Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:20

(Say) to those who conspire against him: "I only call upon my Lord," meaning: I have not brought you a reprehensible matter. I only worship my Lord alone, "and I do not associate anyone with Him." This is not something that warrants your unanimous hatred and hostility toward me.

Alternatively, he said this to the Jinn when they crowded around him in astonishment: What you see of my worship of Allah and my rejection of associating partners with Him is not a matter to be wondered at; rather, one should wonder at those who call upon other than Allah and assign Him a partner. Or, the Jinn said this to their people, narrating it from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

"And no guidance"—or no benefit. Or, he intended by "harm" (in the previous verse): error (al-ghayy). This is supported by the reading of Ubayy: "neither error nor guidance." The meaning is: I have no power to harm you or benefit you; the only One who harms and benefits is Allah. Or: I cannot force you toward error or guidance; the only One capable of that is Allah, the Almighty.

"Except for a notification" is an exception from that. Meaning: I possess nothing but a notification from Allah.

"Say: Indeed, no one can protect me" is a parenthetical sentence inserted to emphasize the negation of power from himself and to declare his helplessness. It means: If Allah intends harm for him—such as illness, death, or other things—no one can protect him from it, nor can he find a refuge (multahad) to turn to. Multahad means a place of refuge; its root is madkhal (an entrance), from lahd (a niche in a grave). It is also said to mean a place of escape or deviation.

It is read: "He said: I do not possess..."—meaning the servant of Allah (the Prophet) said this to the polytheists or the Jinn. It is also possible that this is part of the Jinn’s narration to their people.

It is said that "notification" is a substitute for "refuge"—meaning: I will find no refuge from Him, except by conveying what He sent me with.

It is also said that "except" (illa) stands for "that not" (an la). Its meaning is: "That I do not convey a notification," like saying: "If not standing, then sitting."

"And His messages" is conjoined to "notification," as if it were said: I possess nothing for you except the notification and the messages. The meaning is: Except that I convey from Allah, saying "Allah said such-and-such," attributing His speech to Him, and that I convey the messages He sent me with, without addition or omission.

If you ask: Is it not said "convey from (an) him," as in the Prophet’s (ﷺ) saying: "Convey from me, convey from me"? I say: The min (from) is not a preposition for the act of conveying; it is like the min in the verse: "An acquittal from (min) Allah" (9:1), meaning a notification existing from Allah.

It is read: "For whoever disobeys... then indeed for him is the fire of Hell"—meaning: his recompense is that he has the fire of Hell, like the verse: "Then indeed, for Allah is one-fifth of it" (8:41), meaning: his ruling is that for Allah is one-fifth. He said "abiding therein" (khalidina), following the meaning of the plural in "whoever" (man).

If you ask: To what does "until" (hatta) attach, and what makes the following part its limit? I say: To his saying: "They were almost upon him in layers" (72:19), in that they conspire against him in hostility, belittling his supporters and considering their number small, "until, when they see what they are promised"—of the Day of Badr and Allah’s manifestation of him over them, or of the Day of Resurrection—"then they will know" at that time that they are "weaker in helpers and fewer in number."

It is also permissible for it to attach to an implied meaning indicated by the context: the disbelievers' belittling of him and their view of his small numbers, as if he said: They will remain as they are "until, when they see what they are promised."

The polytheists said: "When will this promised event be?" in denial of it. So it was said: "Say," it is something that will happen, there is no doubt in it, so do not deny it; for Allah has promised it and He does not break His promise. As for its time, I do not know when it will be, because Allah did not clarify it, as He saw wisdom in concealing its time.

If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying: "Or will my Lord appoint for it a distant term?"—and a term (amad) can be near or far, do you not see His saying: "She would wish that between her and it was a great distance" (3:30)? I say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to consider the promised time near, so it is as if he said: I do not know if it is an event expected at any hour, or if it is postponed to a set limit.

Meaning: He is "Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose"—He does not reveal—"to anyone, except a messenger"—this clarifies who is "approved" (irtada). It means: He does not reveal the unseen except to the approved one who is chosen specifically for prophethood, not just any approved person. In this is a refutation of karamat (miracles of saints), because those to whom these are attributed, even if they are approved saints, are not messengers. Allah has singled out the messengers from among the approved to be informed of the unseen, and to refute soothsaying and astrology, for their practitioners are the furthest from being approved and the most deeply involved in what is displeasing.

"Indeed, He sends before him"—before the one approved for the message—"and behind him observers"—guardians from the angels who protect him from the devils, driving them away from him and shielding him from their whispers and confusion, until he conveys what was revealed to him. From al-Dahhak: No prophet was sent except that he had angels with him guarding him from the devils, lest they imitate the form of the angel.

"That He may know"—Allah—"that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord." He used the singular first, following the wording in "before him and behind him," then used the plural following the meaning, like His saying: "Then indeed for him is the fire of Hell, abiding therein" (72:23). The meaning is: So that they may convey the messages of their Lord as they are, guarded from addition and omission. Mentioning "knowledge" is like His saying: "Until We make known the strivers" (47:31). It is also read as passive: li-yu'lama (so that it may be known).

"And He has encompassed whatever is with them"—what the messengers possess of wisdom and laws. Nothing of it escapes Him, and He does not forget a single letter of it; He is the Overseer over it, the Preserver of it. "And has enumerated everything in number"—from the raindrops, the sand, the leaves of trees, and the foam of the seas. How then could He not encompass what the messengers have of His revelation and speech? "In number" (adadan) is a state (hal), meaning: He has recorded everything, counted and limited. Or it is an infinitive in the sense of enumeration.

From the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Whoever recites Surah al-Jinn, there will be for him, for every Jinn who believed in Muhammad (ﷺ) or disbelieved in him, the reward of freeing a slave."