Sūrah Yā-Sīn :(36:20).Part2

وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَىٰ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ

A man came running from the farthest end of the city and said: ‘O my people! Follow those who have been sent (to you as Messengers).(Yā-Sīn 36:20)

In fact, this voice has always been the voice of those who sacrifice themselves for the happiness of others. Here is Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings: he did not curse his enemies even when his tooth was broken and his face was in blood during the battle of Uhud. On the contrary, he prayed for those who inflicted that brutality on him, saying:

 “O my Lord! Guide my people, because they do not know.” 

By the way, I should point out that Prophet Noah’s prayer for his obstinate, disbelieving, and tyrannical people,

“My Lord! Do not leave on the earth any from among the unbelievers dwelling therein” (Nūh 71:26),

may at first sight be seen as contrary to what I have just said. Actually, it is not so. According to the principle of “drawing the conclusion based on what has happened,” Prophet Noah, who knew his community very well during the long years he served as Prophet, must have prayed so after he knew the Divine will or judgment about his people. When we take the way and practice of the Prophets into consideration, we will come to this clear conclusion.

In addition, there are some who claim that the stories in the Qur’ān are symbolic stories which the Qur’ān narrates to teach lessons. This is absolutely wrong, for they are historic events which took place as the Qur’ān relates.

By narrating these events, God shows us the tips of some universal truths or laws which will be valid until the end of time. In other words, these kinds of events began with Adam and will continue to happen until no human beings remain on the earth. In fact, if we view their contents, we realize that the Qur’ān does not relate them to any specific time or place. This must be what is expected from a Universal Book. Furthermore, in order to benefit from the Qur’ān sufficiently, we should never miss this important point. We should view the verses in which such events are narrated in connection with the lessons they intend to give. Another point is that whether a verse was revealed concerning a specific occasion or a specific event or a specific group of people, such as the Jews or Christians or unbelievers or hypocrites, everyone who reads the Qur’ān should assume that the Qur’ān addresses him or herself directly. Besides, readers of the Qur’ān should try to make the connection between the time, place, conditions, and the figures mentioned in the verses and their own time and place and the very conditions surrounding them.