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

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.

وَأَنَّهُ تَعَالَىٰ جَدُّ رَ‌بِّنَا (and [ then the Jinns started talking to each other ] that exalted is the Glory of our Lord;....72:3). The word jadd means 'majesty/glory' used for Allah. Instead of saying .jadduhu' with a third person pronoun referring to Allah, the attributive name 'rabb' 'Lord' is expressly retained which indicates the exalted position of Allah. The Being who is the Cherisher and sustainer of His creation must, of necessity, occupy the lofty position. Commentators have discussed the grammatical conjunctive construction 'wa annahu' at length in this verse. It might be of no interest to the general readers.

وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّـهِ شَطَطًا ﴿4﴾ وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَن لَّن تَقُولَ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى اللَّـهِ كَذِبًا ﴿5﴾

...and that the fools among us used to attribute to Allah extremely wrong things, and that we thought that the humans and the Jinn would never tell a lie about Allah, [ therefore, we had followed them in shirk under this impression ]. (72:5)

The word shatat means 'vile words, extravagant or exorbitant or enormous lies'. The word also means 'to transgress or act wrongfully, unjustly or exceed the legitimate bounds'. The believers from amongst Jinn used to put forward their excuse for being involved in disbelief and idolatry thus: The foolish people from amongst their nation uttered vile slander against Allah, whilst they did not think it possible for a human being or a Jinn to impute a lie to Allah. They were thus far caught up in the foolish people's vile words and committed kufr and shirk, but they had now heard the Qur'an and the reality had later opened up.

وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِ‌جَالٌ مِّنَ الْإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِ‌جَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَ‌هَقًا ﴿6﴾

(...and that some people from human beings used to seek refuge with some peoples of the Jinn, and thus they increased them (the Jinns) in arrogance, [ 72:6] '

This verse describes the situation that it was customary for people in the Days of Ignorance that when they halted in a valley in the course of a journey, they sought refuge in the Jinn leader of that valley from the foolish mischief-makers of his nation believing that the leader of the valley will protect them. This made the Jinn think that they are better than human beings. That is why, they seek refuge in their leader but this increased the wickedness of the Jinn.

Rafi` Ibn ` Umair's ؓ Islam on account of the Jinn

Mazhari cites in his Tafsir that it is reported in Hawatif-ul-Jinn through his chain of narrators on the authority of Sayyidna Said Ibn Jubair ؓ that the Holy Prophet's ﷺ Companion Rafi` Ibn ` Umair ؓ recounts an incident of his embracing the Islamic faith, thus:

'One night I was travelling in a desert. Suddenly I was overcome by sleep. So, I alighted from my camel, and before I went off to sleep I uttered the following formula in keeping with the custom of my people:

انِّی اعوذ بعظیم ھٰذا الوادی من الجنّ

"I seek refuge in the leader of the Jinn of this valley from the foolish mischief-makers of his nation."

I saw in my dream that there is a sword in a person's hand who wants to place it on my camel's chest. I woke up in a shock and looked around in all directions, but found nothing. So, I said to myself that this was some Shaitanic nightmare. It was not a true dream and fell back into deep sleep and became completely oblivious to my surrounding. I experienced the same dream again. I got up and looked all around the camel, but found nothing. This time, however, I found the camel shivering. I went back to my place and slept away and saw the same dream. I awoke and found my camel tossing about restlessly. Then I saw a youngster in whose hand was a weapon. This was the same person whom I had seen attacking the camel the first time. I saw he was holding the hand of an old man who is stopping him from attacking the camel. Just then three wild zebras appeared. The old man said to the youngster, 'Choose any one of these zebras, and let go this man's camel.' The youngster took one of the zebras and took leave. The old man then looked at me and said, 'You fool, when you seek refuge in a valley, and you fear any danger from the jinn or devils, recite thus:'

اعوذ باللہ ربِّ محمّد من ھول ھٰذا الوادی

"I seek refuge in Allah, the Lord of Muhammad, from the horrors of this valley. Do not seek refuge in any Jinn because that time is gone when human beings used to seek refuge in Jinn."'

I asked him who that person was. He replied that he was the Arabian Holy Prophet ﷺ ، neither eastern nor western. He was raised with his Prophetic mission on a Monday. I asked him where he lived. He replied that he lived in Yathrib which is an area where dates grow abundantly. As soon as the morning dawned, I set for Madinah and urged my mount to move faster and faster until I reached Madinah. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ saw me, he recounted to me the entire episode before I could tell him anything. He invited me to the call of Islam and I embraced the Islamic faith.

Having narrated this story, Sayyidna Said Ibn Jubair ؓ said that the following verse was revealed in this connection. وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِ‌جَالٌ مِّنَ الْإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِ‌جَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ (and that some people from human beings used to seek refuge with some people of the Jinn…72:6)

وَأَنَّا لَمَسْنَا السَّمَاءَ فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مُلِئَتْ حَرَ‌سًا شَدِيدًا وَشُهُبًا (...and that we sought [ to reach ] the sky, but we found it filled with stern guards and flames....72:8). The word sama' is used in two different senses: 'sky' as well as 'cloud'. It would appear that here the word is used in the latter sense.

