Surah Yasin: The story of the Dwellers of the Town (Ashabul Qaryah)

Before the coming of Prophet Isa, peace be upon Him, there was a town in Anatolia where its inhabitants were idolators. They were severely misguided, so Allah sent down two Messengers to guide then back to monotheism. When the people saw the Messengers, they laughed at them and refused to believe what the Messengers had said to them. Allah then sent down a third Messenger to assist the other two. But the people said that the Messengers were only human beings and they set aside the idea that Allah might send human beings as His Messengers to mankind. The Messengers asserted that Allah knows that they have been sent to them and that if they lie to Him, He would certainly give them the severest of all punishment. 

The Messengers said, “The duty of ours is only to convey plainly The Message.” The people said, “For us, we see an evil omen from you.” The people threatened to stone and execute the Messengers if they did not stop their preaching. But they retorted, “Your evil omens be with you! Do you call it an evil omen because you are admonished? Nay, but you, as a people, are Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance).” This admonishment did not faze the people, who just ignored what the Messengers had said. But just then, a man came running from the far end of the town, shouting to the people, “O my people! Obey the Messengers. Obey those who ask no wages of you for themselves, and who are rightly guided!” This man was no scholar, he was a carpenter, yet he was a noble man who believed in Allah, and would often advise his people against idolatry. He would observe his religious rituals in a cave, all alone by himself.

The people of the town were angry, and they proceeded to beat him up. They tortured him in all sorts of ways, such as stoning, or punching, some even bit him. Just as he was about to die, Allah admitted him into Jannah. The man, when he saw the pleasures of Jannah, said, “Would that my people knew? That my Lord, Allah, has forgiven me, and made me of the honored ones!” It is narrated by Sufyan at-Thawri that the name of the man was Habib ibn Murri, known as Habib al-Najjar due to his profession as a carpenter. Again, Allah knows best.

Now it was time for the punishment of the people of the town. Allah sent down His Angel, Jibreel, peace be upon Him. Jibreel maintained a firm grasp on their town's gate. He then made a single shout, which destroyed all of them. Everyone became dead and motionless. The town was now dead silent and abandoned.

Israiliyyat reports (reports from sources outside of Islam) suggest that the name of the town was Antioch. Wahb ibn Munabbih also narrates similarly, and he narrates that the event happened during the time of the Seleucid king Antiochus, who belied the Messengers which Allah had sent to guide him and his people back to monotheism. However, Ibn Kathir disproves this, saying that the town was unlikely to be Antioch as the people of Antioch were the first to become believers during the time of Prophet Isa. Allah knows best.

Sources

Holy Qur'an - Surah Ya-Sin

Ibn Kathir - Tafsir on Surah Ya-Sin (ayah 13-29)