The People of the City and the Man of Yasin — Martyr of Faith
stories
Level: basic
history
st-063
Quranic context:
Three messengers were sent to a city and the people rejected them. A man came running from the far end of the city to support the messengers and call his people: "Follow the messengers — follow those who ask no reward from you and are rightly guided."
Context:
His people killed him and he entered Paradise directly. He said: "Would that my people knew — how my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored." Even in Paradise he still carried concern for the guidance of those who had killed him. Allah then destroyed the city with a single blast.
Lesson:
A true martyr holds no grudge even toward those who killed him. At the moment of entering Paradise he wishes for the guidance of his murderers. This is the highest degree of a pure heart and sincerity in calling to truth.
Source: Ibn Kathir Tafsir (7/3); Al-Tabari Tafsir (23/3); Al-Sadi Tafsir
Question: What did the man of Yasin say when he entered Paradise after being killed?
Answer: "Would that my people knew how my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored" — he wished for the guidance of those who had killed him.