Surah al-Ahqaf (Sand Dunes) 46 : 32

Overview (Verses 29 - 33)

This last part of the surah presents a different way of tackling the basic question of faith. It tells us the story of a group of jinn who heard the Qur'an being recited and who listened to it. They felt, at heart, that it was the word of truth and believed in it instantly. They then rushed to their own people calling on them to believe, giving them the good news of earning forgiveness for their past sins and warning them against turning away and persisting in error. The effect of the Qur'an on this group affirm is clearly indicated in their advice to each other to hearken to its recitation, as well as the report they gave to their people about it, urging them to believe too. Reporting the story in this way should touch the hearts of human beings to whom the message of the Qur'an is firstly addressed. It should have a telling and profound effect on them. At the same time, a reference to the link between the book given to Moses and the Qur'an is mentioned by the jinn. This is a fact ignored by humans but highlighted by the jinn. Again this has a profound effect which is consistent with the message of the surah.

The jinn's discourse also refers to the open book of the universe, testifying to God's great power manifested in the creation of the heavens and the earth and His ability to bring the dead back to life. Needless to say, people argue endlessly about this, often denying it altogether.

In the context of resurrection, the surah portrays a scene from the Day of Judgement speaking of the time when the unbelievers are brought before the fire of hell. Finally, the Prophet is instructed to remain patient in adversity and not to hasten their punishment. Rather, he should leave them to live their lives until the appointed time, which is bound to come soon, in no more than an hour of a day, during which the message is given.

The jinn Listening to the Qur'an

We sent to you a group of jinn to listen to the Qur'an. When they heard it, they said to one another, 'Listen in silence!' When the recitation ended, they returned to their people to warn them. 'Our people,' they said, 'we have been listening to revelation bestowed from on high after Moses, confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path. Our people! Respond to God's call and have faith in Him. He will forgive you your sins and deliver you from grievous suffering. He who does not respond to God's call cannot elude Him on earth, nor will they have any protector against Him. They are indeed in manifest error. Are they not aware that God, who has created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, has the power to bring the dead back to life?  Yes, indeed. He has power over all things. (Verses 29-33)

Those jinn who listened to the Qur'an in silence made a comment that embraced faith in its entirety: belief in God's revelation; the unity of the message given in the Torah and the Qur'an; acknowledging the truth to which the Qur'an guides; belief in the Day of Resurrection and which actions earn forgiveness and which incur punishment; acknowledging God's power of creation and His overall authority over all creatures, and recognising the link between creation in the first place and bringing the dead back to life. These are the principles the surah discusses from start to finish. They are presented here by the jinn, in a voice that comes from beyond man's world.

The fact that the Qur'an mentions how a number of jinn were sent to listen to the Qur'an as the Prophet recited it, and reports what they did and said afterwards, is sufficient to confirm the existence of the jinn and the event related. It further confirms that they were able to listen to the Qur'an in its Arabic wording as pronounced by the Prophet. It also makes clear that the jinn are able to accept faith or deny it, that they have the choice to follow guidance or continue in error. There is no need for any further confirmation. No person can add anything to the reliability of a fact stated by God in the Qur'an. We, however, merely try to clarify it in our human perception.

The universe around us is full of secrets, as well as powers and creatures of which we know nothing: neither their nature, nor their shape, form or effect. We live in the midst of all these powers and secrets and every day discover some of these getting to know some of such creatures or their qualities and how they make their effect on the world around us. We are still, however, at the beginning of the road, leading to knowledge of the universe. We should bear in mind that all past generations of mankind, the present one and all future generations dwell on no more than a small particle in the vast universe, which is planet earth. When compared to human knowledge five centuries ago, what we now know when we are still just at the beginning of the road is considered stranger by far than the remarkable creatures known as the jinn. Had someone told people five centuries ago anything about atomic energy, they would have considered him crazy, or at least considered his views far stranger than the jinn.

