Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:11

Surah Al-Jinn (The Jinn): Verse 11

وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الصَّالِحُونَ...

(And that among us are the righteous...)

This means: Among us are the righteous ones who fear Allah (the pious).

And among us are those who are less than the righteous. The description ("the righteous") is omitted, similar to the verse:

{And there is none of us except that he has a known station.} (As-Saffat: 164)

Regarding those who are less than the righteous, there are two opinions:

1. They are the Muqtasidun (the moderate ones) whose righteousness is incomplete.
2. They are those who are not complete in righteousness, which includes the Muqtasidun and the disbelievers.

وَأَنَّا مِنَّا قَوَاعِدُ شِيَعًا

(And that among us are those who are in different ways/sects.)

The word قَوَاعِدُ (Qawa'id) is derived from قِدَد (Qidad), meaning pieces or sections cut off from something. The paths/ways are described as Qidad to indicate separation and divergence.

There are several interpretations for this part of the verse:

1. We were possessors of divergent paths/doctrines. Al-Suddi said: The Jinn are like you; among them are the Murji'ah, the Qadariyyah, the Rawafid (Shi'a), and the Khawarij (Sectarians).
2. We were in differing states, like different paths.
3. Our paths were paths of Qidad (a structure where the possessive noun, Taraiquna, is omitted, and the pronoun referring back to it, Qidad, takes its place).

The Eleventh Type (of their statements):

! 7 < { وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَن لَّن نُّعْجِزَ اللَّهَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَن نُّعْجِزَهُ هَرَبًا } . > 7

(And that we had thought that we could never frustrate Allah on earth, nor could we escape Him by fleeing.)