Did the Prophet Jonah Think That God Would Not Be Able to Do Anything to Help Him
The response to the doubt: “He thought that We would not be able to do anything to him” - Did the Prophet Jonah think that God would not be able to do anything to him?
Content of the Doubt
The enemies of Islam claim that the Prophet Jonah thought that God could do nothing to him. They cite the following verse:
{And [mention] Dhul-Nun, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree anything upon him. But he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.” 87} [Surat Al-Anbiya’]
Response to This Suspicion
Firstly:
The enemies of Islam misunderstood the previous verse. Know that what is meant here by the word (naqdara) is not ability or capacity, but rather the word (naqdara) here means constriction, because the verb (qadara) in the Arabic language also means constriction.
The meaning of the previous verse is that the prophet Yunus left his region and his people and went to another place, and he was thinking that what he did was normal and that Allah would not make it difficult for him to go to another place…, but Allah put him in the belly of the whale to be a lesson to him so that he would not repeat what he did. Yunus was not supposed to leave his people except after Allah gave him permission, because his people, the disbelievers, needed guidance and a call to righteousness, and Allah sent Yunus specifically to these people, and thus he was not supposed to leave them or go to other people except after Allah gave him permission.
The whole idea is that Jonah thought that God would not be angry with what he did, and the Prophet Jonah thought that his going to another place was a normal thing, and that is why he did what he did.
The verb (qadara) in the Arabic language means (to constrict), as we said before, and the Holy Qur’an has used it in this sense a lot. For example:
God Almighty said:
Let the one with wealth spend from his wealth, and he whose provision is restricted - let him spend from what Allah has given him. [At-Talaq 7]
The meaning of the phrase (was restricted) here ☝ is that his livelihood was restricted.
God Almighty said:
But when He tests him and restricts his provision, he says, “My Lord has humiliated me.” [Surat Al-Fajr]
The meaning of the phrase (was restricted) here ☝ is that it was made difficult for him. The intended meaning of the verse is that when some people’s livelihood is restricted, they become angry and displeased with God.
The same meaning has been mentioned in other verses where God Almighty said:
Allah extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it . And they rejoice in the worldly life. And the worldly life is not, compared to the Hereafter, except [exhaustive] enjoyment. [Al-Ra`d: 26]
Indeed, your Lord extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it . Indeed, He is ever, concerning His servants, Acquainted and Seeing. (Al-Isra’ 30)
Have they not seen that Allah extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it? Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. [Ar-Rum 37]
Say, “Indeed, my Lord extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it, but most of the people do not know.” [Saba’ 36]
Say, “Indeed, my Lord extends provision to whom He wills of His servants and restricts it for whom He wills. ” [Saba’ 39]
Do they not know that Allah extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it ? Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. [Az-Zumar 52]
So, the verb (qadr) in the Holy Quran also means to constrict, and Arabic dictionaries also say the same thing👇:
- The linguistic scholar Ibn Sidah said in his book (Al-Muhkam and Al-Muhit Al-A’zam) 6/303 the following:
[He estimated something for him, he estimated it, and he estimated it, and he restricted it, all of that is from Al-Laythani]
- The linguist Ibn al-Mubrad said in his book (Al-Durr Al-Naqi) 2/179 the following:
And Al-Qadr also comes from the word “distress.” God Almighty said: “And he whose provision is restricted.”
In the hadith: “So make things difficult for him”: meaning, make things difficult for him.
- The linguist Ahmed Reda said in his book (Dictionary of the Language Text) 4/507 the following:
[Qadara - Qadran…and Qadara means: He made it narrow.]
- The linguistic scholar, Murtada Al-Zubaidi, says in his book (Taj Al-Arous min Jawahir Al-Qamus) 13/373 - the following:
[And qadr means constriction, like estimation… It is said: He estimated the thing for him, he estimates it and he estimates it, and he estimated it: he constricted it, on the authority of Al-Laythani ]
When we open the books of interpretation, we will find the following:
- The following is mentioned in the simplified interpretation:
[ And [mention] Jonah, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not have power over him.] [Surat Al-Anbiya’ 87]; that is, remember the story of the companion of the whale, who was Jonah, son of Matthew, peace be upon him. God sent him to his people, and he called them but they did not believe. So he threatened them with punishment, but they did not repent, and he did not have patience with them as God had commanded him. He left them angry with them, his chest constricted by their disobedience, and he thought that God would not make things difficult for him and hold him accountable for this transgression , so God tested him with severe distress and imprisonment, and the whale swallowed him in the sea .]
