Surah Yasin ayat 21 Tafsir Quran 36:21

﴿اتَّبِعُوا مَن لَّا يَسْأَلُكُمْ أَجْرًا وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ﴾
[ يس: 21]

36:21 Follow those who do not ask of you [any] payment, and they are [rightly] guided.

Follow ittabi‘ū this reiterates the preceding ittabi‘ū them who do not ask you for any reward in return for delivering to you the message and who are rightly guided. And so he was asked ‘Do you follow their religion?’ So he replied

Obey them, he added, they do not ask you for a price or anything in return, they themselves are guided into all truth and wish to relate it to you

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 ( 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.' وَمَا لِىَ لاَ أَعْبُدُ الَّذِى فَطَرَنِى ( 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' وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ( 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.' أَءَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِ ءَالِهَةً ( Shall I take besides Him gods ) This is a rhetorical question intended to rebuke and chastise. إِن يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَـنُ بِضُرٍّ لاَّ تُغْنِ عَنِّى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يُنقِذُونَ ( 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,' فَلاَ كَـشِفَ لَهُ إِلاَّ هُوَ ( 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.' إِنِّى إِذاً لَّفِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ ( Then verily, I should be in plain error. ) means, `if I were to take them as gods instead of Allah.' إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاسْمَعُونِ ( 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: إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ( `Verily, I have believed in your Lord ) in Whom you have disbelieved, فَاسْمَعُونِ ( so listen to me! )' means, listen to what I say." Or it may be that he was addressing the Messengers when he said: إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ( Verily, I have believed in your Lord, ) meaning, `Who has sent you,' فَاسْمَعُونِ ( 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."

(36:21) follow those who do not ask any recompense from you and are rightly-guided. *17

Follow those who do not ask of meaning

*17) That servant of God, in this one sentence, put together all the arguments required for determining the genuineness of Prophethood.
The genuineness of a Prophet can be determined by two things.
First, his word and deed; second, his being selfless.
What the person meant to say was this: 'First, whatever these people are saying is perfectly reasonable, and their own character also is pure; second, no one can prove that they are calling the people to this faith on account of a selfish motive.
Therefore, there is no reason why they should not be listened to." By citing this reasoning of the person the Qur'an set a criterion before the people of how to judge and determine the genuineness of the Prophethood of a Prophet, as if to say; "The word and decd of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings ) bear full evidence that he is on the right path.
Then, no one can point out any selfish motive or interest behind his struggle of preaching his message.
Therefore, there is no reason why a sensible person should reject what he presents."
 

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 ( 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.' وَمَا لِىَ لاَ أَعْبُدُ الَّذِى فَطَرَنِى ( 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' وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ( 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.' أَءَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِ ءَالِهَةً ( Shall I take besides Him gods ) This is a rhetorical question intended to rebuke and chastise. إِن يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَـنُ بِضُرٍّ لاَّ تُغْنِ عَنِّى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يُنقِذُونَ ( 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,' فَلاَ كَـشِفَ لَهُ إِلاَّ هُوَ ( 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.' إِنِّى إِذاً لَّفِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ ( Then verily, I should be in plain error. ) means, `if I were to take them as gods instead of Allah.' إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَاسْمَعُونِ ( 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: إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ( `Verily, I have believed in your Lord ) in Whom you have disbelieved, فَاسْمَعُونِ ( so listen to me! )' means, listen to what I say." Or it may be that he was addressing the Messengers when he said: إِنِّى ءَامَنتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ( Verily, I have believed in your Lord, ) meaning, `Who has sent you,' فَاسْمَعُونِ ( 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."

( Follow those who ask of you no fee ) or reward for believing in Allah, ( and who are rightly guided ) and who guide to belief in Allah’s divine Oneness. They said to him: you have absolved yourself from us and from the religion of our forefathers and embraced the religion of our enemy.

"Obey those who ask no wages of you (for themselves), and who are rightly guided.

Page 441 English transliteration