10. Yunus

Alif Lām Rā’ – the placement of such letters has been discussed at the beginning of Sūrah Al-Baqarah.

Are the people amazed that Allah has sent revelation to a man like themselves, instructing him to warn them about the punishment of Allah, and telling those who have faith in Allah the good news that they will have a high rank with their Lord, glory be to Him, as a reward for the good actions they did? The disbelievers said that this man who came with these verses was clearly a magician.

Truly, your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens in their greatness and the earth in its vastness in six days, and then established Himself on the Throne. Why do they wonder that a man from amongst them should be sent to them? Allah alone determines whatever He wills and no one can plead with Him on behalf of anyone unless Allah gives permission and is pleased with the one who pleads. That is Allah, your Lord, so devote your worship to Him alone being sincere to Him. Will you not then consider all of these proofs evidences that there is no god but He. Whoever heeds this reminder will know it to be true, and believe in Him.

You will return to Him alone on the Day of Judgement, when He will repay you for what you have done. Allah’s promise to humankind about this is a true. He is well capable of that. He made people from clay without precedent. He will bring them back again after their death to reward with justice those who had faith in Allah and did good actions, neither subtracting from their good actions nor increasing their bad actions. As for those who disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, they will have a drink of boiling water which will affect their insides and for them is a painful punishment because of their disbelief in Allah and His Messenger.

It is He Who made the sun radiate light and made the moon a light illuminated by it, determining its progression through twenty-eight phases – a phase being the change it goes through every twenty-four hours – so that people would know the number of days by the sun and the number of months and years by the moon. Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and what is in them except with the truth, revealing His power and might to people. Allah makes clear these obvious signs and evidence that there is no god but Him for a people who know how to draw conclusions from such facts.

In the succession of the night and day, and the darkness and light that accompany this, and the shortness of one and length of the other, and in the created things in the heavens and the earth, are signs showing the power of Allah for a people who are Mindful, following what He instructs and staying away from what He has prohibited.

The disbelievers who do not prepare themselves for their meeting with Allah, not fearing it or desiring it, who are satisfied with the life of the world, which is passing, instead of the eternal life of the Afterlife, feeling themselves at home in this world and content with it, and who do not consider Allah’s signs –

Their dwelling place on the Day of Judgement will be the fire of Hell, because of what they earned through their disbelief and rejection.

Those who have faith in Allah and do good actions, Allah will guide them because of their faith to doing more good actions that lead to His Pleasure. Then on the Day of Judgement, Allah will enter them into gardens of eternal bliss with rivers flowing beneath them.