Jonah (Yunus)
Verses 11-12 GROUP_371 10.11-12
11
وَلَوْ يُعَجِّلُ اللّهُ لِلنَّاسِ الشَّرَّ اسْتِعْجَالَهُم بِالْخَيْرِ لَقُضِيَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلُهُمْ فَنَذَرُ الَّذِينَ لاَ يَرْجُونَ لِقَاءنَا فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
Had God hastened the punishment of men as He hastens the good, the end of their term of life would already have been reached. We leave those who do not hope to meet Us groping along in their arrogance.
12
وَإِذَا مَسَّ الإِنسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَآئِمًا فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهُ مَرَّ كَأَن لَّمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَى ضُرٍّ مَّسَّهُ كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ
Whenever any trouble befalls a person, he prays to Us all the time, lying on his side, sitting or standing; but when We remove his trouble, he goes on his way as if he had never prayed to Us for the removal of his trouble. Thus it is that the doings of the transgressors are made to look fair to them.
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Commentary
(a) It is the law of God that when an individual performs a praiseworthy deed, it is immediately included in the record of his deeds. But if he commits an act which warrants punishment, God gives him respite so that better counsel should prevail, and he may at some point reform himself. This law of God is a great mercy to human beings; otherwise man is a great transgressor and is always ready to perform evil deeds, and if people were immediately seized upon for their evil deeds, their lives would very soon come to an end and the face of the earth would become devoid of human existence. Those who lead their lives as if they are not required to face God after death, live with arrogance in this world. They are those who lead their lives free of the fear of God’s scourge, thinking that they are at liberty to practice as much deceit and spread as much chaos as they like. The fact is that man should realise that there is one Power over and above all powerful ones—every man is helpless before Him— He will one day seize upon all human beings and everybody will be compelled to accept His verdict. (a) The system of this world is so designed that from time to time man is hit by some calamity or accident. He begins to realise that he is absolutely helpless against external forces. At that time he spontaneously starts calling upon God; he admits his humbleness compared to God’s Power. But, he is humble only so long as he is in trouble. The moment he gets relief from trouble, he becomes as negligent and arrogant as he was earlier. God does not accept the obeisance of such people, because only that obeisance is acceptable which is offered in a free atmosphere. Obeisance offered under the pressure of compelling circumstances has no value in the eyes of God. Man is a creature who likes justification. He seeks justification for every action of his. If a man chooses to be arrogant, his mentality will be inclined towards that. He will, in practice indulge in arrogance, and his mind will provide him with beautiful words in order to prove his arrogance justified. This is known as taz’in. Man expresses his misdeeds in beautiful words and is satisfied that he is in the right. But, this is like a man holding a burning lump of coal in his hand and thinking that it will not burn him simply because he calls it a red flower.