Mushaf View — Surah 36 36:20
About this view. Tafsir al-Tabari, al-Qurtubi, and al-Baghawi — three of the most chain-citing classical Sunni mufassirun — have never been fully translated into English. ParallelQuran's English Mushaf view shows the five most-complete English-language Sunni tafsirs available today. The Arabic Mushaf view (Phase 2) will show the full classical stack.
قَالَ يقَوْمِ اتَّبِعُواْ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
(He said: "O my people! Obey the Messengers.") -- he urged his people to follow the Messengers who had come to them.
اتَّبِعُواْ مَن لاَّ يَسْـَلُكُمْ أَجْراً
(Obey those who ask no wages of you,) means, `for the Message which they convey to you, and they are rightly-guided in what they are calling you to, the worship of Allah Alone with no partner or associate.'
وَمَا لِىَ لاَ أَعْبُدُ الَّذِى فَطَرَنِى
(And why should I not worship Him Who has created me) means, `and what is there to stop me from sincerely worshipping the One Who has created me, and worshipping Him Alone, with no partner or associate'
وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
(and to Whom you shall be returned.) means, `on the Day of Resurrection, when He will requite you for your deeds: if they are good then you will be rewarded and if they are evil then you will be punished.'
أَءَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِ ءَالِهَةً
(Shall I take besides Him gods) This is a rhetorical question intended to rebuke and chastise.
إِن يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَـنُ بِضُرٍّ لاَّ تُغْنِ عَنِّى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يُنقِذُونَ
(If the Most Gracious intends me any harm, their intercession will be of no use for me whatsoever, nor can they save me.) means, `these gods whom you worship instead of Him possess no power whatsoever, if Allah wills me some harm,'
فَلاَ كَـشِفَ لَهُ إِلاَّ هُوَ
(none can remove it but He) (6:17). `These idols can neither cause any harm nor bring any benefit, and they cannot save me from the predicament I am in.'
إِنِّى إِذاً لَّفِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ
(Then verily, I should be in plain error.) means, `if I were to take them as gods instead of Allah.'
إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاسْمَعُونِ
(Verily, I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me!) Ibn Ishaq said, quoting from what had reached him from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Ka`b and Wahb, "He said to his people:
إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ
(`Verily, I have believed in your Lord) in Whom you have disbelieved,
فَاسْمَعُونِ
(so listen to me!)' means, listen to what I say." Or it may be that he was addressing the Messengers when he said:
إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ
(Verily, I have believed in your Lord,) meaning, `Who has sent you,'
فَاسْمَعُونِ
(so listen to me!) meaning, `bear witness to that before Him.' This was narrated by Ibn Jarir, who said, "And others said that this was addressed to the Messengers, and he said to them: `Listen to what I say and bear witness to what I say before my Lord, that I have believed in your Lord and have followed you.' This interpretation is more apparent, and Allah knows best. Ibn Ishaq said, quoting from what had reached him from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Ka`b and Wahb, `When he said that, they turned on him as one, and killed him at once, and he had no one to protect him from that."' Qatadah said, "They started to stone him while he was saying, `O Allah, guide my people for they do not know, and they kept stoning him until he died a violent death, and he was still praying for them.' May Allah have mercy on him."
قال ابن إسحاق فيما بلغه عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما وكعب الأحبار ووهب بن منبه أن أهل القرية هموا بقتل رسلهم فجاءهم رجل من أقصى المدينة يسعى أي لينصرهم من قومه قالوا وهو حبيب وكان يعمل الحرير وهو الحباك وكان رجلا سقيما قد أسرع فيه الجذام وكان كثير الصدقة يتصدق بنصف كسبه مستقيم الفطرة وقال ابن إسحاق عن رجل سماه عن الحكم عن مقسم أو مجاهد عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال اسم صاحب يس حبيب وكان الجذام قد أسرع فيه. وقال الثوري عن عاصم الأحول عن أبي مجلز كان اسمه حبيب بن سري وقال شبيب بن بشر عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال اسم صاحب يس حبيب النجار فقتله قومه وقال السدي كان قصارا وقال عمر بن الحكم كان إسكافا وقال قتادة كان يتعبد في غار هناك "قال يا قوم اتبعوا المرسلين" يحض قومه على اتباع الرسل الذين أتوهم.
