Al-Jinn

Say, O Muhammad (s), to people: ‘It has been revealed to me, that is to say, I have been informed by way of revelation from God, exalted be He, that (annahu: the [suffixed] pronoun is that of the matter) a company of the jinn, the jinn of Nasībīn. This was at the time of the morning prayer at Batn Nakhla, a location between Mecca and Tā’if — these [jinn] being those mentioned in God’s saying, And when We sent a company of jinn your way…’ [Q. 46:29] — listened, to my recitation, then said, to their people upon returning to them: “We have indeed heard a marvellous Qur’ān, whose clarity, the richness of its meanings and other aspects one marvels at,

which guides to rectitude, to faith and propriety. Therefore we believe in it and we will never, after this day, associate anyone with our Lord.

And [we believe] that (annahu: the pronoun in this and in the next two instances is that of the matter) — exalted be the majesty of our Lord, transcendent is His majesty and magnificence above what is ascribed to Him — He has taken neither spouse nor son.

And that the fool among us, the ignorant one among us, used to utter atrocious lies against God, extreme calumny by attributing to Him a spouse and a son.

And we thought that (an: softened, that is to say, annahu) humans and jinn would never utter a lie against God, by attributing such things to Him, until we discovered their mendacity thereby. God, exalted be He, says:

And that certain individuals of mankind used to seek the protection of certain individuals of the jinn, when they stopped over in dangerous places during their journeys — whereat every man would say, ‘I seek the protection of the lord of this place against the evil of the insolent ones in it’ — so that they increased them, by their seeking their protection, in oppressiveness, such that they would say, ‘We are now lords of jinn and humans!’.

And they, namely, the jinn, thought just as you, O humans, thought, that (an: softened in place of the hardened form, that is to say, annahu) God would never raise anyone, after his death.

The jinn say: And we made for the heaven, we desired to listen by stealth, but we found it filled with mighty guards, from among the angels, and meteors, scorching stars: this was at the time of the sending of the Prophet (s).

And we used to, that is to say, before his Mission, sit in [certain] places therein to listen in; but anyone listening now will find a meteor lying in wait for him, aimed at him, ready to strike him.

And we do not know, by not being able to eavesdrop by stealth, whether ill is intended for those who are in the earth, or whether their Lord intends for them good.

And that among us some have become righteous, after having listened to the Qur’ān, and some of us are otherwise, that is to say, a folk who are unrighteous; we are [made up of] different sects, opposing groups, [some] submitters to God and [others] disbelievers.

And we assume that (an: softened in place of the hardened form, that is to say, annahu) we will never be able to elude God in the earth, nor will we be able to elude Him by fleeing — we will not be able to escape Him, whether we are on earth or, fleeing from it, in the heavens.

And that when we heard the guidance, the Qur’ān, we believed in it. For whoever believes in his Lord (read an implied huwa, ‘he’, [before fa-lā yakhāfu]) shall fear neither loss, a diminishing of his good deeds, nor oppression, [nor] injustice, by having his evil deeds increased.

And that among us some have submitted [to God], while some of us are unjust, tyrants — on account of their disbelief. So whoever has submitted [to God], those are the ones who seek right guidance.

And as for those are unjust, they will be firewood, fuel, for Hell!” ’ (annā, annahum, and annahu totalling all twelve instances [above], including innahu ta‘ālā and annā minnā’l-muslimūna and what comes in between them may be read with a kasra [sc. innā, innahum etc.] indicating a new sentence [every time], or with a fatha [sc. annā, annahum etc.] indicating the statement that will follow [as a relative clause]).

God, exalted be He, says [the following] about the Meccan disbelievers: And [it has been revealed to me] that if they (allaw: softened in place of the hardened form, its subject having been omitted, that is to say, annahum [law], which is a supplement to annahu istama‘a, ‘that [a company of jinn] listened’) adopt the [right] path, the path of submission [to God], We will give them abundant water to drink, plenteous [water], from the heaven — this was after rain had been withheld from them for seven years —

so that We may try them, test them, therein, and so know, through knowledge outwardly manifested, the nature of their gratitude. And whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord, [from] the Qur’ān, We will admit him (naslukhu, or read [first person] yaslukhu, ‘He will admit him’) into a tortuous chastisement.

