Part 89

' Abbas ~ tha t he said, UAr-Rass is a well in Azerbaijan." Ath-

Thawri narra ted 0 11 the aut hority of Abu Buka ir, who reported

on the aut hority of ' Ikrima h that hc said, "Ar-Rass is a we ll in

wh ich they buried their PropheL" (46 ) Ibn Juraij sai d, " Ikrimah

(44) Iladoor: A town in Yemen.

(45) See: Soorllit AI-Fajr 89:7.

(46) This is said to be deri ved from the Arabie verb rassa, which mcans to

said that the dwelle rs of Ar-Rass were the dwe llers of the town

me nti oned in Soomh }il Seen, according to what ' Ikrimah ha s

claimed, who were co mpl etely annihil ated. All ah, Most high ,

says regard in g them, ( It was but one Sailwll (s hout, etc.) and

lo! They (all ) were silent (dead - des troyed). ) (Soorah Ya Seen

36:29) And we shall relate their story after these people's story,

though it wou ld appear that they were another people (i.e. not

the people referred to in Sool'all Ya Seen); and they were also

destroyed and eradi cated. At all events, it contradicts what Ibn

Who Were the Dwellers a/the Town

Allah, Most High, says, ( And put forward to them a similitude;

the (Slory of the) dwe ll ers of th e town, when there came

Messengers 10 them. When We sent to th em two Messengers.

they belied them both , so We reinforced th em w ith a third . and

Jhcy sa id, " Verily! We ha ve been sent 10 you as Messe ngers."

They (people o f th e tow n) sa id , "YOLI arc only human beings

like ourselves, and the Mos t Beneficent (Allah) has revealed

nothing, YO LI arc onl y telling lies." They sa id, "Our Lord knows

that we have bee n sent as Messengers 10 yo u. And our dUly is

only to convey plainl y." They (the people) said , " Fo r liS, we sec

an evi l omen from you, if YOli cease not , we wi ll su rely stone

you, ,mel a painfultonllcnt will touch yo u from us:' They (t he

Messcngers) sa id, "You r cvi l omens be with you! (Do you ca ll

it an evil omen) because you are adm onished? Nay, btu YO ll arc

a people IIIl1srifoOI1 (transgress ing a ll bounds by cOll1mittin g

a ll kinds of g reat sins, and by disobeying Allah). And therc

came running from the fanhcst pan of the town. a man, say ing.

"0, my peoplc! Obey the Messc ngers: obey those w ho ask no

Th e S{OI)' of /h e People of YaSecll 395

wages of you (fo r themselves), and who are rightl y guided. And

why shou ld I not wors hip Him (Alla h, Alone) Who has created

me and to Whom YOll shall be returned. Shall I take besides

Him a/ilia" (gods), (whe n) if the Most Beneficent (Allah)

intend s me any hann, the ir intercess ion will be of no use for me

whatsoever ~ and nor can they save mc? Th en veril y, I shoul d

be in plain error. Ve rily! I have bel ieved in your Lord, so li sten

to me!" It was sai d (to hi m when lhe di sbe li evers killcd him),

"E nter Parad ise." He said, "Would that my people knew! That

my Lord (A llah) has forgiv en me, and made me of the honored

ones!" And We sent not aga inst hi s peop le after him a host from

heaven , nor do We send (suc h a thing). It was bu t one Sailwh

(shout, etc.) and lo! They (all) were si len t (dead - destroyed). )

(Saarali Ya Seell 36: 13-29)

It has been widel y reported from many of the Salcif and the

later scho lars that th is town was Ant ioch (Antakiyah). This

was narrated by Ibn Ishaq , who reported it on the authority

of 'Abdullah Ibn ' Abba s ~, Ka ' b AI-Ahbar and Wahb Ibn

Munabbih. It was lik ew ise narrated on the authority ofBuraidah

Ibn Al-Husaib, ' Ikrimah, Qatadah, Az-Zuhri and others.

But this say ing is very weak , because when the Maseeh ~

sent three of the Disc ipl es 10 the peopl e of Anti oc h (A nt akiyah).

they were the fi rst city to believe in th e Masceh ~\ at that time.

For thi s reason , it was one or the four citi es in which th ere

were Chri stian Patriarchs; and they were An ti och, Jerusa lem.

