Islamic stories

Surah Yasin: The Story of the Dwellers of the Town and Their Messengers

Allah says,

وَاضْرِبْ لَهُم

And put forward to them,

Allah says, 'O Muhammad, tell your people who disbelieve in you,'

مَّثَلً أَصْحَابَ الْقَرْيَةِ إِذْ جَاءهَا الْمُرْسَلُونَ

a similitude; the Dwellers of the Town, when there came Messengers to them.

The Qur'an does not tell us the name of this town. In historical narrations, Muhammad Ibn Ishaq has reported from Ibn ' Abbas, Ka'b Ahbar and Wahb Ibn Munabbih (رض) that it was the town of Antakiyah (Antioch) and majority of commentators have opted for it. Abu Hayyan and Ibn Kathir have said that no statement counter to it has been reported from any of the commentators. According to details given in Mu' jim-ul-Buldan, Antakiyah is a well-known town of Syria, famous, for its verdant growth and stability.

إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ اثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا

When We sent to them two Messengers, they denied them both;

means, they hastened to disbelieve in them.

فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ

so We reinforced them with a third,

means, 'We supported and strengthened them with a third Messenger.'

فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُونَ

and they (the messengers) said, Verily, we have been sent to you as Messengers.

قَالُوا مَا أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا

They said:"You are only human beings like ourselves..."

means, 'so how could you receive revelation when you are human beings and we are human beings, so why do we not receive revelation like you If you are Messengers, you should be angels.'

 and the Rahman has not sent down anything. You are but telling a lie."

قَالُوا رَبُّنَا يَعْلَمُ إِنَّا إِلَيْكُمْ لَمُرْسَلُونَ

The Messengers said:"Our Lord knows that we have been sent as Messengers to you."

This means that the three Messengers answered them saying:
"Allah knows that we are His Messengers to you. If we were lying, He would have taken the utmost vengeance against us, but He will cause us to prevail and will make us victorious against you, and you will come to know whose will be the happy end in the Hereafter."

وَمَا عَلَيْنَا إِلاَّ الْبَلَغُ الْمُبِينُ

And our duty is only to convey plainly.
means, 'all we have to do is to convey to you the Message with which we have been sent; if you obey, then happiness will be yours in this world and the Hereafter, and if you do not respond, you will soon know the consequences of that.'

Allah then goes go narrating,

قَالُوا

They (people of the city) said:

إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ

For us, we see an evil omen from you;

Qatadah said, "They were saying, 'if something bad befalls us, it will be because of you."'

Mujahid said, "They were saying: People like you never enter a town, but its people are punished."

لَيِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ

if you cease not, we will surely stone you,

وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

and a painful torment will touch you from us. meaning, a severe punishment

قَالُوا

Their Messengers said to them:

طَايِرُكُمْ مَعَكُمْ

Your evil omens be with you!

The word: طَایٔر (ta'ir) essentially denotes bad omen or misfortune and, on occasions, it is also used to refer to the effects of misfortune, that is, wretchedness. (Ibn Kathir, Qatadha)