The Jinn — Verse 4

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.

وأن سفيهنا- وهو إبليس- كان يقول على الله تعالى قولا بعيدًا عن الحق والصواب، مِن دعوى الصاحبة والولد.

قال مجاهد وعكرمة وقتادة والسدي "سفيهنا" يعنون إبليس "شطط" قال السدي عن أبي مالك "شطط" أي جورا. وقال ابن زيد أي ظلما كبيرا ويحتمل أن يكون المراد بقولهم سفيهنا اسم جنس لكل من زعم أن لله صاحبة أو ولدا ولهذا قالوا "وأنه كان يقول سفيهنا" أي قبل إسلامه "على الله شططا" أي باطلا وزورا.

ثم حكى - سبحانه - أقوالا أخرى لهؤلاء المؤمنين من الجن فقال : ( وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى الله شَطَطاً . . . ) والمراد بالسفينة هنا : إبليس - لعنة الله - وقيل المراد به الجنس فيشمل كل كافر ومتمرد من الجن ، والشطط ، مجاوزة الحد والعدل فى كل شئ ، أى : أننا ننزه الله - تعالى - عما كان يقوله سفهاؤنا - وعلى رأسهم إبليس - من أن الله - عز وجل - صاحبة أو ولدا ، فإن هذا القول بعيد كل البعد عن الحق والعدل والصواب .

القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًايقول عزّ وجلّ مخبرا عن قيل النفر من الجنّ الذين استمعوا القرآن (وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا ) وهو إبليس.وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة (وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًا ) وهو إبليس.حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا مهران، عن سفيان، عن رجل من المكيين، عن مجاهد (سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًا ) قال: إبليس: ثم قال سفيان: سمعت أن الرجل إذا سجد جلس إبليس يبكي يقول: يا ويله أمر بالسجود فعصَى، فله النار، وأمر ابن آدم بالسجود فسجد، فله الجنة.

"وأنه كان يقول سفيهنا"، جاهلنا، قال مجاهد وقتادة: هو إبليس، "على الله شططاً"، كذباً وعدواناً، وهو وصفه بالشريك والولد.

وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًا (4)قرأه الجمهور بكسرة همزة { وإنه } . وقرأ ابن عامر وحمزة والكسائي وحفص وأبو جعفر وخلف بفتح الهمزة كما تقدم في قوله : { وأنه تعالى جدّ ربنا } [ الجن : 3 ] فقد يكون إيمانهم بتعالي الله عن أن يتخذ صاحبة وولداً ناشئاً على ما سمعوه من القرآن وقد يكون ناشئاً على إدراكهم ذلك بأدلة نظرية .والسفيه : هنا جنس ، وقيل : أرادوا به إبليس ، أي كان يلقنهم صفات الله بما لا يليق بجلاله ، أي كانوا يقولون على الله شططاً قبل نزول القرآن بتسفيههم في ذلك .والشطط : مجاوزة الحد وما يخرج عن العدل والصواب ، وتقدم في قوله تعالى : { ولا تشطط } في سورة ص ( 22 ) . والمراد بالشطط إثبات ما نفاه قوله : { ولن نشرك بربنا أحداً } [ الجن : 2 ] وقوله : { ما اتخذ صاحبة ولا ولداً } [ الجن : 3 ] وضمير { وإنه } ضمير الشأن .والقول فيه وفي التأكيد ب ( إن ) مكسورةً أو مفتوحة كالقول في قوله : { وإنه تعالى جد ربنا } [ الجن : 3 ] الخ .

{ وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطًا } أي: قولا جائرا عن الصواب، متعديا للحد، وما حمله على ذلك إلا سفهه وضعف عقله، وإلا فلو كان رزينا مطمئنا لعرف كيف يقول.

