Towards Understanding the Quran

From: http://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=36&verse=13&to=32

With kind permission: Islamic Foundation UK
English ◄ Chapter 36. Ya-Sin ► Intro. ◄ Verse 13-32 of 83 ► View Ar En Nt ► █ Font Email
وَاضۡرِبۡ لَهُمۡ مَّثَلاً اَصۡحٰبَ الۡقَرۡيَةِ ‌ۘ اِذۡ جَآءَهَا الۡمُرۡسَلُوۡنَۚ‏ ﴿36:13﴾ اِذۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَاۤ اِلَيۡهِمُ اثۡنَيۡنِ فَكَذَّبُوۡهُمَا فَعَزَّزۡنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَقَالُـوۡۤا اِنَّاۤ اِلَيۡكُمۡ مُّرۡسَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:14﴾ قَالُوۡا مَاۤ اَنۡـتُمۡ اِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثۡلُـنَا ۙ وَمَاۤ اَنۡزَلَ الرَّحۡمٰنُ مِنۡ شَىۡءٍۙ اِنۡ اَنۡـتُمۡ اِلَّا تَكۡذِبُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:15﴾ قَالُوۡا رَبُّنَا يَعۡلَمُ اِنَّاۤ اِلَيۡكُمۡ لَمُرۡسَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:16﴾ وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ ﴿36:17﴾ قَالُـوۡۤا اِنَّا تَطَيَّرۡنَا بِكُمۡۚ لَٮِٕنۡ لَّمۡ تَنۡتَهُوۡا لَنَرۡجُمَنَّكُمۡ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُمۡ مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ اَلِيۡمٌ‏ ﴿36:18﴾ قَالُوۡا طآٮِٕرُكُمۡ مَّعَكُمۡؕ اَٮِٕنۡ ذُكِّرۡتُمۡؕ بَلۡ اَنۡـتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ مُّسۡرِفُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:19﴾ وَجَآءَ مِنۡ اَقۡصَا الۡمَدِيۡنَةِ رَجُلٌ يَّسۡعٰى قَالَ يٰقَوۡمِ اتَّبِعُوۡا الۡمُرۡسَلِيۡنَۙ‏ ﴿36:20﴾ اتَّبِعُوۡا مَنۡ لَّا يَسۡـــَٔلُكُمۡ اَجۡرًا وَّهُمۡ مُّهۡتَدُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:21﴾ وَمَا لِىَ لَاۤ اَعۡبُدُ الَّذِىۡ فَطَرَنِىۡ وَاِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:22﴾ ءَاَ تَّخِذُ مِنۡ دُوۡنِهٖۤ اٰلِهَةً اِنۡ يُّرِدۡنِ الرَّحۡمٰنُ بِضُرٍّ لَّا تُغۡنِ عَنِّىۡ شَفَاعَتُهُمۡ شَيۡـــًٔا وَّلَا يُنۡقِذُوۡنِ‌ۚ‏ ﴿36:23﴾ اِنِّىۡۤ اِذًا لَّفِىۡ ضَلٰلٍ مُّبِيۡنٍ‏ ﴿36:24﴾ اِنِّىۡۤ اٰمَنۡتُ بِرَبِّكُمۡ فَاسۡمَعُوۡنِؕ‏ ﴿36:25﴾ قِيۡلَ ادۡخُلِ الۡجَـنَّةَ ؕ قَالَ يٰلَيۡتَ قَوۡمِىۡ يَعۡلَمُوۡنَۙ‏ ﴿36:26﴾ بِمَا غَفَرَلِىۡ رَبِّىۡ وَجَعَلَنِىۡ مِنَ الۡمُكۡرَمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿36:27﴾ وَمَاۤ اَنۡزَلۡنَا عَلٰى قَوۡمِهٖ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِهٖ مِنۡ جُنۡدٍ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَمَا كُـنَّا مُنۡزِلِيۡنَ‏ ﴿36:28﴾ اِنۡ كَانَتۡ اِلَّا صَيۡحَةً وَّاحِدَةً فَاِذَا هُمۡ خٰمِدُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:29﴾ يٰحَسۡرَةً عَلَى الۡعِبَادِ ؔ‌ۚ مَا يَاۡتِيۡهِمۡ مِّنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ اِلَّا كَانُوۡا بِهٖ يَسۡتَهۡزِءُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:30﴾ اَلَمۡ يَرَوۡا كَمۡ اَهۡلَـكۡنَا قَبۡلَهُمۡ مِّنَ الۡقُرُوۡنِ اَنَّهُمۡ اِلَيۡهِمۡ لَا يَرۡجِعُوۡنَؕ‏ ﴿36:31﴾ وَاِنۡ كُلٌّ لَّمَّا جَمِيۡعٌ لَّدَيۡنَا مُحۡضَرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿36:32﴾

