They (the jinn) said: “We have indeed heard a wonderful Qur’ān... (Al-Jinn 72:1–2)
قُلْ أُوۧحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُۤوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْاٰنًا عَجَبًاۙيَهْد۪ۤي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَاٰمَنَّا بِه۪ وَلَنْ نُشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَۤا أَحَدًا
They (the jinn) said: “We have indeed heard a wonderful Qur’ān, guiding to what is right in belief and action and so we have believed in it; and we (affirm that we) will not associate any as partner with our Lord.” (Al-Jinn 72:1–2)
The original of the word translated as wonderful is “‘ajabān,” which means “extraordinary and strange.” This strangeness and extraordinariness does not mean legendary or mythical. It refers to the wonders and marvels of the Qur’ān or the Qur’ān’s exquisite way of expressing things and events. Indeed, the Qur’ān presents to us so matchlessly extraordinary and strangely exquisite things that we can be aware of them through the enlivening breaths and illuminating rays of the Qur’ān. Without the Qur’ān, we would not have been able to detect and understand them. Thus, when some from among the jinn who had certain knowledge of and insight into the truths beyond material existence heard of the Qur’ān, they voiced their admiration and appreciation, saying, “We have indeed heard a wonderful, extraordinarily exquisite Qur’ān.” Without being content with hearing it, they let themselves be carried away by the Qur’ān and believed in it, exclaiming, “We have believed in it.” Since they had certain knowledge of the reality behind material existence and thus were able to remove the veils from things and events and understand to some extent their inner meanings properly, a few verses were sufficient for them to believe.
How many times and in what circumstances did Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, meet with the jinn? I will not touch on this peculiar aspect of the mission of the master of masters whose physical and metaphysical lives are inextricably intertwined. In fact, such an issue, which is beyond our scope of understanding, is not within our responsibilities.
What is important for us concerning this verse and the jinn is that the universal Message of the pride of humankind and jinn, upon him be peace and blessings, includes the jinn as well, and this had to be and was declared in the verse, “Say O Messenger: ‘It has been revealed to me that a company of the jinn gave ear (to my recitation of the Qur’ān), then (when they returned to their people) they said: ‘We have indeed heard a wonderful Qur’ān, guiding to what is right in belief and action, and so we have believed in it’” (Al-Jinn 72:1–2). Another lesson we should take here is the fact that while many from among the Quraysh obstinately rejected belief in the face of many miracles or miraculous things they had seen, those jinn were very fortunate to believe as soon as they heard just a few verses of the Divine Revelation, and they immediately returned to their people in order to call them to Islam.
O God! Show us the truth as being true and enable us to follow it, and show us falsehood as being false and enable us to refrain from it.
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