Surah Al-Jinn (72): Read Online and Download - English Translation

The Command to worship Allah Alone and shun Shirk

Allah commands His servants to single Him out alone for worship and that none should be supplicated to along with Him, nor should any partners be associated with Him. As Qatadah said concerning Allah's statement,

(And the Masjids are for Allah, so invoke not anyone along with Allah.) "Whenever the Jews and Christians used to enter their churches and synagogues, they would associate partners with Allah. Thus, Allah commanded His Prophet to tell them that they should single Him out alone for worship." Ibn Jarir recorded from Sa`id bin Jubayr that he said concerning this verse,

(And the Masjids are for Allah, so invoke not anyone along with Allah.) "The Jinns said to the Prophet of Allah , `How can we come to the Masjid while we are distant - meaning very far away - from you And how can we be present for the prayer while we are far away from you' So Allah revealed this Ayah,

(And the Masjids are for Allah, so invoke not anyone along with Allah.)" The Jinns crowding together to hear the Qur'an Allah said,

(And when the servant of Allah stood up invoking Him in prayer they just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other.) Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas, "When they heard the Prophet reciting the Qur'an they almost mounted on top of him due to their zeal. When they heard him reciting the Qur'an they drew very near to him. He was unaware of them until the messenger (i.e., Jibril) came to him and made him recite,

(Say: "It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened.") (72:1) They were listening to the Qur'an." This is one opinion and it has been reported from Az-Zubayr bin Al-`Awwam. Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "The Jinns said to their people,

(when the servant of Allah stood up invoking Him in prayer they just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other.) )" This is the second view and it has also been reported from Sa`id bin Jubayr. Al-Hasan said, "When the Messenger of Allah stood up and said none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and he called the people to their Lord, the Arabs almost crowded over him together (against him)." Qatadah said concerning Allah's statement,

(when the servant of Allah stood up invoking Him in prayer they just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other.) "Humans and Jinns both crowded together over this matter in order to extinguish it. However, Allah insisted upon helping it, supporting it and making it victorious over those who opposed it." This is the third view and it has also been reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ibn Zayd. It was also the view preferred by Ibn Jarir. This view seems to be the most apparent meaning of the Ayah due to Allah's statement which follows it,

(Say: "I invoke only my Lord, and I associate none as partners along with Him.") meaning, when they harmed him, opposed him, denied him and stood against him in order to thwart the truth he came with, and to unite against him, the Messenger said to them

(I invoke only my Lord,) meaning, `I only worship my Lord alone, and He has no partners. I seek His help and I put my trust in Him.'

(and I associate none as partners along with Him.)

The Messenger does not have Power to harm or give Guidance

Concerning Allah's statement,

(Say: "It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the right path.") meaning, `say: I am only a man like you all and I have received revelation. I am only a servant among the servants of Allah. I have no control over the affairs of your guidance or your misguidance. Rather all of these things are referred to Allah.' Then he (the Prophet) says about himself that no one can save him from Allah either. This means, `if I disobey Allah, then no one would be able to rescue me from His punishment.'

(and nor can I find refuge except in Him.) Mujahid, Qatadah and As-Suddi all said, "No place to escape to."

It is only obligatory upon the Messenger to convey the Message

Concerning Allah's statement,

((Mine is) but conveyance from Allah and His Messages,) This is an exception related to the previous statement,

(None can protect me from Allah's punishment,) meaning, `nothing can save me from Him and rescue me except my conveyance of the Message that He has obligated me to carry out.' This is as Allah says,

(O Messenger! Proclaim which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind.) (5:67) Then Allah says,

(and whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever.) meaning, `I will convey unto you all the Messages of Allah, so whoever disobeys after that, then his reward will be the fire of Hell wherein he will abide forever.' This means, they will not be able to avoid it nor escape from it. Then Allah says,

(Till, when they see that which they are promised, then they will know who it is that is weaker concerning helpers and less important concerning numbers.) meaning, until these idolators from the Jinns and humans see what has been promised to them on the Day of Judgement. Then on that day, they will know who's helpers are weaker and fewer in number -- them or the believers who worship Allah alone. This means that the idolators have no helper at all and they are fewer in number than the soldiers of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah does not know when the Hour will be

Allah commands His Messenger to say to the people that he has no knowledge of when the Hour will be and he does not know whether its time is near or far.

