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wa-ḍrib lahum mathalan ʾaṣḥāba l-qaryati ʾidh jāʾahā l-mursalūna
Cite for them the example of the inhabitants of the town when the apostles came to it.
— Ali Quli Qarai
36Yā-SīnيسVerse 13 of 83
Ya-Sin36. Yā-Sīnيس
Yā Sīn
Ya Sin
MeccanVerse 13 of 83
Surah Ya-Sin - Verse 13
13. “And coin for them a similitude of the people of the town, when the messengers came to it.”
The messenger of Allah used to go toward people and they did not wait for people to come toward them. Following the former discussions about the Qur’an, the Prophecy of the Prophet of Islam (S), the true believers, and the obstinate rejecters, in the verse under discussion, in this regard an example of the situation of the former nations is referred to.
Through this verse and a few verses after it, which totally form eighteen verses of this Surah, the life story of several former prophets who had duty to guide a polytheistic nation and the Qur’an has mentioned hab-ul-qaryah/ (the people of a town), who opposedthem as /’as those prophets and belied them and, finally, encountered a painful chastisement, is stated, so that it can be both a warning to the polytheists of Mecca and a solace for the Prophet (S) and the believers of that day.
However, emphasizing on this story which is in the centre of this Surah, which itself is the heart of Qur’an, is for the complete similarity which has with success of the Muslims of that day. It says:
The Arabic term /qaryah/ originally means the name of a place where people gather (to live); and sometimes the people themselves are called /qaryah/. Therefore, it has such a vast meaning that it envelops both cities and villages, though in the ordinary Persian language this term is used for only a village. In Arabic and in the Qur’an this term has frequently been used for the main and important cities, such as: Egypt, Mecca, and the like. Among the commentators it is popular that this city is meant ’Antakiyyah, which has been one of the cities of Shamat, and it had been one of very famous cities of ancient Room, and at the present time, from the geographical point of view is in the territory of Turkish country.
However, it is understood from the verses of this Surah that the people of this city had been idol worshippers, and these messenger had come to invite them toward Monotheism and struggle against polytheism.