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72: Al-Jinn - الجن
Introduction
This is a late Makkan Surah, of which we can be tolerably certain of the date. It was two years before Hijrah, when the Prophet, despised and rejected in his native city of Makkah, went to evangelize the lordly men of Taif. They maltreated him and nearly killed him; what caused him even greater pain was the maltreatment of the humble and lowly men who went with him. Tabari has handed down that memorable Prayer of faith and humility which he offered in the midst of his suffering. On his return journey to Makkah, a glorious vision was revealed to him---hidden spiritual forces working for him---people not known to him accepting his mission while his own people were still rejecting him. Within two months some strangers from Madinah had privately met him and laid the foundation of Hijrah which was to change the fate of Arabia and the course of world history.
72:1
[ Original ]
قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْآنًا عَجَبًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Say: It has been revealed to me that a company of Jinns listened (to the Qur'an). They said, 'We have really heard a wonderful Recital!
Tafseer Commentary
5727 Revelation may be through various channels, and one of the channels may be a vision, by which the Prophet sees and hears events clearly passing before him. This particular vision may be the same as that referred to more briefly in 46:29-32, where see n. 4809. The Jinns had evidently heard of previous revelations, that of Moses (46:30), and the error of Trinitarian Christianity (72:3). The people from whom they come have all sorts of good and bad persons, but they are determined to preach the good Message of Unity which they have heard and believed in.
5728 For Jinns, see n. 929 to 6:100. (R).
5729 The Holy Qur'an would be to them a wonderful Recital-both in subject matter and in the circumstance that it had come in Arabia among a pagan and ignorant nation.
72:2
[ Original ]
يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ ۖ وَلَنْ نُشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَا أَحَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'It gives guidance to the Right, and we have believed therein: we shall not join (in worship) any (gods) with our Lord.
72:3
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّهُ تَعَالَىٰ جَدُّ رَبِّنَا مَا اتَّخَذَ صَاحِبَةً وَلَا وَلَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'And Exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: He has taken neither a wife nor a son.
Tafseer Commentary
5730 They abjure paganism and also the doctrine of a son begotten by Allah, which would also imply a wife of whom he was begotten. Cf. 6:101.
72:4
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'There were some foolish ones among us, who used to utter extravagant lies against Allah.
72:5
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَنْ لَنْ تَقُولَ الْإِنْسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'But we do think that no man or spirit should say aught that untrue against Allah.
Tafseer Commentary
5731 No one ought to entertain false notions about Allah. For by joining false gods in our ideas of worship, we degrade our conception of ourselves and the duty we owe to our Creator and Cherisher, to Whom we have to give a final account of life and conduct. If we worship idols or heavenly bodies, or human beings, or any creature, or false fancies born of self or foolish abstractions, or the lusts and desires of our own hearts, we are not only doing violence to Truth, but we are causing discord in the harmony of the world.
72:6
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الْإِنْسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'True, there were persons among mankind who took shelter with persons among the Jinns, but they increased them in folly.
Tafseer Commentary
5732 If human beings think that by a resort to some mysterious spirits they can shelter themselves from the struggles and actualities of their own lives, they are sadly mistaken. They must "dree their own weird", as the Scots would say. It is folly to try to escape from the duties which they can understand in their own natural surroundings, or to try to avoid the consequences of their own acts. Only such persons do so as do not realise that they will ultimately have to answer at the Judgement Seat of Allah, whose first outpost is in their own conscience.
72:7
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّهُمْ ظَنُّوا كَمَا ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنْ لَنْ يَبْعَثَ اللَّهُ أَحَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'And they (came to) think as ye thought, that Allah would not raise up any one (to Judgment).
72:8
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا لَمَسْنَا السَّمَاءَ فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مُلِئَتْ حَرَسًا شَدِيدًا وَشُهُبًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'And we pried into the secrets of heaven; but we found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires.