(And there came from the uttermost part of the city) there came from the centre of the city (a man) his name was Habib the carpenter (running) when he heard about the emissaries. (He cried: O my people! Follow those who have been sent) by accepting faith in Allah!
وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَى قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ (20) عطف على قصة التحاور الجاري بين أصحاب القرية والرسل الثلاثة لبيان البون بين حال المعاندين من أهل القرية وحاللِ الرجل المؤمن منهم الذي وعظهم بموعظة بالغة وهو من نفر قليل من أهل القرية .فلك أن تجعل جملة { وجاء من أقصا المدينة } عطفاً على جملة { جاءها المرسلون } [ يس : 13 ] ولك أن تجعلها عطفاً على جملة { فقالوا إنا إليكم مرسلون } [ يس : 14 ] .والمراد بالمدينة هنا نفس القرية المذكورة في قوله : { أصحاب القرية } [ يس : 13 ] عُبر عنها هنا بالمدينة تفنناً ، فيكون { أقصا } صفة لمحذوف هو المضاف في المعنى إلى المدينة . والتقدير : من بَعيد المدينة ، أي طرف المدينة ، وفائدة ذكر أنه جاء من أقصى المدينة الإِشارة إلى أن الإِيمان بالله ظهر في أهل ربض المدينة قبل ظهوره في قلب المدينة لأن قلب المدينة هو مسكن حكامها وأحبار اليهود وهم أبعد عن الإِنصاف والنظر في صحة ما يدعوهم إليه الرسل ، وعامة سكانها تبع لعظمائها لتعلقهم بهم وخشيتهم بأسهم بخلاف سكان أطراف المدينة فهم أقرب إلى الاستقلال بالنظر وقلة اكتراثثٍ بالآخرين لأن سكان الأطراف غالبهم عملة أنفسهم لقربهم من البدو .وبهذا يظهر وجه تقديم { من أقصا المدينة } على { رجل } للاهتمام بالثناء على أهل أقصى المدينة . وأنه قد يوجد الخير في الأطراف ما لا يوجد في الوسط ، وأن الإِيمان يسبق إليه الضعفاء لأنهم لا يصدهم عن الحق ما فيه أهل السيادة من ترف وعظمة إذ المعتاد أنهم يسكنون وسط المدينة ، قال أبو تمام: ... كانت هي الوسطَ المحميّ فاتصلتبها الحوادث حتى أصبحت طرَفا ... وأما قوله تعالى في سورة القصص ( 20 ) { وجاء رجل من أقصى المدينة يسعى } فجاء النظم على الترتيب الأصلي إذ لا داعي إلى التقديم إذ كان ذلك الرجل ناصحاً ولم يكن داعياً للإِيمان .وعلى هذا فهذا الرجل غير مذكور في سفر أعمال الرسل وهو مما امتاز القرآن بالإعلام به . وعن ابن عباس وأصحابه وجد أن اسمه حبيب بن مرة قيل : كان نجاراً وقيل غير ذلك فلما أشرف الرسل على المدينة رآهم ورأى معجزة لهم أو كرامة فآمن . وقيل : كان مُؤمناً من قبل ، ولا يبعد أن يكون هذا الرجل الذي وصفه المفسرون بالنِجّار أنه هو ( سمعان ) الذي يدعى ( بالنيجر ) المذكور في الإِصحاح الحادي عشر من سفر أعمال الرسل وأن وصف النجار محرف عن ( نيجر ) فقد جاء في الأسماء التي جرت في كلام المفسرين عن ابن عباس اسم شمعون الصفا أو سمعان . وليس هذا الاسم موجوداً في كتاب أعمال الرسل .ووصفُ الرجل بالسعي يفيد أنه جاء مسرعاً وأنه بلغه همُّ أهل المدينة برجم الرسل أو تعذيبهم ، فأراد أن ينصحهم خشيةً عليهم وعلى الرسل ، وهذا ثناء على هذا الرجل يفيد أنه ممن يُقتدَى به في الإِسراع إلى تغيير المنكر .وجملة قال يا قوم } بدل اشتمال من جملة «جاء رجل» لأن مجيئه لما كان لهذا الغرض كان مما اشتمل عليه المجيء المذكور .وافتتاح خطابه إياهم بندائهم بوصف القومية له قُصد منه أن في كلامه الإِيماء إلى أن ما سيخاطبهم به هو محْض نصيحة لأنه يحِب لقومه ما يحِب لنفسه .والاتباع : الامتثال ، استعير له الاتّباع تشبيهاً للآخِذِ برأي غيره بالمتبععِ له في سيره .والتعريف في { المرسلين } للعهد .
