سُوْرَةُ الصَّافَّاتِ
Surah As-Saaffaat (37) — Ayah 141
فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُدْحَضِينَ ﴿141﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Then he (agreed to) cast lots, and he was among the losers.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَسَاهَمَ
fasāhama
Then he drew lots
فَكَانَ
fakāna
and was
مِنَ
mina
of
ٱلْمُدْحَضِينَ
l-mud'ḥaḍīna
the losers
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 141) ➊ { فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِيْنَ:’’سَاهَمَ‘‘} (Mufa‘alah) to take part in drawing lots. {’’ الْمُدْحَضِيْنَ ‘‘ ’’أَدْحَضَ يُدْحِضُ‘‘} is the passive participle from (If‘al), to slip, to invalidate. From these verses, the situation of the incident is understood as follows: The ship in which Yunus (peace be upon him) boarded was overloaded beyond its capacity. During the journey, in case of a storm or any danger, extra load is first thrown into the sea to reduce the burden. If the danger still remains after that, then some people are thrown overboard so that not everyone drowns. The same situation occurred with the ship in which Yunus (peace be upon him) was traveling. Thus, it was decided to draw lots, and those whose names came up would be thrown into the sea. The lot was drawn, and Yunus (peace be upon him) was among those whose names came up to be thrown into the sea. The words {’’ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِيْنَ ‘‘} (so he became among those who lost the lot or were made to slip) indicate that along with Yunus (peace be upon him), the names of other people also came up in the lot; Allah knows best how many they were. In short, all of them were picked up and thrown into the sea.
➋ At this point, some tafsirs have written: "When Yunus (peace be upon him) boarded the ship and the ship reached deep water, instead of moving forward, it started circling. The people of the ship said to the passengers that such a situation occurs to us when a runaway slave is on board. They drew lots that whoever's name came up would be thrown into the sea. The lot was drawn three times, but each time it came up with the name of Yunus (peace be upon him). The lot was drawn repeatedly because, seeing the piety of Yunus (peace be upon him), they did not want to throw him into the sea. When the lot came up with his name three times, he himself became ready to jump into the sea, saying, 'I am the runaway slave.'" In this story, there are things that are neither in the Qur'an nor in the hadith, nor are they proven by any reliable source, so it is difficult to accept them.
➋ At this point, some tafsirs have written: "When Yunus (peace be upon him) boarded the ship and the ship reached deep water, instead of moving forward, it started circling. The people of the ship said to the passengers that such a situation occurs to us when a runaway slave is on board. They drew lots that whoever's name came up would be thrown into the sea. The lot was drawn three times, but each time it came up with the name of Yunus (peace be upon him). The lot was drawn repeatedly because, seeing the piety of Yunus (peace be upon him), they did not want to throw him into the sea. When the lot came up with his name three times, he himself became ready to jump into the sea, saying, 'I am the runaway slave.'" In this story, there are things that are neither in the Qur'an nor in the hadith, nor are they proven by any reliable source, so it is difficult to accept them.
