36. Ya-Sin Page 441 وَ اضْرِبْ And set forth لَهُمْ to them مَّثَلًا an example اَصْحٰبَ (of the) companions الْقَرْیَةِ ۘ (of) the city اِذْ when جَآءَهَا came to it الْمُرْسَلُوْنَۚ the Messengers اِذْ When اَرْسَلْنَاۤ We sent اِلَیْهِمُ to them اثْنَیْنِ two (Messengers) فَكَذَّبُوْهُمَا but they denied both of them فَعَزَّزْنَا so We strengthened them بِثَالِثٍ with a third فَقَالُوْۤا and they said اِنَّاۤ Indeed We اِلَیْكُمْ to you مُّرْسَلُوْنَ (are) Messengers قَالُوْا They said مَاۤ Not اَنْتُمْ you اِلَّا (are) but بَشَرٌ human beings مِّثْلُنَا ۙ like us وَ مَاۤ and not اَنْزَلَ has revealed الرَّحْمٰنُ the Most Gracious مِنْ any شَیْءٍ ۙ thing اِنْ Not اَنْتُمْ you اِلَّا (are) but تَكْذِبُوْنَ lying قَالُوْا They said رَبُّنَا Our Lord یَعْلَمُ knows اِنَّاۤ that we اِلَیْكُمْ to you لَمُرْسَلُوْنَ (are) surely Messengers وَ مَا And not عَلَیْنَاۤ (is) on us اِلَّا except الْبَلٰغُ the conveyance الْمُبِیْنُ clear قَالُوْۤا They said اِنَّا Indeed تَطَیَّرْنَا [we] see an evil omen بِكُمْ ۚ from you لَىِٕنْ If لَّمْ not تَنْتَهُوْا you desist لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ surely we will stone you وَ لَیَمَسَّنَّكُمْ and surely will touch you مِّنَّا from us عَذَابٌ a punishment اَلِیْمٌ painful قَالُوْا They said طَآىِٕرُكُمْ Your evil omen مَّعَكُمْ ؕ (be) with you! اَىِٕنْ Is it because ذُكِّرْتُمْ ؕ you are admonished بَلْ Nay اَنْتُمْ you قَوْمٌ (are) a people مُّسْرِفُوْنَ transgressing وَ جَآءَ And came مِنْ from اَقْصَا (the) farthest end الْمَدِیْنَةِ (of) the city رَجُلٌ a man یَّسْعٰی running قَالَ He said یٰقَوْمِ O my People! اتَّبِعُوا Follow الْمُرْسَلِیْنَۙ the Messengers اتَّبِعُوْا Follow مَنْ (those) who لَّا (do) not یَسْـَٔلُكُمْ ask (of) you اَجْرًا any payment وَّ هُمْ and they مُّهْتَدُوْنَ (are) rightly guided وَ مَا And what لِیَ (is) for me لَاۤ (that) not اَعْبُدُ I worship الَّذِیْ the One Who فَطَرَنِیْ created me وَ اِلَیْهِ and to Whom تُرْجَعُوْنَ you will be returned ءَاَتَّخِذُ Should I take مِنْ besides Him دُوْنِهٖۤ besides Him اٰلِهَةً gods اِنْ If یُّرِدْنِ intends for me الرَّحْمٰنُ the Most Gracious بِضُرٍّ any harm لَّا not تُغْنِ will avail عَنِّیْ [from] me شَفَاعَتُهُمْ their intercession شَیْـًٔا (in) anything وَّ لَا and not یُنْقِذُوْنِۚ they (can) save me اِنِّیْۤ Indeed I اِذًا then لَّفِیْ surely would be in ضَلٰلٍ an error مُّبِیْنٍ clear اِنِّیْۤ Indeed I اٰمَنْتُ have believed بِرَبِّكُمْ in your Lord فَاسْمَعُوْنِؕ so listen to me قِیْلَ It was said ادْخُلِ Enter الْجَنَّةَ ؕ Paradise قَالَ He said یٰلَیْتَ O would that! قَوْمِیْ My people یَعْلَمُوْنَۙ knew بِمَا Of how غَفَرَ has forgiven لِیْ me رَبِّیْ my Lord وَ جَعَلَنِیْ and placed me مِنَ among الْمُكْرَمِیْنَ the honored ones 36. Ya-Sin Page 442 وَ مَاۤ And not اَنْزَلْنَا We sent down عَلٰی upon قَوْمِهٖ his people مِنْۢ after him بَعْدِهٖ after him مِنْ any جُنْدٍ host مِّنَ from السَّمَآءِ the heaven وَ مَا and not كُنَّا were We مُنْزِلِیْنَ (to) send down اِنْ Not كَانَتْ it was اِلَّا but صَیْحَةً a shout وَّاحِدَةً one فَاِذَا then behold! هُمْ They خٰمِدُوْنَ (were) extinguished یٰحَسْرَةً Alas عَلَی for الْعِبَادِ ؔۚ the servants مَا Not یَاْتِیْهِمْ came to them مِّنْ any رَّسُوْلٍ Messenger اِلَّا but كَانُوْا they did بِهٖ mock at him یَسْتَهْزِءُوْنَ mock at him اَلَمْ Do not یَرَوْا they see كَمْ how many اَهْلَكْنَا We destroyed قَبْلَهُمْ before them مِّنَ of الْقُرُوْنِ the generations اَنَّهُمْ That they اِلَیْهِمْ to them لَا will not return یَرْجِعُوْنَؕ will not return وَ اِنْ And surely كُلٌّ all لَّمَّا then جَمِیْعٌ together لَّدَیْنَا before Us مُحْضَرُوْنَ۠ (will be) brought
(36:13) Recite to them, as a case in point, the story of the people of the town when the Messengers came to them.10
(36:14) We sent to them two Messengers and they rejected both of them as liars. Then We strengthened them with a third (Messenger).
