Surah Yaseen
Chapter 36 · Verse 21 · Revealed in Makkah
“Follow those who do not ask of you [any] payment, and they are [rightly] guided.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
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
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
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
What does this verse bring up for you today?