قوله تعالى : وأنه كان يقول سفيهنا على الله شططا الهاء في أنه للأمر أو الحديث ، وفي كان اسمها ، وما بعدها الخبر . ويجوز أن تكون كان زائدة . والسفيه هنا إبليس في قول مجاهد وابن جريج وقتادة . ورواه أبو بردة بن أبي موسى عن أبيه عن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - . وقيل : المشركون من الجن : قال قتادة : عصاه سفيه الجن كما عصاه سفيه الإنس . والشطط والاشتطاط : الغلو في الكفر . وقال أبو مالك : هو الجور . الكلبي : هو الكذب . وأصله العبد فيعبر به عن الجور لبعده عن العدل ، وعن الكذب لبعده عن الصدق ; قال الشاعر :بأية حال حكموا فيك فاشتطوا وما ذاك إلا حيث يممك الوخط

In this world, in addition to human beings and angels, there is another set of creatures known as jinn. Human beings cannot see them but, in the Quran, they have been mentioned at several places. These verses show that among the jinn also there are guided and misguided types. Just as there are foolish leaders who misguide the common people, similarly there are foolish leaders among the jinn, who go on misguiding them with deceitful utterances. So far as the angels are concerned, they are not being put to the test, and thus do not have free will. They simply follow the commands given by God.

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.

(And that the foolish one among us) i.e. the devil (used to speak concerning Allah an atrocious lie.

