Verses 133–148
These verses summarize the story of Lot (Lūṭ) and Jonah (Yūnus), and tell of how God tried Jonah with the whale because he turned away from his people when the punishment was lifted from them after it had neared.
Commentary
وَإِنَّ لُوطًا لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٣٣ إِذْ نَجَّيْنَاهُ وَأَهْلَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ ١٣٤
(37:133–134) And Lot was among the messengers. Behold, We saved him and all of his family [or followers].
God saved him and his family from the punishment that was to befall his people—namely, being swallowed up by the earth, the raining down of stones and shale, and the other things that God has mentioned in the Qur’an.
إِلَّا عَجُوزًا فِي الْغَابِرِينَ ١٣٥
(37:135) Except an old woman who lagged behind.
Meaning, that she remained when the punishment rained down, and this was the wife of Lot.
ثُمَّ دَمَّرْنَا الْآخَرِينَ ١٣٦
(37:136) Then We destroyed (dammarnā) the others.
Dammarnā means “destroyed”. The others are his people whom he was sent to.
وَإِنَّكُمْ لَتَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ مُصْبِحِينَ ١٣٧ وَبِاللَّيْلِ ۗ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ١٣٨
(37:137–138) And you pass by them in the morning and at night. Do you not understand?
The ruins of their civilization were on the route from the Hijaz to Syria. Here, “passing by them” means passing by their ruined homes. Today, it is said that they are hidden underwater.
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٣٩ إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ ١٤٠
(37:139–140) And Jonah was one of the messengers. Behold, he fled (abaqa) to the laden ship.
Meaning, the ship was laden with people. The verb abaqa is used for a slave fleeing his master.
Here, the verb abaqa implies that he left and turned away from his people. He did not disobey his Lord when he left them since his Lord had not forbidden him from doing so; however, it was similar to how a slave might flee is master, and so God took him to task for that. This has been discussed previously in the exegesis of the verse:
And Dhū al-Nūn [Jonah], when he went away in wrath, and imagined that We had no power over him… ().
فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ ١٤١
(37:141) And cast lots (sāhama), and was one of those who were cast off (mudḥaḍīn).
Sāhama means “drawing lots”. Mudḥaḍ is the passive participle of the root for “winning”—meaning that he lost. A whale [or other giant fish] had come up to the ship, and the sailors were compelled to throw one of their own overboard into the sea for it to eat, so that it would leave the ship alone. They cast lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.
فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ ١٤٢
(37:142) So the fish swallowed him (altaqamahu) while he was blameworthy (mulīm).
The verb altaqama means “swallow”. Mulīm is from the verb root a-l-m and means “entering the state of being blamed”, similar grammatically to how the verb aḥrama means “to enter the state of what is forbidden (iḥrām)”; or else it means “he was reprimanded”.
فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ ١٤٣ لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ ١٤٤
(37:143–144) Had he not been among those who glorify [Allah], he would have tarried in its belly until the day when they are raised.
This includes him in the group of those who glorified [God]. They are those who repeatedly glorified God until it became an established characteristic, perpetually permeating their being. Therefore, this phrase shows that he must have engaged in the glorification of God for a long time.
There are three views on when he glorified God:
Some exegetes say that he became one of those who glorified God before he was swallowed by the whale.
Others say that he became one of those who glorify God while he was in the belly of the whale.
Others say that he was one of those who glorified God both before he was swallowed by the whale, and when he was inside the whale.
In Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ, God speaks of his glorification:
He called out in the darkness, “There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I was wrong.” ()
This verse shows that he was either (a) one of those who glorified God while he was in the belly of the whale, and only then, or (b) one of those who glorified God both while he was in the belly of the whale, and beforehand. The other view—that the verse means that he glorified God before he was in the whale—does not fit with this verse.
However, since he combines his glorification of God with his admission that he had done wrong and what he had felt—namely, that God did not have power over him when he left his people—this, together with the verse (Had he not been among those who glorify Allah), indicates that it was in fact his glorification which led him to be rescued. Therefore, God tried him with this so that he would be purified and consequently be saved from the sorrow he had brought upon himself through what he had done.
From this, it is clear that the focus of the text is on his glorification while he was inside the whale, and so the third view—which takes a middle ground—is best.
The verse indicates that the intent behind his glorification here is his calling out in the darkness there is no Allah but you! I was wrong (). There is no god but Allah comes first as a clear reason for his glorification. It is as if he is saying, “There is nothing truly worthy of worship or turning to other than You. You are above what might have been implied by my deed. I was fleeing from you, turning away from serving You and turning to other than You. I wronged my self! I turn now to You and absolve myself of how my deed could have been construed as turning towards someone other than You.”
This is the meaning of his glorification. Were it not for that, he would not have ever been saved, for the reason for him being saved is tied to his glorification and professing the heights of divinity of God, as was mentioned.
From this, it is apparent that he would have tarried in its belly until they day they are raised shows that he would have remained perpetually in the belly of the whale until the resurrection, at which time he would have been raised from it like others are raised from their graves, as God speaks of in:
From it [the earth], We created them, and to it we return them, and from it we raise them up again. ()
There is no evidence in the verse to indicate whether he would have had to remain alive or dead (with the belly of the whale as his grave) in the belly of the whale until the day of resurrection, or whether the whale would have had to have lived forever, or some other arrangement. There are no grounds for the exegetical debates over whether he would have remained alive or dead, whether its belly would have been his grave, or whether the day they are raised refers to the first blow of the trumpet (upon which all created beings perish) or the second blow of the trumpet, or whether it is simply a metaphor for a very long time.
فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ ١٤٥
(37:145) Then We cast him (fa-nabadhnāhu) onto the barren shore (bil-ʿarāʾ) while he was ill
The verb nabadha means “to throw, throw away, or discard something”. ʿArāʾ is a place where there is no shelter to take shade under such as a roof, tent, or tree.
According to the apparent meaning of the verses, it means that after he became one of those who glorified God, God cast him out of the belly of the whale, out of the water and onto a shadeless land while he was ill.
وَأَنْبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِنْ يَقْطِينٍ ١٤٦
(37:146) And caused a gourd-tree (yaqṭīn) to grow over him.
Yaqṭīn is a type of squash plant with broad, round leaves. God caused it to grow so that he could take shelter under its leaves.
وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ ١٤٧
(37:147) And We sent him a hundred thousand or more.
Or here does not imply uncertainty [since God is not unaware of how many people there were], but rather denotes plentitude, as if to say a hundred thousand—nay, more. Here it is speaking of the people of Nineveh.
فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ ١٤٨
(37:148) And they believed, so we gave them provision [or enjoyment] for a while.
Meaning that since they believed in Jonah and did not deem him a liar, God averted the punishment from them that had been approaching and instead let them carry on until their appointed lifespans had come to an end.
The verse indicates that the punishment was averted from them. Being “granted provision” alludes to this verse:
Why has not a single town believed and benefitted from its belief, other than the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world, and We granted them provision [or enjoyment] for a while. ()
This and the above verses show that Jonah was sent back to the same people whom he had left, not a new people, and that they believed in him and followed him after they had faith and repented when they saw the punishment looming.
Some exegetes hold that We sent him () implies that he was sent to a new people after he was expelled from the whale. However, this view is weak. Rather, first, he went to the people of Nineveh, who were worshipping idols, and called them to the worship of God. However, that was too much for them, and he left, wandering the earth, in hopes that God would absolve him of this responsibility. He set sail, and God tried him with the whale; then he was cast onto the barren shore. After that, he responded to the call of God, obeyed, and called them to the worship of God; this time, they answered his call, and so God averted from them the punishment He had threatened them with if they did not believe.
This is because—as you have seen—the context show that he was sent again, and they believed again, after having repented, and that their being granted respite was contingent on their belief in him, not upon the lifting of the punishment from them. For it would not befit God to leave them to themselves, had they not believed in His messenger again and turned to Him in his absence. Understand that!
Furthermore, the following verses clash with that [weak] exegetical view:
And Dhū al-Nūn [Jonah], when he went away in wrath…. ()
And be not like the one in the fish, when he called out in distress…. ()
Why has not a single town believed and benefitted from its belief, other than the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them (kashafnā) the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world, and We granted them provision [or enjoyment] for a while. ()
For punishment can only be described as “averted” (kashafnā) when it is already present or impending.
Discourse
The discussion “Some Words on the Story of Jonah (Yūnus)” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.
Examining Narrations
- In Man Lā Yaḥduruhu al-Faqīh, it is related from Imām al-Ṣādiq:
Whenever a people cast lots and leave the matter to God—the Mighty and Glorious—to decide, the lot comes out on the side of truth.
What matter is more just than drawing a lot when the matter is put to God? Did not God, the Mighty and Glorious, say they cast lots, and he was one of those who were thrown off ()?
- In Biḥār al-Anwār, it is related from the book Baṣāʾir al-Darajāt with a chain of narration from Ḥabbah al-ʿAranī that he said that the Commander of the Faithful said:
God presented my wilāyah to the inhabitants of the heavens and earth. Those who confessed to it confessed to it, and those who rejected it rejected it. Jonah abstained from it, and so God trapped him in the belly of the whale until he confessed to it.
Author’s comments: There are other narrations expressing the same meaning. Here, wilāyah refers to the comprehensive divine authority which Imām ʿAlī was the first to open the door to from this ummah. It is when God takes charge of His servant and takes his position to manage his affairs, such that the servant would never turn towards anyone but God or never wish for anything other than what God wills. This comes along with traversing the path of servitude which ends with God selecting him exclusively for Himself not letting anything or anyone having any share in him.
The appearance of what Jonah committed was something that God was not pleased with and could not be attributed to His will. Therefore, God tried him so that he would confess that he had wronged himself, and that God was exalted above such a will. Trials and tribulations such as this are for God’s awliyāʾ (those who are close to Him). They are how God trains them, perfects them, and raises their stations, even if some come across as reprimands. As is said, al-balāʾ lil-wulāʾ (trials are for the friends of God, or the saints).
- This is reinforced by a narration in ʿIlal [al-Sharāʾiʿ] with a chain of narration from Abū Baṣīr, in which he says:
I [Abū Baṣīr] asked Imām al-Ṣādiq, “Why did God deflect punishment from the people of Jonah when it was hanging over them, but He did not do that for any other people?”
He said, “This was because it was in the knowledge of God that He would deflect it from them due to their repenting. However, He did not inform Jonah of that because He wanted to free him [from other considerations] for worship in the belly of the whale, and for him to merit being rewarded and honored for this.”