The Jinn amazed at the Wonderful Excellence and the guidance the Qur’an provides, the recital of which they had heard

Al Jinn Verses 1 – 19

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful

قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْآنًا عَجَبًا

“Say “It hast been revealed unto me that a party of the jinn hath heard (the Qur’an) and said: “Verily, we have heard a Recital (Qur’an) (which is) Wonderful1“ (72:1)

يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ وَلَنْ نُشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَا أَحَدًا

“Guideth it unto the Right (Way), wherefore believe we in it; and never will we associate anyone with our Lord!” (72:2)

وَأَنَّهُ تَعَالَىٰ جَدُّ رَبِّنَا مَا اتَّخَذَ صَاحِبَةً وَلَا وَلَدًا

“And that He, exalted is the Majesty of our Lord! hath taken not a wife nor a son2“ (72:3)

وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًا

“And that want to speak the foolish ones amongst us, against God, atrocious3things” (72:4)

وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَنْ لَنْ تَقُولَ الْإِنْسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا

“And that thought we that never utter the humans and jinn any falsehood against God” (72:5)

وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الْإِنْسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًا

“And that individuals from among the humans used to seek protection of the individuals from among the jinn so they increased them (only) in rebellion (against God)” (72:6)

وَأَنَّهُمْ ظَنُّوا كَمَا ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنْ لَنْ يَبْعَثَ اللَّهُ أَحَدًا

“And that they (too) thought, as ye think, never would God raise (from the dead) any one!” (72:7)

وَأَنَّا لَمَسْنَا السَّمَاءَ فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مُلِئَتْ حَرَسًا شَدِيدًا وَشُهُبًا

“And that we4sought the heavens, but we found it filled with strong guards and flaming darts5“ (72:8)

وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ فَمَنْ يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَصَدًا

“And that sat we6on some of the seats (there) to (steal) a hearing; but any who would (try now to) listen, findeth a flaming dart in wait for him7“ (72:9)

وَأَنَّا لَا نَدْرِي أَشَرٌّ أُرِيدَ بِمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ أَرَادَ بِهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ رَشَدًا

“And that we understand not (by this) whether evil be meant for them that are on the earth, or whether willeth their Lord to guide them aright” (72:10)

وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنَّا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ كُنَّا طَرَائِقَ قِدَدًا

“And that some amongst us are good ones8, and the others of us are other than that; we are sects following different ways” (72:11)

وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَنْ لَنْ نُعْجِزَ اللَّهَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَنْ نُعْجِزَهُ هَرَبًا

“And that knew we that never can we defeat9(the will of) God in the earth, and never can we defeat Him (in His will) by flight” (72:12)

وَأَنَّا لَمَّا سَمِعْنَا الْهُدَىٰ آمَنَّا بِهِ فَمَنْ يُؤْمِنْ بِرَبِّهِ فَلَا يَخَافُ بَخْسًا وَلَا رَهَقًا

“And that, when heard we the guidance, believed we in it; and whosoever believeth in his Lord, he thereafter feareth neither loss nor oppression,” (72:13)

وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الْمُسْلِمُونَ وَمِنَّا الْقَاسِطُونَ فَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ تَحَرَّوْا رَشَدًا

“And that, of us some are Muslims10and of us are the others who are the deviators (from the right path), and whoever submit these pursue the right guidance” (72:14)

وَأَمَّا الْقَاسِطُونَ فَكَانُوا لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَبًا

“And as for the deviators, they shall be for the hell, a fuel” (72:15)

وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا

“And that if they be steadfast on the right way, We would certainly give them water11(A sustenance) in abundance12“ (72:16)

لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَمَنْ يُعْرِضْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِ يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا

“That we may prove them thereby, but whoso turneth away from the remembrance of his Lord, him will He make undergo a severe chastisement” (72:17)

وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا

“And that, the places for Sajdah (prostration) are for (the remembrance only of) God, so call ye not (therein) any one with God!” (72:18)

وَأَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا

“And that, when the servant of God (Muhammad) standeth praying unto Him, they surrounded around him, almost stifling” (72:19)

Commentary

Verse 1

‘Jinn’, i.e., the ethereal beings quite different from the angels. Angels are pure energies created for fixed duties allotted by God and ‘Jinns’ are similar beings created of the element of fire13 generally functioning as the agencies of evil while the angels are the actors of good. But the jinns are capable of getting their evil corrected and amending their activities for good. Though jinns are generally wicked or evil beings but there are good and the righteous ones also among them. With the birth of the Holy Prophet, the ways or the means for the jinns to rise into the higher spheres were stopped and hence they were disabled from stealing any news from the heavens above and hence could no longer inspire their victims with the information about the future to mislead mankind, by attracting their attention and faith in them against God and godliness.

