سورة القلم

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Shadhan al-Wasiti said: I wrote a letter to Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him) complaining to him of the oppression of the people of Wasit and the attacks they made against me. The people of Wasit were a group of the supporters of Uthman who used to harm me. He (peace be upon him) wrote to me in his noble hand as follows: "Indeed Allah the Blessed has taken a covenant from our friends that they should be patient during the reign of falsehood. فَاصْبِرْ لِحُکْمِ رَبِّکَ [So be patient for the judgement of your Lord], and when the master of creation appears, they will say: يا وَيْلَنا مَنْ بَعَثَنا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنا هذا ما وَعَدَ الرَّحْمنُ وَ صَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ [Woe to us! Who has raised us from our sleeping place? (Yes) this is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke truly!] (Ya-Sin/52)."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): کَصَاحِبِ الحُوتِ [like the companion of the fish] refers to Yunus (peace be upon him), when he cursed his people and left them in anger and rage.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): إِذْ نَادَی وَ هُوَ مَکْظُومٌ [when he cried out while he was maghmum]; maghmum means sorrowful and distressed.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Allah sent Yunus ibn Matta (peace be upon him) to his people when he was thirty years old. He was a man who at times would become angry, and his patience with his people and his forbearance toward them was little, and he lacked the capacity to bear the heavy burden of prophethood and its signs, and beneath that responsibility he would falter just as a camel falters beneath its load. He remained among them for thirty-three years, calling them to faith in Allah, to confirming Him and following Him, but none of his people believed in him or followed him except two men: the name of one of them was "Rubil" and the name of the other was "Tanukha." Rubil was from a household of knowledge, prophethood and wisdom, and he had a long-standing companionship with Yunus ibn Matta (peace be upon him) [and] was his companion before Allah sent him as a prophet. Tanukha was a downtrodden man, a worshipper, an ascetic, diligent in worship, but he had no knowledge or wisdom. Rubil was an owner of sheep; he would graze them and eat from them, and Tanukha was a firewood seller — he would [gather] firewood and carry it on his head [and sell it] and eat from his own earnings. Rubil, because of his knowledge, his wisdom and his long-standing companionship, had a station and rank with Yunus (peace be upon him) different from the station of Tanukha. When Yunus (peace be upon him) saw that his people were not responding to [his call] and were not believing, he was distressed and recognized the shortage of patience in himself; so he complained of that to his Lord, and among what he complained of [was] that he said: "O my Lord! You sent me to my people when I was thirty years old, and I have remained among them calling them to faith in You and to confirming my message, and for thirty-three years I have been warning them of Your punishment and Your retribution, but they have belied me and not believed in me and denied my prophethood and made light of my message, and they have threatened me and I have feared that they will kill me; so send down upon them Your punishment, for they are a people who will not believe." Allah revealed to him: O Yunus, among your people there are newborns and innocent children and unborn embryos and elderly men and women and weak and feeble women, and I am the Just Judge — My mercy has outstripped My wrath — I do not punish the little ones for the sins of the grown ones from your people. They, O Yunus, are My servants and My creation, I love to give them time and to deal gently with them and to wait for their repentance. I sent you to them only that you might be compassionate with them and, like a treating physician, cure their illness; but you did not show forbearance with them, and now, with this impatience and negative view, you ask of Me punishment? Whereas My servant Nuh (peace be upon him) had very great patience and dealt forbearingly with his people for a long time and kept good company with them, and when after years of calling them they did not respond to him, he became angry — and I too became wrathful at his anger and answered his imprecation regarding the punishment of his people. Yunus said: "O my Lord, I have become angry with them for Your sake, because they were disobeying and defying You; I have cursed them, and by Your might, I will never feel pity or compassion toward them; so send down Your punishment upon them, for they will never believe." But Allah the Exalted revealed: O Yunus, they are more than a hundred thousand of My creatures, who populate My lands and bring forth My servants and My lovers into the world; so, by My knowledge which has preceded concerning you and them, I give them time — for My decree is other than your knowledge and your decree, and you are a prophet, but I am the Wise Lord. However, since you wish this and you have a lofty rank with Me, I will answer you: soon, on Wednesday, the middle of the month of Shawwal, after sunrise, I will send down My punishment upon them; so inform them of this matter. Yunus (peace be upon him) rejoiced at hearing this and did not consider its outcome.

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): Allah presented my wilayah to the people of the heavens and the people of the earth; some accepted it and some denied it. Yunus (peace be upon him) denied it, so Allah imprisoned him in the belly of the fish until he accepted it.