And [it has been revealed to me] that the places of prayer belong to God, so do not invoke, in them, anyone along with God, by associating others with Him, like the Jews and Christians do, who, when they enter their churches and temples, they ascribe partners to God.

And that (annahu; or innahu as a new sentence, the pronoun being that of the matter) when the servant of God, the Prophet Muhammad (s), rose to invoke Him, to worship Him, at Batn Nakhla, they, that is, the jinn listening to his recitation, were almost upon him in heaps (libadan or lubadan, the plural of libda [or lubda], like felt in the way they were heaped on top of one another, crowding in their eagerness to listen to the Qur’ān).

He said, in response to the disbelievers saying, ‘Abandon this affair of yours!’ (a variant reading [for qāla, ‘he said’], has qul, ‘Say:’) ‘I invoke only my Lord, as God, and I do not associate anyone with Him’.

Say: ‘I truly have no power to bring you any harm, to lead [you] astray, or any guidance’, any good.

Say: ‘Indeed none shall protect me from God, from His chastisement, were I to disobey Him, and I shall never find besides Him, that is, other than Him, any refuge.

[I have power to bring you] only a communication (illā balāghan is excepted from the direct object clause of amliku, ‘I have power [to bring]’, that is to say, I have power only to communicate [the Message] to you, from God, that is, on His behalf, and His Messages (wa-risālātihi is a supplement to balāghan, ‘a communication’; what comes between the excepted clause and the clause from which it is excepted is a parenthetical statement intended to emphasise the preclusion of [the Prophet’s] ‘ability [to bring them anything else]’). And whoever disobeys God and His Messenger, concerning the affirmation of [His] Oneness, and hence does not believe — indeed there will be for him the fire of Hell, abiding (khālidīna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person indicated by man, ‘whoever’, in lahu, ‘for him’, taking into account its [plural] import; it [khālidīna] is also an implied circumstantial qualifier, in other words, they shall enter it with their abiding having been preordained) therein forever’.

Such that when they see (hattā is for inceptiveness, [but] also entailing a purposive sense to an implied preceding clause, that is to say, they persist in their disbelief until they come to see …) what they are promised, of chastisement, they will then know, at the moment that it befalls them, [either] on the day of Badr or on the Day of Resurrection, who is weaker in supporters and fewer in numbers, in assistants: is it them or the believers — according to the former [reading]? Or, is it Me or them, according to the latter. Some of them said, ‘When will this promise be [fulfilled]?’, whereupon the following was revealed:

Say: ‘I do not know if what you are promised, of chastisement, is near, or if my Lord has set a [distant] length for it, an extent and a term which only He knows.

Knower [He is] of the Unseen, what is hidden from servants, and He does not disclose, He [does not] reveal, His Unseen to anyone, from mankind,

except to a messenger of whom He approves. Then, in addition to disclosing to him what He will [to disclose] of it, by way of [making it] a miracle for him, He despatches, He appoints and sends forth, before him, namely, the Messenger, and behind him watchers, angels to preserve him until He has conveyed [it] to him as part of the [entire] revelation,

so that He, God, may know, by knowledge outwardly manifested, that (an: softened in place of the hardened form, that is to say, annahu) they, that is, the messengers, have conveyed the Messages of their Lord (the plural person [of the verb ablaghū, ‘they have conveyed’] takes into account [the plural] implication of man, ‘whom’), and He encompasses all that is with them (wa-ahāta bimā ladayhim is a supplement to an implied clause, that is to say: so He has knowledge of that) and keeps count of all things’ (‘adadan, ‘count’, is for specification; it is transformed from a direct object [sc. ‘adada], originally: ahsā ‘adada kulli shay’in, ‘He keeps count of all things’).