Tuesday 16 March 2010

The man in Surah Yasin [36:20...]

[وَجَآءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَى قَالَ يقَوْمِ اتَّبِعُواْ الْمُرْسَلِينَ - اتَّبِعُواْ مَن لاَّ يَسْـَلُكُمْ أَجْراً وَهُمْ مُّهْتَدُونَ - وَمَا لِىَ لاَ أَعْبُدُ الَّذِى فَطَرَنِى وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ - أَءَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِ ءَالِهَةً إِن يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَـنُ بِضُرٍّ لاَّ تُغْنِ عَنِّى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يُنقِذُونَ - إِنِّى إِذاً لَّفِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ - إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاسْمَعُونِ ]

Surah Yasin [36:] (20. And there came a man running from the farthest part of the town. He said, "O my people! Obey the Messengers.'') (21. "Obey those who ask no wages of you, and who are rightly guided.'') (22. "And why should I not worship Him Who has created me and to Whom you shall be returned.'') (23. "Shall I take besides Him gods If the Most Gracious intends me any harm, their intercession will be of no use for me whatsoever, nor can they save me.'') (24. "Then verily, I should be in plain error.'') (25. "Verily, I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me!'') Quoting what reached him from Ibn `Abbas, Ka`b Al-Ahbar and Wahb bin Munabbih -- Ibn Ishaq reported that, "The people of the city resolved to kill their Messengers, then a man came running to them from the farthest part of the town, i.e., to help them against his people. They said, his name was Habib, and he used to work with ropes. He was a sickly man who suffered from leprosy, and he was very charitable, giving half of his earnings in charity, and his Fitrah (natural inclination) was sound.'' Shabib bin Bishr said, narrating from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the name of the man mentioned in Ya Sin was Habib An-Najjar, and he was killed by his people.

[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.''

[قِيلَ ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ يلَيْتَ قَوْمِى يَعْلَمُونَ - بِمَا غَفَرَ لِى رَبِّى وَجَعَلَنِى مِنَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ - وَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَى قَوْمِهِ مِن بَعْدِهِ مِن جُندٍ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَمَا كُنَّا مُنزِلِينَ - إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ خَـمِدُونَ ]

(26. It was said: "Enter Paradise.'' He said: "Would that my people knew.'') (27. "That my Lord (Allah) has forgiven me, and made me of the honored ones!'') (28. And We sent not against his people after him an army from the heaven, nor was it needful for Us to send (such a thing).) (29. It was but one Sayhah and lo! they (all) were still.) Muhammad bin Ishaq reported from some of his companions from Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that they stamped on him until his intestines came out of his back passage. Allah said to him:

[ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ]

("Enter Paradise.'') so he entered it with all its bountiful provision, when Allah had taken away from him all the sickness, grief and exhaustion of this world. Mujahid said, "It was said to Habib An-Najjar, `Enter Paradise.' This was his right, for he had been killed. When he saw the reward,

[قَالَ يلَيْتَ قَوْمِى يَعْلَمُونَ]

(He said: "Would that my people knew...'').'' Qatadah said, "You will never find a believer but he is sincere and is never insincere. When he saw with his own eyes how Allah had honored him, he said:

[قِيلَ ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ يلَيْتَ قَوْمِى يَعْلَمُونَ - بِمَا غَفَرَ لِى رَبِّى وَجَعَلَنِى مِنَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ ]

(He said: "Would that my people knew that my Lord has forgiven me, and made me of the honored ones!'') He wished that his people could know about what he was seeing with his own eyes of the honor of Allah.'' Ibn `Abbas said, "He was sincere towards his people during his lifetime by saying,

[يقَوْمِ اتَّبِعُواْ الْمُرْسَلِينَ]

(O my people! Obey the Messengers), and after his death by saying:

[قِيلَ ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ يلَيْتَ قَوْمِى يَعْلَمُونَ - بِمَا غَفَرَ لِى رَبِّى وَجَعَلَنِى مِنَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ ]

(Would that my people knew that my Lord (Allah) has forgiven me, and made me of the honored ones!) This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim. Sufyan Ath-Thawri narrated from `Asim Al-Ahwal from Abu Mijlaz:

[بِمَا غَفَرَ لِى رَبِّى وَجَعَلَنِى مِنَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ ]

(That my Lord has forgiven me, and made me of the honored ones!) "Because of my faith in my Lord and my belief in the Messengers.'' He meant that if they could see the great reward and everlasting blessings that he had attained, this would lead them to follow the Messengers. May Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him, for he was so keen that his people should be guided.

[وَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَى قَوْمِهِ مِن بَعْدِهِ مِن جُندٍ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَمَا كُنَّا مُنزِلِينَ ]

(And We sent not against his people after him an army from the heaven, nor was it needful for Us to send.) Allah tells us that He took revenge on his people after they had killed him because He, may He be blessed and exalted, was angry with them, for they had disbelieved in His Messengers and killed His close friend. Allah tells us that He did not send an army of angels, nor did He need to send them, to destroy these people; the matter was simpler than that. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, according to the reports of Ibn Ishaq from some of his companions concerning the Ayah:

[وَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَى قَوْمِهِ مِن بَعْدِهِ مِن جُندٍ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ وَمَا كُنَّا مُنزِلِينَ ]

(And We sent not against his people after him an army from the heaven, nor was it needful for Us to send.) He said: "`We did not seek to outnumber them, for the matter was simpler than that.''

[إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ خَـمِدُونَ ]

(It was but one Sayhah and lo! they (all) were still.) He said, "So Allah destroyed that tyrant king, and destroyed the people of Antioch, and they disappeared from the face of the earth, leaving no trace behind.

Story Bal`am bin Ba`ura

Story Bal`am bin Ba`ura

`Abdur-Razzaq recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said that Allah's statement,


[وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِى ءاتَيْنَـهُ ءَايَـتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا]

(And recite to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayat, but he threw them away) "Is about Bal`am bin Ba`ura' a man from the Children of Israel.'' Shu`bah and several other narrators narrated this statement from Mansur who got it from Ibn Mas`ud. Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah narrated that Qatadah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Sayfi, son of Ar-Rahib.'' Qatadah commented that Ka`b said, "He was a man from Al-Balqla' (a province of Jordan) who knew Allah's Greatest Name. He used to live in Bayt Al-Maqdis with the tyrants.'' Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Bal`am bin Ba`ura', a man from Yemen whom Allah had given the knowledge of His Ayat, but he abandoned them.'' Malik bin Dinar said, "He was one of the scholars of the Children of Israel whose supplication was acceptable. They used to seek his lead in suplication in times of difficulty. Allah's Prophet Musa sent him to the King of Madyan to call him to Allah. That king appeased him and gave him land and gifts, and he reverted from the religion of Musa and followed the king's religion.'' `Imran bin `Uyaynah narrated that `Husayn said that `Imran bin Al-Harith said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is Bal`am son of Ba`ura'.'' Similar was said by Mujahid and `Ikrimah. Therefore, it is well-known that this honorable Ayah was revealed about a man from the Children of Israel in ancient times, according to Ibn Mas`ud and several others among the Salaf. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is a man from the city of the tyrants (Jerusalem) whose name was Bal`am and who knew Allah's Greatest Name.'' `Ali bin Abi Talhah also reported that Ibn `Abbas that he said, "When Musa and those with him went to the city of the tyrants (Jerusalem), the cousins of Bal`am and his people came to him and said, `Musa is a strong man, and he has many soldiers. If he gains the upper hand over us, we will be destroyed. Therefore, supplicate to Allah that He prevents Musa and those with him from prevailing over us.' Bal`am said, `If I supplicate to Allah that He turns back Musa and those with him, I will lose in this life and the Hereafter.' They kept luring him until he supplicated against Musa and his people, and Allah took away what he bestowed on him (of knowledge). Hence Allah's statement,

[فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَـنُ]

(but he threw them away; so Shaytan followed him up).''' Allah said next,

[وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَـهُ بِهَا وَلَـكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الاٌّرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ]

(And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith but he clung to the earth and followed his own vain desires.) Allah said,

[وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَـهُ بِهَا]

(And had We willed, We would surely have elevated him therewith) from the filth of this earthly life through the Ayat that We gave him knowledge of,

[وَلَـكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الاٌّرْضِ]

(but he clung to the earth), he became interested in the adornment of this life and its delights. He indulged in the lusts of life and its joys and was deceived by it, just as life deceived others like him, without sound comprehension or a good mind. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated from Salim, from Abu An-Nadr that when Musa entered the land of Bani Canaan in the area of Ash-Sham (Greater Syria), the people of Bal`am came to him, saying, "This is Musa, son of `Imran with the Children of Israel. He wants to drive us out from our land, kill us and replace us with the Children of Israel. We are your people and have no other dwelling area. You are a person whose supplication is acceptable (to Allah), so go out and supplicate to Allah against them.'' He said, "Woe to you! Here is Allah's Prophet (Musa) with whom the angels and believers are! How can I supplicate against them when I know from Allah what I know'' They said, "We have no other dwelling area.'' So they kept luring and begging him until he was tempted by the trial and went on his donkey towards Mount Husban, which was behind the Israelite military barracks. When he proceeded on the Mount for a while, the donkey sat down and refused to proceed. He got off the donkey and struck it until it stood up again and he rode it. The donkey did the same after a little while, and he struck it again until it stood up... So he proceeded and tried to supplicate against Musa and his people. However, Allah made his tongue mention his people with evil and the Children of Israel with good instead of his people, who protested, "O Bal`am! What are you doing You are supplicating for them and against us!'' He said, "It is against my will. This is a matter that Allah has decided.'' He then said to them, as his tongue was made to loll out of his mouth, "Now I have lost this life and the Hereafter.'' This Ayah was revealed about the story of Bal`am son of Ba`ura'

[وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِى ءاتَيْنَـهُ ءَايَـتِنَا فَانْسَلَخَ مِنْهَا]

(And recite to them the story of him to whom We gave Our Ayat, but he threw them away.), until,

[لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ]

(perhaps they may reflect.) Allah said next,

[فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث]

(So his parable is the parable of a dog: if you drive him away, he pants, or if you leave him alone, he (still) pants.) Scholars of Tafsir have conflicting opinions regarding the meaning of this Ayah. Some scholars said that it refers to the end of Bal`am's tongue which flickered out of his mouth, as in the story narrated from Ibn Ishaq, from Salim, from Abu An-Nadr. Therefore, his example is the example of the dog, its tongue pants regardless of whether it is driven away or not. It was also said that the meaning here is a parable of this man -- and his like -- concerning their misguidance, persisting the wrong path and not being able to benefit from faith or comprehend what they are being called to. So his example is that of a dog which pants whether it was driven away or left alone. The person described here does not benefit from the advice or the call to faith, just as if the advice and call never occurred.



Tafseer Ibn Kathir - Surah al A'raf.

http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=7&tid=19104

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