Sūrah 37 · As-Saffat ٱلصَّافَّات
Verses 133–148
Verses
33:217These verses summarize the story of Lot (Lūṭ) and Jonah (Yūnus), and tell of how God tried Jonah with the whale because he turned away from his people when the punishment was lifted from them after it had neared.
وَإِنَّ لُوطًا لَّمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٣٣ إِذْ نَجَّيْنَـٰهُ وَأَهْلَهُۥٓ أَجْمَعِينَ ١٣٤
37:133–134 And Lot was among the messengers. Behold, We saved him and all of his family [or followers].
God saved him and his family from the punishment that was to befall his people—namely, being swallowed up by the earth, the raining down of stones and shale, and the other things that God has mentioned in the Qur’an.
إِلَّا عَجُوزًا فِى ٱلْغَـٰبِرِينَ ١٣٥
37:135 Except an old woman who lagged behind.
Meaning, that she remained when the punishment rained down, and this was the wife of Lot.
ثُمَّ دَمَّرْنَا ٱلْـَٔاخَرِينَ ١٣٦
37:136 Then We destroyed (dammarnā) the others.
Dammarnā means “destroyed”. The others are his people whom he was sent to.
وإنكم لتمرون عليهِم مصبِحِين ١ وبِالليلِ ۗ أفلا تعقِلون ١
37:137–138 And you pass by them in the morning and at night.
Do you not understand?
The ruins of their civilization were on the route from the Hijaz to Syria. Here, “passing by them” means passing by their ruined homes. Today, it is said that they are hidden underwater.
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٣٩ إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى ٱلْفُلْكِ ٱلْمَشْحُونِ ١٤٠
33:21837:139–140 And Jonah was one of the messengers. Behold, he fled (abaqa) to the laden ship.
Meaning, the ship was laden with people. The verb abaqa is used for a slave fleeing his master.
Here, the verb abaqa implies that he left and turned away from his people. He did not disobey his Lord when he left them since his Lord had not forbidden him from doing so; however, it was similar to how a slave might flee is master, and so God took him to task for that. This has been discussed previously in the exegesis of the verse:
And Dhū a l-Nūn [Jonah], when he went away in wrath, and imagined that We had no power over him… (21:87).
فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُدْحَضِينَ ١٤١
37:141 And cast lots (sāhama), and was one of those who were cast off (mudḥaẕīn).
Sāhama means “drawing lots”. Mudḥaḍ is the passive participle of the root for “winning”—meaning that he lost.1 A whale [or other giant fish] had come up to the ship, and the sailors were compelled to throw one of their own overboard into the sea for it to eat, so that it would leave the ship alone. They cast lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.
فَٱلْتَقَمَهُ ٱلْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ ١٤٢
37:142 So the fish swallowed him (altaqamahu) while he was blameworthy (mulīm).
The verb altaqama means “swallow”. Mulīm is from the verb root a-l-m and means “entering the state of being blamed”, similar grammatically to how the verb aḥrama means “to enter the state of what is forbidden (iḥrām)”; or else it means “he was reprimanded”.
فَلَوْلَآ أَنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُسَبِّحِينَ ١٤٣ لَلَبِثَ فِى بَطْنِهِۦٓ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ ١٤٤ ۞
33:21937:143–144 Had he not been among those who glorify [Allah], he would have tarried in its belly until the day when they are raised.
This includes him in the group of those who glorified [God]. They are those who repeatedly glorified God until it became an established characteristic, perpetually permeating their being. Therefore, this phrase shows that he must have engaged in the glorification of God for a long time. There are three views on when he glorified God:
Some exegetes say that he became one of those who glorified God before he was swallowed by the whale.
Others say that he became one of those who glorify God while he was in the belly of the whale.
Others say that he was one of those who glorified God both before he was swallowed by the whale, and when he was inside the whale.
In Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ, God speaks of his glorification:
H e called out in the darkness, “There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I was wrong.” (21:87)
This verse shows that he was either (a) one of those who glorified God while he was in the belly of the whale, and only then, or (b) one of those who glorified God both while he was in the belly of the whale, and beforehand. The other view—that the verse means that he glorified God before he was in the whale—does not fit with this verse.
