سُوْرَةُ سَبَاٍ
Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 41
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ أَنتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِن دُونِهِم ۖ بَلْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱلْجِنَّ ۖ أَكْثَرُهُم بِهِم مُّؤْمِنُونَ ﴿41﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
They (the angels) will say: "Glorified be You! You are our Walî (Lord) instead of them. Nay, but they used to worship the jinn; most of them were believers in them."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قَالُوا۟
qālū
They will say
سُبْحَـٰنَكَ
sub'ḥānaka
Glory be to You
أَنتَ
anta
You
وَلِيُّنَا
waliyyunā
(are) our Protector
مِن
min
not them
دُونِهِم ۖ
dūnihim
not them
بَلْ
bal
Nay
كَانُوا۟
kānū
they used
يَعْبُدُونَ
yaʿbudūna
(to) worship
ٱلْجِنَّ ۖ
l-jina
the jinn
أَكْثَرُهُم
aktharuhum
most of them
بِهِم
bihim
in them
مُّؤْمِنُونَ
mu'minūna
(were) believers
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
They will say, "Glory be to You! You are our Protector, not they (the polytheists). Rather, they used to worship the jinn [63], and most of them believed in them [64]."
[63]
Worship of Anyone Besides Allah is Actually Worship of Satan:
Here, "jinn" refers to the devils, and in the Quran, both these words are used as synonyms for each other. In response to Allah’s question, the angels will say: What concern do we have with these unfortunate polytheists who, leaving You, considered us their guardians? Whereas in reality, You are our guardian as well as theirs, and always have been. But as for their considering us their guardians, we never told them any such thing. This lesson was taught to them by Satan. It was at his instigation that they continued to worship us, so in reality, they were not worshipping us but rather those devils whose obedient followers they became and acted upon their commands.
[64] That is, sometimes it would happen that the purpose for which they offered vows and offerings before an idol would be fulfilled, or a devil would speak from within the idol, so due to such coincidental occurrences, their belief would become even stronger. Whereas, only those of their purposes would be fulfilled which had already been decreed by Allah to be fulfilled.
[63]
Worship of Anyone Besides Allah is Actually Worship of Satan:
Here, "jinn" refers to the devils, and in the Quran, both these words are used as synonyms for each other. In response to Allah’s question, the angels will say: What concern do we have with these unfortunate polytheists who, leaving You, considered us their guardians? Whereas in reality, You are our guardian as well as theirs, and always have been. But as for their considering us their guardians, we never told them any such thing. This lesson was taught to them by Satan. It was at his instigation that they continued to worship us, so in reality, they were not worshipping us but rather those devils whose obedient followers they became and acted upon their commands.
[64] That is, sometimes it would happen that the purpose for which they offered vows and offerings before an idol would be fulfilled, or a devil would speak from within the idol, so due to such coincidental occurrences, their belief would become even stronger. Whereas, only those of their purposes would be fulfilled which had already been decreed by Allah to be fulfilled.
