Surah Yunus, Ayah 109

وَمَآ أَنَاْ عَلَيْكُمْ بِوَكِيلٍ

(And I am not set over you as a guardian) This means, `I am not a guardian over you in order for you to become believers. I am only a warner to you and guidance belongs to Allah, the Exalted.' Concerning Allah's statement,

وَاتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَى إِلَيْكَ وَاصْبِرْ

(And follow what has been revealed to you, and be patient) This means, `Adhere to that which Allah has revealed to you, and inspired you with, and be patient with the opposition that you meet from the people.'

حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ

(until Allah gives judgment) This means, `Until Allah judges between you and them.'

وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَـكِمِينَ

(And He is the best of judges. ) This means that He is the best of those who pass judgment, due to His Justice and His wisdom.

In the seventh verse (98), the heedless deniers of truth have been admonished for their failure to make the optimum use of the time of life allowed to them. There was still time for them to leave denial and contumacy. Otherwise, an ominous time was due to come when they will make Taubah but their Taubah will not be accepted. They will say that they believed but their belief will not be welcome. And that time will be the time when the punishment of the Hereafter will appear right before their eyes at the time of death. It was in this connection that an event relating to Sayyidna Yunus (علیہ السلام) and his people was mentioned - that has good counsels and great lessons in it.

The real task of the call of Truth—conveying the message of God to a specific group—is fulfilled when the preacher proves that he is quite serious about his goals and finally makes the Truth known, with the help of sound reasoning. If the preacher rationalises the question of Truth according to the standard of the time, he bears full testimony to the Truth, and unmindful of gain or loss, he continues his preaching, tolerating all kinds of trouble and unpleasantness. Thereafter, the process of conclusive argument in relation to the addressee- community is completed; after which nobody will have the excuse of ignorance before God. The real work of a preacher lies in his adherence to divine revelations, that is, in conducting himself personally at the behest of our Lord and also repeatedly calling upon others to strive to bow to the will of the Lord in order to earn His pleasure. The preacher must keep this up continuously with patience, wisdom and well-wishing. After this, all the stages that remain are directly under the purview of God. Any further step on the part of the preachers will be proper only when God Himself has taken some decision upon it and has made His will quite clear. God’s decision always appears in the shape of circumstances. When, according to God’s assessment, a preacher’s missionary work has reached the required stage, God causes such changes in the situation as enable the preacher to enter the next phase of his preaching.