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People of the Ditch (Arabic: أصحاب الأخدود, romanized: ʿaṣ'ḥābu l-ʿukhdūdi) is a story mentioned in Surah Al-Burooj of the Qur'an. It is about people who were thrown into a ditch and set afire, due to their belief in Allah.[1]
The narrative was telling about a story of Malik (Arabic: مَـلِـك, King) that had a sahir (Arabic: سَـاحِـر, magician) in the days before Muhammad. As the magician grew old and his lifetime was nearly over, he asked the King to choose a smart boy to learn sihr (Arabic: سِـحْـر, magic) from him. However, as the boy was training in magic, he met a monk everyday on the way to the magic class, and finally became a true believer in God. As a result, he could save people and treat sick people in unusual ways. When the King learned of this, he commanded the boy to abandon his faith in God. The boy rejected the King's command, so he was killed. The King also burned those who followed the boy's deen (Arabic: ديـن, religion), in one or more ditches