The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Yusuf

Section 11 : Profit Or Loss Caused By Allah Commentary : Verse 104

Unavoidable by anyone

To worship none but Allah alone He who avails of guidance or strays, he does it at his own cost If Allah wills to bestow any profit or afflict any loss, none else can avoid it.

(104) قُلْ يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ في‏ شَكٍّ مِنْ ديني‏ فَلا أَعْبُدُ الَّذينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَ لكِنْ أَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ الَّذي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ وَ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنينَ

104." Say:"O you people! If you are in doubt as to my religion, then(know that)I do not worship those whom you worship other than Allah! But I worship Allah Who causes you to die and I have been commanded that I should be of the believers'"

Commentary :

Do not allow the skepticism of others to influence you. Decisiveness is the primary condition for leadership.

Any reconciliation and agreement with the unbelievers is prohibited. You must expel the unbelieving front from among yourselves, making them despair. Beware that the enemy envies the leaders of Islam. You must declare your ostracism and position of differentiation from the unbelievers. Allah Who is in command of life and death is more suitable to be worshipped than idols, oppressors, and insignificant powers and puppets. Therefore, the holy Prophet(p.b.u.h.) and, by extension, the believers have been commanded to be faithful and testify to monotheism. The verse says:

" Say: "O you people! If you are in doubt as to my religion, then(know that)I do not worship those whom you worship other than Allah! But I worship Allah Who causes you to die and I have been commanded that I should be of the believers'. "

Commentary : Verse 105.106

(105) وَ أَنْ أَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنيفاً وَ لا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكينَ

(106) وَ لا تَدْعُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ ما لا يَنْفَعُكَ وَ لا يَضُرُّكَ فَإِنْ فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذاً مِنَ الظَّالِمينَ

105. " And(I have also been commanded)that 'Set your face towards the Religion uprightly, and never be of the polytheists. '"

106. " And do not call other than Allah on that which will neither profit you nor hurt you: for if you do, then verily you will on that case be of the unjust. "

Commentary :

In the last verses of this Sura, Allah, the Supreme, has designated the responsibilities of the Messenger(the Prophet)as to what he must do in case the people did not follow him or hesitated in accepting his mission. The verse says:

"And(I have also been commanded)that'Set your face towards the Religion uprightly, and never be of the polytheists.'"

The Prophet's responsibility is to get the people to desist from the worship of self- styled gods and induce the sincere worship of the one Allah, "Allah", to inculcate an honest faith in Him and to execute His Commandments whether apparent or hidden. They should not worship other gods and man- made idols, for by doing this they would be oppressing themselves because these false deities are of no advantage or disadvantage to them. He Who is really the only source of benefit and loss is no one but "Allah". The verse says:

" And do not call other than Allah on that which will neither profit you nor hurt you: for if you do, then verily you will on that case be of the unjust. "

Man's submission to idols and those manufactured deities he has made as partners with the Creator, is injustice to himself. If he does this, he will lose his identity which is one of the most precious endowments he is blessed with, and if he tries to persuade others to follow this road this can also be considered as oppressing the people by misleading them in their thinking.

Though this speech is addressed to the Prophet, in reality it is targeted at the people.

Commentary : Verse 107

(107) وَ إِنْ يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلا كاشِفَ لَهُ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَ إِنْ يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلا رَادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ يُصيبُ بِهِ مَنْ يَشاءُ مِنْ عِبادِهِ وَ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحيمُ

107. " And if Allah afflicts you with any hurt, none can remove it but Him. And if He intends any good for you, none can repel His favor. He causes it to reach whomsoever of His servants He pleases, and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. "

Commentary :

If Allah causes you pain in cases of calamities or brings you hardships or sufferings, no one but He is able to release you by removing them, and if He gives you well- being in matters of health, blessings or affluence and so forth, no one can hinder Him or block His way. The verse says:

" And if Allah afflicts you with any hurt, none can remove it but Him. And if He intends any good for you, none can repel His favor. ..."

Allah's beneficence, which is always appropriate, extends in different circumstances for whom He pleases from among His servants and according to His wise Judgment and realistic evaluation. He is forgiving of the sins committed by his servants and He is compassionate towards them. The verse says:

"... He causes it to reach whomsoever of His servants He pleases, and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. "

Commentary : Verse 108

(108) قُلْ يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جاءَكُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنِ اهْتَدى‏ فَإِنَّما يَهْتَدي لِنَفْسِهِ وَ مَنْ ضَلَّ فَإِنَّما يَضِلُّ عَلَيْها وَ ما أَنَا عَلَيْكُمْ بِوَكيلٍ

108. " Say: 'O mankind!(Now)the Truth has come to you from your Lord. Therefore, whoever is guided, he is guided for(the good of)his own self, and whoever strays, he strays only against it; and I am not a warden over you'. " Commentary :

This verse and the one following it are admonishments to mankind in general and to the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) in particular. They complement the commandments that Allah has explained throughout this Sura and with that, the Sura of Yunus comes to an end.

At first, as a general instruction, Allah commands the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) to say to mankind that the Truth has now reached them from their Lord.

These instructions, this Heavenly Book, this program and this Prophet along with his miracles are all true and the evidence of their truthfulness is explicit and obvious. The verse declares:

" Say: 'O mankind!(Now)the Truth has come to you from your Lord. "

In the light of this reality, he who is led by the light of this truth has been guided and will reap his own advantages while he who refuses and fails to submit himself when facing truth would have taken steps towards his own destruction. The verse continues saying:

"... Therefore, whoever is guided, he is guided for(the good of)his own self, and whoever strays he strays only against it; ..."

The Prophet(p.b.u.h.) is instructed to say that he is not their agent; he does not act on their behalf as an advocate, nor is he their guardian. The verse says:

"... and I am not a warden over you'. "

That is, neither is he commissioned to force them to accept the truth for accepting faith under compulsion is meaningless not could he save them from the Divine Punishment in case they did not accept the Truth. His duty is to call them to Islam, to bring Allah's message to them, to guide them on the Straight Path, to lead them, and to serve them as their leader

Commentary : Verse 109

(109) وَ اتَّبِعْ ما يُوحى‏ إِلَيْكَ وَ اصْبِرْ حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ وَ هُوَ خَيْرُ الْحاكِمينَ

109. " And follow(only)what is revealed unto you, and be patient till Allah judges, and He is the best of the judges. "

Commentary :

In this noble verse, Allah sums up the duties of the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) in two sentences: the first one says that he should act according to what has been revealed unto him. The verse says:

" And follow(only)what is revealed unto you, ..."

The direction or his path has been fixed by what Allah has revealed to him and he is not allowed to make the slightest deviation from it.

Secondly there are numerous trials and tribulations facing him on this path and he must not let himself be distracted by these difficulties. He must wait, practice fortitude, and maintain his position until Allah issues His verdict concerning his success over his enemies, for Allah is the Best of those who decide because His decision is identical with the Truth, His wisdom is based on justice and His promise is never to be broken. The verse continues saying:

"... and be patient till Allah judges, and He is the best of the judges. "

The End of Sura Yunus.