Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:20
And there came from the farthest end of the city a man, running. He said, "O my people, follow the messengers.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His saying ( وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَى ) — "And from the farthest part of the city a man came hurrying" — means: and from the farthest part of the city of this people, to whom these messengers had been sent, came a man who hastened toward them. That was because the inhabitants of this city were resolved and their opinions had agreed upon killing these three messengers, as has been transmitted. That news reached this man, whose dwelling lay in the farthest part of the city. He was a believer, and his name was, as has been transmitted, "Ḥabīb ibn Murrī".
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the reports have been transmitted.
The mention of the transmitted reports concerning that:
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʾammal ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz, who said: The man of Yā Sīn was "Ḥabīb ibn Murrī".
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, he said: Among the story of the man of Yā Sīn is, as Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us on the authority of what reached him from Ibn ʿAbbās, and from Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, and from Wahb ibn Munabbih the Yemeni, that he was a man from the inhabitants of Antioch. His name was "Ḥabīb", and he made rope (al-jarīr). He was a sickly man, in whom leprosy had quickly taken hold, and his dwelling lay by one of the gates of the city, at the farthest edge. He was a believer who gave alms: when evening came he gathered his earnings, as they relate, and divided them into two halves — with one half he fed his family, and the other half he gave as alms. Neither his illness, nor his work, nor his weakness kept him from the service of his Lord. He said: When his people had agreed upon killing the messengers, that news reached "Ḥabīb", while he was by the farthest gate of the city. He came hurrying toward them, and reminded them of Allah, and called them to follow those who had been sent. So he said: ( يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ ) — "O my people, follow the messengers."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Maʿmar ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm, that it was related to him on the authority of Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, who said: To him was mentioned Ḥabīb ibn Zayd ibn ʿĀṣim, the brother of the Banū Māzin ibn al-Najjār, whom Musaylima the Liar cut into pieces in al-Yamāma, when he began to interrogate him about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He began to say: "Do you bear witness that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah?" And he answered: "Yes." Then he said: "Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah?" And he answered: "I do not hear it." Thereupon Musaylima said: "You hear this, but not that?" And he answered: "Yes." Then he began to cut him off limb by limb — each time he interrogated him, he added nothing more than that — until he died in his hands. Kaʿb said, when his name "Ḥabīb" was mentioned to him: By Allah, the man of Yā Sīn was also named "Ḥabīb".
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtayba, on the authority of Miqsam Abū al-Qāsim, the freedman of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Nawfal, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, that he used to say: The name of the man of Yā Sīn was "Ḥabīb", and leprosy had quickly afflicted him.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying ( وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَى ), he said: It has been related to us that his name was "Ḥabīb", and that he worshipped his Lord in a cave. When he heard about them, he came to them.
And His saying ( قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ ) — "He said: O my people, follow the messengers" — means: the Exalted says: the man who came from the farthest part of the city said to his people: O my people, follow the messengers whom Allah has sent to you, and accept from them what they have brought you.
And it has been related that when he came to the messengers, he asked them: do they ask for any reward for what they have brought? And the messengers said: No. Then he said to his people: Follow those who ask you no reward for their good counsel to you.
* The mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: When he came to them — that is, to the messengers — he said: Do you ask for any reward for this? They said: No. Thereupon he said: ( يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ اتَّبِعُوا مَنْ لا يَسْأَلُكُمْ أَجْرًا وَهُمْ مُهْتَدُونَ ) — "O my people, follow the messengers; follow those who ask you no reward, and they are rightly guided."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of what reached him, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and from Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, and from Wahb ibn Munabbih.