(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
*10 The early commentators, generally, have expressed the opinion that the "habitation" implies the Syrian city of Antioch, and the messengers mentioned here were the ones sent by the Prophet Jesus for the preaching of his message there. Another thing that has been mentioned in this connection is that Antiochus was the king of this land at that time. But historically this story which Ibn 'Abbas, Qatadah, 'Ikrimah, Ka'b Ahbar and Wahb bin Munabbih, and others have related on the basis of unauthentic Christian traditions is baseless. There have been 13 kings of the Seleucid dynasty named Antiochus who reigned in Antioch, and the rule of the last king of this name, rather the rule of this dynasty itself, carne to an end in 65 B.C. At the time of the Prophet Jesus, the whole land of Syria and Palestine, including Antioch, was under the Romans. Then, no proof is forthcoming from any authentic tradition of the Christians that the Prophet Jesus might himself have sent any of his disciples to Antioch for preaching his message. On the contrary, the Acts of the Apostles (N.T.) shows that the Christian preachers had reached Antioch for the first time a few years after the event of the crucifixion. Now, evidently, the people who were neither appointed messengers by Allah nor sent by His Messenger cannot be regarded as messengers of Allah by any interpretation even if they might have travelled for the purpose of preaching of their own accord. Moreover, according to the Bible; Antioch was the first city where the non-Israelites embraced Christianity in large numbers and where the Christian faith met with great success; whereas the habitation mentioned by the Qur'an was some such habitation which rejected the invitation of the messengers, and was consequently punished with a Divine torment. History also does not bear any evidence that Antioch was ever afflicted with a destruction, which might be regarded, as the result of denying the Prophethood.

(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.”
*11 In other words, what they wanted to say was: `Since you are human beings, you cannot be the messengers of God. " The same was the view of the disbelievers of Makkah. They also said; "Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) cannot be a messenger because he is a man"
*12 This is another notion of ignorance in which the disbelievers of Makkah were involved. In it are also involved the so-called rationalists of today and in it have been involved the deniers of Revelation and Prophethood of every age since the earliest times. These people have held the view that Allah does not send down any Revelation at All for the guidance of man. He is only concerned with the affairs of the heavens: He has left the affairs and problems of man to be resoled by man himself.

(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
*13 That is, "Our only duty is to convey to you the Message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible to make you accept it forcibly; and if your do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief: you will yourselves be answerable for your crimes.
(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
*14 What they meant was: "You are an evil omen for us. Our gods have become angry with us on account of what you have been saying against them. Now whatever calamity is befalling us is only because of you." Precisely the same thing used to be said by the disbelievers and the hypocrites of Arabia concerning the Holy Prophet: ¦If they suffer a loss, they say: this is because of you." (An Nisa': 77). That is why at several places in the Qur'an these people have been told that in the ancient times also people used to say such things of ignorance in regard to their Prophets. The people of Thamud said to their Prophet: "We regard you and your companions as a sign of bad omen." (An-Naml: 47). And the same was the attitude of the people of Pharaoh: "Whenever a good time came, they would say: This is but our due, and when there was a hard time, they would ascribe their calamities to Moses and his companions. " (Al-A'raf: 130).

