Surah Al-Jinn: Verse 1 - قل أوحي إلي أنه استمع... - English

Commentary

Preliminary Remarks

It seems necessary to know a few facts before the start of the study of the Surah, which are as follows:

Fact [ 1]

Before the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ the devils used to go up to the heavens and eavesdrop on the conversations of the angels. After his advent, they were pelted with a piercing flame if they attempted to go up and eavesdrop. It is mentioned in Surah Al-Ahqaf that a group of jinn went up to the Holy Prophet to investigate the reason for this new phenomenon.

Fact [ 2]

It was customary in the Days of Ignorance that when people halted in a jungle or valley in the course of a journey, they uttered the following words:

اعوذ بعزیز ھذا الودی من شر سفھاء قومہ

"I seek refuge in the leader of this valley from the foolish mischief-makers of his nation" - believing that the leader of the valley (a Jinn) would protect them.

Fact [ 3]

A terrible famine held Makkah in its grip for several years as a result of the Holy Prophet's ﷺ prayer.

Fact [ 4]

When the Holy Prophet ﷺ called the pagans towards Islam, they opposed him tooth and nail. The first two incidents are taken from Tafsir Durr Manthur and the last two incidents are taken from Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

نَفَرٌ‌ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ (...a group from Jinn....72:1). The word nafar is used for a group consisting of three to ten people. The Jinn referred to here are said to be a group of nine Jinns from a place called Nasibin.

Reality of Jinn

Jinn is one of the Divine creatures. They have body and soul. They, like human beings, have intellect and senses, but they are hidden from human eyes. This species of creation is called 'Jinn' because it literally means 'hidden' or 'invisible'. They, like human beings, are created from the four primal elements: dust, water, air and fire, but the element of fire predominates in them, whereas in man the element of dust predominates. They, like human beings, are males and females; and they, like human beings, marry and procreate. Apparently, the word shaitan [ pl. shayatin ] 'Shaitan' refers to the 'arrogant mischief-making Jinn'. The existence of Jinn and angels is established by conclusive and incontestable evidence in the Qur'an and Sunnah, the denial or rejection of which amounts to disbelieving the Qur'an. [ Tafsir Mazhari ].

قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ Say, (It has been revealed to me 72:1). This shows that the Holy Prophet ﷺ did not see the group of Jinn who heard him recite the Qur'an. Allah informed him by the revelation of Surah Al-Jinn.

Circumstances of Revelation

Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ narrates, as recorded in Sahih of Bukhari, of Muslim, and in Tirmidhi and other collections, that Allah's Messenger ﷺ did not by deliberate design make the Jinn listen to the Qur'an, nor did he see them. The true story is that the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، with his Companions, was going to the marketplace of ` Ukaz. This incident took place at a time when the devils were barred from going to the skies and eavesdropping on the conversations of the angels by being pelted with piercing flames. When the Jinn realised that they were no longer free to eavesdrop, they discussed among themselves that the incident could not be coincidental. There must be a genuine reason for that. So they divided themselves into groups and each group went in different direction to investigate the cause of the new phenomenon. One of the groups arrived at a place called Nakhlah in Tihamah where Hijaz is situated. At that juncture, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was leading the Sahabah in Fajr salah and the Jinn had the opportunity to hear the Qur'an. When this group of Jinn heard the Qur'an, they listened to it very attentively and concluded on oath that it was the Qur'an that prevented them from eavesdropping in the heavens. Then they returned to their fellow Jinns and recounted to them the entire episode, which is mentioned in the following verse:

فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْ‌آنًا عَجَبًا (...and said [ to their people ], Indeed we have heard an amazing Recital [ Qur'an ]....72:1). Allah informed His Messenger about the entire incident of the Jinn in the verses under discussion.

Abu Talib's Death and the Holy Prophet's ﷺ Journey to Ta'if

Most commentators say that after the death of Abu Talib the Holy Prophet ﷺ felt lonely, having no friend or supporter in Makkah. So, he undertook a journey to Ta'if where he approached Banu Thaqif for assistance against the hostility and persecution of his people. According to Muhammad Ibn Ishaq's narration, when the Holy Prophet ﷺ arrived in Ta'if, he approached the three brothers of Banu Thaqif. They were recognized as the leaders and honorable members of the tribe. The three brothers were ` Umair's sons, their names being ` Abd Yalil, Sa’ ud and Habib. They had a Quraishite lady in their house. Allah's Messenger ﷺ invited them to the call of Islam and mentioned about his people's hostility and persecution and asked for help. But they responded very harshly and did not speak to him about anything.

