Quranic Reflections - Islamic School of Stanford

Surat Yunus (Jonah)
Surat Yunus is a Makkan surah. It was revealed after Surat Al-Isra’ and is located in
the Qur’an after Surat At-Tawbah. This Surah consists of 109 ayahs.
The objective of the Surah
The objective of this surah is the manifestation of the belief in the Divine decree.
Omar Ibnul-Khattab (RA) narrated that “One day we were sitting in the company of
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) when there appeared before us a man dressed in
pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black. There were no signs of travel on
him. None amongst us recognized him. At last he sat with the Prophet (SAWS) He
knelt before him placed his palms on his thighs and said: Muhammad, inform me
about al-Islam. The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) said: Al-Islam implies that you
testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,
and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform
pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of) the
journey. He (the inquirer) said: You have told the truth. He (Omar Ibnul-Khattab)
said: It amazed us that he would put the question and then he would himself verify the
truth. He (the inquirer) said: Inform me about Iman (faith). He (the Holy Prophet)
replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His
Apostles, in the Day of Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree
about good and evil” 1 . Thus, the surah deals with this last pillar of the pillars of faith.
Inquiries and doubtfulness:
Surat Yunus deals with a dilemma that many people face today and can be illustrated
through the following queries:
• Is man impelled through life, or is he granted free will
• Why does Allah (SWT) guide one man to the right path and not the other
• Why does Allah (SWT) protect and saves a fellow and not the other
• How is it that our Creator, who is well aware of what we do, makes us live
through circumstances of His making and then judges us according to them
on the Day of Judgment
• If Allah (SWT) has already predestined some people to live a life of deviation,
why then are we encouraged to worship To the same effect, some people
always quite comfortably reply, “When Allah wants us to, we will” when
asked why they do not pray.
• If Allah (SWT) has already predestined us to be dwellers of either Jannah
(Paradise) or hellfire, why then do we have to work, since whatever we do
will not change our prospective status!
This surah teaches the reader of the Qur'an how to refute the claims of such
perplexed, hesitant people and to reassure his/her own self. For example, some
people are so influenced by doubts that they imagine that Allah (SWT) is being unjust
when He predestines one person or another to be a dweller of hell (we seek Allah's
refuge from being dwellers of hell).
1 Authentic Hadith, Muslim.