Alex andria and Rome . Arter them , Constan tinopl e became

a Patriarchal cily, but none of them was destroyed, wh ile

the inhabitants of thi s village mentioned in the Qur ' an wcre

destroyed, as All ah says at the end of their stOlY, after they

had kill ed the one who be lieved in the Messengers. ( And pu t

forward to them a similitude; the (story of the) dwellers of the

396 U,e S,ory (~I 'he People OflCISl'l'1l

10\\ Il . whell th ere camc Messcngcrs 10 Ihe lll )(SoOl'ol1 }'O Seen

36: I 3) But if (it was said that) the Ihree Messengers menti oned

in the Qur'an were sent to the peop le or Anti och in the di stant

past and they rej ec ted thc m and Allah des troyed them. The city

was then rebu ilt a ftcr th at and thcn whc n it was thc limc of the

Masech ~, Ihey beli eved in the messengers he sent to the m,

Ihi s cannot be rul ed out. And Alla h knows better.

He, Most High, says, And pUI forward to Ihem a simil itude.

) T hat is for you r peop le, Muhammad . ( th e (story o f the)

dwe ll ers of the tow n ) , That is, the city, ( whell there cam c

Messenge rs to them. Wh en We se lll 10 the m lwO Messe nge rs.

they belied th em both, so Wt.: reinforced Ihem w ith <l thi rd .

) (SoO/·ail Yo Seell 36: 13, 14) That is, We supported th em by

send in g a third perso n to de li ver the Message. They sa id.

"Our Lord knows that we have been sent as Messe ngers 10

you .. · ) (SoO/·oil Yo Seell 36: 16). But they answered them by

say ing th at they were on ly human be ings, li ke them, as (all ) Ihe

disbeli ev ing nations said to the ir Messengers, deem ing the idea

Ihat All ah wou ld send a huma n Messenger to be farfetched. The

Messe ngers replied Ihat A ll ah knew that Ih ey were Messcngers

sent 10 them and that ir they were lyi ng about Him, He wou ld

have pu nished them and exac ted condign Retr ibut ion on lhem.

"And our duty is on ly to convey pla inly." ) (SoOl'al1 }'c1 Seen

36: 17) T hat is, the only ob li gation upon liS is to convcy 10 you

Ih e Message with which A ll ah has sent us to you; it is A ll ah

Who guides whom He will s and increases in misguidance

whomsoever He will s, ( Thcy (Ih e people) said, " Fo r us, wc

sec an t.:v il olllc n rrom you ," ) That is, we see an ev il omen in

tha t whi ch you have brought. ( .. .. . if you cease not, we will

surdy stone you," ) . That is, we w ill rev ile you verba ll y. It was

also sa id that it means we wi ll physica ll y stone you, Bu t the

first ex pl anation is supported by His Word s: ( "and a pa inful

rite StOlT oj llt(' People oj' )(ISeell 397

torment will touc h you from LIS." ) _ So they threaten ed them

wi th dea th and vc rba l abusc. ( Th ey (the Messengers) said.

"Your evil omens be wi th you~" ) Th at is, they arc th rown back

upon YOll. ( "(Do you cu ll it .• an ev il olll en" ) beca use you are

admoni shcd?" ) That is, bccause of the gu idan ce 10 whic h we

have ca ll cd you, woul d you thrcate n us wi th dea th and verba l

abuse? ( "Nay_ but you arc a people mllsrijiJOJI (tra nsgrcssing

all bounds by com mitting all kinds of great s ins, and by

di sobeyin g All ah)," ) That is, you do not accept the tmth,

no r do you desire it. And He, Most Hi gh, ( And th erc ca me

runn ing from the fa rthest part of the town , a man . ) Thm is, 10

support the two Messenge rs and to open ly decl are hi s bclief

in th em ( say ing, "0, my peopl e! Obey the Messc nge rs; those

who ask no wages of yo u (for themse lves), and who are ri ghtl y

gui ded." ) (Soorall Ya Seell 36:20,2 1). That is, th ey ca ll you to

Ihe pu re trut h, without reecivi ng or expecting any payment or

.my reco mpense, Then he ca lled upon them 10 wJrship All ah,

Alone, withou t ascrib ing partners to him and he forbade them

to wo rship any ot her de ity besides I-li m, whi ch ca n offer th em

no benefit in thi s world or in the Hereaft er. ( "Then vcril y, I

should be in plain error." ) (SOOl'OIr Yo Seen 36:24). ThaI is, if I

aba ndoned the worship of A Il ah and worshipped others besi des

Him. Then he sa id, address ing the Messengers, ( "Veril y! I

have bel ieved in yo ur Lord, so liste n to me!" ) (Soorah )'t1 Seen

36:25). It was said that it means: Listen ( 0 Ill y wo rds a nd bear

witness fo r me to them before your Lord. It was also said tha t it

mea ns: Hear, 0, my people, my open testimony of beli ef in the

Messenge rs of Allah. Upon hea ring thi s, they kill ed him; it was

said tha t they stoned hi m. It was also said th at they tort ured