However, since he combines his glorification of God with his admission that he had done wrong and what he had felt—namely, that God did not have power over him when he left his people—this, together with the verse (Had he not been among those who glorify Allah), indicates that it was in fact his glorification which led him to be rescued. Therefore, God tried him with this so that he would be purified and consequently be saved from the sorrow he had brought upon himself through what he had done.
From this, it is clear that the focus of the text is on his glorification while he was inside the whale, and so the third view—which takes a middle ground—is best.
The verse indicates that the intent behind his glorification here is his calling out in the darkness there is no Allah but you! I was wrong (21:87). There is no god but Allah comes first as a clear reason for his glorification. It is as if he is saying, “There is nothing truly worthy of worship or turning to other than You. You are above what might have been implied by my deed. I was fleeing from you, turning away from serving You and turning to other than You. I wronged my self! I turn now to You and absolve myself of how my deed could have been construed as turning towards someone other than You.”
33:220This is the meaning of his glorification. Were it not for that, he would not have ever been saved, for the reason for him being saved is tied to his glorification and professing the heights of divinity of God, as was mentioned.
From this, it is apparent that he would have tarried in its belly until they day they are raised shows that he would have remained perpetually in the belly of the whale until the resurrection, at which time he would have been raised from it like others are raised from their graves, as God speaks of in:
From it [the earth], We created them, and to it we return them, and from it we raise them up again. (20:55)
There is no evidence in the verse to indicate whether he would have had to remain alive or dead (with the belly of the whale as his grave) in the belly of the whale until the day of resurrection, or whether the whale would have had to have lived forever, or some other arrangement. There are no grounds for the exegetical debates over whether he would have remained alive or dead, whether its belly would have been his grave, or whether the day they are raised refers to the first blow of the trumpet (upon which all created beings perish) or the second blow of the trumpet, or whether it is simply a metaphor for a very long time.
فَنَبَذْنَـٰهُ بِٱلْعَرَآءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ ١٤٥
37:145 Then We cast him (fa-nabadhnāhu) onto the barren shore
(bil-ʿarāʾ) while he was ill
The verb nabadha means “to throw, throw away, or discard something”. ʿArāʾ is a place where there is no shelter to take shade under such as a roof, tent, or tree.
According to the apparent meaning of the verses, it means that after he became one of those who glorified God, God cast him out of the belly of the whale, out of the water and onto a shadeless land while he was ill.
وَأَنۢبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِّن يَقْطِينٍ ١٤٦
37:146 And caused a gourd-tree (yaqṭīn) to grow over him.
33:221Yaqṭīn is a type of squash plant with broad, round leaves. God caused it to grow so that he could take shelter under its leaves.
وَأَرْسَلْنَـٰهُ إِلَىٰ مِا۟ئَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ ١٤٧
37:147 And We sent him a hundred thousand or more.
Or here does not imply uncertainty [since God is not unaware of how many people there were], but rather denotes plentitude, as if to say a hundred thousand—nay, more. Here it is speaking of the people of Nineveh.
فَـَٔامَنُوا۟ فَمَتَّعْنَـٰهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ ١٤٨
37:148 And they believed, so we gave them provision [or enjoyment] for a while.
Meaning that since they believed in Jonah and did not deem him a liar, God averted the punishment from them that had been approaching and instead let them carry on until their appointed lifespans had come to an end.
The verse indicates that the punishment was averted from them. Being “granted provision” alludes to this verse:
Why has not a single town believed and benefitted from its belief, other than the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world, and We granted them provision [or enjoyment] for a while. (10:98) This and the above verses show that Jonah was sent back to the same people whom he had left, not a new people, and that they believed in him and followed him after they had faith and repented when they saw the punishment looming.