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ (In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Jinns listening to the Qur'an and Their Belief in It Allah commands His Messenger to inform his people that the Jinns listened to the Qur'an, believed in it, affirmed its truthfulness and adhered to it. So Allah says, قُلْ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُواْ إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْءَانَاً عَجَباً يَهْدِى إِلَى الرُّشْدِ (Say: "It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened. They said: `Verily, we have heard a wonderful Recitation! It guides to the right path"') meaning, to what is correct and success. فَـَامَنَّا بِهِ وَلَن نُّشرِكَ بِرَبِّنَآ أَحَداً (and we have believed therein, and we shall never join anything with our Lord.) This position (that they took) is similar to what Allah said, وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَآ إِلَيْكَ نَفَراً مِّنَ الْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقُرْءَانَ (And when We sent towards you a group of the Jinns listening to the Qur'an.) (46:29) We have already presented the Hadiths that have been narrated concerning this, so there is no need to repeat them here. Concerning Allah's statement, وَأَنَّهُ تَعَـلَى جَدُّ رَبِّنَا (And He, exalted be the Jadd of our Lord,) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said concerning Allah's statement, جَدُّ رَبِّنَا (the Jadd of our Lord,) "This means, His actions, His commands and His power." Ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "Allah's Jadd is His blessings, His power and His favor upon His creation." It has been reported from Mujahid and `Ikrimah that they said, "It (Jadd) is the magnificence of our Lord." Qatadah said, "Exalted is His magnificence, His greatness and His command." As-Suddi said, "Exalted is the command of our Lord." It has been reported from Abu Ad-Darda', Mujahid and Ibn Jurayj that they said, "Exalted is His remembrance (Dhikr)." The Jinns Affirmation that Allah does not have a Wife and Children Allah says, مَا اتَّخَذَ صَـحِبَةً وَلاَ وَلَداً (He has taken neither a wife nor a son.) meaning, far exalted is He above taking a mate and having children. This means that when the Jinns accepted Islam and believed in the Qur'an they professed Allah's magnificence above having taken a spouse and a child (or a son). Then they said, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطاً (And that the foolish among us used to utter against Allah that which was an enormity in falsehood.) Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and As-Suddi, all said, سَفِيهُنَا (the foolish among us) "They were referring to Iblis." شَطَطًا (that which was an enormity in falsehood.) As-Suddi reported from Abu Malik that he said, "This means a transgression." Ibn Zayd said, "A great injustice." The foolish (Safih) also carries the meaning of everyone in the category who claims that Allah has a spouse or a son. This is why Allah says here, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا (And that the foolish among us used to utter) meaning, nd He, eeA ? The Jinns Affirmation that Allah does not have a Wife and Children Allah says, مَا اتَّخَذَ صَـحِبَةً وَلاَ وَلَداً (He has taken neither a wife nor a son.) meaning, far exalted is He above taking a mate and having children. This means that when the Jinns accepted Islam and believed in the Qur'an they professed Allah's magnificence above having taken a spouse and a child (or a son). Then they said, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطاً (And that the foolish among us used to utter against Allah that which was an enormity in falsehood.) Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and As-Suddi, all said, سَفِيهُنَا (the foolish among us) "They were referring to Iblis." شَطَطًا (that which was an enormity in falsehood.) As-Suddi reported from Abu Malik that he said, "This means a transgression." Ibn Zayd said, "A great injustice." The foolish (Safih) also carries the meaning of everyone in the category who claims that Allah has a spouse or a son. This is why Allah says here, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ سَفِيهُنَا (And that the foolish among us used to utter) meaning, before his acceptance of Islam. عَلَى اللَّهِ شَطَطاً (against Allah that which was an enormity in falsehood.) meaning, falsehood and a lie. Thus, Allah says, وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّآ أَن لَّن تَقُولَ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً (And verily, we thought that men and Jinn would not utter a lie against Allah.) meaning, `we did not think that humans and Jinns would join each other in lying about Allah by attributing a spouse and a son to Him. So when we heard this Qur'an we believed in it and we knew that they (Jinns and men) had been lying about Allah in this matter.' Among the Causes of the Transgression of the Jinns were that Humans sought Refuge with Them Allah says, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِّنَ الإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادوهُمْ رَهَقاً (And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the Jinn, but they increased them in Rahaq.) meaning, `we used to think that we had some virtuous status over mankind because they used to seek refuge with us whenever they (men) would settle in a valley or any place in the wilderness, the open country steppes and other places.' This was the custom of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic days of ignorance. They used to seek refuge with the greatest Jinn of a particular place so that no harm or evil would afflict them. Like one would do if he entered into the land of his enemies, in the vicinity of a great and powerful man, he would seek the protection and guardianship of that man. So when the Jinns saw that the humans were seeking refuge with them due to their fear of them, they increased them in Rahaq which means fear, terror and fright. They did this so that the people would be more afraid of them and seek refuge with them even more. As Qatadah said concerning this Ayah, فَزَادوهُمْ رَهَقاً (but they increased them in Rahaq.) means, "the Jinns were courageous and increased in insolence against them." As-Suddi said, "A man used to set out with his family (on a journey) until he came to a piece of land where he would settle. Then he would say, `I seek refuge with the master (Jinn) of this valley from the Jinns, or that myself, my wealth, my child or my animals are harmed in it."' Qatadah said, "When they sought refuge with them instead of Allah, the Jinns would overcome them with harm because of that." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from `Ikrimah that he said, "The Jinns used to fear humans just like humans fear them, or even worse. So whenever humans would come to a valley the Jinns would flee. So the leader of the people would say, `We seek refuge with the leader of the inhabitants of this valley.' So the Jinns said, `We see these people fleeing from us just like we flee from them.' Thus, the Jinns started coming near the humans and afflicting them with insanity and madness." Thus, Allah said, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِّنَ الإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادوهُمْ رَهَقاً (And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the Jinn, but they increased them in Rahaq.) meaning, in sin. Abu `Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` and Zayd bin Aslam, all said, رَهَقاً (in Rahaq) "This means in fear." Mujahid said, "The disbelievers would increase in transgression." Concerning Allah's statement, وَأَنَّهُمْ ظَنُّواْ كَمَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن لَّن يَبْعَثَ اللَّهُ أَحَداً (And they thought as you thought,) means, "the Jinns were courageous and increased in insolence against them." As-Suddi said, "A man used to set out with his family (on a journey) until he came to a piece of land where he would settle. Then he would say, `I seek refuge with the master (Jinn) of this valley from the Jinns, or that myself, my wealth, my child or my animals are harmed in it."' Qatadah said, "When they sought refuge with them instead of Allah, the Jinns would overcome them with harm because of that." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from `Ikrimah that he said, "The Jinns used to fear humans just like humans fear them, or even worse. So whenever humans would come to a valley the Jinns would flee. So the leader of the people would say, `We seek refuge with the leader of the inhabitants of this valley.' So the Jinns said, `We see these people fleeing from us just like we flee from them.' Thus, the Jinns started coming near the humans and afflicting them with insanity and madness." Thus, Allah said, وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِّنَ الإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادوهُمْ رَهَقاً (And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the Jinn, but they increased them in Rahaq.) meaning, in sin. Abu `Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` and Zayd bin Aslam, all said, رَهَقاً (in Rahaq) "This means in fear." Mujahid said, "The disbelievers would increase in transgression." Concerning Allah's statement, وَأَنَّهُمْ ظَنُّواْ كَمَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن لَّن يَبْعَثَ اللَّهُ أَحَداً (And they thought as you thought, that Allah will not send any Messenger.) meaning, Allah would never send a Messenger after this long period of time. This was said by Al-Kalbi and Ibn Jarir.