The secrets we discover and the knowledge we acquire remain within the limits of our human power, which is granted to us so that we can discharge our task of building life on earth, in accordance with the terms of reference set for us by God. Moreover, what we learn remains within what God has made available or subservient to us for use in fulfilment of our task. No matter how long human life on earth extends, human knowledge and discoveries will remain within this framework; i.e. the framework of what we need for the mission assigned to us when we were placed in charge of the earth, according to God's purpose and wisdom. We will discover and learn much more of the wonderful secrets and powers in the universe, compared to which the secrets of the atom may appear like child's play, but we will remain within the limited area of knowledge assigned to man. We will remain within the limits of the Qur'anic statement: "You, [mankind], have been granted but little knowledge." (17: 85) It remains little compared to what the universe contains of secrets and facts known only to its Creator who controls all. We need to contrast this against God's representation of His limitless knowledge: "Were all the trees on earth to be made into pens, and the sea ink, with seven more seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted." (31: 27)

Therefore, we cannot say that something belonging to the realm that lies beyond our perception, or some secret or power in the universe, certainly exists or not, or is possible or impossible, merely because it is beyond our familiar world or our human experience. We have not yet discovered all the secrets of our own physical constitution, its systems and potentials, let alone the secrets of our minds and spirits.

There may be secrets that are beyond what is meant to be revealed to us, and secrets that we are not meant to understand, even though we get to learn about their qualities or effects, or even only their existence. What is withheld from us will not, should we learn about it, benefit us in the fulfilment of our assignment on earth. Therefore, when God tells us in His words, not through our experience and acquired knowledge, about these secrets and powers, we should accept His gift with gratitude and take it as He gives it to us, adding nothing and omitting nothing. Such knowledge comes to us directly from God, and He has chosen to give it to us in a particular measure. There is simply no other source to give us more.

On the basis of the account given in this surah and that given in Sarah 72, The Jinn, (which most probably speaks of the same event), and from other references to the jinn in the Qur'an as well as authentic ahadith referring to this event, we can understand certain facts about the jinn. We will add nothing further.

To sum up these facts we say that there is a type of God's creation named the jinn, which is created out of fire. This is evidenced by the Qur'anic reports of Iblis's statement in reference to Adam: "I am nobler than he: You created me out of fire, while You created him out of clay." (7: 12) Iblis, or Satan, belongs to the jinn, as God says: "When We said to the angels: 'Prostrate yourselves before Adam,' they all prostrated themselves. Not so Iblis, who belonged to the jinn and he disobeyed his Lord's command." (18: 50) This type of creation has different qualities to those of humans. One of these is that it is created out of fire, and another is that the jinn can see humans while humans cannot see them. In reference to Iblis, who belongs to the jinn, God says: "Surely he and his tribe watch you from where you cannot perceive them." (7: 27) This last statement also tells us that the jinn have their own groupings and communities, which are similar to human communities.

The jinn can live on earth, although we do not know where. When He turned them out of heaven, God said to both Adam and Iblis: "Get you down. You shall be enemies to one another. On earth you shall have an abode and sustenance, fora while." (2: 36) The jinn who were made subservient to Solomon performed for him certain works on land which, by necessity, meant that they had whatever was necessary for them to live on earth. Likewise, they can live and survive away from this planet. The Qur'an reports a statement made by some of the jinn which says: "We ascended to high heaven and found it filled with mighty guards and flames. We used to sit eavesdropping, but now eavesdroppers find flames lying in wait for them." (72: 8-9)

The jinn can also influence the understanding of humans, and they are given leave to lead such humans as go astray, but not those who are God's true servants. In the Qur'anic account of the exchange between God and Iblis, the latter said: "I swear by Your very might: I shall certainly tempt them all except Your true servants." (38: 82-83) Other texts also confirm this, but we do not know how the jinn whisper to humans and influence them, nor what tools they use in the process. They can hear man and understand his language. This is clearly the case when this group of jinn listened to the Qur'an, understood it and were influenced by it. Like humans, the jinn can follow Divine guidance or go astray. As reported in Su rah 72, this group of jinn said: "Some of us surrender themselves to God and some are wrongdoers. Those that surrender themselves have attained to consciousness of what is right; whereas the wrongdoers are indeed the fuel of hell." (72: 14-15) Moreover, those of them who listened to the Qur'an went straight to their people and called on them to accept the message of Islam, having themselves accepted it and learnt what their people had not yet learnt.

This is all that we can say with certainty about the jinn. We should not add to it anything that lacks supporting evidence. The event to which the present verses of the surah refer, as does, in all probability, Surah 72, The Jinn, is confirmed by several reports. Here, we will quote the most authentic of these.