Tafseer Commentary
5733 See notes n. 1951, n. 1953, and n. 1954 to 15:17-18. See also n. 5562 to 67:5. The speakers here have repented of sin and evil; but they recognise that there are evil ones among them, who love stealth and prying, but their dark plots will be defeated by vigilant guardians of the Right, whose repulse of the attacks of evil is figured by the shafts of meteoric light in the heavens.
72:9
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ ۖ فَمَنْ يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَصَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'We used, indeed, to sit there in (hidden) stations, to (steal) a hearing; but any who listen now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush.
Tafseer Commentary
5734 What is the force of "now"? It refers to the early Makkan period of Revelation. It means that whatever excuse there may have been before, for people to try to seek out the hidden truths of the Unseen World through spirits, there was none now, as the perspicuous Qur'an had restored the Message of Unity and cleared religion of all the cobwebs, mysteries, and falsehoods with which priestcraft and pious fraud had overlaid it. The result is that such seekers after false hidden knowledge will find themselves confronted now by the flaming fire of the Qur* an, which, like the shafts of meteoric light (see last note), will lie in wait for and nip such priestcraft and black magic in the bud.
72:10
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا لَا نَدْرِي أَشَرٌّ أُرِيدَ بِمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ أَرَادَ بِهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ رَشَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'And we understand not whether ill is intended to those on earth, or whether their Lord (really) intends to guide them to right conduct.
Tafseer Commentary
5735 To these spirits this revolutionary gospel is yet new, and appears like a flaming sword which destroys falsehood while it protects Truth. They frankly confess that they do not clearly understand whether on the whole it will be a mercy to mankind or a punishment for mankind forsaking the paths of Allah. But they rightly feel that it must be a blessing if all seek right Guidance.
72:11
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنَّا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ ۖ كُنَّا طَرَائِقَ قِدَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'There are among us some that are righteous, and some the contrary: we follow divergent paths.
72:12
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَنْ لَنْ نُعْجِزَ اللَّهَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَنْ نُعْجِزَهُ هَرَبًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'But we think that we can by no means frustrate Allah throughout the earth, nor can we frustrate Him by flight.
Tafseer Commentary
5736 See last note. In any case, they know that Allah's Truth and Allah's Plan must prevail, and no one can frustrate Allah's Purpose, or escape from it. Why not then bring the human will into conformity with it, and find Peace, as they have found, by the acceptance of Faith?
72:13
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا لَمَّا سَمِعْنَا الْهُدَىٰ آمَنَّا بِهِ ۖ فَمَنْ يُؤْمِنْ بِرَبِّهِ فَلَا يَخَافُ بَخْسًا وَلَا رَهَقًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'And as for us, since we have listened to the Guidance, we have accepted it: and any who believes in his Lord has no fear, either of a short (account) or of any injustice.
Tafseer Commentary
5737 Possibly, from this world's standards, it may be that a man suffers for his Faith. He may be laughed at, persecuted, and actually hurt, "in mind, body, or estate". But he is not perturbed. he takes it all cheerfully, because he knows that when his full account is made up-real gain against apparent loss-he is a gainer rather than a loser. And his Faith tells him that Allah is ajust God, and will never allow him to suffer any injustice, or permit the account of his merit to appear one whit shorter than it is.
72:14
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الْمُسْلِمُونَ وَمِنَّا الْقَاسِطُونَ ۖ فَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ تَحَرَّوْا رَشَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'Amongst us are some that submit their wills (to Allah., and some that swerve from justice. Now those who submit their wills - they have sought out (the path) of right conduct:
Tafseer Commentary
5738 Any one who responds to true Guidance, and submits his will to Allah, finds that he makes rapid progress in the path of right conduct and right life. He gets more and more assurance that his destination is the Garden of Bliss .
72:15
[ Original ]
وَأَمَّا الْقَاسِطُونَ فَكَانُوا لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَبًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
'But those who swerve,- they are (but) fuel for Hellfire '-
Tafseer Commentary
5739 An unjust life carries its own condemnation. It does no good to itself or to anyone else. It bears no fruit. It becomes merely fuel for the Fire of Punishment.