Allah's Messenger ﷺ saw that these three people were the most respected leaders of Banu Thaqif, from whom he expected a favourable response, but he was disappointed. He said to them that if they did not wish to help him, they should at least keep his arrival and request for help confidential and not tell his people; because if they came to know about it, they would persecute him even more harshly. But the oppressors did not concede to this either. On the contrary, they let loose on him foolish hooligans, slaves and hoodlums, so that they may revile him and make violent noises in public places against him. When they made violent noises, more hoodlums and young violent criminal elements joined in. In order to save himself from the mischief of the hooligans and hoodlums, the Holy Prophet ﷺ took refuge in a vineyard which belonged to two brothers, namely ` Utbah and Shaibah. The brothers themselves were in the vineyard at the time. The hooligans and hoodlums left him and went back. The two brothers were watching him, and they also watched how violently the foolish people behaved towards him. Just then the Quraishite lady, who was in the house of the oppressors, came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He complained to her how her in-laws persecuted him.

When the Holy Prophet ﷺ felt a bit settled in the vineyard, he prayed to Allah. The wordings of the supplication are unusual and on no other occasion such wordings are recorded:

اللَّھُمَّ اِنِّی اَشکُوا الَیکَ ضُعفَ قُوَّتِی وَ قِلَّۃَ حِیلَتِی وَ ھَوَانِی عَلَی النَّاسِ وَ اَنتَ اَرحَمُ الرَّاحِمِینَ وَ اَنتَ رَبُّ المُستضعفِینَ فَاَنتَ رَبِّی اَلیٰ مَن تَکِلنِی اِلیٰ بَعِیدِ یَتَھَجَّمُنِی اَو اِلیٰ عَدُوِّ مَّلَّکتَہ اَمرِی اِن لَّم تَکُن سَاخِطاً عَلَیَّ فَلَآ اُبالِی وَ لٰکِنَّ عَافِیَتَکَ ھِیَ اَوسعُ لِی۔ اَعُوذُ بِنُورِ وَجھِکَ الَّذِیُ اَشرَقَت لَہُ الظُّلُمَاتُ وَ صَلُحَ عَلَیہِ اَمرُ الدُّنیَا وَ الاٰخِرَۃِ مِن ۔ (مظھری باختصار)

"0 Allah, I complain to you the weakness of my strength and the shortage of my options, and lack of respect for me in the sight of people. You are the Most Merciful of all, and You are the Cherisher and Sustainer of the weaklings. You are my Cherisher. To whom are You handing me over? - to a stranger who would attack me? Or to an enemy whom You have given control over me (so that he may do as he wishes)? If You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your caring about me is better (which I pray for). I seek refuge in the light of Your blessed Being which dispels all darkness and on the foundation of which all matters related to this world and the next world are set a right. If You send down Your wrath on us, our task is to exert ourselves until we gain Your good pleasure. And there is neither strength nor power except through You." [ condensed from Mazhari ].

When Rabi` ah's sons ` Utbah and Shaibah saw this, they felt compassion for him in their heart. They called one of their Christian slaves, ` Addas by name, and asked him to break a bunch of grapes, place it in a plate and give it to that person and ask him to eat. Complying with the instructions, ` Addas kept the plate of grapes in front of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He recited bismil-lah 'In the name of Allah' and stretched his hand towards it. ` Addas was watching all this and said: By Allah! this speech [ referring to the formula of basmalah ] is not used by the inhabitants of this city. The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked him as to where he was from and what his religion was. He replied that he was a Christian and hailed from Nineveh. Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to him that this means 'you are from the village of Yunus Ibn Matta علیہ السلام . He asked: "What do you know about Yunus Ibn Matta." The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied: "He was my brother. He was Allah's Prophet. I too am Allah's Prophet." At this, ` Addas fell to the Holy Prophet's ﷺ feet. He kissed the blessed head of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his hands and legs. ` Utbah and Shaibah watched the whole incident. One of them said to the other: "I hope he has not set our slave awry." When 'Addas returned to them, they asked him: "What has happened? You were kissing his hands and feet?" He replied: "My masters, at this time there is no person better than he on the face of the earth. He has taught me something which none other than a Prophet can teach." They said: "You miserable wretch, may it not happen that this man turns you away from your religion, because your religion in any case is better than his." When the Holy Prophet ﷺ was completely despaired of Thaqif’ s assistance, he returned from Ta'if to Makkah. On his way back, he halted at Nakhlah and towards the latter part of the night he performed salat-ut-tahajjud. The delegation of Jinns of Nasibin of Yemen had also gone there. They heard the Qur'an and embraced the faith. They went back to their people and recounted to them the whole incident which Allah has mentioned in the verses under comment. [ Mazhari ]

