Surah Al-Jinn (72) — Ayah 1

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out with a group of his companions intending to go towards the market of ‘Ukaz. (This was at the time) when the devils were prevented from (listening to) the news of the heavens, and (when they went up to listen to the news) flaming fire was thrown at them. When those devils could not listen to the news of the heavens and returned to their people, they were asked: “What is the matter?” They replied: “A barrier has been placed between us and the news of the heavens, and flaming fire is thrown at us.” Their people said: “The reason for the barrier between you and the news of the heavens must be some newly occurring matter, so travel throughout the east and west of the earth and see what is the thing that has become a barrier between you and the news of the heavens.” So those who set out towards Tihamah reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he was at Nakhlah and intended to go to the market of ‘Ukaz. At that time, he was leading his companions in the morning prayer. When they heard the Qur’an, they listened attentively and said: “By Allah! This is the very thing that has become a barrier between you and the news of the heavens.” On this occasion, when they returned to their people, they said: “O our people! « اِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْاٰنًا عَجَبًا (1) يَّهْدِيْۤ اِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَاٰمَنَّا بِهٖ وَ لَنْ نُّشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَاۤ اَحَدًا » [ الجن : 2,1 ] ‘Indeed, we have heard a wondrous Qur’an, which guides to the right path, so we have believed in it, and we will never associate anyone with our Lord.’” So Allah Almighty revealed these verses to His Prophet: « قُلْ اُوْحِيَ اِلَيَّ» and the conversation of the jinn was revealed to him (the Prophet) by way of revelation. [ بخاري، الأذان، باب الجہر بقراءۃ صلاۃ الصبح : ۷۷۳۔ مسلم : ۴۴۹ ]

(Ayah 2,1) ➊ {قُلْ اُوْحِيَ اِلَيَّ اَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ … :} From this verse, it is understood that the jinn believed after hearing the Qur’an, and all their conversation with each other was made known to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) through revelation. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: [ مَا قَرَأَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَی الْجِنِّ وَ مَا رَآهُمْ ] [ مسلم، الصلاۃ، باب الجھر بالقراءۃ في الصبح… : ۴۴۹ ] “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) neither recited the Qur’an before the jinn nor saw them (they came to him when he was at Nakhlah and heard the Qur’an at that time).” Yes, after that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met the jinn several times and recited and taught them the Qur’an, as is narrated in Sahih Muslim from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), the summary of which is that one night the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was absent from the companions, and they spent that night in great anxiety. While searching, they met him when he was coming from the direction of Hira. Upon being asked, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أَتَانِيْ دَاعِي الْجِنِّ فَذَهَبْتُ مَعَهُ فَقَرَأْتُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقُرْآنَ ] “A caller from among the jinn came to me, so I went with him and recited the Qur’an to them.” Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: “Then he took us and showed us their traces and the traces of their fires.” [ مسلم، الصلاۃ، باب الجہر بالقراءۃ في الصبح… : ۴۵۰ ] Similarly, once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited Surah Rahman before the jinn, and at: « فَبِاَيِّ اٰلَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ » (So which of the favors of your Lord will you both deny?) they kept responding: [ لاَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ نِعَمِكَ رَبَّنَا نُكَذِّبُ فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ ] [ ترمذي، التفسیر، باب ومن سورۃ الرحمٰن : ۳۲۹۱، وقال الألباني صحیح ] “We do not deny any of Your favors, O our Lord! And to You alone belongs all praise.”

➋ In these verses, the disbelievers of Quraysh are reproached that despite listening for so long, the Qur’an has had no effect on you, nor have you been purified from the filth of polytheism, whereas this is such an exalted, effective, and wondrous Book that this group of jinn, upon hearing it, immediately accepted faith and declared to abandon polytheism forever, even though the rebelliousness of the jinn is well known.

➌ It is also understood that the jinn know the languages spoken among humans; at the very least, those jinn understood the subtleties of the eloquence and rhetoric of the Arabic language so well that they called the Qur’an wondrous and immediately believed in it.

