Yunus 10:91–97

The answer to this appearing in the fifth verse (91) came from Allah Almighty Himself. It says:

آلْآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ﴿91﴾

Is it now [ that you come to believe ] while you were rebellious before and you were among the mischief-makers?

This proves that the profession of faith exactly at the time of death is not legally trustworthy. It is further clarified by the Hadith in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, 'Allah Ta'ala keeps accepting the Taubah (repentance) of a servant until comes the time of the ghargharah of death. (Tirmidhi)

The ghargharah of death means the time the soul or spirit is drawn out or extracted from the body and it is a time when angels appear face to face. At that time, life in this world, the home of deeds, is all over and the laws of the Hereafter come into force. Therefore, nothing done at that time is acceptable, neither belief, nor disbelief. Whoever believes at such a time will not be called a believer. He will not be treated as a believer while shrouding and burying him. This stands proved from the fate of Pharaoh. There is a consensus that he died a disbeliever. This is also what the text of the Qur'an says. In case, someone is reported to have called the belief of the Pharaoh as valid, it will either be suitably interpreted, otherwise the statement would be considered false. (Ruh al-Ma` ani)

Similarly, if someone were to utter (God forbid) a word of disbelief (kufr) in a state when the soul is being drawn out of the body, he will not be called a kafir (disbeliever). Instead, a Salah of Janazah (Muslim funeral prayers) will be offered for him and he would be buried like Muslims, and the word of disbelief uttered by him would be interpreted (in his favor). This finds confirmation in what happened in the case of some Auliya' of Allah, specially when that which they uttered bothered people as if what they were uttering was nothing short of kufr (disbelief). However, when they became conscious and explained, it gave relief to everyone and they realized that it was nothing but a declaration of true belief.

In short, when the soul is being drawn out and the certain knock of death is on, that time is not counted in the life one lives in this world. Nothing done at that time is valid in terms of the Shari'ah. However, everything is, if done before that. But, those who see this transition from one world to the other have to be very cautious. It is possible to make a mistake in determining the correct situation. Is this the time of the drawing of the soul from the body (naz'atu'r-ruh)? Or, is it the last rattle of death (ghargharatu 'l-maut)? Or, is it that which prevails earlier (usually referred to in English as being in the throes of death or the agony of death or, uncharitably enough, giving up the ghost)?

Commentary

Addressing Pharaoh in the first verse (92), it was said that Allah will take his body out of the waters after he is drowned so that his body becomes a sign of Divine power, and a lesson for people after him.

It happened when, after having crossed the sea, Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) told Bani Isra'il about the drowning of the Pharaoh, they were so overawed and subdued by him that they refused to believe the news and said that the Pharaoh was not drowned. To guide them right and to teach others a lesson, Allah Ta'ala had the dead body of Pharaoh thrown ashore by a wave of the sea. Everyone saw it and believed that he had died and then, this corpse became a sort of moral deterrent for everyone. After that, it is not known as to what happened to this corpse ultimately. The place where the dead body of the Pharaoh was found is still known as the mount of Pharaoh.

Some time back, newspaper reports indicated that the dead body of Pharaoh was found intact and was seen by the public at large and that it was deposited safely in the Cairo Museum. But, it cannot be said with certainty that this is the same Pharaoh who confronted Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) or is some other Pharaoh because names of Pharaohs differ. Every ruler of Egypt in that period of history had the title of Pharaoh.

But, no wonder, the Divine power had thrown a drowned dead body ashore. Very similarly, it may have kept it even preserved against spoilage so that it could become a lesson for future generations. And it may still be there! (However it remains essential to learn a lesson from it as compared to becoming excited about its discovery as an archeological triumph).

At the end of the verse, it was said that many people pay no heed to the verses and signs of Allah. They do not ponder over them and fail to learn their essential lesson in living a better life. Otherwise, signs abound. They are everywhere, in every particle of this universe. A look at them would help one recognize Allah and His perfect power.

The second verse (93) brings the future of a people bulldozed in disgrace by the Pharaoh into sharp focus making it stand out against the evil end of the tyrant. It was said that Allah gave the Bani Isra'il a good place to live. They had the whole country of Egypt for themselves.

Then, they were given the holy lands of Jordan and Palestine which Allah Ta’ ala had assigned to Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and his progeny as their inheritance. A good place to live has been termed as: مُبَوَّأَ صِدْقٍ (translated as: ` a proper place to live' ) in the Qur'an. The word: صِدْقٍ (sidq) at this place means good and proper. The sense is that they were given a place to live that was suitable and proper for them in every way. Then it was said that Allah gave them their sustenance in the form of Halal and pure things so much so that they had the best of everything.

Towards the end of the verse, once again, their penchant for crookedness and evil doing has been mentioned. Among them too, there were many who, soon after having power, failed to appreciate the blessings of Allah and went about disobeying Him. They recited the Torah and they knew the signs and marks of the Holy Prophet ﷺ mentioned there. This awareness demanded that they should have been the first to believe in him as soon as he came. But, how strange that these very people believed in the coming of the last prophet, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ before he actually came. They would tell people about the signs he would have and the time he would come. They would even use the wasilah (medium) of the last prophet in their prayers. But, when the last prophet came with a whole array of evidences of his veracity, and the signs identified in the Torah, these people started disputing among themselves. Some of them believed while the rest refused to do so. In this verse, the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ to has been expressed by saying: جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ (knowledge came to them). Here, علم (` ilm) could also denote certitude. In that case, it would mean that once the causes of observation and certitude converged together, these people started disputing.

Some commentators have said that عِلم (ilm: knowledge) at this place denotes مَعلُوم (ma` lum: known), that is, when the blessed person who was already known through the prophesies of the Torah came before them face to face, they started disputing the truth.

At the end of the verse, it was said that Allah Ta'ala will give His verdict about what they used to dispute, on the day of Qiyamah. Truth will then become distinct from falsehood and the upholders of truth will be sent to Paradise while the practitioners of falsehood, to Hell.

In the third verse (94), the address is obviously to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . But, it goes without saying that there is no probability of his doubting the revelation. Therefore, the purpose is to beam the message to the Muslim community through this address where he is not the intended recipient. Then, it is also possible that this address may be to human beings at large asking them if they had any doubts about the Divine revelation sent to them through Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ . If they had, let them ask those who recited the Torah and Injil before them. They would tell them that all past prophets and their Books have been announcing the glad tidings of the Last among Prophets. This will remove their scruples and suspicions.

According to Tafsir Mazhari, this verse tells us that anyone in doubt about some religious matter is duty-bound to have his doubts removed by asking genuine ` Ulama' (religious scholars whose learning, honesty and adherence to Qur'an, and Sunnah is well recognized, popularly referred to as ` Ulama' al-Haqq). To continue nursing such doubts is not a good thing to do.

In the fourth (95), fifth (96) and sixth (97) verses, the same subject finds support and emphasis while carrying a warning to those who are heedless.