- The following is mentioned in the summary of the interpretation:
[And remember Dhul-Nun , when he went off in anger and thought that We would not have power over him.] [Al-Anbiya’ 87] That is, O Messenger, remember the story of Jonah, peace be upon him, the companion of the whale, when he went without permission from his Lord, angry with his people for their persistence in disobedience. He thought that We would not punish him for his departure, so he was severely afflicted with distress and imprisonment when the whale swallowed him.]
In conclusion, the phrase {He thought that We would not impose any restrictions on him} means that Jonah thought that God would allow him to go here and there and expand to any other place he wanted, but God wanted Jonah to be designated for a specific people within a specific area and not to leave his people and go to another place, and this is called restriction.
It also did not occur to Jonah that he would be in the belly of the whale in that confined and narrow place compared to other places, and this is called constriction.
Some linguists had a different opinion about the phrase {so he thought that We would not decree anything upon him}, as they said that (fate) here means judgment, destiny, and decree, just as a judge decrees a person.
- Linguist Dr. Ahmed Mukhtar Omar said - in the book (Dictionary of Contemporary Arabic Language) 3/1780 - the following:
He is able, he is able, he is able, he is able
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God has decreed the matter: He has decided and ruled on it, such as: God has decreed happiness for him, and such as: “Then the waters met by a decree already decreed”: meaning it was decreed eternally.
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The linguistic scholar Ibn Sidah said in the book (Al-Muhkam and Al-Muhit Al-A’zam) 6/300 - the following:
[Al-Qadr: decree and judgment. God Almighty said: (Indeed, We sent it down during the Night of Decree): meaning the decree.]
- The linguist Murtada Al-Zubaidi said in his book (Taj Al-Arous min Jawahir Al-Qamus) 13/370 - the following:
[Qadr: Fate, successful judgment. Al-Azhari transmitted it from Al-Layth. In Al-Muhkam: Qadr: Fate and judgment, and it is what God Almighty decrees and rules regarding matters.]
The conclusion here is that the phrase {He thought that We would not decree anything against him} means that Jonah thought that God would not be angry if he left and abandoned his people, and thus Jonah thought that God would not judge him with anything if he left and abandoned his people, and Jonah thought that his fate would not be like this.
This opinion regarding linguistic interpretation is also correct and does not contradict the previous opinion. Rather, they both complement each other. Therefore, the linguistic scholar Ibn Manzur said the following in his book (Lisan al-Arab) 5/77:
[And He decreed something for him, He decrees it, He decrees it, He decrees it, He decrees it, He decreed it, He decreed it: that is, He restricted it; from Al-Lihyani… As for the one who believed that Jonah, peace be upon him, thought that God would not be able to do it, then he is a disbeliever, because the one who thought that is not a believer, and Jonah, peace be upon him, is a messenger, and that thought is not permissible for him. So the meaning turns to: “So he thought that We would not impose punishment on him.” It is possible that its interpretation is: ” So he thought that We would not restrict him.” Like the Most High ‘s statement: {And he whose provision is restricted} meaning that it is restricted for him. Likewise, His statement: {But when He tests him and restricts his provision} . The meaning of {He imposed a hardship on him} is that He made things difficult for him. Allah made things difficult for Jonah, may Allah exalt his mention, in a way that He made difficult for someone being punished in this world, because He imprisoned him in the belly of a whale, so he became choked with anguish, seized by its choking. Az-Zajjaj said, regarding His statement,
{So he thought that We would not impose a hardship on him}, that is, We would not impose on him what We had decreed of his being in the belly of the whale. “We estimate” means “we estimate.” This has also been mentioned in the tafsir. Al-Azhari said: “What Abu Ishaq said is correct. The meaning is that God had decreed for him the constriction in the belly of the whale. It is also possible that the meaning is “we will not constrict him.” All of this is common in the language, and God knows best what he meant . As for his saying that we will not be able to do anything to him , this is not permissible, because whoever thinks this is a disbeliever, and thinking is doubt, and doubting the power of God Almighty is disbelief. God has protected His prophets from something like what this interpreter has thought, and no one would interpret something like this except one who is ignorant of the language and speech of the Arabs .
The conclusion from the words of the linguist Ibn Manzur is that the phrase {then he thought that We would not decree anything against him} has two meanings: The first meaning is that the Prophet Jonah thought that God would not restrict his movements, and he thought that he could leave his region and his people. The second meaning is that Jonah thought that God would not be angry with him and thus would not rule against him if he left, and Jonah thought that his fate would not be in the belly of the whale.
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