Sparrow asked, "What is the meaning of Jonah's suplication?" Seagull said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The invocation of my brother Dhun Nun, "None has the right to be worshipped save You; glory be to You, far removed are You from any imperfection; I have been amongst the wrongdoers," none who is experiencing difficulty employs it except that Allah would relieve him of his difficulty.'"
According to Ibn Taymiyyah, the statement, 'none has the right to be worshipped save You' comprises an acknowledgement of Tawhid al-Ilahiyyah, which in turn includes one of the two types of du'a. This is because the Ilaah is the One Who deserves supplication, both the supplication of worship and the supplication of request. He is Allah, there is none worthy or worship save Him.
The statement, 'I have been amongst the wrongdoers' comprises an acknowledgement of his sin which in turn includes the request for forgiveness. This is because the one seeking something, asking for it, either does so by stating phrases that denote this clearly or he does so by stating phrases that contain some information that alludes to this, information about ones own state or the state of the one being asked or the state of both.
This method is employed by way of displaying good manners in asking and in supplicating. Therefore if one says to another whom he respects and from whom he desires something, 'I am hungry, I am sick' he is displaying good manners in asking. This, even though if one were to say, 'Feed me, give me medicine', he is being resolute in his asking, the first method manifests ones state and informs another of this by way of humbleness and displaying need which in turn alludes to the request, whereas this method portrays a resolute desire and a straightforward request.
This latter method, the method of direct request, if it arises from one who is able to attain the object of desire from the one asked, it is said using the form of a command. The reason for this is either to express the need of the one asking or due to the benefit it contains. If it arises from one who is totally needy, being directed to one who is completely self-sufficient, then it is to be considered a simple request said by way of humility, displaying ones need and manifesting ones state.
Hence asking via describing ones state and need is better from the perspective of knowledge and description of ones state; asking directly is clearer with regards expressing ones intent and objective. This is why the generality of supplications are of the second type, the supplicant brings to mind what he desires and asks for it. So he asks immediately after his objective has come to mind without his pausing to mention or depict the condition of the one asking and the One being asked. If, however, this person were to mention his condition and the condition of the One being asked coupled with a direct request, this would be the better form of supplication.
Now the question arises as to why it befitted the Sah al-Hut and others in similarly dire circumstances to supplicate by describing their states rather than asking directly? The response is that the situation calls for an acknowledgement that the evil that has afflicted one is because of his sin. Therefore the source of this evil is sin, the immediate objective is to repress the harm, to remove the difficult; whereas the desire to ask for forgiveness comes secondary to this. However, he did not directly ask for the harm to be removed because he had the overwhelming feeling within himself that he had committed a sin, oppressed himself, and that he himself was the cause of this harm. Therefore it befitted his situation that he mention that which would remove the cause of harm, i.e. the
acknowledgement of his sin. The soul, by its nature, seeks after its immediate need, in this case the removal of the immediate harm it faces before the removal of any harm it fears may occur in the future.
The immediate objective in this situation is the desire to see the harm removed followed by forgiveness, this was what was foremost in his mind, and the best way to acquire this was to efface the cause and hence he stated that which would accomplish his objective.
This becomes clear when one understands the meaning of "glory be to You; far removed are You from any imperfection" for this statement comprises exaltation of the Lord as well as absolving Him of all deficiency. The situation that Yunus found himself in demanded that Allah be absolved of oppression and that He be absolved of punishing without cause, therefore he said, 'You are Holy, absolved of oppressing me or punishing me without cause, rather I am the oppressor who has oppressed himself.'
Hence it is upon the servant to acknowledge the justice of Allah and His benevolence; He, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, does not oppress man in the slightest and does not punish anyone except for a sin that he committed. He is always bestowing His grace upon man, therefore every punishment from Him arises from pure justice, and every favour from Him arises from His benevolence.
So the saying of Jonah, 'there is none worthy of worship save You' affirms that Allah alone is singled out with regards to Ilahiyyah includes within it the affirmation of the perfection of Allah's knowledge, power, mercy, and wisdom just as it comprises the affirmation of His benevolence. This is because the word Illaah means the one who deserves to be worshipped, the ma'luh. The fact that He, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala deserves to be worshipped is because of His attributes that necessitate that He be loved with an absolute and complete love and that he be submitted to completely. The reality of worship is absolute and complete love combined with total submission and humility before Him.
