AL JINN (The Spirits)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 Say: It has been revealed to me that a company of Jinns listened. They said, We have really heard a wonderful recital!
2 It gives guidance to the right, and we have believed in it: We shall not join any gods with our Lord.
3 And exalted is the majesty of our Lord: he has taken neither a wife nor a son.
4 There were some foolish ones among us, who used to utter extravagant lies against God;
5 But we think that no man or spirit should say anything that is untrue against God.
6 True, there were persons among mankind who took shelter with persons among the Jinns, but they increased them in folly.
7 And they think as you thought, that God would not raise up anyone to judgment.
8 And we pried into the secrets of heaven; but we found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires.
9 We used, indeed, to sit there in stations, to listen; but any who listens now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush.
10 And we understand not whether ill is intended to those on earth, or whether their Lord intends to guide them to right conduct.
11 There are among us some that are righteous, and some the contrary: we follow divergent paths.
12 But we think that we can by no means frustrate God throughout the earth, nor can we frustrate him by flight.
13 And as for us, since we have listened to the guidance, we have accepted it: and any who believes in his Lord has no fear, either of a short account or of any injustice.
14 Among us are some that submit their wills, and some that swerve from justice. Now those who submit their wills have sought out right conduct:
15 But those who swerve, they are fuel for hell fire.
16 If they had remained on the way, we would certainly have bestowed on them rain in abundance.
17 That we might try them by that. But if any turns away from the remembrance of his Lord, he will cause him to undergo a severe penalty.
18 And the places of worship are for God: so invoke not anyone along with God;
19 Yet when the devotee of God stands forth to invoke him, they just make round him a dense crowd.
20 Say: I do no more than invoke my Lord, and I join not with him anyone.
21 Say: It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to right conduct.
22 Say: No one can deliver me from God, nor should I find refuge except in him,
23 Unless I proclaim what I receive from God and his messages: for any that disobey God and his Messenger, for them is hell: they shall dwell in it forever.
24 At length, when they see what they are promised, then will they know who is weakest to help and least important in point of numbers.
25 Say: I know not whether that which you are promised is near, or whether my Lord will appoint for it a distant term.
26 He knows the unseen, nor does he make anyone acquainted with his secrets,
27 Except a messenger whom he has chosen: and then he makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him,
28 That he may know that they have brought and delivered the messages of their Lord: and he surrounds what is with them, and takes account of every single thing.
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