As-salaam wa-alaikum, brothers and sisters.
Summary
Today’s selection concludes Surah 68, Al-Qalam or the Pen, verses 34-52. This selection explains why Allah will not treat Muslims in the same manner as the guilty and how those who do not believe in Allah’s revelations are led towards their spiritual destruction.
Tafseer for this selection concerns the phrase “The Day that the Shin shall be laid bare” in verse 42 as well as commentary on Prophet Jonah as mentioned in verses 48-50.
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Verses
Bis-millahi ar-rahman, ar-raheem.
In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful.Surely the righteous will be rewarded with gardens of delight by their Lord.[34] What do the disbelievers think? Shall We treat the Muslims as We treat the guilty?[35] What is the matter with you? What kind of Judgment do you make?[36] Or do you have a Book in which you read,[37] that you shall be given whatever you choose?[38] Or do you have a sworn covenant – a covenant binding on Us till the Day of Resurrection – that you shall have whatever you demand?[39] Ask if any of them will vouch for that.[40] Or do they have other gods who could help them against Allah? If so, let them produce their other gods if they are truthful.[41] The Day that the Shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be asked to prostrate themselves, they shall not be able to do so.[42] They shall stand with eyes downcast, utterly humbled; because during their safe and sound earthly life they were called upon to prostrate themselves but they refused to do so.[43] 68:[34-43]
O Prophet, leave to Me those who reject this revelation. We shall lead them step by step to their ruin, in ways that they cannot perceive.[44] I shall even put up with them for a while; for My plan is fool proof.[45] Or have you, O Prophet, demanded a compensation from them, that they are overburdened with debt?[46] Or do they have the knowledge of the unseen and they are writing it down?[47]
So wait with patience for the Judgment of your Lord and be not like the companion of the fish (Prophet Jonah who was swallowed by a whale), who cried when he was in distress.[48] Had his Lord not bestowed on him His grace, he would certainly have been cast off on the naked shore, while he was condemned.[49] But his Lord chose him and included him among the righteous.[50] The unbelievers would almost trip you up with their eyes when they hear Our revelations (The Qur’an), and say: “He (Muhammad) is surely crazy.”[51] This (The Qur’an) is nothing but a Reminder to all the people of the world.[52] 68:[44-52]
Ameen.
Tafseer
Concerning verse 42 which mentioned “the day that the shin shall be laid bare”:
The Day that the Shin shall be laid bare, that is, when men are confronted with the stark reality of the Day of Judgment. On that occasion, men will be summoned to adoration, not necessarily in words, but by the logic of facts, when the Reality will be fully manifest: the Glory will be too dazzling for the Unbelievers, whose past deliberate refusal, when they had freedom to choose, and yet rejected, will stand in their way.
Concerning the Companion of the Fish in verses 48-50.
This was Dhu al Nun or Prophet Jonah. Also see 21:87-88 and 37:139-148. Prophet Jonah was asked to preach to the people of Nineveh, a wicked city. He met with hostility and persecution, fled from his enemies and took a boat. He was caught in a storm and thrown into the sea. He was swallowed by a fish or whale, but he repented in his living prison, and was forgiven. But the people of Nineveh were also forgiven, for they, too repented. Here is a double allegory of Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, and a command to patience, and complete and joyful submission to the Will of God.
![The Adad Gate of Nineveh - By Fredarch [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.17verses.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Nineveh_Adad_gate_exterior_entrance_far2-1024x613.jpg)
Also on Prophet Jonah:
Jonah was chose by Allah’s Grace and Mercy to be Allah’s Prophet to Nineveh. If in his human frailty he lost a little patience, he suffered his punishment, but his true and sincere repentance and recognition of Allah’s goodness and mercy restored him from his physical and mental distress, and from the obscuring of the spiritual Light within him.
This concludes today’s episode of the 17 Verses Podcast. I hope that this selection has helped increase your understanding of the holy Qur’an just a little bit.
Thank you and be well.