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
وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُنَا بَيِّنَـٰتٍ قَالُوا۟ مَا هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا رَجُلٌ يُرِيدُ أَن يَصُدَّكُمْ عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَقَالُوا۟ مَا هَـٰذَآ إِلَّآ إِفْكٌ مُّفْتَرًى ۚ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, they say, "This is not but a man who wishes to avert you from that which your fathers were worshipping." And they say, "This is not except a lie invented." And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them, "This is not but obvious magic."
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٍ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allāh." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant.
قُلْ إِن ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَآ أَضِلُّ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِى ۖ وَإِنِ ٱهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِىٓ إِلَىَّ رَبِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ
Say, "If I should err, I would only err against myself. But if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. Indeed, He is Hearing and near."
فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا بَـٰعِدْ بَيْنَ أَسْفَارِنَا وَظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَجَعَلْنَـٰهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقْنَـٰهُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ
But [insolently] they said, "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys," and wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and dispersed them in total dispersion. Indeed in that are signs for everyone patient and grateful.