72:16
[ Original ]
وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
(And Allah.s Message is): "If they (the Pagans) had (only) remained on the (right) Way, We should certainly have bestowed on them Rain in abundance.
Tafseer Commentary
5740 Rain: literally, water: stands for all kinds of blessings, material, moral, and spiritual. Among the spiritual blessings, is the insight into higher things, which results from our will and endeavour to stand firm on the right Way, the natural, moral, and spiritual Law established by Allah. All blessings come by way of trial: the more we have, the more is expected of us. A man of gifts, talents, or insight is expected to show a higher standard of love and unselfishness than one less gifted, just as a rich man is expected to give more in charity than a poor man.
72:17
[ Original ]
لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَنْ يُعْرِضْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِ يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"That We might try them by that (means). But if any turns away from the remembrance of his Lord, He will cause him to undergo a severe Penalty.
Tafseer Commentary
5741 To remember Allah is to realise His presence, acknowledge His Goodness, and accept His guidance. If we fail to do so, by deliberately turning away, He will withdraw His Grace, and that will be a severe Penalty indeed.
72:18
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah.
Tafseer Commentary
5742 This is a Makkan Surah, and Masjid must be understood, not in the later technical sense of a Mosque, but in the root meaning, of any place, or occasion of worship or humble prostration in the service of Allah, or any limbs of faculties or accessories used in such worship, e.g., hands and feet, lips and voice, understanding or organisation. A number of meanings therefore follow: (1) No place of worship whatever should be used for the worship of any other but Allah the true God. The Ka'bah was then full of idols, but the idols and their votaries were usurpers. (2) Worship should not be mixed up with vain objects, but should be reserved for the sincere service of Allah. (3) All our gifts are for Allah's service, which includes the service of His creatures, and not for our vainglory. (R).
72:19
[ Original ]
وَأَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Yet when the Devotee of Allah stands forth to invoke Him, they just make round him a dense crowd."
Tafseer Commentary
5743 The Devotee of Allah: the Prophet Muhammad.
5744 They. The immediate reference was to the Pagan Quraysh who were then in possession of the Ka'bah and who put all sorts of obstacles and indignities in the way of Prophet for preaching the One True God and denouncing idol-worship. They used to surround him and mob him and to treat him as if he was guilty of some dreadful crime. But the wider application refers to the habit of the world to make a marked man of any who diverges from the beaten paths of their favourite sins and who pleads earnestly for the cause of truth and righteousness. They ridicule him; they surround him with jeers and obloquy; and they try to make the physical condition of his life as difficult for him as possible.
72:20
[ Original ]
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَدْعُو رَبِّي وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِهِ أَحَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Say: "I do no more than invoke my Lord, and I join not with Him any (false god)."
72:21
[ Original ]
قُلْ إِنِّي لَا أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا رَشَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Say: "It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to right conduct."
Tafseer Commentary
5745 'Do not suppose that I am going to harm you individually or socially; the very opposite is my wish; but I cannot force you to right conduct; that must depend upon the purification of your own faith and will.'
72:22
[ Original ]
قُلْ إِنِّي لَنْ يُجِيرَنِي مِنَ اللَّهِ أَحَدٌ وَلَنْ أَجِدَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Say: "No one can deliver me from Allah (If I were to disobey Him), nor should I find refuge except in Him,
Tafseer Commentary
5746 'My mission is from Allah. I cannot choose but obey. He has charged me to deliver the Message, and if I were to disobey him, I would myself be worthy of His punishment, and no one can save me. From every kind of trouble and difficulty my only refuge is in Him. I must proclaim His Message: otherwise I am false to the mission He has entrusted to me.'
72:23
[ Original ]
إِلَّا بَلَاغًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِسَالَاتِهِ ۚ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Unless I proclaim what I receive from Allah and His Messages: for any that disobey Allah and His Messenger,- for them is Hell: they shall dwell therein for ever."