"Ibn 'Abbas said: The Prophet neither recited anything to the jinn, nor did he see them. The Prophet went with a number of his Companions aiming for the `Ukaz Market. By that time, the jinn were blocked from eavesdropping in the skies and flames were set against them. When they went to their people, they told them of the situation. Some of them said: 'You have been stopped from eavesdropping for something that must have taken place. 

Travel, therefore, throughout the earth and try to find out what has happened to cause this.' Groups of them travelled in every direction, searching for the cause that blocked them from eavesdropping. The company that went to Tihamah drew close to the Prophet as he was at the Nakhlah Valley, aiming for (Uk4 Market. He was leading the dawn prayer, with his Companions in the congregation. They listened to him reciting the Qur'an in his prayer. Then they said to one another: `This is indeed what blocked you from eavesdropping in the skies.' They then went to their people and said to them:We have heard a wondrous discourse, guiding towards consciousness of what is right, and so we have come to believe in it.' (72: 1-2) God subsequently revealed this Sarah to the Prophet which included what the jinn said." [Related by Ahmad, al-Bukhari, Muslim and others.

Ibn Mas ud was asked whether any of the Prophet's Companions was with him on the night when the jinn listened to the Qur'an. He replied: "None of us accompanied him. We were with him one night when we missed him. We looked for him in the nearby valleys and paths. When we did not find him we thought that he might have been carried away or assassinated.  Ours was an extremely terrible night then. In the morning we saw him coming towards us from the direction of Hira'. We said to him: 'messenger of God! We missed you and searched for you. When we could not find you we had a terrible night.' He said: 'Someone came to me with a call from the jinn, and I went with him and read the Qur'an to them.' He then took us to show us their traces and where they had their fires. They asked him for food and he said to them: 'You may have the bones of all animals at the slaughter of which God's name is invoked. When you hold a bone in your hand, it will be to you as though it has all the meat it can carry. Every dropping serves as fodder for your cattle.' The Prophet said to us: 'Do not, then, use these to clean yourself when you go to do stools.'" [Related by Muslim, Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.

In his biography of the Prophet, Ibn Ishaq narrates the jinn story after the Prophet's journey to Taif where he went to visit the Thaqif tribe, seeking their support to deliver his message. By that time, Abu Pith, his uncle who had provided him with protection against attack had died and the Prophet was now subjected to much harm and hostility. The Thaqif, however, answered him very rudely and set their young lads and servants against him. In this way, the Prophet was stoned to the extent that both his feet bled. At this point, he prayed to God, making the following passionate appeal:

To You, My Lord, I complain of my weakness, lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive.

Most compassionate and merciful! You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom do You leave me? To distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom You have given power over me?

If You are not displeased with me, I do not care what I face. I would, however, be much happier with Your mercy.

I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come are put on their right courses against incurring Your wrath or being the subject of Your anger. To You I submit, until I earn Your pleasure. Everything is powerless without Your support.

After his account of the Prophet's trip to Taif, Ibn 'Ishag adds: "When the Prophet gave up hope of any positive response from the Thaqif, he returned to Makkah. When he was at the valley of Nakhlah, he rose up in the middle of the night to pray. It was then that the group of jinn God mentioned in the Qur'an came to him. They were, as I was told, seven in number and came from among the jinn of Nusaybin. They listened to his recitation. When he finished his prayer, they went straight to their people to warn them, having believed in Islam and the Qur'an. God then related what happened to the Prophet in verses 29-32 of Surah 46, The Sand Dunes, and also in Surah 72, The Jinn."

Ibn Kathir comments on this last report by Ibn Ishaq, saying: "This is correct, but the time at which Ibn Ishaq says it occurred is questionable. The jinn listened to the Qur'an in the early days of its revelation, as indicated by the hadith reported by Ibn 'Abbas, while the Prophet went on his journey to Ta'if after his uncle's death, which means only one or two years before the Prophet's migration to Madinah, as indicated by Ibn Ishaq himself and others. However, God knows best."

