Pars Today

Welcome to our latest episode of “Path towards Enlightenment”, which is an endeavour to make you and us familiar with an easy and fluent explanation of God’s Final Scripture to all mankind, the holy Qur’an that was revealed to the Last and Greatest of all Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

Last week we started explanation of “Surah Jinn” – the number 72 in the serial order of compilation of the holy Qur’an. It was revealed in Mecca and has 28 Ayahs. The title of the Surah indicates that it mainly treats a species of creatures invisible to the human eye, and hence called “jinn”. Endowed with some sort of intelligence and the moral choice to discern good from evil, the jinn have believers and disbelievers amongst them. They were acquainted with the prophets of the past and the previously revealed heavenly scriptures. With the start of the universal mission of Islam it became incumbent upon them, similar to the human race, to believe in the message entrusted by God Almighty to the “Mercy unto the whole creation”, that is, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). They shall be rewarded or punished according to their specific deeds. The Surah ends with Ayahs referring to the Almighty Creator’s knowledge of the unseen that is unknown to all beings.

We now invite you to listen to Ayahs 8, 9, and 10:

"And indeed we (the jinn) sought to reach the sky and found it full of mighty sentries and meteors.

“And indeed we used to sit in its positions to eavesdrop, but he who would (try to) listen now finds a (flaming) meteor waiting for him.

“And indeed we do not know whether ill is intended for those who are on the earth, or whether their Lord intends good for them."

If you might recall, in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of this Surah last week, we said the Almighty Creator informs the Prophet that a group of these unseen creatures on hearing of his recitation of the Final Heavenly Scripture, the Holy Qur’an, became Muslims and proceeded to propagate the message of Islam amongst their community, saying God the One and Only is worthy of worship, is far too glorious to have any partner in managing the affairs of the universe, and is above the carnal traits of creatures to have spouses or children.

The Ayahs that we recited to you now are the words of the Muslim jinns to their community regarding vain attempts to soar towards the sky to try to eavesdrop on the discussions amongst the angels, only to find it full of blazing meteors ready to strike them on their approach. In other words, their observation of certain signs in outer space bewildered them and made them realize they have no idea whether these indicate afflictions for the inhabitants of Planet Earth or are meant as guidance. It is worth noting that “guidance” or “rushd” in Arabic is ascribed to God Almighty, but the Arabic word “ashar” or “ill-will”, used in the passive voice here, is clearly not attributed to Him, since good and guidance comes from the All-Merciful Creator, while ill-will, evil, and corruption are the results of the deeds of the people themselves.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. The advent of the Prophet of Islam was heralded by certain signs in the world of creation, as guidance for both mankind and jinn.
2. The revelation of the Holy Qur’an as the Final Heavenly Scripture meant the abrogation of the earlier revealed books to the prophets of the past that had been subjected to deletions and additions, either by charlatans or by persons of weak faith.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 11 and 12 of the same Surah:

"Among us (the jinn) some are righteous and some of us are otherwise: we are multifarious sects.

“And indeed we know that we can never escape (the decree of) Allah on the earth, nor can we ever flee His Omnipotence.

These Ayahs are the words of the believing jinn, who have acknowledged the Divine Revelation and have found the right path by overcoming the various sectarian tendencies amongst them. Certainly, contrary to the superstitious assumptions of the polytheists, the jinn can never escape the decrees of Almighty Allah, or flee from Divine Majesty and Omnipotence.

In other words, none can escape to any point on earth or in outer space on the assumption of fleeing from what has been decreed by the Almighty Creator to Whom belongs the entire universe.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. Jinn also have free will to differentiate between good and evil; hence some have embraced the truth of Islam, while others have splintered into several sects.
2. The entire universe is the creation of Allah, and so none can escape what the All-Wise Creator has decreed for either human beings or the jinn.

In conclusion of this week’s episode of Path towards Enlightenment here are Ayahs 13, 14, and 15 of Surah Jinn.

And when we heard the [Quran’s message of] guidance we believed in it; whoever has faith in his Lord shall neither fear any detraction nor oppression.

“And among us some are Muslims and some of us are deviators (from the truth); yet those who submit [to Allah’s Will, that is, embrace Islam] - it is they who have opted for the right path.

“As for the deviators, they will be firewood for hell”

The Muslim jinn acknowledge that they were guided by hearing the recitation of the Holy Qur'an by the Prophet and contemplation on the timeless wisdom of the Ayahs that has firmed up their faith in the Almighty Creator to such an extent that they neither fear any distraction in their acts of worship nor the plots of the oppressors.

Thus, among the jinn are Muslims who believe in the universal message of Islam entrusted by God Almighty to Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). There are also deviators and evil ones amongst them who have fallen prey to the temptations of the Satan. The righteous ones are sure of receiving rewards from God Almighty for their good deeds, while those who have deviated from the truth will become the firewood of hell. In other words, the jinn also neither wrong themselves or others.

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. The eventual fate of every one, whether mankind or jinn, depends on his/her deeds, with eternal bliss for the righteous and everlasting punishment for the disbelievers, oppressors, and the wicked.
2. A Muslim, whether a human being or a jinn, is the one who submits to the Will of the Almighty Creator, and desists from deviation and disobedience.

RM/AS/SS