Yunus (Jonas)
Verse 54
Table of Contents
54. “And if every soul that has done injustice had all that is on earth, he would assuredly give it in ransom, and they declare (their) remorse when they see the Penalty. But the judgment between them will be with justice, and they will not be dealt with unjustly.”
The proper magnitude of this punishment is particularly emphasized in this verse concerning the Day of Judgment, where it implies that the divine punishment is so awe-inspiring and horrible that if each of the oppressors owned the entire wealth of the world, he would have paid all of it so as to be relieved from the harsh punishment awaiting him.
The verse says:
“And if every soul that has done injustice had all that is on earth, he would assuredly give it in ransom...”
In fact they are ready to offer the greatest bribes imaginable in order to relieve themselves from the divine chastisement and to diminish the slightest possible portion of His punishment. However, it will never be accepted from them.
Some of these Divine punishments are particularly spiritual in nature; that is, when they behold the punishment, they would declare their regret1 .
The verse continues saying:
“…and they declare (their) remorse when they see the Penalty...”
Then the Qur’an stresses that despite everything, justice will prevail and will be administered fairly among them and no oppression will be inflicted upon them.
The verse says:
“…But the judgment between them will be with justice, and they will not be dealt with unjustly.”
Footnotes
Some of the commentators have translated the Qur’anic word /’asarru/, mentioned in the verse under discussion, by its first lexical meaning which is: ‘To conceal’, while referring to the explanations of the Arabic Dictionary: Mufradat by Raqib, and also Lisan-ul-‘Arab, it is realized that this word has opposite meanings: ‘to conceal’ as well as ‘to express, declare and appear’. Keeping the whole verses of the Qur’an in mind, this fact is clear that on the Day of Hereafter everything is manifest and no one will be able to conceal a thing from others, (here, their regret), or to behave so that he can escape from the reality. That is why the latter meaning has been chosen for the word /’asarru/ in this verse. ↩