Surah An-Nas (The Mankind): (6) From the Jinn and Mankind

Regarding His saying, the Exalted: {From the Jinn and Mankind}, there are several interpretations:

First: It is as if He is saying: The whispering intruder (Al-Waswas Al-Khannas) may be from the Jinn, or it may be from mankind.

• This is similar to His saying: {Shayāṭīn (devils) of mankind and Jinn}.
• Just as the devil of the Jinn whispers sometimes and retreats (yakhinnis) at other times, the devil of mankind does the same. This is because he sees himself as a sincere advisor. If the listener rebukes him, he retreats and stops whispering; but if the listener accepts his words, he exaggerates.

Second: Some scholars hold that His saying: {From the Jinn and Mankind} constitutes two categories included under His statement: {in the bosoms of mankind}.

• It is as if the common attribute shared by the Jinn and mankind is called Insān (human/mankind), and the specific human being is also called Insān. Thus, the term Insān applies to the genus and the species by way of shared nomenclature.
• The evidence that the term Insān includes Jinn and mankind is the narration that a group of Jinn came, and when asked who they were, they replied: "We are people from the Jinn." Furthermore, Allah has called them rijāl (men) in His saying: {And there were men from mankind who sought refuge with men from the Jinn}. Therefore, it is permissible for them to be called Nās (mankind) here as well.
• Under this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is that this whispering intruder, who intensely retreats, is not limited to misleading mankind but also misleads his own kind, the Jinn. Thus, the intelligent person should be warned of its evil.
• This view is weak because applying the term Insān to the genus that includes both Jinn and mankind is linguistically distant. The Jinn are called Jinn because of their concealment (ijtinān), while Insān is derived from Īnās (familiarity/sight), meaning what is apparent.
• Al-Kashshāf’s author suggests that whoever wishes to establish this view should rather say: What is meant by {whispers in the bosoms of mankind} is "in the bosoms of the Nāsī (forgetful ones)," similar to His saying: {The Day the Caller calls}. If An-Nās means the forgetful ones, then it can be divided into Jinn and mankind, as they are the two species characterized by forgetting the truth of Allah, the Exalted.

Third: It could mean: I seek refuge in the Lord of Mankind, from the whispering intruder, and from the Jinn and Mankind (as separate entities). It is as if he first seeks refuge from that single devil, and then seeks refuge from all Jinn and all mankind.

Know that this Surah has another subtlety:

In the first Surah (Al-Falaq), the One sought refuge in is mentioned with a single attribute: The Lord of the Daybreak. The evils sought refuge from are three types of afflictions: the darkness (Al-Ghāsiq), the blowers in knots (An-Naffāthāt), and the envier (Al-Hāsid).

However, in this Surah (An-Nas), the One sought refuge in is mentioned with three attributes: The Lord, The King, and The God (Ar-Rabb, Al-Malik, Al-Ilāh). The evil sought refuge from is a single affliction: Whispering (Al-Waswasah).

The difference between the two passages is that praise and attributes must correspond to the required protection.

• What is sought in the first Surah is the safety of the self and the body.
• What is sought in the second Surah is the safety of religion (faith).

This indicates that the harm to religion, even if seemingly minor, is greater than the harms of the world, no matter how great they are. And Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, knows best.