Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:158

A shift to the third person [from the second person] serves as a notification of their severance from the ability to answer, their fall from the level of address, and the requirement of their state that one turn away from them and narrate their crimes to others.

It has been asserted that the intended meaning of al-Jinn (the Jinn) here is the Shayatin (devils), and that the "lineage" established is affinity by marriage. Adam ibn Abi Iyas, ‘Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, and others related from Mujahid who said: The disbelievers of Quraysh said, "The angels are the daughters of God Almighty." Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may God be pleased with him, said to them by way of rebuking them: "Then who are their mothers?" They replied, "The daughters of the noblemen of the Jinn." Ibn Abi Hatim narrated this from ‘Atiyyah.

Alternatively, it may mean they established a lineage between Him, Glorified be He, and them in the sense that they associated them with Him, the Almighty, in the worthiness of worship. This is related from al-Hasan.

It is also said that some heretics claim that God, the Exalted and Majestic, and Iblis (upon whom be the curse) are brothers; God Almighty is the Good and Generous, and Iblis is the Evil and Vile. This is the intended meaning of His saying, Exalted be He: "And they have placed..." etc. Al-Tabarsi narrated this from al-Kalbi. Imam al-Razi said: "This view is, in my opinion, the closest of the opinions, and it is the doctrine of the Magians who speak of Yazdan and Ahriman, referring to them as Light and Darkness." However, this view is weakened in my estimation by the fact that the apparent meaning of the pronoun in "they have placed" is, like the preceding pronouns, referring to the Quraysh, and this view is not widely known about them, nor even about any of the Arab tribes. Moreover, the context is not for refuting the disbelievers in general.

Many have reported from Mujahid, and ‘Abd ibn Humayd from ‘Ikrimah, and Ibn Abi Shaybah from Abi Salih, that the intended meaning of al-Jinn is the angels. This is narrated in Majma‘ al-Bayan from Qatadah, and al-Jubba’i chose it. The "placing" mentioned refers to what is contained in their statement: "The angels are the daughters of God." It is repeated as a precursor to what follows. This is based on the premise that the Jinn and the angels are one species, created from a single element, which is fire. However, he who is from its dense, smoky part is a devil, who is wicked and rebellious; and he who is from its pure light is an angel, who is entirely good. The reason for the naming "Jinn" is the concealment (istitar) from our eyes. Thus, Jinn and Jinnah are in the sense of the passive participle, derived from jannahu if one conceals him. According to this, the specification of the Jinn as one of its two types is an incidental specification, like the specification of the word dabbah (creature).

It has been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, may God be pleased with them, that a type of angel (peace be upon them) is called the Jinn, and among them is Iblis. The angels were referred to as al-Jinnah to humble them—despite their exalted status in themselves—from reaching the level of affinity they attributed to them in their statement. It may also be said that their concealment was the very thing that invited that false claim, due to their imagining that it is only fitting for females; so they said, "If they were not His daughters—Glorified and Exalted be He—He would not have concealed them from sight." Therefore, he referred to them as al-Jinnah.

That is: I swear by God, the devils—meaning their kind—have certainly known that God Almighty will bring them forth, and there is no escape from the Fire and being punished therein. If they were related to Him, Exalted be He, or partners in the worthiness of worship or in governing, He would not have punished them.

The pronoun in "that they" refers to the Jinn according to all interpretations except the last one mentioned previously. As for the latter, it refers to the disbelievers: "I swear by God, the angels—whom they [the disbelievers] made a lineage between Him, Exalted be He, and themselves, saying they are His daughters—have certainly known that the disbelievers will be brought to the Fire and punished therein for their lying and fabrication in that statement." The intent is an extreme form of refutation by demonstrating that those for whom this lineage is claimed—who are more knowledgeable than they are regarding the true state of affairs—belie them in that and judge them with certainty to be punished on account of it.

According to the first interpretations, it is also permissible for the pronoun to refer to the disbelievers, and the meaning is similar to what has been mentioned. The knowledge of the angels that the disbelievers are being punished is obvious, and the knowledge of the devils that they themselves—and likewise other disbelievers—are being punished is due to the fact that God, the Exalted and Majestic, threatened Iblis (upon whom be the curse) with that which indicates as much.