72:24
[ Original ]
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا رَأَوْا مَا يُوعَدُونَ فَسَيَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ أَضْعَفُ نَاصِرًا وَأَقَلُّ عَدَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
At length, when they see (with their own eyes) that which they are promised,- then will they know who it is that is weakest in (his) helper and least important in point of numbers.
Tafseer Commentary
5747 When the Hereafter arrives, and true values are restored, they will see clearly that the Promise of Allah was true, and that death on this earth was not the end of all things. Then they will see that those who were accounted weak on this earth will, in the realm of Reality, be strong ones; those who seemed to have no following here will have, there, all the great and true ones with them, to help them and welcome them to their own ranks.
72:25
[ Original ]
قُلْ إِنْ أَدْرِي أَقَرِيبٌ مَا تُوعَدُونَ أَمْ يَجْعَلُ لَهُ رَبِّي أَمَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
Say: "I know not whether the (Punishment) which ye are promised is near, or whether my Lord will appoint for it a distant term.
Tafseer Commentary
5748 The coming of Judgement is certain. But the exact time, relatively to our standards on this earth, no one can tell. Allah alone knows it. Even a Prophet of Allah, as such, does not know the Mysteries of the Unseen World, except insofar as they have been revealed to him by Allah's Revelation. Cf. 6:50, and notes 867- 868.
72:26
[ Original ]
عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries,-
Tafseer Commentary
5749 Mystery, or the Unseen, has two aspects. The relative Unseen is so with reference to a particular person, because of the intervention of Time, Space, or particular circumstances. For example: I cannot see today a house which I saw last year, because it has since been pulled down; or I cannot in Lahore see the "Gateway of India" in Bombay, although anyone in Bombay can see it; or I cannot see the satellites of Jupiter with the naked eye, though I can through a telescope; but the Absolute Unseen, the Absolute Mystery, or Allah's Mystery, is something which no creature can know or see, except insofar as Allah reveals it to him; and Allah reveals such things to the extent that is good for men, through His chosen messengers, among whom the greatest is Muhammad. The exact time of the Hour of Judgement has not been so shown, because we must not wait for it, but live as if it is to be at this minute. See last note and next note, and the references there.
72:27
[ Original ]
إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"Except a messenger whom He has chosen: and then He makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him,
Tafseer Commentary
5750 Cf. 3:179, and n. 482. See also last note.
5751 Revelation is not a mechanical or material thing. It has to be safeguarded from being distorted or corrupted by ignorance, selfishness, or the powers of evil. How can its precious and subtle worth and the spiritual safeguards against its misuse by human folly or the perversity of evil be expressed in plain human words? We can imagine a very great treasure, which has to be transmitted. To guard it against evilly-disposed persons, a strong escort is required, to march in front and behind, so as to protect it from all sides. When it reaches its destination, the escort presents its credentials and an Invoice showing the Treasure being transmitted. Then the destined receiver knows that it has come intact and feels satisfied. So, about spiritual Revelation, the spiritual man recognises the credentials and checks the contents on the tablets of his own heart and insight. He has then no doubt that it is a true Message from Allah, and that those who bring it are the true messengers "of their Lord" (R).
72:28
[ Original ]
لِيَعْلَمَ أَنْ قَدْ أَبْلَغُوا رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَحَاطَ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ وَأَحْصَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدًا
[ Abdullah Yusuf Ali ]
"That He may know that they have (truly)(5751-A) brought and delivered the Messages of their Lord: and He surrounds (all the mysteries) that are with them, and takes account of every single thing."
Tafseer Commentary
5751-A They: the band of watchers. In "he may know" it is better to construe "he" to refer to the Prophet who receives the Message from the "watchers".
5752 Ahata: surrounds, encompasses, encloses, guards on all sides, keeps under his own possession and control, and does not allow to be corrupted or debased. See last note but one.
5753 In the spiritual Kingdom-as indeed, in all things-Allah's knowledge, wisdom, and Plan comprehend all things, great and small. There is nothing which we do, nothing which happens that is outside His account. (Cf. 17:60).
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