JUZ ELEVEN
The eleventh juz begins at the 87th verse of Surah Tawbah, the bulk of the juz contains Surah Yunus, and it ends after the opening five verses of Surah Hud. There is another shift in themes from Surah Tawbah to Surah Yunus. While Surah Tawbah was one of the last surahs to be revealed in Madinah, Surah Yunus is an early Makkan surah, revealed in the second or third year after prophethood. The focus of the next few juz is primarily Makkan revelation.
The shifts between Makkan and Madinan surahs in the Qur’an have a lot of wisdom. One lesson we can take from this is to avoid complacency. Life is a series of ups and downs, times of ease and times of trial. Sometimes we experience difficult situations like the Makkan Era, at other times we experience victories like Badr. As life is constantly shifting between these two phases, the order of the Qur’an reflects the ups and downs of life.
Prophet Yunus was actually the first prophet mentioned by name in the Qur’an. His story is revealed as a reminder to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم not to give up and abandon his people. Prophet Yunus left his people, but eventually returned and they embraced Islam. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was forced out by his people many years after this surah was revealed but also eventually returned and saw his people embrace Islam.
The next surah is named after Prophet Hud and his story contrasts with that of Prophet Yunus. While the people of Yunus eventually embraced Islam, the people of Hud were stubborn and were eventually destroyed. The enemies of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in Makkah fell into both groups. Some were stubborn and died upon disbelief like Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl, yet others like Suḥayl ibn ʿAmr and Abu Sufyan eventually softened, repented, and embraced Islam. There are elements of the story of both prophets’ stories in the life of the final Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم.
A core theme that flows throughout this surah is the reactions of various types of people to the message of the prophets. Some embrace it and some reject it. Those who follow the Messenger will attain eternal bliss, while those who reject his message are responsible for their own choice and final destination. For many, it is their love of this world that holds them back from embracing the truth.
Those who do not hope to meet Us, and are content with the worldly life, and are at ease in it, and those who pay no heed to Our signs. These, their dwelling is the Fire, on account of what they used to do. As for those who believe and do good deeds, their Lord guides them in their faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Bliss. Those who entered Jannah. Their call therein is, Glory be to You, our God. And their greeting therein is peace. And the last of their call is, Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.
These verses offer us the two paths. Allah is Most Merciful but has the right to punish whomever He wills. To earn eternal Paradise, we must embrace the message of the prophets and submit to our Creator completely.
By Dr. Omar Suleiman & Sh. Ismail Kamdar
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