Some exegetes hold that We sent him (37:147) implies that he was sent to a new people after he was expelled from the whale. However, this view is weak. Rather, first, he went to the people of Nineveh, who were worshipping idols, and called them to the worship of God. However, that was too much for them, and he left, wandering the earth, in hopes that God would absolve him of this responsibility. He set sail, and God tried him with the whale; then he was cast onto the barren shore. After that, he responded to the call of God, obeyed, and called them to the worship of God; this time, they answered his call, and so God averted from them the punishment He had threatened them with if they did not believe. This is because—as you have seen—the context show that he was sent again, and they believed again, after having repented, and that their being granted respite was contingent on their belief in him, not upon the lifting of the punishment from them. For it would not befit God to leave them to themselves, had they not believed in His messenger again and turned to Him in his absence. Understand that!
33:222Furthermore, the following verses clash with that [weak] exegetical view:
And Dhū al-Nūn [Jonah], when he went away in wrath…. (21:87) And be not like the one in the fish, when he called out in distress…. (68:48)
Why has not a single town believed and benefitted from its belief, other than the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them (kashafnā) the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world, and We granted them provision [or enjoyment] for a while. (10:98)
For punishment can only be described as “averted” (kashafnā) when it is already present or impending.
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Literally, one could say that he was vanquished. [Trans.] ↩
Some Words on the Story of Jonah (Yūnus)
1. His Story in the Qur’an
The Qur’an only mentions a segment of his story and the story of his people. In Sūrah al-Ṣaffāt, it speaks of him being sent, running away, boarding the ship, and being swallowed by the whale; then it speaks of how he was saved and sent again to his people, who then believed:
And Jonah was one of the messengers. Behold, he fled to the laden ship and cast lots, and was one of those who were cast off. So the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy. Had he not been among those who glorify [Allah], he would have tarried in its belly until the day when they are raised. Then We cast him onto the barren shore while he was ill, and caused a gourd-tree to grow over him. And We sent him a hundred thousand or more, and they believed, so we gave them provision [or enjoyment] for a while. (37:139–148) Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ tells of his glorification inside the belly of the whale, and his being saved:
And Dhū al-Nūn [Jonah], when he went away in wrath, and imagined that We had no power over him. He called out in the darkness,
33:223“There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I was wrong.” So We responded to him and delivered him from grief, and thus do We deliver the believers. (21:87–88)
And Sūrah Nūn tells of how he called out in distress, how he was expelled from the whale, and how he was chosen by God:
So patiently await the judgment of your Lord, and be not like the one in the fish, when he called out in distress. Were it not that favor from his Lord had overtaken him, he would certainly have been cast out onto the barren shore, disgraced. Then his Lord chose him and made him one of the virtuous. (68:48–50)
Then Sūrah Yūnus tells of how his people believed, and how the punishment was averted from them:
Why has not a single town believed and benefitted from its belief, other than the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world, and We granted them provision [or enjoyment] for a while. (10:98) In short, what can be deduced from these verses as a whole (as well as from other nearby indications in the text), is that Jonah was one of the messengers whom God sent to his people. They were many in number, over a hundred thousand. He called them [to God] but they denied him and rejected him in return. This continued until the punishment—which he had warned them of—approached, and he left them.
When the punishment approached and they saw it with their own eyes, they decided to believe and turn to God. Therefore, God averted the humbling punishment from them in this life.
Then Jonah sought news about them and discovered that the punishment had been turned away from them. It is as if he had been unaware that they had turned to faith and repented. Instead, he continued on his way, infuriated at them, resembling a slave who was fleeing from his master in wrath, thinking that his master had no power over him, and he set sail upon the sea in the laden ship.
Then, the enormous whale approached, and the sailors could not find anyone to throw overboard to appease it with in order to save the ship, so they cast lots, and it fell to Jonah to be cast off. So they threw him into the sea, and the whale swallowed him up, and the ship was saved.
Then God kept him alive and hale in its belly for several days and nights. Knowing that this was a trial from God on account of what he had done, Jonah called out to God from the belly of the whale, “There is no god but You! I was wrong” (21:87).
