Yunus (Jonas)

Verse 20

Table of Contents

    20. “And they say: ‘Why is not a Sign sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say then: ‘ Verily the Unseen is only for Allah (to know). Wait you then, verily I, also with you, will be of those who wait’.”

    Once again, the Qur’an deals with the pretexts of the polytheists for evading belief and faith in Islam. It indicates that the disbelievers complain about a miracle not being sent down from Allah to the Prophet (S).

    The verse in this regard says:

    “And they say: ‘Why is not a Sign sent down to him from his Lord?’...”

    They meant, of course, that any time they demanded a miracle they desired, the Prophet (S) should have acted immediately and accordingly1 to fulfill their demands. It was forthwith revealed to the Prophet (S) that the invisible world and supernatural affairs, (miracles relating to the invisible and metaphysical world), belong to Allah alone.

    The verse says:

    “…Say then: ‘ Verily the Unseen is only for Allah (to know)...”

    Therefore the Prophet (S) should tell them he could not perform miracles according to their wishes, which they would later deny and which would not convince them to become believers. In the final analysis, they refrained from believing regardless of the pretext.

    At the end of the verse, from his tongue, the Qur’an, in a threatening tone implies that if they did not stop being obstinate, they should expect divine punishment whilst, on the other hand, the Prophet (S) should expect victory.

    The verse says:

    “…Wait you then, verily I, also with you, will be of those who wait’.”


    Footnotes

    1. Some commentators state that Allah is aware of the world of Unseen and whatever stands in the way of divine miracles to be sent down is itself invisible, none is aware but Allah.