And there came a man from the furthest part of the city — this was Habīb the carpenter who had believed in these messengers and whose house lay at the far end of the city — hastening with a hurried pace after he had heard that the people had denied the messengers. He said ‘O my people follow the messengers!
In verse 20, it was said: وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَىٰ (And there came a man rushing from the farthest part of the city.) In the first verse (13), the place where this incident transpired was expressed as: اَلقَریَۃ (al-qaryah: town) which, according to the Arabic lexical usage, does not signify a small village, instead, it means a habitation in the absolute sense. It may be a small habitation or a big city. Now, in this verse, this place has been identified as: اَمَدِینۃ (al-madinah), a name used only for a big city. From here, we learn that the habitation where this event took place was some big city. Hence, this too supports the saying where it has been identified as Antakiyah. The expression: أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ (aqsal-madinah: farthest part of the city) means outskirts of the city. The word: يَسْعَىٰ as a rushing) in the phrase: رَجُلٌ يَسْعَىٰ has been derived from: سَعٰی يَسْعَىٰ (run) which means to walk in a running gait. Therefore, the expression would mean that a man came running from the farthest part of the city. Then, there are occasions when this word is also used in the sense of walking with concern, poise and sense of purpose to be accomplished - which may not include running- as in Surah Al-Jumu` ah: فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ (fas` aw ila dhikril-lah: hasten for the remembrance of Allah (Khutbah and Salah of Jumu'ah) - 62:9). Here, this very sense is intended.
The event relating to the person coming from the farthest part of the city
The noble Qur'an has left this too as ambiguous. It does not mention his name, nor does it say who he was. As part of historical narrations, Ibn Ishaq has reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Ka` b al-Ahbar And Wahb Ibn Munabbih that the name of this person was Habib. There are different sayings about his profession. The most famous is the one that says that he was a carpenter. (Ibn Kathir).
Other historical narrations reported by commentators at this stage tell us that this person too was initially an idolater. He happened to meet the two messengers who came to this town the first time. It was either as a result of their teachings or, as it appears in some narrations, by seeing extraordinary working of wonders at their hands, his heart was lit with faith. He repented from past idolatry, embraced Islam and retired to a cave devoting to worship. When he got the news that the people of the city have rejected the teachings of these messengers, have become hostile to them and were threatening to kill them, he came to his people prompted by the mixed objectives of his concern for their good as well as the safety of the messengers. He advised them to follow these messengers and declared that he himself had become a believer: (I have believed in your Lord; so listen to me.- 25)
Both the prophets at that time were powerless. Nevertheless, this third man associated himself with them. In the struggle between truth and untruth, man has to take the side of the truth, even if it amounts to supporting the weak against the strong. The third man urged the people of his community to pay heed to the words of the earlier Prophets who were on the straight path and who did not seek any return for guiding rightly. This shows that in spite of a man being selfless and well-intentioned, his words will be examined in the light of reason, and will be deemed to be of value only if they measure up to the standard of reason.