Surah As-Saffat Ayat 148 (37:148 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(37:148) and they believed. So We let them enjoy life for a while.^[85]

85. Some people have taken exception to what we have written concerning this story of the Prophet Jonah in our commentary of Surahs Younus and Al-Anbiya. It would therefore be proper that we should reproduce here the explanations given by the other commentators in this regard.

The famous commentator Qatadah in his commentary of (Surah Younus, ayat 98) says: There has been no habitation which disbelieved and might have believed after the arrival of the scourge, and then might have been left unpunished. The only exception were the people of the Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him). When they searched for their Prophet and did not find him, and felt that the scourge had approached near at hand, Allah put repentance in their hearts. (Ibn Kathir, vol. II, p. 433).

Commenting on the same verse Allama Alusi says: The Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him) had been sent to the people of Nineveh in the land of Mosul. They were polytheistic people. The Prophet Jonah invited them to believe in Allah the One, and to give up idol-worship. They refused to believe and belied him. Jonah gave them the news that they would be visited by a scourge after three days and he left the place at midnight before the expiry of the three days. Then, in the day time when the scourge approached and the people realized that they would all perish, they began to search for the Prophet but did not find him. At last, they took their families and their cattle and came out in the desert and expressed belief and repentance. So, Allah showed them mercy and accepted their prayer. (Ruh al-Ma ani, vol. XI, p. 170).

Commenting on (Surah Al-Anbiya, ayat 87), Allama Alusi writes: The Prophet Jonah’s (peace be upon him) forsaking his people in anger was an act of migration, but he had not been commanded to do so. (Ruh al-Maani, vol. xvii, p. 77). Then he explains the meaning of the sentence, “Inna kun-tu min-az-zalimin”, of Jonah’s prayer, thus: That is, I was blameworthy in that I hastened to migrate, against the way of the Prophets, before receiving the command for it. This was, in fact, a confession of his sin and expression of repentance so that Allah might remove his affliction. (Ruh al-Maani, vol. xvii, p. 78).

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi’s note on this verse is: He became angry with his people when they did not believe, and forsook them, and did not return to them of his own accord when the scourge had been averted, and did not await Our command for the migration. (Bayan ul-Quran).

Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Uthmani writes in his note on this verse: Vexed at the misconduct of his people he left the city in anger and did not await the divine command and threatened the people that they would be visited by a torment after three days. lnni kun-tu min az-Zalimin: He confessed his error that he had made haste and left the habitation without awaiting Allah’s command.

Explaining these verses of Surah Saaffat, Imam Razi writes: The Prophet Jonah’s (peace be upon him) fault was that when Allah threatened to destroy the people who had belied him, he thought that the scourge would inevitably befall them. Therefore, he did not show patience and abandoned his mission and left the place, whereas he ought to have continued the work of his mission, for there was a possibility that Allah might not destroy those people. (Tafsir Kabir, vol. vii, p. 158). Explaining the verse Idh abaqa, Allama Alusi writes: “Literally, abaqa means the escape of a slave from his master’s house. Since Jonah had run away from his people without Allah’s leave, the word has been rightly used about him. Then he writes: When the third day came, the Prophet Jonah left the place without Allah’s permission. Thus, when his people did not find him, they came out along with their young and old people and their cattle, and they implored Allah and begged for His forgiveness and Allah forgave them. (Ruh al-Maani, vol. xxii, p. 13).

Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Uthmani has explained the words wa huwa mulim, thus: The accusation against him was that he had left the city because of an error of judgment, without awaiting the divine command, and even specified the day for the coming of the scourge.

Then Maulana Shabbir Ahmad’s note on (Surah Al-Qalam, ayat 48) is: Do not be perplexed and agitated with regard to the deniers like the Man of the Fish (i.e. the Prophet Jonah).” And about the sentence: wa huwa makzum of the same verse, he writes: That is, he was full of anger against his people, so he prayed for the torment, rather foretold it, in fretful haste.

These explanations by the commentators clearly show that there were three offenses on account of which the Prophet Jonah was made to suffer Allah’s displeasure:

(1) That he himself fixed the day of the torment, whereas Allah had not made any declaration in this regard.

(2) That he emigrated from the city even before the day came; whereas a Prophet should not leave the place of his mission until Allah commands him to do so.

(3) That he did not return to his people after the torment had been averted from them.

Ibn-Kathir

The tafsir of Surah As-Saffat verse 148 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Saffat ayat 139 which provides the complete commentary from verse 139 through 148.