36:29). That is, their

voices were silenced and their movemcnts were stilled , so that

not even an eye move ment remai ned amo ng them. All of thi s

proves that thi s village was not Ant akiyak (Antioch), because

th ese people were destroyed beca use of their rejec ti on of the

Messengers w hom Al lah sent 10 them , whil e the inhab itants of

Ant ioch bel ieved and obeyed th e messengers of the Ma seeh

~~ from a mong the di sc iples whom he se nt to them . For thi s

reason it was said that Anti och was the first city 10 be lie ve in

A ll ah , Most Hi g h, says in SOOl"all YOOI1I1S , ( Was th ere any

town (comm unity) thai believed (after see ing th e puni shment) ,

and it s fa ith (at that moment) saved it (from th e pun ishment)?

(The an swer is none,) - except the people of Yo onus (Jonah);

when they be li evcd, We rcmoved from them the torment or

disgrace in the life of the (prese nt ) wo rld , and permitted them

to enjoy for a wh ile . ) (Saarall Yaol/lls 10:98)

He, Most High, says in 500/'011 AI-IInhiya', ( And (remember)

DlulI1-Noon (Jonah) . when he went ofT ill ange r, and imag ined

that We shall not puni sh him (i.e. the ca lamiti es which had

befa ll en him) ! But he cried through the darkness (say ing).

"La iloIlO ilia lima (no ne has the right to be worshipped but

YOli [0, Allah]), Glorified (a nd Ex alted) are YO li (a bove all

71w Slo/)' of l 'OOllllS ( JUI/ah) ~ 40 I

that [evil] they associa te wi th You). Tmly, I have been of the

wrong-doers .. · So We answered his ca li , and de li vercd him

fro m the di stress. And thus We do deliver the Be li evers (who

be li eve in th e O neness of All ah , abs ta in from ev il <.lnd work

ri ghteousness). ) (Saara" 1I1-lIlIb;yo' 2 1:87,88)

He, Most Hi gh, says in SoO/·all As-SaJJal, ( And , ve ril y,

YOOIlUS was one of th e Messenge rs. When he ran 10 the laden

ship, He (agreed to) cast lots, and he was among the losers.

Then a (big) fi sh swa ll owed him and he had done an act worthy

ofb lalll c. Had he no t been of the m who glorify A ll ah, he wou ld

have indced re mained insidc its (the fish) bell y till the Day of

Resurrec ti on. But We cast him fo rth on the naked shore while

he was sick. And We caused a plant of gourd to grow ovcr hi m.

And We se lll hill1lO a hu ndred thousand (peop le) o r even more.

And they believed; so We gave th em enjoyme nt for a whil e. )

He, Most High, says in SoO/·all Noon (i.e. SoO/·oll AI-Qafolll),

( So wa it with pati ence for the Dec ision of you r Lord, and be

not like the Companio n of the Fish, when he c ried out (to Us)

wh ile he was in deep so rrow. (Sec th e Qur ' an, Verse 21:87).

Il ad not a Grace from hi s Lord reac hed him , he would indeed

have been (left in the stomach of the fish, but We forgave

him) , so he was cast oITo n the naked shore, whil e he was to be

blamed. But hi s Lord c hose him and made him of the ri ghteoll s.

Th e sc holars of la/seer said that All ah se nt YOOIlUS ~ to

the peopl e of Neenawa , in the land of A I-Maws il (Mosu l);

he ca ll ed them to Allah , the A lmi ghty, the A ll-PowerFul , but

they rejected him a nd arrogantl y persisted in their di sbeli ef

and wi ll fu l rejec ti on of lhe truth . When this sta te of affairs had

gone on for a long time, he departed from them and threatened

402 The SIOl:V O/YOOll ItS (.Io lla") ~

them wi th the desce nt of All ah's Punishment upon them after

' Abdull ah Ibn Mas' ood 4 , Mujahi d. Sa'eed Ibn Jubai r,

Qatada h and more than on e of the ea rlier and the later

generations said tha t when he depa rted from among them and

they becam e convinced of the imminent descent of Allah's

Punishment upon them, All ah cast repentance and re morse into

their hearts and they felt a sense of regret for the way they had

Th is is why Alla h, Most High, says, ( Was there any town

(com munity) that believed (afte r seei ng the punishment), and

its faith (at that moment) saved it (from th e punishment)?

) That is, was there any tow n in past ti mes whose whole

popu lation be li eved? Thi s (rhetori cal questio n) ind icates that

th is did not happen. Indeed, as Allah, Most Hi gh, says, ( And

We did not send a wamer to a tow nship, but those who were

given the wo rl dly wea lth and luxuri es among thcm said, "We

believc not in the (Message) with which you have been sen\."

) (SaO/"ail Saba" 34:34)" Then He, Most High, says, ( except

the people of Yoonu s; when they be lieved, We removed frol11

them the torment of di sgrace in the life o f the (p rescnt) world,

and pcnnittcd them to enjoy for a while. ) (Soo rah YOOI1 US

10 :98) That is, all of the m be li eved. Scholars of tafseer ha ve

di sagreed as to whc ther or not their belief wou ld benefilthem

in the Afte rl ife and save them from th e Punishment of the

Herea fter, as it saved them fro m Pu nishment in the li fe of thi s

world . The most appare nt answe r, acco rdin g to the con text, is

yes. And A ll ah knows better. As He, Most High, says, ( when

they believed. ) (Soorah }'OOI1I1S 10:98) And I-Ie, Mos t High,

says, ( And We sen t him to a hundred thousand (peop le) or

even more. And they bel icved; so We gave them enjoyment

The SIO')' of )'OOl1l1S ( .Jol/ah)

ror a whi le. ) (SoO/'ail As-Sa/Jat 37: 147, 148) This enjoyment

for a while docs not negate the possibility that there is another

rewa rd with it, that bei ng the liftin g of the Pu ni shment of the

Hereafter. And Allah knows better.

He, Most Hi gh, says, ( And \~nl y, Voonus was on e of the

Messe ngers. When he mn to the Iilden ship, he (agreed to) cast

lots, and he was among the losers. Then a (big) fi sh swall owed