➍ The jinn, like humans, are addressed by the Shari’ah, and their messengers are the same as those of humans. In the Qur’an or Hadith, there is no mention of any prophet from among the jinn; on the contrary, in the surah under commentary, it is clearly mentioned that the jinn believed in the Qur’an, and in Surah Ahqaf, it is said that they said, “We have heard a Book revealed after Moses.” (See Ahqaf: 30) This shows that they considered Moses (peace be upon him) their messenger. All the verses of Surah Rahman, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting it before the jinn, and their responses are also evidence of this. The same is understood from Surah Anbiya (8,7).

➎ There are also polytheists among the jinn, as these jinn were polytheists and abandoned polytheism after hearing the Qur’an. It is understood that at that time the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was reciting such verses from which they realized the evil of polytheism.

Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn (1) listened (to the Qur'an) and said: Indeed, we have heard a wondrous Qur'an.

Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn listened (to this Qur’an), and then said (to their people): “Indeed, we have heard a wondrous Qur’an.”

[1] In this regard, consider the following hadith: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that once the Prophet ﷺ set out with some of his companions intending to go to the market of ‘Ukaz. In those days, the devils were prevented from receiving news from the heavens, and flaming firebrands were thrown at them. They returned (to the earth) and said among themselves, “What has happened? We are prevented from receiving news from the heavens and firebrands are thrown at us. Surely, something new has occurred because of which we are prevented from receiving news from the heavens. Now do this: travel throughout the east and west of the earth and see what new thing has happened.” Some of those devils also came towards Tihamah (Hijaz) and reached the Prophet ﷺ. At that time, the Prophet ﷺ was in Nakhla and intended to go to the market of ‘Ukaz. The Prophet ﷺ was leading his companions in the Fajr prayer when those jinn heard the Quran and listened attentively. Then they said, “This is the very thing because of which we have been prevented from receiving news from the heavens.” Then at that time, they returned to their people and said to them ﴿يَا قَوْمَنَا انَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْاٰنًا عَجَبًا.. اَحَدًا﴾ and Allah Almighty revealed this Surah to you. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the conversation of the jinn was made known to the Prophet ﷺ through revelation. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

The Jinn Listening to the Quran on Different Occasions:

Prior to this, in verses 29 to 32 of Surah Al-Ahqaf, the mention of the jinn listening to the Quran has also passed. But from the very subjects of the Quran, it is known that these are two separate incidents. According to the incident mentioned in Surah Al-Ahqaf, the jinn who listened were not polytheists; rather, they believed in Sayyiduna Musa ؑ and the Torah, and after listening to the Quran, those jinn believed in the Quran and in the Prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ. Whereas in this Surah, the jinn mentioned were polytheists. The summary of the facts about the jinn that are mentioned repeatedly in the Quran is as follows:
(1) Besides humans, jinn are the only creatures who are accountable to the Shariah.
(2) Jinn are a fiery creation, created from a swift flame or a blaze of fire, whereas humans are an earthly creation.
(3) Before the creation of humans, jinn inhabited this earth, and among them too, the chain of Prophethood continued. But after the creation of humans, the chain of Prophethood was transferred to Sayyiduna Adam ؑ and his progeny. Now, whichever Prophet is sent for humans is also sent for the jinn.

The Attributes of the Jinn:

(4) Jinn can see humans, but humans cannot see jinn. In this Surah as well, the jinn mentioned were not seen by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; rather, later, through revelation, the Prophet ﷺ was informed of their listening to the Quran and their being affected and coming to faith.
(5) Jinn also speak and understand the regional languages of humans; this is why, as soon as the jinn heard the Quran, they immediately understood it and believed.
(6) Like humans, among them are some who are righteous, and some who are wicked and disobedient. Also, the kinds of beliefs, whether good or bad, found among humans are also found among the jinn.
(7) Wicked jinn are called devils (shayatin), and in the Quran, this term is used synonymously in this sense.
(8) Like humans, among them too, the process of procreation and reproduction continues.