(36:15) They said: “We have been sent to you as Messengers.” The people of the town said: “You are only human beings like ourselves,11 and the Merciful Lord has revealed nothing.12 You are simply lying.”
(36:16) The Messengers said: “Our Lord knows that we have indeed been sent to you
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”13
(36:18) The people of the town said: “We believe you are an evil omen for us. If you do not desist, we will stone you or you will receive a grievous chastisement from us.”14
(36:19) The Messengers replied: “Your evil omen is with you.15 (Are you saying this) because you were asked to take heed? The truth is that you are a people who have exceeded all bounds.”16
(36:20) In the meantime a man came running from the far end of the town, saying: “My people, follow the Messengers;
(36:21) follow those who do not ask any recompense from you and are rightly-guided.17
(36:22) Why should I not serve the One Who created me and to Whom all of you shall be sent back?18
(36:23) What! Shall I take any deities apart from Him whose intercession will not avail me the least were the Merciful One to bring any adversity upon me, nor will they be able to rescue me?19
(36:24) Surely in that case20 I should indeed be in evident error.
(36:25) I believe in your Lord;21 so listen to me.”
(36:26) (Eventually they killed him and he was told): “Enter Paradise.”22 The man exclaimed: “Would that my people knew
(36:27) for what reason Allah has forgiven me and placed me among the honoured ones.”23
(36:28) After him, We did not send down any hosts from the heaven; We stood in no need to send down any host.
(36:29) There was but a single Blast and suddenly they became silent and still.24
(36:30) Alas for My servants! Never does a Messenger come to them but they mock him.
(36:31) Have they not seen how many nations before them did We destroy? Thereafter they never came back to them.25
(36:32) All of them shall (one day) be gathered before Us.
10. Earlier Qur’an-commentators are generally disposed to identify - this town as Antioch (Antakiyah) in Syria. As for the “Messengers” mentioned in the verse, they were,the emissaries of the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him) whom he had directed to preach the Truth in that town. The details mentioned in regard to this story include that at that time Antiochus was the king. Qatadah, ‘Ikrimah, Ka’b al-Ahbar and Wahb ibn Munabbih, however, have narrated the whole story on the basis of unauthentic Christian traditions. Historically speaking, these traditions are devoid of any basis whatsoever. Antioch was then under the suzerainty of the Seleucid dynasty. Thirteen kings of this dynasty bore the name Antiochus. The political power of the last king with that name, and in fact the dynasty itself, came to an end in 65 B.C. In the days of the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him), the whole region of Syria and Palestine, including Antioch, was under Roman control. There are no authentic Christian reports to indicate that the Prophet Jesus (peace be on him) sent any of his apostles to Antioch to preach his mission there. On the contrary, it appears from Acts that Christian missionaries reached Antioch a few years after the Crucifixion. Those who decided to preach faith at their own behest, without having been sent either by God or His Prophet, cannot be considered God’s Messengers. Moreover, according to the Bible, a large number of non-Israelites living in Antioch had embraced Christianity, the Christian mission there being a great success. By contrast, the Qur’anic allusion is to a town that had rejected the Messengers’ calls, and as a result, incurred God’s punishment. Furthermore, no piece of historical evidence suggests that Antioch itself was ever struck by the kind of calamity that takes place when people reject a Messenger’s mission.
The above report, therefore, is altogether unacceptable. The Qur'ān does not specify the identity of the town. Moreover, the names of these Messengers are also not mentioned in any authentic hadīth. The purpose for which this story has been narrated here, however, does not require that the true name of this town or the real names of these Messengers be known. This because the purpose of narrating this story was to convey a specific message to the Quraysh. The message was as follows: "You are treading a path that was trodden in the past by the people of this town - the path of obduracy, bigoted prejudice and rejection of the Truth. If you tread that very path, you should be ready to face the same calamitous end that befell the people of that town". (Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, comments on verses 13 and 29.)
