قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ أَنتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِن دُونِهِم ۖ بَلْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱلْجِنَّ ۖ أَكْثَرُهُم بِهِم مُّؤْمِنُونَ 41
Translations
They will say, "Exalted are You! You, [O Allāh], are our benefactor excluding [i.e., not] them. Rather, they used to worship the jinn; most of them were believers in them."
Transliteration
Qalū subḥānaka anta waliyyunā min dūnihim bal kānū yaʿbudūn al-jinna ʾakthарuhum bihim mu'minūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The angels respond to Allah's question by glorifying Him and clarifying that He alone is their Master and Protector, not the idolaters. The ayah then reveals the reality of jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance): the pagans were actually worshipping jinn, deceived into believing jinn were divine beings worthy of worship, with most of them being firm believers in this false worship. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this exposes how polytheists unknowingly served jinn who misled them, either through sorcery, soothsaying, or demonic suggestion (waswas).
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the context of Surah Saba (Meccan), which discusses Allah's absolute sovereignty and warns against polytheism. The ayah addresses the spiritual reality behind idol-worship in pre-Islamic Arabia—that behind many idolatrous practices lay the influence of jinn who exploited human weakness and ignorance to lead people astray from monotheism.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Indeed, the greatest of sins is to associate partners with Allah' (Sahih Bukhari 4477). Also relevant: 'Every human is inclined toward evil, but the best of them are those who repent' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2499), relating to humanity's vulnerability to deception by jinn and idolatry.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that spiritual deception often operates beneath the surface of human ignorance, and that true worship must be exclusively devoted to Allah alone, free from hidden influences or false beliefs. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of seeking authentic knowledge and remaining vigilant against subtle forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah) that may exist in cultural practices or modern ideologies.
Related Ayahs
وَلَا تَنفَعُ ٱلشَّفَـٰعَةُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُۥ ۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا۟ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits. [And those wait] until, when terror is removed from their hearts, they will say [to one another], "What has your Lord said?" They will say, "The truth." And He is the Most High, the Grand.
قُلْ أَرُونِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَلْحَقْتُم بِهِۦ شُرَكَآءَ ۖ كَلَّا ۚ بَلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
Say, "Show me those whom you have attached to Him as partners. No! Rather, He [alone] is Allāh, the Exalted in Might, the Wise."
أَنِ ٱعْمَلْ سَـٰبِغَـٰتٍ وَقَدِّرْ فِى ٱلسَّرْدِ ۖ وَٱعْمَلُوا۟ صَـٰلِحًا ۖ إِنِّى بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
[Commanding him], "Make full coats of mail and calculate [precisely] the links, and work [all of you] righteousness. Indeed I, of what you do, am Seeing."
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَلَا بِٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ٱلْقَوْلَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أَنتُمْ لَكُنَّا مُؤْمِنِينَ
And those who disbelieve say, "We will never believe in this Qur’ān nor in that before it." But if you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, refuting each others' words... Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "If not for you, we would have been believers."