The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 1
CHAPTER 10 YŪNUS (Revealed before Hijrah) Place and Time of Revelation This Surah was revealed at Mecca. Some commentators have ascribed some of its verses to the Medinite period, but their opinion is not based on facts; they have made the inference merely from the subject matter of the verses. Title and Connection The Surah is named Yunus (Jonah) not because, as some may think, it contains an account of the Prophet of that name but because the subject matter of the whole Surah is based on a particular incident in the life of the Prophet Yūnus. Many Surahs of the Quran have been named after certain Prophets or certain objects. This has not been done in a haphazard manner. The Sūrahs have been given those names in order to show that their contents have a bearing on those persons or things whose names they bear. On pondering over the contents of the Quran we notice not only that its verses are interrelated but also that every Surah is connected with the one preceding it and the one following it. Moreover, certain groups of Quranic chapters are linked with other groups. Thus we find that a perfect order runs throughout the Quran. The different chapters of the Quran are related to one another in more ways than one; and when we consider their order and arrangement, we are left in no doubt that the Quran is indeed a great miracle of diction. This Surah possesses a threefold connection with the previous one. Firstly, it is a continuation of the previous chapter. Two subjects were mentioned in the concluding portions of the previous Sūrah: (a) the revelation of the Book and its denial (9:127); (b) the coming of the Messenger of God and the benefit derived from him (9:128). The same subject is continued in the present Surah. First, it mentions the importance of the Book (10:2) and next it refers to the Divine Messenger (10:3). Secondly, this Surah completes the subject matter of the previous Surah. In chapter 9 (which is not really a separate chapter but forms part of chapter 8) reference was made to the fact that the time of the prosperity of Islam had come and God's promises were going to be fulfilled in all their glory and power. Thus were men exhorted to turn to the purification of their hearts that their repentance might be accepted. As doubt might arise in the hearts of some people that on account of the enormity of their sins―their repentance might not be accepted by God, chapter 10 stresses the fact that 1209