Al-Ahqaf: (29–32) And when We turned towards you...

Issues in the Verse:

When Allah mentioned that among mankind there are those who believe and those who disbelieve, He then clarified that among the Jinn, there are also believers and disbelievers, and that the believers among them are subject to reward, while the disbelievers are subject to punishment. There are two views regarding the manner in which this event occurred:

The First View (Sa'id ibn Jubayr): The Jinn used to listen (to the heavens). When they were repelled (by meteors/shooting stars), they said, "This event that has occurred in the sky must be due to something on Earth." They went searching for the cause. It happened that when the Prophet (PBUH) despaired of the people of Mecca responding to him, he went out to Ta'if to invite them to Islam. When he returned to Mecca, while he was at Nakhlah valley, he stood up reciting the Quran during the dawn prayer. A group of noble Jinn from Nisibis passed by him. Iblis had sent them to find out the reason that necessitated guarding the heaven with meteors. They heard the Quran and realized that this was the cause.

The Second View: Allah commanded His Messenger to warn the Jinn, invite them to Allah, and recite the Quran to them. So, Allah turned a group of Jinn towards him so they could listen to the Quran and warn their people.

Corollaries derived from the above:

1. The Status of the Jinn: It is narrated from the Qadi (in his Tafsir) that the Jinn were Jews, because just as mankind has Jews, Christians, Magians, and idolaters, the Jinn also have similar groups (i.e., they are subject to religious classifications). The verified scholars agree that the Jinn are accountable (Mukallafun). When Ibn Abbas was asked if the Jinn have reward, he replied, "Yes, they have reward and they are subject to punishment. They will meet in Paradise and crowd at its gates."
2. The Number of Jinn: The author of Al-Kashshaf stated that Nafar (a group) is less than ten, and its plural is Anfar. Al-Tabari narrated from Ibn Abbas that those Jinn were seven men from Nisibis, and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) made them messengers to their people. Zirr ibn Hubaysh said they were nine, one of whom was Dhawba'ah. Qatadah mentioned that they were turned towards him from Sāwah.
3. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's Presence: There is disagreement regarding whether Abdullah ibn Mas'ud was with the Prophet (PBUH) on the Night of the Jinn, with differing and famous narrations on this matter.
4. Encounter with a Jinn Elder: The Qadi narrated in his Tafsir from Anas that he was with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in the mountains of Mecca when an old man leaning on a staff approached. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "This has the gait and tone of a Jinn." The old man replied, "Indeed." The Prophet (PBUH) asked, "From which Jinn are you?" He replied, "I am Hāmah ibn Haym ibn Lāqis ibn Iblis." The Prophet (PBUH) said, "There are only two generations between you and Iblis." He asked how old he was. He replied, "I have consumed the age of the world except for a little. I was walking among the hills at the time of Cain killing Abel." He mentioned much that he had witnessed, including that Jesus, son of Mary, told him, "If you meet Muhammad, convey my peace to him. I have delivered his message and believed in you." The Prophet (PBUH) replied, "Peace be upon Jesus, and peace be upon you, O Hāmah. What is your need?" Hāmah said, "Moses taught me the Torah, and Jesus taught me the Gospel, so teach me the Quran." The Prophet (PBUH) taught him ten chapters, and he passed away before the Prophet (PBUH) passed away. Umar ibn Al-Khattab said, "I do not think he is dead yet." The complete discussion of the story of the Jinn is mentioned in Surah Al-Jinn.

Some commentators explained that since the Messenger (PBUH) did not intend to recite the Quran to them, Allah cast a leaning and an inclination in their hearts to listen to the Quran. This is why it is stated: {And when We turned towards you a group of Jinn}.

Then Allah said: {So when they attended it} (The pronoun refers to the Quran or the Messenger of Allah), they said (meaning, some of them to others): {Be silent and listen}. It is said, Anṣitū (be silent) for something, and Istansitū (ask to be listened to) for something.

When he finished reciting, {they turned back to their people as warners}. They warned them, which could only happen after their faith, because they would not invite others to listen to the Quran and believe in it unless they themselves had already believed.

At that point, {they said, "O our father! O our people! Indeed, we have heard a Book revealed after Moses"}. They described it with two characteristics:

1. {Confirming what came before it}: Meaning, confirming the books of the previous Prophets. The implication is that the books of all previous Prophets contained calls to Monotheism, Prophethood, the Hereafter, and commands for moral purification—and this Book contains these same meanings.
2. {Guiding to the Truth and to a Straight Path}.

The first description indicates that this Book resembles all divine books in calling to these noble, high objectives. The second description indicates that these objectives contained in the Quran are truly and verifiably true in themselves; everyone knows by clear reason that they are so, whether divine books mentioned them before or not.

If someone asks, "Why did they say, {after Moses}?" We reply that we have narrated from Al-Hasan that they were upon Judaism. Ibn Abbas narrated that the Jinn had not heard the command of Jesus, which is why they said "after Moses."

After the Jinn described the Quran with these excellent attributes, they said: {Guiding to the Truth, O our people! Respond to the Caller of Allah}. There is disagreement over whether the "Caller of Allah" refers to the Messenger or the intermediary who conveys from him. The closer view is that it refers to the Messenger, as he is the one to whom this description is applied.

Issue 1: This verse indicates that the Prophet (PBUH) was sent to the Jinn just as he was sent to mankind. Muqatil said that Allah had not sent a Prophet to mankind and Jinn before him.

Issue 2: The command {Respond to the Caller of Allah} is an order to obey everything he commanded, which includes the command to believe. However, faith was mentioned specifically because it is the most important and noblest category. The Quran often follows the pattern of mentioning a general term and then attaching the noblest type of it, like in {and His angels, and His messengers, and Gabriel} (Al-Baqarah: 98), and {When We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you, and from Noah} (Al-Ahzab: 70).

After commanding belief, Allah mentioned the benefit of that belief: {He will forgive you some of your sins}.

Sub-Issues on Forgiveness:

1. The Particle Min (Some): Some said the word min (some/of) here is superfluous, meaning the interpretation is: "He will forgive your sins." Others said the benefit of min here is for the beginning of the effect (ibtida' al-ghayah). Thus, the meaning is that forgiveness begins with sins, and then extends to forgiving what you committed that fell short of the most complete and perfect action.
2. Reward for the Jinn: There is disagreement on whether the Jinn have reward. Some said they have no reward except salvation from the Fire, after which they will be told, "Be dust like beasts." They cite the verse {and save you from a painful punishment} (Al-Ahqaf: 31) as proof. This is the view of Abu Hanifa. The correct view is that they are under the same ruling as the Children of Adam, deserving reward for obedience and punishment for disobedience. This is the view of Ibn Abi Layla and Malik, and a debate occurred between them and Abu Hanifa on this matter. Al-Dahhak said they will enter Paradise, eat, and drink. The proof for the correctness of this view is that every evidence showing that humans deserve reward for obedience is equally applicable to the Jinn; the difference between the two categories is very slight.

After the Jinn commanded his people to answer the Messenger and believe in him, he warned them about failing to respond: {And whoever does not respond to the Caller of Allah, he will not escape on earth}. Meaning, there is no escape from Him, nor can His decree be preceded. A similar verse is {And we thought that we could never frustrate Allah on earth, nor escape Him by flight} (Al-Jinn: 12). Nor will they find any protector or helper besides Allah. Then he clarified that they are in manifest error.