The Jinn Used to Go only up to the Clouds to Eavesdrop, Not to the Sky

The Jinn and the devils used to go up to the sky means that they used to go to the 'clouds', take up positions there to sit and eavesdrop. The proof of this is found in Sahih of Bukhari on the authority of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ عنہا who reports:

سمعت رسول اللہ ﷺ یقول ان الملایٔکۃ تنزل فی العَنَان و ھو السحاب فتذکر الامر الذی قضی فی السماء فتسترق الشّیاطین السمع فتسمعہ فتتوجّہ الی الکُھّان فیکذبون معھا مایٔۃ کذبۃ من عند انفسھم (اس مظھری)

" I have heard the Messenger of Allah say that the angels descended in the 'anan of sama' meaning the 'cloud'. There they discussed the decisions Allah has issued in the sky. The devils listened to their private conversations without them knowing about it and passed the information to the soothsayers, mixing it with a hundred lies from their side."' [ Mazhari ].

A narration is record in Sahih of Bukhari on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ and in Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما to the following effect:

When Allah issues an order in the sky, the angels flap their wings in readiness to obey the order. When the issuance of the order is over, they discuss among themselves. The devils eavesdrop on this discussion, and pass the information to the soothsayers, admixing it with many lies.

This Hadith apparently contradicts the narration of Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ but in actual fact, there is no conflict between the two narratives. This narrative does not prove that the devils go inside the sky to eavesdrop. Probably, when the order is issued in the first instance by Allah, it filters down to the angels from the upper level to the lower level, until the angels come down to the cloud where they discuss it. The devils steal the information from here as mentioned by Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ [ Mazhari ].

At any rate, before the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ the Jinn and devils had free access to the heavenly information. They used to position themselves in the cloud and eavesdrop on the conversations of the angels and pass the information to the soothsayers. At the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، there arose the need to protect the heavenly revelation. As a result, the access of devils to the upper region was stopped in such a way that if a devil attempted to go up, he would be repelled by piercing flames. This was the new phenomenon that excited the curiosity of the devils and Jinn and, dividing themselves into groups, they went to the east and to the west to investigate. One of the groups arrived at a place called Nakhlah where its members heard the Qur'an and embraced the faith of Islam as mentioned in Surah Al-Jinn.

Meteors Existed Since the Inception of Time, but were not Used to Repel the Devils before the Advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It happened only after his Advent

A doubt that may arise here is that the existence of Meteors, which in common parlance are called inqidad-ul-kaukab the 'falling stars', is not a new phenomenon. This verse, however, indicates that they showed up to repel the devils as if they are new-age phenomena of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . In response, it may be stated that there is no denying that the meteors did exist since the inception of time and space before the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and that there is no contradiction between what humanity experienced since the beginning of the world, scientific explanations and the Qur'anic statement. Philosophers and scientists explain that the meteors may originate from the earth or stars or disintegrating planets, and wander in space at enormous speeds and fall to the earth. Some fiery matter may arise from the surface of the earth and heat up at some point, or the speed of the meteors makes them glow and burn, or a flame emits from a star - and this may have habitually continued ever since. These flames, however, were not used to serve a particular purpose before the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ; they were merely a natural phenomena. After the advent of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، meteoric flames were used to serve the purpose of shooting the devils if they attempted to go up and listen furtively the conversation of the angels. See also Ma` ariful Qur’ an, Vol. 5/pp 303-305, under [ 15:17-18].

وَأَنَّا لَا نَدْرِ‌ي أَشَرٌّ‌ أُرِ‌يدَ بِمَن فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ أَمْ أَرَ‌ادَ بِهِمْ رَ‌بُّهُمْ رَ‌شَدًا (and that we do not know whether it is a bad end that is intended for those on earth, or their Lord has intended for them a right thing,....72:10). The Jinn and devils were barred from having access to heavenly news. In this case it would be a punishment for the inhabitants of the earth. However, if Allah intends them to be rightly guided, He has barred the Jinn and Shaitan from having access to the heaven, so that they do not interfere with Divine revelation. Therefore, they expressed their reservations about this to the effect that they had no idea as to whether it was a bad end that was intended for the inhabitants of the earth or whether Allah intended them to be rightly guided.

فَمَن يُؤْمِن بِرَ‌بِّهِ فَلَا يَخَافُ بَخْسًا وَلَا رَ‌هَقًا (...so if one believes in his Lord, he will have no fear of either any curtailment [ in his reward ] or any excess [ in his punishment ]...72:13). The ward bakhs, with ba' carrying fatha ] and kha' carrying sukun, means 'to reduce the right' and the word rahaq means 'disgrace'. In other words, anyone who believes in Allah need fear neither curtailment in the reward of his good deeds, nor disgrace by excess in his punishment in the Hereafter.