Episode 4
Episode 4: He Enters Paradise, His People Are Destroyed
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The believing man was apparently killed by his people for his faith, and then Allah honored him with Paradise. Astonishingly, even in Paradise his heart still thought of his people, wishing they knew the reward of faith. Allah said, "It was said, 'Enter Paradise.' He said, 'I wish my people could know of how my Lord has forgiven me and placed me among the honored'" (Qur'an 36:26-27). Though his people wronged him, he held no grudge; rather he wished them guidance like his own. This is the summit of a believer's magnanimity. As for the wrongdoing people, Allah destroyed them with a single shout โ with no need for an army from the sky. Allah said, "And We did not send down upon his people after him any soldiers from the heaven, nor would We have done so. It was not but one shout, and immediately they were extinguished" (Qur'an 36:28-29). Reflection: death on the path of faith is not defeat, but a door to Paradise and honor. Conversely, the strength of the wrongdoers means nothing before Allah โ one shout is enough to destroy them. And the heart of a true believer is filled with compassion, even wishing good for those who once wronged him. Source & Note: evidence from the Qur'an, 36:26-29. That the man was killed by his people is understood from the context of the verses (the immediate "Enter Paradise"); details of how he died in some tafsir come from reports and are not certain. The "one shout" (sayhah) that destroyed his people is the Qur'an's own text.