Episode 3
Episode 3: A Believer Comes Running from the Edge of the City
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Amid his people's rejection, a believing man came hurrying from the far end of the city to defend the messengers and call his people to the truth. Allah said, "And there came from the farthest end of the city a man, running. He said, 'O my people, follow the messengers. Follow those who do not ask of you [any] payment, and they are [rightly] guided'" (Qur'an 36:20-21). The man argued with clear reason and a sincere heart. He asked why he should not worship the Allah who created him: "And why should I not worship He who created me and to whom you will be returned? Should I take other than Him [false] deities [while], if the Most Merciful intends for me some adversity, their intercession will not avail me at all, nor can they save me? Indeed, I would then be in manifest error" (Qur'an 36:22-24). Then he announced his faith courageously before his people: "Indeed, I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me" (Qur'an 36:25). Reflection: one believer who dares to voice the truth is worth more than a crowd silent in falsehood. He called with argument, not compulsion, and stressed the sincerity of the messengers who "ask no payment" โ the mark of the true bearers of truth. Source & Note: evidence from the Qur'an, 36:20-25. The Qur'an calls him "a man" without a name; some commentators call him "Habib an-Najjar" โ this name comes from tradition/tafsir, not from the text, so it is not certain.
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Episode 4: He Enters Paradise, His People Are Destroyed