11. In other words, the Makkan unbelievers virtually said that since the Prophet (peace be on him) was a human being, he could not be God's Messenger. It is pertinent to mention that the unbelievers of earlier times held exactly the same view regarding Messengers: They say: "What sort of a Messenger is this: he eats food and walks about in the markets?" (Al-Furqān 25:7.) The wrong-doers whisper to one another: "This person is no more than a mortal like yourselves. Will you then be enchanted by sorcery while you see?". (Al-Anbiya' 21:3.) The Qur'ān refutes this fallacious notion held by the Makkan unbelievers, pointing out that the grounds for their rejection are not new. Ignorant people have all along entertained the erroneous notion that a mortal human being such as themselves cannot be God’s Messenger. The same point, for example, was made by the Prophet Noah’s community.
This is none other than a mortal like yourselves who desires to attain superiority over you. Had Allah wanted to send any Messengers, He would have sent down angels. We have heard nothing like this in the time of our forebears of old (that humans were sent as Messengers). (Al-Mu'minun 23:24.) The people of ‘Ad made an almost identical observation about the Prophet Hud (peace be on him): This is no other than a mortal like yourselves who eats what you eat and drinks what you drink. If you were to obey a human being like yourselves, you will certainly be losers. (Al-Mu’minun 23:33~34.) The same was the basis for the rejection of the Prophet Saleh (peace be on him) by the Thamud: Are we to follow a single niértal, one from among ourselves? (Al- Qamar 54:24.) Unbelievers of all times and places treated God’s Messengers in the same manner, rejecting them on the basis of their humanity. The Messengers themselves, however, never ceased to emphasize that they were no more than mortals: Indeed, we are only human beings like yourselves, but Allah bestows His favor on those of His servants whom He wills.
(Ibrahim 14:11.) According to the Qur’an, this flawed attitude has always prevented people from embracing the True Guidance. Ultimately too, it led to their destruction: Has the news of the unbelievers of the past not reached you? (They disbelieved) and then tasted its evil consequence. A grievous chastisement awaits them. This was because their Messengers.
would come to them with clear signs, but they would say: “Shall mortals (like ourselves) guide us to the right way?” They rejected the truth and turned away. Thereupon Allah became unconcerned with them. (Al-Taghabun 64:5~6.) Whenever guidance came to people, nothing prevented them from believing except that they said: "Has Allah sent a human being as a Messenger?"(Bani Isrā'il 17:94.) The Qur’an asserts that it is only human beings that were raised as Messengers. For only they, rather than angels, are possessed of the ability to guide their fellow human beings to truth: (O Muhammad), even before you We never sent any other than human beings as Messengers, and to them We sent revelation. Ask the people of the Book if you do not know. We did not endow the Messengers with bodies that would need no food; nor were they immortals. (Al-Anbiya' 21:7-8.) (O Muhammad), We never sent any Messengers before you but they ate food and walked about in the markets. (AI-Furqān 25:20.) Say: "Had angels been walking about in peace on earth, We would surely have sent to them an angel from the heavens as Messenger". (Banī Isrā'il 17:95.)
12. This is another folly to which the Makkan unbelievers had fallen prey. Interestingly, this is a folly which many rationalists of our own time share with them. From the earliest times the deniers of Revelation and Prophet hood have been victims of this misconception. Such people have always fancied that God does not provide any Revelation to guide humankind. For, according to their belief, God is solely concerned with matters pertaining to the higher realm, leaving human affairs to human beings themselves.
13. The task of a Messenger is no more than to faithfully deliver God’s message to people. Once the message has been delivered, it is for people to accept it or not. It is not a part of ‘a' Messenger’s task to force people to accept that message. Were they to reject the message, the responsibility would lie at the door of the people rather than with the messengers.
14. The unbelievers dismissed the Messenger sent to them as an evil omen for them. They thought that his denunciation of their idols had incurred the latter’s wrath upon them. Thus the real cause of all their afflictions was their Messenger. Exactly the same charge was levelled by the Arab unbelievers and hypocrites against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him): “When some misfortune befalls them, the unbelievers say: “This is because of you (O Muhammad)”, (al-Nisa’ 4:78). It was in a similar vein that the unbelieving Thamid used to say to their Messenger: “We augur ill of you and those who are with you”, (al-Naml 27:47).
The same attitude was held by Pharaoh and his people. But whenever prosperity came their way, they said: “This is our due.” And whatever hardship befell them, they attributed it to the misfortune of Moses and those who followed him. (Al-A‘raf 7:131.)