His saying, 'glory be to You; far removed are You from any imperfection' comprises exaltation of Him combined with absolving Him of oppression and all other deficiencies. In a similar fashion, saying `SubhanAllah' comprises absolving Him of all evil and oppression, this negation in turn comprises exaltation of Him. This is because the oppressor only ever oppresses because of his need to oppress or because of his ignorance, Allah is in no need of anything and He knows everything. He stands in no need of anything whereas the whole creation stands in dire need of Him, this statement then implies complete exaltation.
Moreover this supplication combines tahlil (the saying of La Ilaaha illAllah) with tasbih (the saying of SubhanAllah). The tahlil is found in the statement, "None has the right to be worshipped save You" and the tasbih is to be found in the statement, 'Glory be to You; far removed are You from any imperfection,' It is established in the Sahih al-Bukhari and Ibn Majah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The best and most noble statements after the Qur'an are, and they are from the Qur'an: 'SubhanAllah, al-Hamdulillah, La ilaha illAllah and Allahu Akbar."
Tahmid goes hand-in-hand with tasbih and follows on from it, takbir (the saying of Allahu Akbar) goes hand-in-hand with tahlil and follows on from it. It is established in Muslim and al-Tirmidhi that the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked which speech is best and most noble, he (ﷺ) replied, 'That which Allah chose for his Angels: SubhanallAh wabihamdihi.' And in al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'There are two statements that are light upon the tongue, heavy in the Scales, and beloved to the All-Merciful: 'SubhanallAhi wa bilhamdihi and SubhanAllahil 'Aziim.'
So these two statements, one has been mentioned conjoined with tahmid (the saying of Alhambulillah) and the other has been mentioned conjoined with ta'zim (the exaltation and magnification of Allah), tasbih comprises the negation of all evil and defects from Allah and in turn includes the affirmation of all beautiful qualities and perfection. Tahmid has been mentioned in the same context as ta'zim in just the same way that jalaal (majesty) is mentioned alongside ikram (honour and reverence), not every thing that is exalted is necessarily beloved and praised and neither is everything that is beloved necessarily praised and exalted. Worship is founded upon complete love, exemplified by praise, in the phrase SubhanAllah wa billamdihi, and complete humility, exemplified by exaltation in the phrase SubbänAllahil 'Azim. Hence in worship one experiences love of Allah and praise of His beautiful qualities, just as one experiences humbleness before Him arising from His grandeur and magnificence. Moreover it comprises magnification and reverence, for Allah is the One who is deservedly described with possessing al-jalal and al-ikram and is deservedly magnified and revered.
The saying of the supplicant, 'there is none worthy of worship save You; glory be to You, far removed are You from any imperfection", includes within it the meaning of the four phrases that are the best and most superior words after the Qur'an. These four phrases in turn encompass the meanings of the beautiful Names of Allah and His lofty Attributes, hence they contain perfect praise.
His saying, 'I have been amongst the wrong doers' comprises an acknowledgement of the reality of his situation. It is not possible for any of the servants to ever be free of wrongdoing or to declare himself free of it, especially when intimately conversing with his Lord. It is established in the Sibah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'It is not desirable that a servant say, 'I am better than Yanus bin Matta'. He (ﷺ) also said, "Whoever says, 'I am better than Yianus bin Matta' has lied."
Whoever thinks he is better than Jonah, thinking that he has no need to acknowledge his sins, is a liar. This is why the leaders of the creation would never think themselves better than Jonah in this respect, instead they would acknowledge just as was done by their father Adam and the seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (ﷺ)."
Sparrow asked, "Why does this supplication remove harm?" Seagull said, "The testification to tawhid opens the door to good and asking for forgiveness closes the door to evil. A believer, when calamity stroke him, would never blame his Lord. Instead, he will turn to Allah, begging for His forgiveness and put his hope in Allah alone. Hence hope should be placed in Allah and not any object of creation, not the ability or strength of a person or his actions. To put hope in other than Allah is a form of shirk, this applies even though Allah has set up means and causes that lead to the procurement of good, but these means cannot exist independently, rather their must exist something that supports and aids them to achieve the goal, just as any obstacle hindering this achievement must be absent; hence it cannot be achieved and it cannot endure except by the will of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And Allah knows best."
Reference :"Then We will save our messengers and those who have believed. Thus, it is an obligation upon Us that We save the believers." - QS.33:36]
- Ibn Taymiyah, The Relief from Distress, An Explanation to the Dua of Yunus, Daar Us-Sunnah
