Tafsir of Surah As-Saffat - Verse 164

No One believes what the Idolators say except Those Who are even more misguided than They

Allah says, addressing the idolators:

فَإِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ - مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ بِفَـتِنِينَ - إِلاَّ مَنْ هُوَ صَالِ الْجَحِيمِ

(So, verily you and those whom you worship cannot lead astray, except those who are predestined to burn in Hell!) meaning, `the only ones who will believe what you say and follow your misguided ways of false worship are those who are more misguided than you and are created for Hell.'

لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌ لاَّ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَآ أُوْلَـئِكَ كَالأَنْعَـمِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْغَـفِلُونَ

(They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.) (7:179). This is the parable of the people who follow the belief and ideas of Shirk, disbelief and misguidance, as Allah says:

إِنَّكُمْ لَفِى قَوْلٍ مُّخْتَلِفٍ - يُؤْفَكُ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُفِكَ

(Certainly, you have different ideas. Turned aside therefrom is he who is turned aside (by the decree of Allah).) (51:8-9) meaning, the one who is misled by it is the one who is turned aside.

The Place of the Angels and Their Ranks glorify Allah

Then Allah says, declaring the angels to be above the position attributed to them by those who disbelieved in them and told lies about them -- that they are the daughters of Allah --

وَمَا مِنَّآ إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ

(And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place;) meaning, each one has his own place in the heavens and in the places of worship, which he does not overstep. Ad-Dahhak said in his Tafsir:

وَمَا مِنَّآ إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ

"(And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place;) Masruq used to narrate that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, `The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«مَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا مَوْضِعٌ إِلَّا عَلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ سَاجِدٌ أَوْ قَائِم»

(There is no place in the lower heaven without an angel standing or prostrating in it.) This is what Allah says:

وَمَا مِنَّآ إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ

(And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place (or position))." It was reported that Ibn Mas`ud said, "In the heavens there is one heaven in which there is no space a hand span wide but there is the forehead or the foot of an angel on it. " Then he recited:

وَمَا مِنَّآ إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ

(And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place;) Sa`id bin Jubayr similarly said:

وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّآفُّونَ

(And we (angels), we stand in rows.) means, we stand in rows to worship, as we have already seen in the Ayah

وَالصَّـفَّـتِ صَفَّا

(By those ranged in ranks (or rows)) Abu Nadrah said, "When the Iqamah had been given, `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would turn to face the people and say: `Make your rows straight, for Allah wants you to follow the ways of the angels.' Then he would say,

وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّآفُّونَ

(And verily, we stand in rows;) `Move back, O so-and-so, move forward, O so-and-so.' Then he would go forward and say `Allahu Akbar"' This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir. In Sahih Muslim it is narrated that Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«فُضِّلْنَا عَلَى النَّاسِ بِثَلَاثٍ: جُعِلَتْ صُفُوفُنَا كَصُفُوفِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ،وَجُعِلَتْ لَنَا الْأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا، وَتُرْبَتُهَا طَهُورًا»

(We have been favored above mankind in three things: our rows have been made like the rows of the angels; the whole earth has been made a place of prayer for us; and its soil is a means of purification for us.)"

وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْمُسَبِّحُونَ

(And verily, we indeed are those who glorify.) means, `we stand in rows and glorify the Lord, praising Him, sanctifying Him and declaring Him to be above any faults or shortcomings. We are servants of Him and in need of Him, humbling ourselves before Him.'

The Quraysh wished that They could have a Reminder as had the Men of old

وَإِن كَانُواْ لَيَقُولُونَ - لَوْ أَنَّ عِندَنَا ذِكْراً مِّنَ الاٌّوَّلِينَ

لَكُنَّا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ-

(And indeed they used to say: "If we had a reminder as had the men of old, we would have indeed been the chosen servants of Allah!") means, `they used to wish -- before you, O Muhammad, came to them -- that they would have someone to remind them about Allah and what happened in earlier times, and to bring them the Book of Allah.' This is like the Ayat:

وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ لَئِن جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ لَّيَكُونُنَّ أَهْدَى مِنْ إِحْدَى الاٍّمَمِ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ مَّا زَادَهُمْ إِلاَّ نُفُوراً

(And they swore by Allah their most binding oath that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any of the nations (before them); yet when a warner came to them, it increased in them naught but flight (from the truth).) (35:42), and