33:224So God responded to his call and ordered the whale to eject him onto a barren piece of shore. Jonah was feeling ill, and so God caused a gourd-tree to sprout so that he could take shelter under its leaves. Then, when he felt better, God sent him back to his people. This time, they answered his call and believed, and God granted them provision and enjoyment for a time.
There are many Shiʿi narrations about the story of Jonah, as well as some Sunni narrations; some of them share content with each other along the lines of what can be deduced from the verses, although the shared content does not introduce anything that cannot be deduced from the Qur’anic verses. Also, some narrations differ with each other over details not found in the verses.1
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For that reason, we have not mentioned disparate narrations (āḥād) because they cannot serve as evidence here [that is, in ascertaining the details of sacred history], and the details in them cannot be verified by the verses. This is apparent to anyone who consults them. ↩
2. His Story Among the People of the Book
He is known [in Arabic] as Yūnāh ibn Amtāy. The Old and New Testaments allude to some of his story, like his sojourn in the whale; however, they do not mention his full story.
In Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, al-Ālūsī1 relates some of his story as understood by the People of the Book [Jews and Christians], and supports some of his account with refers to some of their books.2 In short, the account is as follows:
God commanded him to go to the people of Nineveh, 3 which was enormous at that time, and it took him three days to get there. The people had grown vile and corrupt. Overwhelmed, he fled and headed towards the city of Tarsīs (Tarshish). He paid for passage on a boat; however, wild winds stirred up, and the waves lashed out, and the ship was in danger of sinking.
Terrified, the sailors threw some of their cargo into the ocean to lighten the ship. At that time, Jonah went below deck and fell asleep, and thus got ill. The captain of the ship came to him and demanded, “What is wrong with you; why are you sleeping? Get up and pray to your god; perhaps your god will save us from our situation and not destroy us.”
33:225Some of the sailors said to others, “Come and cast lots so we can find out which one of us has brought this evil upon us.” They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. They asked him, “What have you done, where have you come from, and where are you going, and what village and tribe are you from?”
He told them, “I am a servant of the Lord God of the Heavens, the creator of land and sea.” And he told them what happened. Greatly fearing, they asked, “Why did you do what you did?” and blamed him for that.
Then they asked, “What should we do with you now so that the sea will calm?” He said, “Throw me into the sea, so it will calm, because it was my fault that these giant waves came.” The sailors tried to return him to shore but were unable to, so they took Jonah and threw him into the sea in order to save the others. The sea calmed, and God ordered an enormous whale to come and swallow him, and he remained in its belly for three days and nights, praying to his Lord and beseeching God to rescue him. So God commanded the whale to expel him back onto dry land. Then He said, “Rise, and go to Nineveh, and preach to its people as I commanded you to do before.”
He left and called out, “Nineveh will be sunk into the land after three days!” So [a group of] the people of Nineveh believed in God and called upon all the people the people to fast and wear monks’ or beggars’ clothes [sackcloth and ashes]. The news reached the king, and he rose from his throne, put aside his royal vestments, clad himself in tattered rags, sat in the dust, and had his criers proclaim that none of the people or animals would touch food or drink. They came closer to God and abandoned their vile deeds and wrongdoing, so God had mercy upon them and did not send the punishment upon them.
Jonah grew sad and said, “My God, this is what I fled from—and I know you are merciful, compassionate, patient, and accepting of those who return to you. O Lord! Take my soul, for death is better for me now than life”
God said, “O Jonah! Are you very sad about this?”
He said, “Yes, Lord.”
So Jonah left and sat facing the city. A shelter was built for him, and he sat under it so that he could see what would happen to the city. God commanded a gourd-tree to grow, and it grew up over his head so that it could give him shade from his suffering [in the sun]. He rejoiced at the gourd-tree greatly, but then God commanded a worm to afflict it, and it shriveled up; then, a hot wind rose up and the sun beat down onto the head of Jonah. This was difficult for him, and he would have rather died. So God said, “O Jonah! Are you very sad about the gourd-tree?”
33:226He said, “Yes, Lord, I am very sad about it.”