There are many other reports concerning this event. From all these, we rely on the first by Ibn `Abbas, mentioned above, because it is the one that fits most perfectly with the Qur'anic texts speaking about the event. Moreover, it clearly states that the Prophet learnt of what took place through what was revealed to him and that he neither saw nor felt the presence of the jinn. Moreover, this hadith is the most authentic of all these reports, having the most reliable chain of transmission. As to the point that the Prophet learnt of the event through the Qur'an, Ibn Ishaq's version agrees with this. It is further supported by what the Qur'an mentions about the jinn being able to see us but not the reverse: "Surely he and his tribe watch you from where you cannot perceive them." (7: 27)

A Telling Warning

We sent to you a group of jinn to listen to the Qur'an. When they heard it, they said to one another, 'Listen in silence!' When the recitation ended, they returned to their people to warn them. (Verse 29)

It was, then, a purposeful act of God's that He sent this group of jinn to listen to the Qur'an; in other words, it was not mere coincidence. God wanted the jinn to know about His final message, just as they had earlier learnt about Moses' message. According to His design, some of them will then believe and spare themselves punishment in hell, which is the abode of unbelievers whether jinn or humans.

The surah draws before our eyes an image of this group, between three and ten jinn, as they listened to the Qur'an. It paints for us their feelings as it 
was being recited: an overwhelming awe leading to submission and action. "When they heard it, they said to one another, `Listen in silence!" This short sentence gives a clear impression of their attitude as they hearkened to the Qur'anic recitation. Then, "When the recitation ended, they returned to their people to warn them." (Verse 29) This sentence confirms the effect the Qur'an had on them. They listened in complete silence, attentions focused throughout the recitation. When it was over, they returned at speed to their own people. They felt that what they had heard must be immediately told and passed on. Their people needed to know so that they could be warned. It is a situation where one is highly influenced by something which motivates him to immediate action that seeks to spread the benefit and to get others to adopt the same serious attitude: "Our people, they said, we have been listening to revelation bestowed from on high after Moses, confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path." (Verse 30)

The first thing they said to their people was that the revelation they had heard had been bestowed from on high after the book of Moses and that it confirmed the scriptures before it. Thus, they knew about Moses' book and recognised, once they heard the Qur'an, that it was closely related to the Torah. What they heard of the Qur'an might not have mentioned Moses or his book, but its very nature suggested that it came from the same source. This acknowledgement by the jinn, who are relatively unaffected by factors that operate in human life, has a clear and profound import.

They give expression to their feelings as they listened to the Qur'an: "It guides to the truth and to a straight path." (Verse 30) The truth and the guidance provided by the Qur'an have a profound effect on people. Only a sealed heart and an arrogant, stubborn soul, motivated by selfish interests, will resist it. Hence, it had an immediate and telling effect on the hearts of those jinn, prompting them to give this testimony of its truth. They proceeded with their warning to their people, full of enthusiasm and expressing their firm conviction of the truth they had learnt. In other words, this recitation of the Qur'an placed a duty on them to inform and warn others: "Our people! Respond to God's call and have faith in Him. He will forgive you your sins and deliver you from grievous suffering." (Verse 31) They considered the revelation of the Qur'an a call on everyone who learned of it, whether human or jinn, to believe. They also considered Muhammad, (peace be upon him), to be the one who called them to believe in God merely by reciting the Qur'an. Hence their appeal to their people: "Respond to God's call and have faith in Him." (Verse 31) They also believed in the Day of Judgement and learnt that belief and positive response to the Divine call ensured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from punishment. So they imparted this news to their people.

Ibn Ishaq considers that this concludes what the jinn said to their people, but the context suggests that the next two verses were also stated by them. We think that this is more likely, particularly the next verse: "He who does not respond to God's call cannot elude Him on earth, nor will they have any protector against Him. They are indeed in manifest error." (Verse 32) This is a logical complement to the warning given by the jinn to their people whom they advised to believe in the new message. It is also likely that they explained that a negative response leads to dire consequences. No one who rejects the Divine call can escape God: He is always able to inflict punishment. The unbeliever will find none to support him against God or protect him from His punishment. He is, therefore, indeed in manifest error.

Likewise, the next verse most probably reports more of what the jinn said, as they wondered at those who reject God's call, thinking that they are immune from punishment or that there will be neither reckoning nor requital: "Are they not aware that God, who has created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, has the power to bring the dead back to lift? Yes, indeed. He has power over all things." (Verse 33)

This is a reference to the book of the universe mentioned at the surah's outset. The Qur'an often provides such a close connection between a direct statement and a similar one occurring within a story or historical account, ensuring the confirmation of the same fact from two sources. The book of the universe testifies to His great might. It imparts to us the feeling that bringing the dead back to life is easy. This is what is intended here. That this point is made here in the form of a question and a reply makes it more emphatic. This is followed by the general comment that God has power over all things. Thus, bringing the dead back to life is included within His limitless power.