15. No one is an evil omen for others. Everyone’s destiny lies fastened to his own neck. Whatever good or evil act comes a person's way is, in either case, a part of his fate. As the Qur’an says: “We have fastened every man’s omen to his neck”. (Bani Isra’il 17:13.)
16. The Prophets (peace be on them) pointed out to them that in truth they wanted to flee from goodness, preferring error to Guidance. Hence rather than distinguish between truth and falsehood on the basis of any rational evidence they resorted to superstition and hankered after one pretext or another to legitimize their evil ways.
17. In this one little statement, this true believer encapsulates all the arguments that confirm the truthfulness of Prophet hood. One may judge the claim of a person to be a Prophet for the following two reasons: (i) his words and deeds, and (ii) his selflessness. The purpose of that person's argument was to stress that the Prophets (peace be on them) were expounding the truth and that their character was absolutely unblemished. Further, no one can identify any selfish motive in the Prophets' calling people to the religious faith they espoused. For all these reasons taken together, there is no reason why a person should not believe in them. The Qur’an, by reproducing this argument, provided people with a criterion to judge any person's claim to be a Prophet. Muhammad's own words and deeds clearly indicate that he is on the Right Way. Moreover, there is no trace of any selfish motive in the work he is engaged in. There is, thus, no valid basis for a sane person to reject his message.
18. This statement is comprised of two parts. The first part is a masterpiece of persuasive argumentation. As for the second part, it represents the very zenith of consummate wisdom in the preaching of the true faith. In the first part it has been shown that to serve the Creator is, in every respect, a requirement of reason and human nature. If anything could be considered unreasonable, it would be that a person should serve those who have not created him rather than serve his Creator. In the second part, the person who carne running from the far end of the town draws his people's attention to the fact that they are destined to die and return to the same God serving Whom they find objectionable. They are asked to consider what good can they expect as a result of turning away from Him?
19. Why should man take deities other than God? No one is so favored by God that his intercession on someone's behalf will necessarily secure God's forgiveness for him. Nor is anyone so influential with God that by his persistent pleading he will secure a person's release even though God wants to punish him.
20. That is, even if I take others apart from God as my deities, despite knowing that they are powerless.
21. Implicit in this is a subtle suggestion as to how one should preach the truth. By so saying the person concerned reminds those people that it is God in Whom he believes, and He is not only his but also their Lord. The statement further suggests that he made no mistake by deciding tc believe in Him. Rather, they had made a mistake by not believing in Him.
22. No sooner had that person attained martyrdom, then he was given the glad tidings of Paradise. When he reached the Next Life, after passing through the portal of death, angels were in waiting to welcome him and inform him that Paradise looked forward to his arrival.
There is some disagreement among Quran-commentators regarding the interpretation of this sentence. Qatadah, for example, is of the view that God instantly admitted him to Paradise where he is alive and receives his sustenance. However, Mujahid points out that this was uttered by the angels by way of giving glad tidings to him. Therefore, he will enter Paradise along with other believers on the Day of Judgement. (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, comments on verse 26.)
23. This brings to the fore the moral excellence of that paragon of faith. He did not have any grudge or rancour against those who had assassinated him that would prompt him to imprecate against them. On the contrary, he still seeks their well-being. After his death at the hands of his own people, all that he wishes is that his people may come to know of the happy state in which he now is. He thought that his people would perhaps learn a useful lesson from him after his death even if they failed to learn anything from him while he was alive. Itis such people who have been applauded in a tradition in these words: (“He served as a well-wisher of his people, both in his life and death”.) By narrating this episode, God explains an important fact to the Makkan unbelievers: Muhammad (peace be on him) and his fellow believers are their well-wishers just as this believer had been for his own nation. Despite the travails the unbelievers inflict upon them, the Muslims do not hold any personal enmity or desire for revenge against them. Their enmity is not with the unbelievers but rather with their misguided state. Their only purpose in opposing them is that they come to the Right Path.
Incidentally, this is one of the verses that conclusively establishes life in barzakh. One also learns that the period commencing from one’s death until the Day of Resurrection will not be a state of nothingness, a state of absolute non-existence as some ignorant people fancy. After death, one’s soul continues to exist though without its body. The soul retains its faculties of speech and hearing and is characterized by feeling and emotion. It experiences joys and sorrows and maintains an interest in those living in the world. Had it not been so, this believing man would not have been given the glad tidings of Paradise after his death and he would not have expressed the wish. that his people be informed of the happy end at which he had arrived.
24. There is a subtle irony in this statement. Those people, who were quite proud of their physical prowess, were burning with bigoted hostility towards the true faith. They were under the illusion that they would be able to totally blot out all three Prophets as well as their followers. Their fury was like a fierce blaze. But the very first touch of God’s scourge extinguished that flame!
25. They were totally obliterated so much so that today no one is left even to remember them. Not only their culture and civilization, but their entire race stands utterly destroyed.