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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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The Subtle Commentary

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on the book "Identification Cards

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for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"

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by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abdul Aziz Ibn Omar Naseef,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah Al-Jinn.

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.

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Peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,

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and upon his family and all his Companions.

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We continue with the subtle commentary on the identification cards,

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and today we are with Surah Al-Jinn.

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I have three reflections regarding it.

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The first reflection

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is the placement of the surah,

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for it comes directly after Surah Nuh.

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It has been noted that perhaps its suitability in following Surah Nuh

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is that this surah presents an example of those who believed,

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considering that Surah Nuh

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portrayed the disbelievers as a model of rejecting the message,

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rejecting Islam, and rejecting Tawhid (monotheism),

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whereas this surah is a model of those who believed.

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Thus, it serves as a complement to that one.

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Just as there are those who disbelieve despite

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the preacher's utmost eagerness in calling them—as was the case with the Prophet of Allah, Nuh—

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there are also those who believe without the caller specifically directing his call to them,

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“Say (O Muhammad): It is revealed unto me that a company of the Jinn gave ear, and they said: Lo! we have heard a marvellous Qur'an,” (72:1)

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so they said, "Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur'an."

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The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited the Qur'an,

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and the jinn were guided.

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Notice that the ones guided

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were the furthest conceivable from guidance

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in our minds.

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Observe that regarding those in Surah Nuh,

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Allah mentions about them

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“If Thou shouldst leave them, they will mislead Thy slaves and will beget none save lewd ingrates.” (71:27)

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what was recounted about Nuh (peace be upon him).

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Yet here, we find the jinn

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becoming callers to truth and goodness.

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In truth, the comparison between the two cases

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is subtle and full of profound lessons:

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guidance is entirely in the hand of Allah, the Exalted,

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and He guides whom He wills to a straight path.

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As for the second reflection,

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regarding what has been mentioned concerning the occasion of revelation of this surah

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about the jinn listening to the Qur'an,

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I say that, in truth, this matter

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requires a broader scholarly investigation.

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This is also hinted at regarding the chronological order of the surah's revelation,

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as the well-known view is that it is the thirty-ninth.

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However, the mention of eavesdropping

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and the presence of shooting stars (shuhub)

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might suggest that this occurred very early on,

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and that the surah was revealed somewhat early.

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This warrants further research,

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especially given the numerous narrations

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concerning the jinn listening to the Qur'an

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and its mention in the Qur'an both in Surah Al-Ahqaf

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and in Surah Al-Jinn.

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This necessitates a study

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that balances the verses here and there

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with the hadith narrations,

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examining the chains of transmission reported,

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and harmonizing between those accounts

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to discern whether this was a single incident or two separate incidents,

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and when the first occurred and when the second took place.

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One thing leads to another:

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the end of Surah Al-Ahqaf, which contains

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"And [mention] when We directed to you a group of the jinn...",

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was preceded by mentioning the denial of 'Ad,

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“And make mention (O Muhammad) of the brother of A'ad when he warned his folk among the wind-curved sandhills - and verily warners came and went before and after him - saying: Serve none but Allah. Lo! I fear for you the doom of a tremendous Day.” (46:21)

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so after the denial of 'Ad, the jinn were mentioned,

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and after the denial of Nuh, the jinn were mentioned.

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All of this also requires reflection and contemplation.

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I conclude with the third reflection,

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which relates to the opening of the surah.

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The surah, as mentioned here, opens with a command;

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and it is perhaps appropriate to add:

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specifically with the command to speak (say).

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For surahs that begin with a command,

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most of them begin with the word "Say" (Qul)—

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the command to speak—

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except for Surah Iqra' (Al-'Alaq),

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which begins with "Read" (Iqra').

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It was the first surah in the Qur'an,

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and these were the first verses revealed,

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wherein Allah said to the Prophet (peace be upon him):

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"Read!"

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We have five surahs

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that begin with the words of the Almighty:

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"Say" (Qul): Surah Al-Jinn,

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Surah Al-Kafirun,

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and the Mu'awwidhat (the surahs of seeking refuge).

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If we ponder these surahs,

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even though the Prophet (peace be upon him)

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was commanded—as the scholars noted regarding such expressions—

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to convey the entire Qur'an

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and to proclaim it,

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these specific surahs, upon reflection, have a unique distinction.

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Surah Al-Jinn discusses a matter

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of the unseen (Ghayb) from two angles:

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it is unseen because the jinn belong to the unseen realm,

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and it is unseen because the Prophet (peace be upon him)

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did not know that the jinn were listening to him.

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So Allah said to him: "Say..."

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It is as if this teaches us that matters of the unseen

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are received solely through divine revelation;

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we do not speak of them based on our own opinions.

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The same can be said regarding the stance toward the disbelievers:

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“Say: O disbelievers!” (109:1)

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the address could have been directed to them immediately,

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but this alerts us that the Prophet (peace be upon him)—

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and we follow in his footsteps—

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proceeds in his dealings with the disbelievers

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and his stances toward them

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not out of mere reaction to what they do,

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but by receiving revelation from Allah

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and walking in its light.

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I emphasize that we, too, ought to be like this:

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proceeding in all our interactions with disbelievers

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and our stances toward them guided by the light of revelation.

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Likewise, if you look at the Mu'awwidhat:

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"Say, He is Allah, the One"

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teaches us about Allah,

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and this is learned strictly from revelation;

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while Al-Falaq and An-Nas teach us how

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to take refuge in Allah and seek His protection,

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and this, too, is known only through revelation.

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Thus, these surahs share the common feature of addressing

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specific subjects

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in which one must be mindful

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that such matters are derived exclusively from divine revelation.

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I will suffice with this,

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and I apologize for the length.

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May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon

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our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions,

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and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.