(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
*15 That is, "No one is an evil omen for another. Everyman's augury is hanging around his own neck. If a person sees an evil, it is because of his own self; and if he sees a good, it is also because of his own self. 'We have fastened the augury of every man to his own neck'." (Bani Isra'il: 13).
*16 That is, "You in fact want to avoid the good and you like the deviation instead of the guidance. Therefore, instead of determining the truth and falsehood by means of an argument, you arc making these false pretenses on account of your superstitious whims.

(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
*17 That servant of God, in this one sentence, put together all the arguments required for determining the genuineness of Prophethood. The genuineness of a Prophet can be determined by two things. First, his word and deed; second, his being selfless. What the person meant to say was this: 'First, whatever these people are saying is perfectly reasonable, and their own character also is pure; second, no one can prove that they are calling the people to this faith on account of a selfish motive. Therefore, there is no reason why they should not be listened to." By citing this reasoning of the person the Qur'an set a criterion before the people of how to judge and determine the genuineness of the Prophethood of a Prophet, as if to say; "The word and deed of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) bear full evidence that he is on the right path. Then, no one can point out any selfish motive or interest behind his struggle of preaching his message. Therefore, there is no reason why a sensible person should reject what he presents.

(36:22) Why should I not serve the One Who created me and to Whom all of you shall be sent back?18
*18 This sentence has two parts. The first part is a masterpiece of reasoning, the second of the wisdom of preaching. In the first part he says: "To worship the Creator is the demand of both reason and nature; it would be highly unreasonable that one should worship those who have not created him and should deny to be the servant of Him Who has created him." In the second part he warns his people to the effect: "All of you ultimately have to die and return to that God adoption of Whose service you object to. Therefore, you should consider for yourselves as to what goodness you could expect by turning away from Him."

(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
*19 That is, "They are neither such favorites of God that even if I commit grave crimes He will forgive me on their recommendation, nor are they so powerful that they should be able to rescue me if God may please to punish me."

(36:24) Surely in that case20 I should indeed be in evident error.
*20 "If I do so": "If I make them my gods in spite of knowing All this."

(36:25) I believe in your Lord;21 so listen to me.”
*21 This sentence again contains a subtle point of the wisdom of preaching. Saying this the man made the people realize: "The Lord in Whom I have believed is not merely my Lord but your Lord, too. I have committed no error by believing in Him, but you, in fact, are certainly committing an error by not believing in Him. "

(36:26) (Eventually they killed him and he was told): “Enter Paradise.”22 The man exclaimed: “Would that my people knew
*22 That is, immediately following his martyrdom, the man was given the good news of Paradise. As soon as he entered the Next World through the gate of death, there were the angels to receive him, and they gave him the good news that Paradise was awaiting him." The commentators have disputed the meaning of this sentence. Qatadah says, "Allah admitted him into Paradise straightway and he is living in it and receiving his sustenance." And Mujahid says, "This was told him by the angels as a good news; he will enter Paradise on the day of Resurrection along with the other believers. "

(36:27) for what reason Allah has forgiven me and placed me among the honoured ones.”23
*23 This is a specimen of the high morality of the believer, He had no ill will or feeling of vengeance in his heart against the people who had just then killed him so that he should invoke Allah against them. Instead, he was still wishing them well. After death the only -wish that he cherished was: ¦Would that my people could know the good end that I have met, and could learn a lesson froth my death, if not from my life, and adopt the righteous way." The noble person did not wish Hell for his murderers but wished that they should believe and become worthy of Paradise. The same thing has been commended in the Hadith: "He wished his people well when living as well as when dead."

(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
*24 These words contain a subtle satire. In their arrogance and pride of power and their strong antagonism towards the true faith, they thought they would annihilate the three Prophets and their followers, but, contrary to their plot, they were themselves annihilated by only one stroke of the Divine punishment.

(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
*25 That is, they were annihilated so completely that not a trace of them was left behind them. No one in the world even remembers them today. Their civilization as well as their race has become extinct.

(36:32) All of them shall (one day) be gathered before Us.
English ◄ Chapter 36. Ya-Sin ► Intro. ◄ Verse 13-32 of 83 ► View Ar En Nt Recite Font Email