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wa-jāʾa min ʾaqṣā l-madīnati rajulun yasʿā qāla yā-qawmi ttabiʿū l-mursalīna
There came a man hurrying from the city outskirts. He said, ‘O my people! Follow the apostles!
— Ali Quli Qarai
36Yā-SīnيسVerse 20 of 83
Ya-Sin36. Yā-Sīnيس
Yā Sīn
Ya Sin
MeccanVerse 20 of 83
Surah Ya-Sin - Verses 20-21
20. “And from the farthest part of the city there came a man running; he said: ‘O’ my people! Follow the messengers;”
21. “Follow those who ask no reward of you, and who are themselves guided.”
Supporting the truth must be accompanied with severity, speed, logic, and sympathy. In order to support the leadership of the truth, breaking the silence and shouting in the swerved environments is admired by Allah. Another part of the struggles of the messengers, whom are referred to in this story, has been mentioned in this holy verse. It concerns the accurate and bravely support of the believers from them, who, with their small number, stood firmly against the majority of obstinate, polytheistic pagans and defended the Divine prophets with their souls!
The verse says:
This man, whose name has been introduced as ‘Habib Najjar’ by most of the commentators, was one of those who, by their early meetings with the messengers of Allah, recognized the legitimacy of their invitation and the depth of their teachings, and proved that he was a decided and steadfast believer. As soon as he was informed that in the centre of the city people had quarrelled with these messengers and, perhaps, they intended to kill them, he did not count his silence in that occasion permissible and, as it is understood from the Qur’anic word /yas‘a/ (running), he quickly and hastily reached himself to the centre of the city and defended the truth as much as he could.
The application of the Arabic word /rajul/ (man), in an infinitive form, points to this matter that he was an ordinary person. He had not so much power and dignity, and he was alone in his own path. In the meanwhile, the light and the heat of Faith had made him so light and warn that heedless to the sequels of this severe defence from the strugglers of the path of Unity, entered the battle-field, so that the believers of the time of the Prophet of Islam (S), who were not more than a few at the beginning of Islam, would take an example and know that even a single believer has responsibility, too, and silence is not permissible for him.
The application of the Qur’anic phrase /’aqs al madinah/ (the farthest part of city) shows that the invitation of these messengers had reached the far points of the city, too, and had attracted the receptive heart. Besides this, the far points of the cities are always the place of the oppressed who are more receptive to accept the truth. On the contrary, in the centre of cities there usually live some welfare people who are not easily absorbed to the truth.
The application of the Arabic phrase /ya qaum/ (O’ my people!) indicates to the sympathy of this simple man unto the citizens and people of that area, and invitation to obeying and following the divine prophets is a sincere invitation which has no benefit in it for him. Now, we refer to the fact that by which logic and proof did this believing struggler attract the attention of his fellow citizens? At first he began saying:
This is the first sign of their veracity, that they have no material benefit in their invitation. They do not demand people any wealth, nor any position and rank, nor even any thank and gratitude, nor any other reward or recompense. This meaning is the same thing which has repeatedly been emphasized on in the Qur’an concerning the great prophets as the sign of sincerity, no request, and purity of the hearts of prophets. Only in Surah As-Shu‘ara’, No. 26, the sentence:
has been repeated for five times.2 Then the verse concerning these prophets implicitly adds that, as it is understood from the content of their words and invitation, they are some guided persons. It says:
This points to this fact that the lack of submission to the invitation of a person is either for the sake that his invitation is in the way of the truth and drives persons to aberration; or it is in the way of the truth but those who bring it earn some benefits under its shade which causes pessimism unto that invitation. But when there is neither that nor this, is there any room for hesitation?
Footnotes