Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:6

"And indeed, there were men from among mankind who sought refuge in men from among the jinn." A man among the Arabs, when he would arrive at a desolate valley and fear for himself, would call out at the top of his voice: "O master (aziz) of this valley! I seek refuge in you from the foolish ones who are under your authority"—intending the jinn and their leader. When the jinn heard that, they would grow arrogant and say, "We have become masters of both the jinn and mankind." This is the meaning of His saying:

"So they increased them"—meaning, the men who were seeking refuge increased the jinn.

"In burden (rahaqan)"—meaning, in arrogance and insolence. The nominative pronoun refers to the men of mankind, as they are the subject being discussed, and the accusative refers to the men of the jinn. This is the view of Mujahid, al-Nakha’i, ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, and a group [of scholars]. However, some of them interpreted rahaq as "sin." Al-Tabari cited for this the saying of al-A’sha: "Nothing benefits me besides seeing her; a lover will not find relief as long as he does not commit a sin (rahaqan)." He intended by it: "as long as he does not commit a forbidden act." Thus, the meaning here would be: "So they (the men of mankind) increased the jinn in sin," because they magnified them, which caused the jinn to increase in their indulgence of the prohibitions of Allah Almighty. Or, it could mean: "So the jinn increased those who sought refuge in them in error," by leading them astray until they sought refuge in them. In this interpretation, the two pronouns are the reverse of what preceded; this is the view of Qatada, Abu al-‘Aliyah, al-Rabi’, and Ibn Zayd. In the first interpretation, the fa (so) denotes immediate succession, while in the second, it is said to denote logical narrative sequence. Al-Farra’ held that the clause following the fa may precede it if there is evidence to indicate it, like His saying: "And how many a city have We destroyed, so Our punishment came to it." The majority of grammarians disagree with him. It is also said that there is an omission in the discourse, meaning: "So they followed them, and they (the jinn) increased them." The verse is clear that the word "men" (rijal) is applied to the males of the jinn just as it is applied to the males of mankind. It has been said, however, that it is not applied to the males of the jinn.

"From among the jinn" in the verse is linked to "seeking refuge," and its meaning is that there were men from mankind who sought refuge from the evil of the jinn in other men from mankind. A man would say, for example: "I seek refuge in Hudhayfah ibn Badr from the jinn of this valley." This is a strange view, contrary to what the majority holds and which is supported by reports. Perhaps the validity of this relies on the implication that such an act is a form of misguidance that necessitates an increase in rahaq.

There have come some narrations regarding what should be said in place of this refuge-seeking. In a long hadith recorded by Abu Nasr al-Sajzi in al-Ibanah, by way of Mujahid from Ibn ‘Abbas—who said it is very strange—the Prophet (may Allah Almighty bless him and grant him peace) said: "If one of you feels loneliness or descends into a haunted land, let him say: 'I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah, which neither the righteous nor the wicked can transgress, from the evil of what enters the earth and what exits it, and from what descends from the heaven and what ascends into it, and from the tribulations of the day and the visitations of the night, except for a visitor who arrives with good.'"