Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:212

That is, they are prevented by shooting stars after having previously been capable [of hearing], as is indicated by the words of the Almighty: “And we have sought to reach the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames. And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.” The intent is to provide the most eloquent reasoning for what preceded; for if they are prevented from hearing what the angels speak of in the heaven, they are, a fortiori, prevented from taking the Glorious Qur’an from the Preserved Tablet, or from the House of Might (Bayt al-‘Izzah), or from hearing it when Allah, the Almighty and Exalted, reveals it to whom He wills in His heaven.

It is said: The meaning is that they are removed from hearing the speech of the angels, peace be upon them, because such [hearing] is conditioned upon sharing in the attributes of the Essence, accepting the outpouring of the Truth, and being imprinted with celestial forms; and their souls are inherently malicious, dark, and evil, and thus do not accept this. The Holy Qur’an contains truths and unseen matters that cannot be received except from the angels, peace be upon them.

This [interpretation] is countered by the argument that if it is intended that hearing the speech of the angels, peace be upon them, in an absolute sense is conditioned upon qualities that they [the devils] possess the opposites of, then this is not granted. How could it be, when it is established that the devils used to eavesdrop, and the outward meaning of the verses is that they continue to eavesdrop to this day, snatching a word, only to be pursued by a piercing flame? Furthermore, if what was mentioned were a condition for hearing—and it is absent in them—then what would be the benefit of the guards and preventing them from hearing through [the use of] projectiles? Moreover, if what was mentioned were true, how would they be able to hear the Great Qur’an from the angels, peace be upon them—whether it contains truths and unseen matters or not? What, then, is the benefit of the statement, "The Qur'an contains..." and so on?

If it is intended that hearing the speech of the angels, peace be upon them, specifically when it is a revelation sent down to the prophets, peace be upon them, is conditioned upon what was mentioned, then this—besides being contrary to the manifest meaning of the speech—is also not granted. How could it be, when it is established that Gabriel, peace be upon him, when he descends with the Qur'an, descends with a guard to protect the revelation from the devil? The Almighty and Exalted has said: “He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before him and behind him observers, that He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord.”

Furthermore, the outward meaning of being "removed from hearing" implies that they were previously capable of it and were subsequently prevented from it. It would follow from what was mentioned [by the proponents of the philosophical view] that they used to hear the revelation before, even though their souls were inherently malicious, dark, and evil, which invalidates the claim that the aforementioned "participation" is a condition for hearing. If it were claimed that the condition was present then and was later lost, and one were to commit to the permissibility of the change of inherent attributes, this is something for which no evidence has been established. Comparing all devils to Iblis—may he be cursed—is something whose status is not hidden. So, ponder this.

In sum, what I incline toward regarding the meaning of the verse is what I mentioned first, and that which relates to it will come soon, God Almighty willing. It is also permissible that the pronoun in "indeed, they" refers to the polytheists, and the intent is that they do not listen to the truth due to their obstinacy. In the verse, there is a nuance of the Almighty’s saying: “And those who disbelieve—their allies are Taghut. They take them out of the light into the darkness.” However, this is very far-fetched.