قُلْ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدْ جَآءَكُمُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ فَمَنِ ٱهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِى لِنَفْسِهِۦ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَمَآ أَنَا۠ عَلَيْكُم بِوَكِيلٍ · وَٱتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَٱصْبِرْ حَتَّىٰ يَحْكُمَ ٱللَّهُ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ ٱلْحَٰكِمِينَ
Qul yā ayyuha'n-nāsu qad jāʾakumu'l-ḥaqqu min rabbikum, fa-mani'htadā fa-innamā yahtadī li-nafsih, wa man ḍalla fa-innamā yaḍillu ʿalayhā, wa mā ana ʿalaykum bi-wakīl · Wa'ttabiʿ mā yūḥā ilayka wa'ṣbir ḥattā yaḥkuma'llāh, wa huwa khayru'l-ḥākimīn
"Say: 'O people! The truth has come to you from your Lord. Whoever takes the right way takes it for himself; whoever strays, strays against himself. I am not a trustee over you.' · Follow what is revealed to you, and be patient until God gives judgment. He is the best of judges."
There are two sentences in the sūra that open with the address yā ayyuha'n-nās, and both are built with the same verb:
| Verse | Sentence | What comes |
|---|---|---|
| 57 | Qad jāʾatkum mawʿiẓatun min rabbikum | Admonition, healing, guidance, mercy |
| 108 | Qad jāʾakumu'l-ḥaqqu min rabbikum | Al-ḥaqq |
The same verb (jāʾa), the same qualification (min rabbikum), two distinct objects. I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the shared wording of the two sentences: the sūra announces the same thing twice — first by what it is good for (57), then by what it is (108).
And the word al-ḥaqq closes the backbone of the sūra here. In the seventy-sixth verse Pharaoh's men called the truth "sorcery"; in the hundred and eighth it is announced that the truth has come directly to the one addressed.
| Direction | Verb | Particle |
|---|---|---|
| The right way | Yahtadī | Li-nafsih — for himself |
| Straying | Yaḍillu | ʿAlayhā — against himself |
Li- states benefit, ʿalā states obligation. The sentence, that is, separates the two directions not by one word but by two distinct particles.
And this is on the same line as baghyukum ʿalā anfusikum in the twenty-third verse and wa lākinna'n-nāsa anfusahum yaẓlimūn in the forty-fourth. Three times the sūra binds the outcome to the one who acts.
وَمَآ أَنَا۠ عَلَيْكُم بِوَكِيلٍ — and the construct is the same as al-Zumar 39/41 (wa mā anta ʿalayhim bi-wakīl).
The difference must be recorded: in al-Zumar the sentence is in the text's own voice, in the second person; in Yūnus it is in the Prophet's mouth, in the first person. The limit, that is, is given here as the messenger's own declaration.
The root و-ك-ل: to hand a matter over to another. Wakīl — the one who takes the matter on and answers for its outcome.
And the first is the sentence of the fifteenth verse. It was tabulated above: in attabiʿu illā mā yūḥā ilayy (15) → wa'ttabiʿ mā yūḥā ilayk (109).
And the second gives the waiting its name: in the twentieth and hundred and second verses intiẓār (waiting) was commanded; here it is ṣabr.
| Verse | Command | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| 20, 102 | Fa'ntaẓirū — wait | To the other side (and the speaker joins them) |
| 109 | Wa'ṣbir — be patient | To the Prophet |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the addressees of the two commands: the same span of time is named waiting for the other side and patience for the messenger. The same time, two distinct works.
حَتَّىٰ يَحْكُمَ ٱللَّهُ — and the term of the patience is stated: until the judgment. The patience, that is, is not open-ended but qualified.
| Verse | Expression | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tilka āyātu'l-kitābi'l-ḥakīm | The quality of the Book |
| 35 | Fa-mā lakum kayfa taḥkumūn | The one addressed passing judgment |
| 109 | Ḥattā yaḥkuma'llāh, wa huwa khayru'l-ḥākimīn | The owner of the judgment |
The sūra opens with ḥakīm and closes with ḥākimīn. I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the three occurrences themselves: the root that is the quality of the text becomes at the end the quality of the one who judges; and in the middle, people's own judging is called into question.