(Say: "I know not whether which you are promised is near or whether my Lord will appoint for it a distant term.") meaning, a long period of time. In this noble Ayah is an evidence that the Hadith that many of the ignorant people often circulate, which says that the Prophet will not remain under the earth more than one thousand years (i.e., the Hour will be before that period) is a baseless lie. We have not seen it in any of the Books (of Hadith). Verily, the Messenger of Allah was asked about the time of the Hour and he would not respond. When Jibril appeared to him in the form of a bedouin Arab, one of the questions he asked the Prophet was, "O Muhammad! Tell me about the Hour" So the Prophet replied,

(The one questioned about it knows no more than the questioner.) On another occasion when a bedouin Arab called out to the Prophet in a loud voice saying, "O Muhammad! When will be the Hour" The Prophet said,

(Woe unto you. Verily, it will occur so what have you prepared for it) The man replied, "I have not prepared much for it of prayers and fasting, but I love Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet then replied,

(Then you will be with whomever you love.) Anas said, "The Muslims were not happier with anything like they were upon (hearing) this Hadith." Concerning Allah's statement,

(The All-Knower of the Unseen, and He reveals to none His Unseen. Except to a Messenger) This is similar to Allah's statement,

(And they will never compass any thing of His knowledge except that which He wills.) (2:255) Similarly, Allah says here that He knows the unseen and the seen and that no one of His creation can attain any of His knowledge except that which Allah allows him to have. Thus, Allah says,

(The All-Knower of the Unseen, and He reveals to none His Unseen. Except to a Messenger whom He has chosen,) This includes the angelic Messenger and the human Messenger. Then Allah says,

(and then He makes a band of watching guards to march before him and behind him.) meaning, He particularly gives him additional guardian angels who protect him by the command of Allah and they accompany him with that which is with him of Allah's revelation. Thus, Allah says,

(Till he knows that they have conveyed the Messages of their Lord. And He surrounds all that which is with them, and He keeps count of all things.) The pronoun `he' which is in His statement,

(Till he knows) refers to the Prophet . Ibn Jarir recorded from Sa`id bin Jubayr that he said concerning the Ayah,

(The All-Knower of the Unseen, and He reveals to none His Unseen. Except to a Messenger whom He has chosen, and then He makes a band of watching guards to march before him and behind him.) "These are four guardians among the angels along with Jibril,

(Till he knows) This means Muhammad ,

(that they have conveyed the Messages of their Lord. And He surrounds all that which is with them, and He keeps count of all things.)" This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim. It has also been reported by Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi and Yazid bin Abi Habib. `Abdur-Razzaq reported from Ma`mar, from Qatadah,

(Till he knows that they have conveyed the Messages of their Lord.) "So that the Prophet of Allah would know that the Messengers had conveyed their Messages from Allah and that the angels have protected them and defended them." This has also been reported by Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah from Qatadah, and Ibn Jarir preferred this interpretation. Al-Baghawi said, "Ya`qub recited it as, (لِيُعْلَمَ) (in order to be known) this means, so that the people may know that the Messengers had conveyed the Message." It also could carry the meaning that the pronoun refers to Allah (i.e., So that He (Allah) may know). This opinion has been mentioned by Ibn Al-Jawzi in Zad Al-Masir. The meaning of this is that He protects His Messengers through His angels so that they will be able to convey His Messages. He protects what He reveals to them of revelation so that He will know that they have indeed conveyed the Messages of their Lord. This is like His statement,

(And We made the Qiblah which you used to face, only that We know who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels.) (2:143) Allah also said,

(Verily, Allah knows those who believe, and that He knows the hypocrites.) (29:11) It should be added to these examples that from Allah's knowledge is that He knows all things before they occur, and this is something definite and certain. Therefore, He says after this,

(And He surrounds all that which is with them, and He keeps count of all things.) This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Jinn, and all praises and thanks are due to Allah.