220 Page Notes

10 Surah Yunus (continued)

Page 220 - Related Hadith/Sunnah

10:98

10:99

10:100

10:101

10:102

10:103

10:104

10:105

10:106

Translation of the meaning by Sahih International.

Page 220 - Related Hadiths and Sunnah

Page 220 of the Qur'an contains verses 98 through 106 of Surah Yunus (Chapter 10). This specific section contains profound theological weight, focusing on the unique historical exception of the People of Jonah, the limits of human coercion in matters of faith, the concept of divine guidance versus misguidance, and a strict, final command to the Prophet Muhammad to shun all forms of idolatry.

Prophetic traditions (Hadith) and the Sunnah provide deep context, narrative background, and universal spiritual laws to illuminate these verses.

1. The Unique Faith of the People of Jonah (Verse 98)

"Then has there not been a [single] city that believed so its faith benefited it except the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in worldly life and gave them enjoyment for a time." (Qur'an 10:98)

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The Hadith on the Multitude of Prophets

Verse 98 establishes a historical anomaly: across all of human history, almost every nation rejected their prophet until the physical punishment arrived (at which point repentance was useless, as with Pharaoh). The people of Jonah (Yunus) are explicitly isolated as the only population who repented collectively before the punishment fully manifested, thereby saving themselves.

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To highlight the immense difficulty prophets faced in getting their cities to believe, the Prophet Muhammad contrasted Jonah's massive success with the bleak reality of other messengers:

The Messenger of Allah said: "The Prophets were displayed before me. There was a Prophet who passed with a large group of people, and a Prophet who passed with only one man, a Prophet with two men, and a Prophet with no one at all [his entire city rejected him]..." Then he mentioned seeing the massive nation of Prophet Musa, followed by his own even larger nation. — Sahih al-Bukhari, 5705 & Sahih Muslim, 220

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The Sunnah of Collective Desperation and Repentance

Classical commentators (such as Ibn Kathir and At-Tabari) detail that when Prophet Jonah left his city (Nineveh) in frustration, the sky turned a terrifying color, signaling imminent doom. Recognizing their mistake, the leadership instituted a dramatic public protocol of repentance that became an example in Islamic history:

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• They wore coarse hair-shirts, separated mothers from their nursing infants, and separated livestock from their young.

• The entire city wept and cried out to Allah in the desert.
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• The Sunnah Principle: This extreme humility mirrors the Sunnah of Salat al-Istisqa (the prayer for rain), where the Prophet Muhammad instructed Muslims facing a drought to head out into an open field wearing humble clothing, encouraging an environment of absolute, collective brokenness before Allah to avert a crisis (Sunan Abi Dawud, 1173).

2. Freedom of Conscience and Divine Will (Verses 99–101)

"And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed—all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers? And it is not for a soul to believe except by permission of Allah, and He will place defilement upon those who will not use reason." (Qur'an 10:99-100)

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The Sunnah Against Coercion in Faith

Verse 99 functions as a direct rhetorical check on the Prophet Muhammad’s intense, empathetic desire to save every human being from divine punishment. Allah tells him that if faith were meant to be forced, He would have created humans without free will (like angels).

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The Sunnah strictly honors this boundary. The Prophet Muhammad never forced individuals to accept Islam, nor did he permit his companions to compel others.

This is structurally illustrated in the famous treaty-making Sunnah of the Prophet, such as the Constitution of Medina, where he legally protected the freedom of religion for Jewish tribes: "The Jews have their religion and the Muslims have theirs." — Sirah Ibn Hisham (The Prophetic Biography)

The Hadith on the Hearts of Mankind

Verse 100 notes that true faith can only occur "by permission of Allah." The Hadith literature explains the internal mechanism of this spiritual reality, emphasizing that guidance is ultimately an act of divine grace, not human persuasion:

The Messenger of Allah said: "Verily, the hearts of all the sons of Adam are between two fingers of the fingers of the Most Merciful as one single heart. He turns it wherever He pleases." Then the Messenger of Allah said: "O Allah, Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to Your obedience." — Sahih Muslim, Book 46, Hadith 2654

3. Strict Monotheism vs. Useless Deities (Verses 104–106)

"Say, [O Muhammad], 'O mankind, if you are in doubt as to my religion—then I do not worship those which you worship besides Allah; but I worship Allah, who causes your death...' And [I have been commanded], 'Direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth, and never be of those who associate partners with Allah. And do not invoke besides Allah that which neither benefits you nor harms you...'" (Qur'an 10:104-106)

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Defining "That Which Neither Benefits Nor Harms"

Verse 106 commands Muslims not to pray to entities that lack the agency to create, benefit, or harm. The Prophet Muhammad explicitly embedded this worldview into the minds of the next generation of Muslims, teaching them to look past worldly illusions and anchor their expectations solely in Allah:

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The Prophet said to the young Abdullah ibn Abbas: "Boy, I shall teach you some words: Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you... If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the entire nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried." — Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516 (Graded Sahih)

References

• Al-Bukhari, M. I. (n.d.). Sahih al-Bukhari.

• Al-Sijistani, Abu Dawud. (n.d.). Sunan Abi Dawud.

• Al-Tirmidhi, Muhammad ibn Isa. (n.d.). Sunan al-Tirmidhi.

• Ibn Hisham, Abu Muhammad. (n.d.). Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah.

• Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. (n.d.). Sahih Muslim.

(Note: "n.d." denotes classical texts where modern standardized publication years vary across publishers, cited instead by their universally recognized book and Hadith numbers).