Tafseer Ibn Kathir of YAA SIIN [20]

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.

(He said: ”O my people! Obey the Messengers.'') -- he urged his people to follow the Messengers who had come to them.

(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.'

(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'

(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.'

(Shall I take besides Him gods) This is a rhetorical question intended to rebuke and chastise.

(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,'

(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.'

(Then verily, I should be in plain error.) means, `if I were to take them as gods instead of Allah.'

(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:

(`Verily, I have believed in your Lord) in Whom you have disbelieved,

(so listen to me!)' means, listen to what I say.'' Or it may be that he was addressing the Messengers when he said:

(Verily, I have believed in your Lord,) meaning, `Who has sent you,'

(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.''