Texts of Islam

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 10. Yunus: Jonah

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This is an English translation of Surah Yunus (Chapter 10 of the Qur'an), rendered by M.M. Pickthall in his landmark 1930 translation *The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân* — one of the first translations into English by a native English-speaking Muslim. The surah opens with affirmations of Allah's sovereignty over creation, the authenticity of Muhammad's prophethood, and the reality of resurrection and judgment. Its central arguments defend the Qur'an's divine origin (challenging disbelievers to produce a comparable chapter), condemn polytheism and the worship of intercessors, and contrast the fates of believers — who will dwell in gardens — with those of the ungrateful and unjust, who face punishment. A recurring and distinctive rhetorical pattern runs throughout: the surah repeatedly depicts humans who cry out to God in crisis (a storm at sea, personal misfortune) but revert to heedlessness once relief comes, using this inconsistency to argue that people implicitly acknowledge Allah's power yet refuse to commit to it. Pickthall's translation employs archaic King James-style English ("Lo!", "ye," "hath") to convey scriptural solemnity, making this an accessible but formally reverent rendering suited to readers seeking an early authoritative English version of Qur'anic text.

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'ân,: 10. Yunus: Jonah

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