وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولٌ فَإِذَا جَآءَ رَسُولُهُمْ قُضِىَ بَيْنَهُم بِٱلْقِسْطِ · وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا ٱلْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ · قُل لَّآ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِى ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ
"Every community has a messenger. When their messenger comes, judgment is given between them with equity and they are not wronged. · They say: 'When is this promise, if you are truthful?' · Say: 'I have no power to harm or to benefit even myself, except as God wills. Every community has a term; when their term comes they will not fall an hour behind nor go an hour ahead.'"
وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولٌ — the principle was treated at Fāṭir 35/24 (wa in min ummatin illā khalā fīhā nadhīr) and at al-Qaṣaṣ 28/59. I rely on that treatment.
And at al-Raʿd 13/7 (wa li-kulli qawmin hād) two readings were tabulated. The sentence in Yūnus is the one closest in wording to the first of those readings, where no preference was imposed: a messenger sent to every community.
مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا ٱلْوَعْدُ — the question was tabulated in al-Nabaʾ and it was recorded there: these questions are not requests for information. I rely on that treatment (Yūnus 10/48 was named there).
قُل لَّآ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِى ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا — the answer must be recorded: the question was about the time of the punishment, the answer is about the authority of the one speaking.
And the scope of the answer must be recorded: li-nafsī — "even for myself". The limit, that is, is drawn not by authority over others but by the person himself.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is this word: the sentence does not say "I can do you no harm"; it says "I cannot even do it to myself." And in the eighteenth verse exactly these two verbs had been used of the idols: mā lā yaḍurruhum wa lā yanfaʿuhum. The sūra negates the same two verbs first of the things worshipped and then of the messenger — but between them stands a note: illā mā shāʾa'llāh.
لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلٌ — ajal was treated in many places in the index (al-Aḥqāf 46/3, al-Zumar 39/42, Fāṭir 35/45, Luqmān 31/29, al-ʿAnkabūt 29/53, al-Raʿd 13/2). I do not repeat it.
What belongs here is the difference: in the other places the term was for the universe or for the person; here it is for the community. A term, that is, is written for peoples too.
فَلَا يَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ — both directions are closed off: neither back nor forward.
I record this as an observation about the word order: the verse rejects not only delay but being brought forward as well. And this answers the eleventh verse: there were people there who asked for haste; here it is said that haste too is impossible.