Commentary

Surah Yunus is among the Makki Surahs. Three of its verses revealed after the Hijrah to Madinah have been called Madani.

In this Surah too, the proof of the basic objectives of Qur'an, and Islam, such as the Oneness of Allah, the mission of His Messenger and the inevitability of the Hereafter, has been provided. Since it has been presented in the background of the universe of our experience and observation, it becomes easy to comprehend. Along with it, some lesson-oriented historical accounts and stories have been introduced to warn people who do not pay heed to the open signs of Allah Ta` ala. As a corollary, the text refutes shirk whereby heedless people start ascribing partners to the pristine divinity of Allah - and also answers some related doubts. This is a gist of the subjects taken up in the Surah. A careful look at these will help us understand the interconnection between the previous Surah, At-Taubah, and the present one. Surah At-Taubah was making a strong statement when it opted for breaking through the powerful cordon of kufr and shirk to achieve the same objectives through material means by waging Jihad against deniers and disbelievers. And since the present Surah was revealed in Makkah before the injunctions of Jihad came, these objectives have been explained and proved only by arguments and evidences very much in accordance with the law of the Makkan period.

The Surah opens with the letters: Alif, Lam, Ra الر‌). Known as ` isolated letters.' Many Surahs of the Qur'an begin with these. Debates on investigations made into the meaning of letter combinations like الم (Alif, Lam, Mim), حٰمٓ(Ha, Mim) and عٓسٓقٓ(Ain, Sin, Qaf) by commentators are lengthy. But, we also have the authentic verdict of the Sahabah, the Tabi'in and the righteous elders of the community (salaf سَلَف) about these ` isolated letters.' According to them, these are secret symbols or signs. In all likelihood, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was confided with their meaning but he elected to disclose to his community only those areas of knowledge and insight which their minds could bear by and which, if remained unknown, would impede the normal living of his people. Nothing that Muslims must do is dependent upon knowing the secrets of such 'isolated letters,' nor do they have to miss anything by not knowing them. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ too did not tell his community about their meaning as being unnecessary for them. Therefore, we too should not go about digging into it - because, it is certain that had the knowing of their meaning been expedient for us, our master, who was mercy personified for the whole world, would have never hesitated in telling us about it.

In the first verse: تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ (These are verses of the Wise Book), the word: تِلکَ (tilka: these) points out to the 'ay at of this Surah which follow. 'The Book' refers to the Qur'an. To describe its attribute, the Qur'an has used the word: حَکِیم (hakim) at this place. It means the Book of Wisdom.