Surah Yunus (Jonah) 10 : 11

Overview (Verses 11 - 14)
 
Man’s Changing Attitude
 
The sūrah then picks up the challenge posed by the pagan Arabs to God’s Messenger, whereby they required him to deliver forthwith the punishment he warned them against. They are told that postponing such punishment to a specified time is an aspect of God’s mercy. A scene is then drawn to demonstrate how they behave when they suffer some affliction. At that moment, their nature returns to its purity and they appeal to God, their Lord. When the affliction is relieved, those who habitually go beyond the limits revert to their erring ways. They are then reminded of the fate of earlier communities who also transgressed. This serves as a warning to stop them exceeding their limits. After all, this present life is a test which determines their destiny.
 
If God were to hasten for mankind the ill [they have earned] as they would hasten the good, their end would indeed come forthwith. But We leave those who have no hope of meeting Us in their overweening arrogance, blindly stumbling to and fro. When affliction befalls man, he appeals to Us, whether he be lying on his side, sitting, or standing, but as soon as We relieve his affliction, he goes on as though he had never appealed to Us to save him from the affliction that befell him. Thus do their deeds seem fair to those who are given to excesses. Indeed, We destroyed generations before your time when they persisted in their wrongdoing. The messengers sent to them brought them veritable evidence of the truth, but they would not believe. Thus do We reward the guilty. Then We made you their successors on earth, so that We might see how you behave. (Verses 11-14)
 
The pagan Arabs used to challenge the Prophet, asking him to immediately deliver God’s punishment. They asked him to do so in different ways. For example, in this sūrah it is stated: “They say: ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?’” (Verse 48) In another sūrah: “They challenge you to hasten evil rather than good, although exemplary punishments have come to pass before their time.” (13: 6). Or in similar vein, they say: “God, if this be indeed Your revealed truth, then rain down upon us stones from the skies, or inflict grievous suffering on us.” (8: 32)
 
All this describes their stubborn attitude to God’s guidance. In His wisdom, God chose not to inflict a collective punishment on them as He did with earlier communities. Instead, He knew that the great majority of them would eventually accept the faith and that they would work to establish its roots firmly in the land. This took place after Makkah had fallen to the Prophet. At the time they made their ignorant challenge, it was not conceivable that such a change would come to pass. But this was the real good which God wanted for them, which was infinitely better than the type they wanted to experience quickly. He also warns them against ignoring His purpose behind delaying their fate. Yet those who entertain no expectation of meeting with God continue in their arrogance until they eventually meet their fate.
 
In connection with the challenge to hasten evil, the sūrah portrays the situation of those who suffer affliction. Here we have a clear case of contradiction with people asking for evil to be brought forthwith when they are unable to endure modest affliction. Yet when such affliction is removed, they revert to those practices which caused the affliction in the first place: “When affliction befalls man, he appeals to Us, whether he be lying on his side, sitting, or standing, but as soon as We relieve his affliction, he goes on as though he had never appealed to Us to save him from the affliction that befell him. Thus do their deeds seem fair to those who are given to excesses.” (Verse 12)
 
It is an ingeniously drawn picture of a frequently occurring situation. Man may move along in life, committing all types of sin and excess. He pays little attention to what is permissible and what is not, as long as he is in good health and enjoying comfortable conditions. Only those who are conscious of God remember in such a situation, that after health and strength there will be illness and weakness. Affluence makes people forget and power leads to excess. But when affliction overtakes man he is worried, vulnerable and helpless. He appeals earnestly to God, unable to endure the hardship, eager to have his affliction replaced with comfort. When his appeal is granted and the affliction removed, he does not reflect on the lessons of this experience. Instead, he reverts to his old ways, heedless of the consequences.
 
The sūrah co-ordinates this image with the psychological condition it describes and the type of person it delineates. Thus the affliction is shown to last a long time. ‘When affliction befalls man, he appeals to Us, whether he be lying on his side, sitting, or standing.’ (Verse 12) All such situations are described so that we have a feeling of how man stops when the energy he derives from his health, wealth or power is cut off. It is just like something moving by impetus suddenly hitting a block. When the block is removed, it dashes along. Here we have the verb, ‘goes on’, describing man’s violent movement which leaves no time for reflection, learning or gratitude: ‘As soon as We relieve his affliction, he goes on as though he had never appealed to Us to save him from the affliction that befell him.’ (Verse 12)
 
It is this kind of nature — i.e. remembering God when suffering affliction, but not once it is removed — which makes those people who exceed their limits think that their excesses are only normal and fair. ‘Thus do their deeds seem fair to those who are given to excesses.’ (Verse 12)
 
It is only right that people should reflect on what happened in the past to those who indulged in excesses: ‘Indeed, We destroyed generations before your time when they persisted in their wrongdoing. The messengers sent to them brought them veritable evidence of the truth, but they would not believe. Thus do We reward the guilty.’ (Verse 13) Their transgression beyond the limits, which is another way of describing their disbelief in God’s oneness and their association of partners with Him, led to their ruin. Their fate was clear for the Arabs to see in those areas which were once inhabited by the `Ād and the Thamūd and in Sodom and Gomorra where the people of Lot dwelt. Their fate should be a sufficient lesson to all people.
 
Having been shown the fate of those who turned away from God’s guidance after it had been explained to them by their prophets, the unbelievers are reminded that they are now their successors, having power in the land so that they can show themselves worthy of God’s trust: “Then We made you their successors on earth, so that We might see how you behave.” (Verse 14) This is a powerful statement. They now enjoy something that once belonged to others but from whom it was removed. They too will leave it after their test is over, and they will be rewarded in accordance with what they do.
 
Thus Islam shows man the facts as they are so that he is not deceived by appearances. This creates in the human heart an alertness based on consciousness and fear of God. This alertness works as a safety valve for both the individual and the community. When man realizes that he is being tested in this earthly life and that everything he possesses or enjoys during this life is a part of this test, such realization gives him immunity against arrogance and delusion. He no longer seeks abundance of enjoyment at any cost, because he realizes that he will have to account for what he enjoys. There is, in essence, a constant feeling of being watched. This is clear in God’s statement: ‘so that We might see how you behave.’ (Verse 14) This should make man extra careful, keen to do well, and pass his test.
 
Here we have the basic difference between the way Islam nurtures a believer’s mind and philosophies which give no place to God’s watchfulness over man or reckoning in the hereafter. A believer in Islam and a follower of any philosophy will never share common ground in respect of their views, morality, or lifestyle.