A Jinn Companion of the Holy Prophet

Ibn Jauzi, in his book Sifat-us-Safwah, through his own chain of authorities, reports from Sahl Ibn ` Abdullah ؓ that he saw an old Jinn, in a place, who was performing salah in the direction of Ka'bah. He was wearing a woolen cloak that looked beautiful on him and in which he looked graceful. After he completed his prayer, Sayyidna Sahl ؓ greeted him. Replying to his greeting, he said: 'You seem to be admiring the beauty of this cloak. This cloak is on my body for seven hundred years. I have met Holy Prophet ` Isa (علیہ السلام) in this cloak, and in the same cloak I met Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and I am from among those Jinns about whom Surah Al-Jinn was revealed.' According to the Hadith narratives that recount the incident of the 'Night of Jinn', (i.e. the night in which the Jinns visited the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ was with the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and the Holy Prophet ﷺ met the Jinns in a valley near Makkah for the specific purpose of inviting them to the call of Islam and making them hear the Qur'an by deliberate design. Apparently, this incident occurred after the incident mentioned in Surah AI-Jinn. ` Allamah Khafaji has said that reliable Ahadith confirm that the Jinn delegations met the Holy Prophet ﷺ six times. Thus there is no contradiction between the two versions of the incident, because they are two separate incidents. The Holy Prophet ﷺ was not even aware of the incident of the Jinn's coming to him and listening to the Qur'an that is mentioned in Surah Jinn. He only learnt about it later through revelation. This incident happened at Nakhlah on his way back from Taif. The other narratives from which we gather that the Holy Prophet ﷺ met the Jinn by deliberate design in a valley near the city of Makkah to preach to them and make them hear the Qur'an - is a separate incident which took place after that.

Which was revealed in Makkah

(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Jinns listening to the Qur'an and Their Belief in It

Allah commands His Messenger to inform his people that the Jinns listened to the Qur'an, believed in it, affirmed its truthfulness and adhered to it. So Allah says,

(Say: "It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened. They said: `Verily, we have heard a wonderful Recitation! It guides to the right path"') meaning, to what is correct and success.

(and we have believed therein, and we shall never join anything with our Lord.) This position (that they took) is similar to what Allah said,

(And when We sent towards you a group of the Jinns listening to the Qur'an.) (46:29) We have already presented the Hadiths that have been narrated concerning this, so there is no need to repeat them here. Concerning Allah's statement,

(And He, exalted be the Jadd of our Lord,) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said concerning Allah's statement,

(the Jadd of our Lord,) "This means, His actions, His commands and His power." Ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "Allah's Jadd is His blessings, His power and His favor upon His creation." It has been reported from Mujahid and `Ikrimah that they said, "It (Jadd) is the magnificence of our Lord." Qatadah said, "Exalted is His magnificence, His greatness and His command." As-Suddi said, "Exalted is the command of our Lord." It has been reported from Abu Ad-Darda', Mujahid and Ibn Jurayj that they said, "Exalted is His remembrance (Dhikr)."

The Jinns Affirmation that Allah does not have a Wife and Children

Allah says,

(He has taken neither a wife nor a son.) meaning, far exalted is He above taking a mate and having children. This means that when the Jinns accepted Islam and believed in the Qur'an they professed Allah's magnificence above having taken a spouse and a child (or a son). Then they said,

(And that the foolish among us used to utter against Allah that which was an enormity in falsehood.) Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and As-Suddi, all said,

(the foolish among us) "They were referring to Iblis."

