Are the three messengers mentioned in Surah "Ya-Sin" in the story of the people of the town, about whom Allah Almighty said: (And present to them an example: the people of the town, when the messengers came to them. When We sent to them two, and they denied them both, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you") - are they messengers of Allah?

The exegetes differed regarding the messengers mentioned in Surat Ya-Sin, holding two views: The first view is that they were direct messengers of Allah. The evidence for this is that the villagers' response, "You are nothing but human beings like us," matches the disbelievers' rejection of Allah's messengers, and the apparent meaning of the Qur'an indicates that Allah sent them.

The second view is that they were messengers of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), whom he sent to "Antioch." The evidence for this view is the narration from Qatadah. They countered the evidence of the first view by arguing that the villagers' objection was out of obstinacy, and that attributing the sending to the plural pronoun "We sent" was metaphorical.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah preferred the first view, stating that they were messengers of Allah before Christ, and the people of Antioch did not believe in them but rather Allah destroyed them, contrary to what Christians mention about Antioch. He also stated that these messengers were three, and a man came to them from the farthest part of the city, which is different from what is known about the disciples. Ibn Taymiyyah adduced as evidence that Allah destroyed the people with a torment from the sky, and this did not happen after the revelation of the Torah. He also argued that Allah did not mention in the Qur'an any messengers sent by anyone other than Him, and that it is the prophets who are mocked, not the followers of messengers. He further argued that Allah presented them as an example for those to whom Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent, and that calling the messengers of prophets "messengers of Allah" is incorrect.