The jinns were spread all over the atmosphere in quest of any particular event having occurred on earth to have created this effect detrimental to their activities. A party of the jinns passed the Holy Prophet while he was in prayers reciting the Holy Qur’an. They listened to it and wondered about the contents the recitation conveyed, i.e., about the Unity of God and the purity of faith and conduct which ideas were unknown to the people for centuries together and anything like that was never heard by them ever before. This party of the jinns returned to their people and the Sura contains what they reported to their kind about what they heard and about their embracing Islam14.

However, Qur’an and Islamic traditions assert the existence of intelligent beings with ethereal bodies other than angels capable of being charged with responsibilities. And due to the fineness of the structure of their bodies, they are capable of doing things beyond the ordinary human power. (A.P.)

Verse 2

The jinn compares the Islamic Unity preached by the Holy Qur’an which he heard for the first time in his life, to the polytheistic faith in the Trinity of the church started in the name of Jesus and the Jews associating Moses with God15.

Verse 3

Here the jinn glorifies the Unity of God against the belief in, God having a wife and a son for Him for the Christian belief in a begotten son of God, necessitates also the partnership of a wife for the issue to be born of her16.

Verse 6

People believed in the protection of the Jinn and used to seek it. Whenever they happened to be in the wilderness or in any dreadful forest, they used to invoke the protection of their own imaginary jinn as the chief of the jinns of the place saying: “O’ Chief of this wilderness, I seek refuge in thee, against the mischief of any of thy wicked subjects” By saying so the people thought that they were safe. Such false praises had infatuated the jinns and made them proud to foolishly think that they could be believed as the real guardians of mankind, having authority over their destiny.

Verse 7

People did not expect anyone from among their own brethren being raised as an apostle of God, to admonish them against their false belief and wicked life.

A sect among the Jews did not believe in the Resurrection.

Verse 8

How the unauthorised approach to the heavens, by the evil spirits, is repulsed by the shafts of the Meteoric lights from the skies17.

Verse 13

Everyone shall have the recompense in full. It is this conviction that a true believer suffers the worst of miseries and tortures and even drinks the cup of death cheerfully in the way of the Lord for he is sure and certain that in the ultimate, the return for all his suffering, will be in full measure and none can ever deny or deprive him of anything which he has earned.

Verse 16

According to the commentary of the Ahl Al-Bayt, Abu Basir says: “I asked the Fifth Holy Imam Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Baqir about the application of the Verses 41:30, he said that is the path on which thou art and quoted this Verse. And according to the Sixth Holy Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad As-Sadiq, the water here means, abundance of pure knowledge of the truth which those who adhere to the Imams would receive. (A.P.)

Verse 18

‘Masajid’ is the plural of ‘Masjid’, i.e., a place of ‘Sijdak’ or prostration, figuratively used for the places of worship, i.e., Mosque but here according to the interpretation of the Ahl Al-Bayt ‘Masajid’ includes even the parts of human body which ought to be used in the performance of ‘Sajdah’ - i.e., both two palms, two knees, two feet, and forehead (seven in all). There is a well-known anecdote - During the reign of Abbaside Khalif a dispute arose about the portion to be cut off of the hands of a thief. The Khalif asked the Ninth Imam about it. He said that the cut should not go beyond the four fingers, saying that the palm of the hands is one of the places assigned for Sajdah, hence it should not be cut. (A.P.)

Verse 19

‘Abdullah’, (i.e., the Servant of God) is the title with which the ‘‘Holy Prophet was addressed - When God referred to him with this title it pleased the Holy Prophet the most for it was the acknowledgement and the acceptance of the services rendered by him. (MS.)

The crowding around the Holy Prophet could be a reference to the Holy Prophet’s being mobbed at Taif.

• 1. Refer to Verse 46:29.
• 2. Refer to Verse 6:101.
• 3. False belief etc.
• 4. The jinn.
• 5. Meteors - Piercing rays. Refer to Verse 67:5, 37:7, 15:7.
• 6. The Jinn.
• 7. Refer to Verses 15:17; 15:18; 37:7; 67:5.
• 8. Among the jinns there good and also bad ones - the troublesome.
• 9. Frustrate His plan.
• 10. Those who submit themselves to God’s will. Among the jinns there are Muslims and also kafirs – disbelievers.
• 11. Knowledge of the truth.
• 12. Refer to Verse 7:96; 5:69; 3:84; 2:62.
• 13. See 7:12: 38:76.
• 14. Refer to our note on jinn. See 46:29-32.
• 15. See 6:101.
• 16. See 6:101.
• 17. See 15:17; 15:18; 37:7; 67:5.