(that which was an enormity in falsehood.) As-Suddi reported from Abu Malik that he said, "This means a transgression." Ibn Zayd said, "A great injustice." The foolish (Safih) also carries the meaning of everyone in the category who claims that Allah has a spouse or a son. This is why Allah says here,

(And that the foolish among us used to utter) meaning, nd He, eeA ? The Jinns Affirmation that Allah does not have a Wife and Children Allah says,

(He has taken neither a wife nor a son.) meaning, far exalted is He above taking a mate and having children. This means that when the Jinns accepted Islam and believed in the Qur'an they professed Allah's magnificence above having taken a spouse and a child (or a son). Then they said,

(And that the foolish among us used to utter against Allah that which was an enormity in falsehood.) Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and As-Suddi, all said,

(the foolish among us) "They were referring to Iblis."

(that which was an enormity in falsehood.) As-Suddi reported from Abu Malik that he said, "This means a transgression." Ibn Zayd said, "A great injustice." The foolish (Safih) also carries the meaning of everyone in the category who claims that Allah has a spouse or a son. This is why Allah says here,

(And that the foolish among us used to utter) meaning, before his acceptance of Islam.

(against Allah that which was an enormity in falsehood.) meaning, falsehood and a lie. Thus, Allah says,

(And verily, we thought that men and Jinn would not utter a lie against Allah.) meaning, `we did not think that humans and Jinns would join each other in lying about Allah by attributing a spouse and a son to Him. So when we heard this Qur'an we believed in it and we knew that they (Jinns and men) had been lying about Allah in this matter.'

Among the Causes of the Transgression of the Jinns were that Humans sought Refuge with Them

Allah says,

(And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the Jinn, but they increased them in Rahaq.) meaning, `we used to think that we had some virtuous status over mankind because they used to seek refuge with us whenever they (men) would settle in a valley or any place in the wilderness, the open country steppes and other places.' This was the custom of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic days of ignorance. They used to seek refuge with the greatest Jinn of a particular place so that no harm or evil would afflict them. Like one would do if he entered into the land of his enemies, in the vicinity of a great and powerful man, he would seek the protection and guardianship of that man. So when the Jinns saw that the humans were seeking refuge with them due to their fear of them, they increased them in Rahaq which means fear, terror and fright. They did this so that the people would be more afraid of them and seek refuge with them even more. As Qatadah said concerning this Ayah,

(but they increased them in Rahaq.) means, "the Jinns were courageous and increased in insolence against them." As-Suddi said, "A man used to set out with his family (on a journey) until he came to a piece of land where he would settle. Then he would say, `I seek refuge with the master (Jinn) of this valley from the Jinns, or that myself, my wealth, my child or my animals are harmed in it."' Qatadah said, "When they sought refuge with them instead of Allah, the Jinns would overcome them with harm because of that." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from `Ikrimah that he said, "The Jinns used to fear humans just like humans fear them, or even worse. So whenever humans would come to a valley the Jinns would flee. So the leader of the people would say, `We seek refuge with the leader of the inhabitants of this valley.' So the Jinns said, `We see these people fleeing from us just like we flee from them.' Thus, the Jinns started coming near the humans and afflicting them with insanity and madness." Thus, Allah said,

(And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the Jinn, but they increased them in Rahaq.) meaning, in sin. Abu `Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` and Zayd bin Aslam, all said,

(in Rahaq) "This means in fear." Mujahid said, "The disbelievers would increase in transgression." Concerning Allah's statement,

(And they thought as you thought,) means, "the Jinns were courageous and increased in insolence against them." As-Suddi said, "A man used to set out with his family (on a journey) until he came to a piece of land where he would settle. Then he would say, `I seek refuge with the master (Jinn) of this valley from the Jinns, or that myself, my wealth, my child or my animals are harmed in it."' Qatadah said, "When they sought refuge with them instead of Allah, the Jinns would overcome them with harm because of that." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from `Ikrimah that he said, "The Jinns used to fear humans just like humans fear them, or even worse. So whenever humans would come to a valley the Jinns would flee. So the leader of the people would say, `We seek refuge with the leader of the inhabitants of this valley.' So the Jinns said, `We see these people fleeing from us just like we flee from them.' Thus, the Jinns started coming near the humans and afflicting them with insanity and madness." Thus, Allah said,

(And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the Jinn, but they increased them in Rahaq.) meaning, in sin. Abu `Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` and Zayd bin Aslam, all said,

(in Rahaq) "This means in fear." Mujahid said, "The disbelievers would increase in transgression." Concerning Allah's statement,

(And they thought as you thought, that Allah will not send any Messenger.) meaning, Allah would never send a Messenger after this long period of time. This was said by Al-Kalbi and Ibn Jarir.