أَن تَقُولُواْ إِنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ الْكِتَـبُ عَلَى طَآئِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغَـفِلِينَ - أَوْ تَقُولُواْ لَوْ أَنَّآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْكِتَـبُ لَكُنَّآ أَهْدَى مِنْهُمْ فَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَّبَ بِآيَـتِ اللَّهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنْهَا سَنَجْزِى الَّذِينَ يَصْدِفُونَ عَنْ آيَـتِنَا سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَصْدِفُونَ

(Lest you should say: "The Book was sent down only to two sects before us, and for our part, we were in fact unaware of what they studied." Or lest you should say: "If only the Book had been sent down to us, we would surely have been better guided than they." So now has come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, and a form of guidance and a mercy. Who then does more wrong than one who rejects the Ayat of Allah and turns away therefrom We shall requite those who turn away from Our Ayat with an evil torment, because of their turning away.) (6:156-157) Allah says here:

فَكَفَرُواْ بِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(But they disbelieve therein, so they will come to know!) This is a definite and stern threat because of their disbelief in their Lord and their rejection of His Messenger .

وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا الْمُرْسَلِينَ - إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ الْمَنصُورُونَ - وَإِنَّ جُندَنَا لَهُمُ الْغَـلِبُونَ - فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّى حِينٍ - وَأَبْصِرْهُمْ فَسَوْفَ يُبْصِرُونَ أَفَبِعَذَابِنَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونَ فَإِذَا نَزَلَ بِسَاحَتِهِمْ فَسَآءَ صَبَاحُ الْمُنْذَرِينَ وَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّى حِينٍ

In verse 158, it was said: وَجَعَلُوا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجِنَّةِ نَسَبًا (And they have made up between Him and the Jinns some kinship). There are two explanations of this sentence. According to the first Tafsir, this is a description of the false belief held by the Mushriks of Arabia that the daughters of the chieftains of the Jinns are mothers of the angels. As if, God forbid, the daughters of the chieftains of the Jinns have marital relations with Allah Ta’ ala and, as a result of this bond, angels have come to exist. Hence, it appears in an exegetical narration when the Mushriks of Arabia declared angels to be the daughters of Allah, Sayyidna Abu Bakr 4 asked, "Who is their mother?" They said, "Daughters of the Jinns" (Tafsir ibn Kathir, p. 23, v. 4). But, this Tafsir leaves an unresolved difficulty behind: The verse is talking about the attribution of kinship between Allah Ta’ ala and the Jinns, while the marital relationship of a husband and wife is not based on kinship.

For this reason, another Tafsir that has been reported from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Hasan al-Basri and Dahhak seems to be weightier. According to this Tafsir, some of the people of Arabia also believed that, God forbid, Iblis was a brother to Allah Ta’ ala who was the creator of good while he was the creator of evil. Here, this very false belief has been refuted (please see Tafsir ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qurtubi and Tafsir Kabir).

Immediately next within verse 158 it was said: وَلَقَدْ عَلِمَتِ الْجِنَّةُ إِنَّهُمْ لَمُحْضَرُ‌ونَ 158) ', while the Jinns already know that they are bound to appear (before Him).' Here, 'they' could be referring to the kinds of Mushriks who took Jinns and Shaitans as equals of God, meaning thereby that the Jinns know that these Mushriks will appear before Allah Ta’ ala for being punished, and could also refer to the Jinns themselves. In this situation, the sense of the verse would come to be that 'the Shaitans and Jinns you have taken to be associated with Allah in one or the other form already know very well that they are going to face a terrible fate in the Hereafter. For example, Iblis is perfectly aware of his evil end. Now, someone who himself believes that he has to taste his punishment could hardly be the equal of God and taking him to be so would certainly be a gross lack of good sense.

A belief has it, that the ‘jinn’ are both the opponents and equals of God. But those who hold this belief are greatly misguided. They also think that the forces of evil are in the hands of the jinn and forces of righteousness are in the hands of the angels; both having the power to create trouble or bring success to anybody they like. Similarly, the Zoroastrians believe in the duality of the godhead. According to them, Yazdan is the god of righteousness and Aherman is the god of evil. Man, on the basis of his false assumptions, worships angels when angels themselves proclaim the greatness of the one and only God, at all times.