God said, “You are sad over something that you yourself did not labour or dig to plant; rather, it grew in one night and was destroyed in one night? Shall We show no pity on the enormous city of Nineveh, which has more than twelve hill-mounds, each of whose people do not know their right from their left [that is, they are ignorant], and many animals?
Comment: The differences between this account and the Qur’anic account are apparent: for instance, his fleeing from his position as his messenger and his dissatisfaction with God’s lifting the punishment while he knew they believed and had repented.
Some might argue that similar things are mentioned in the Qur’an— for instance, in Sūrah al-Ṣaffāt, when Jonah flees like a fugitive slave; or, in Sūrah al-Anbiyāʾ, his anger and thinking that God did not have power over him.
In response, I would say that there is a difference. The Old and New Testaments do not shy away from attributing disobedience or even mortal sins to the prophets. There is no reason to pay heed to ascriptions of disobedience to him. This is unlike the Qur’an, which absolves the prophets of any sort of sin, even trifling ones. Therefore, anything that may imply disobedience on their part should be interpreted in the best way according to what the context and evidence given in the verses indicates—for instance, Behold! he fled (37:140) or when he went away in wrath, and imagined that We had no power over him (21:87)—may be taken as figures of speech describing his deed [not literally to mean that he actually abandoned his role as a messenger].
3. God’s Praise of Jonah
God praises Jonah in the following ways:
(1) He was one of the faithful (21:88).
(2) God chose him and made him one of the virtuous (68:50). (And you have already come to know that he was specifically chosen for his sincerity in worship.)
33:227(3) He is counted among the prophets. He shares the virtues of the prophets—which make them excel all others in all the nations— and God guided them to the straight path (6:87).
Examining Narrations
(1) In Man Lā Yaḥduruhu al-Faqīh, it is related from Imām al-Ṣādiq: Whenever a people cast lots and leave the matter to God—the Mighty and Glorious—to decide, the lot comes out on the side of truth.
What matter is more just than drawing a lot when the matter is put to God? Did not God, the Mighty and Glorious, say they cast lots, and he was one of those who were thrown off (37:141)?
(2) In Biḥār al-Anwār, it is related from the book Baṣāʾir al-Darajāt with a chain of narration from Ḥabbah al-ʿAranī that he said that the Commander of the Faithful said:
God presented my wilāyah to the inhabitants of the heavens and earth. Those who confessed to it confessed to it, and those who rejected it rejected it. Jonah abstained from it, and so God trapped him in the belly of the whale until he confessed to it.
Author’s comments: There are other narrations expressing the same meaning. Here, wilāyah refers to the comprehensive divine authority which Imām ʿAlī was the first to open the door to from this ummah. It is when God takes charge of His servant and takes his position to manage his affairs, such that the servant would never turn towards anyone but God or never wish for anything other than what God wills. This comes along with traversing the path of servitude which ends with God selecting him exclusively for Himself not letting anything or anyone having any share in him.
The appearance of what Jonah committed was something that God was not pleased with and could not be attributed to His will. Therefore, God tried him so that he would confess that he had wronged himself, and that God was exalted above such a will. Trials and tribulations such as this are for God’s awliyāʾ (those who are close to Him). They are how God trains them, perfects them, and raises their stations, even if some come across as reprimands. As is said, al-balāʾ lil-wulāʾ (trials are for the friends of God, or the saints).
(3) This is reinforced by a narration in ʿIlal [al-Sharāʾiʿ] with a chain of narration from Abū Baṣīr, in which he says:
33:228I [Abū Baṣīr] asked Imām al-Ṣādiq, “Why did God deflect punishment from the people of Jonah when it was hanging over them, but He did not do that for any other people?”
He said, “This was because it was in the knowledge of God that He would deflect it from them due to their repenting. However, He did not inform Jonah of that because He wanted to free him [from other considerations] for worship in the belly of the whale, and for him to merit being rewarded and honored for this.”1
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This narration also means that God intended (irādah ʿazm) Jonah to leave his people so that he ends up in the belly of the whale for worship. That is why God did not inform him about the deflection of the punishment. [Pub.] ↩