Surah 6. Al-An'am, Ayah 100
| وَجَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَكَاءَ الْجِنَّ وَخَلَقَهُمْ ۖ وَخَرَقُوا لَهُ بَنِينَ وَبَنَاتٍ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- jacalo li- 'allaah shurakaa' al- jinn wa- khalaqa -hum wa- kharaqo la- -hu banen wa- banaat bi- ghayr cilm subh.aana -hu wa- tacaalaa can maa yas.ifon |
| Pickthall | : | Yet they ascribe as partners unto Him the jinn, although He did create them, and impute falsely, without knowledge, sons and daughters unto Him. Glorified be He and high exalted above (all) that they ascribe (unto Him). |
| Asad | : | And yet, some [people] have come to attribute to all manner of invisible beings86 a place side by side with God - although it is He who has created them [all]; and in their ignorance they have invented for Him sons and daughters!87 Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition:88 |
| Malik | : | Yet they make the Jinns (Genies: creature which has been created out of fire) as the partners with Allah, whereas He is their Creator; and also ascribe to Him sons and daughters without having any knowledge. Glory to Him! He is highly exalted far above what they ascribe. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Yet they make the Jinns equals with Allah though Allah did create the Jinns; and they falsely having no knowledge attribute to Him sons and daughters. Praise and glory be to Him! (for He is) above what they attribute to Him!. 929 |
Note - 86The plural noun jinn (popularly, but incorrectly, taken
to denote "genii" or "demons") is derived from the verb
janna, "he was [or "became"] concealed" or "veiled from
sight", thus, the veiling darkness of night is called
jinn (Jawhari). According to Arab philologists, the term
jinn signifies, primarily, "beings that are concealed
from [man's] senses" (Qamus, Lisan al-'Arab, Raghib), and
is thus applicable to all kinds of invisible beings or
forces. For a further discussion of this term and of its
wider implications, see Appendix III.
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Note - 87Lit., "they have invented for Him [or "falsely attributed
to Him"] sons and daughters without [having any]
knowledge": a reference to the beliefs of the pre-Islamic
Arabs who regarded the angels as "God's daughters" (a
designation which they also applied to certain of their
goddesses), as well as to the Christian view of Jesus as
"the son of God". See also 19:92 and the corresponding
note [77].
|
Note - 88I.e., utterly remote is He from all imperfection and from
the incompleteness which is implied in the concept of
having progeny. The very concept of "definition" implies
the possibility of a comparison or correlation of an
object with other objects; God, however, is unique, there
being "nothing like unto Him" 42:11 and, therefore,
"nothing that could be compared with Him" 112:4 - with
the result that any attempt at defining Him or His
"attributes" is a logical impossibility and, from the
ethical point of view, a sin. The fact that He is
undefinable makes it clear that the "attributes" (sifat)
of God mentioned in the Qur'an do not circumscribe His
reality but, rather, the perceptible effect of His
activity on and within the universe created by Him.
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Note - 929Jinns: who are they? In xviii. 50 we are told that Iblis
was one of the Jinns, and it is suggested that that was
why he disobeyed the Command of God. But in that passage
and other similar passages, we are told that God
commanded the angels to bow down to Adam, and they obeyed
except Iblis. That implies that Iblis had been of the
company of angels. In many passages Jinns and men are
spoken of together. In lv. 14-15, man is stated to have
been created from clay, while Jinns from a flame of fire.
The root meaning of junna, yujannu, is "to be covered or
hidden," and janna yajunnu, in the active voice, "to
cover or hide," as in vi. 76. Some people say that jinn
therefore means the hidden qualities or capacities in
man; others that it means wild or jungle folk hidden in
the hills or forests. I do not wish to be dogmatic, but I
think, from a collation and study of the Quranic
passages, that the meaning is simply "a spirit," or an
invisible or hidden force. In folklore stories and
romances like the Arabian Nights they become personified
into fantastic forms, but with them we are not concerned
here.
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The plural noun jinn (popularly, but incorrectly, taken to denote "genii" or "demons") is derived from the verb janna, "he was [or "became"] concealed" or "veiled from sight", thus, the veiling darkness of night is called jinn (Jawhari). According to Arab philologists, the term jinn signifies, primarily, "beings that are concealed from [man's] senses" (Qamus, Lisan al-'Arab, Raghib), and is thus applicable to all kinds of invisible beings or forces. For a further discussion of this term and of its wider implications, see Appendix III. |
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Lit., "they have invented for Him [or "falsely attributed to Him"] sons and daughters without [having any] knowledge": a reference to the beliefs of the pre-Islamic Arabs who regarded the angels as "God's daughters" (a designation which they also applied to certain of their goddesses), as well as to the Christian view of Jesus as "the son of God". See also 19:92 and the corresponding note [77]. |
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I.e., utterly remote is He from all imperfection and from the incompleteness which is implied in the concept of having progeny. The very concept of "definition" implies the possibility of a comparison or correlation of an object with other objects; God, however, is unique, there being "nothing like unto Him" 42:11 and, therefore, "nothing that could be compared with Him" 112:4 - with the result that any attempt at defining Him or His "attributes" is a logical impossibility and, from the ethical point of view, a sin. The fact that He is undefinable makes it clear that the "attributes" (sifat) of God mentioned in the Qur'an do not circumscribe His reality but, rather, the perceptible effect of His activity on and within the universe created by Him. |
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Jinns: who are they? In xviii. 50 we are told that Iblis was one of the Jinns, and it is suggested that that was why he disobeyed the Command of God. But in that passage and other similar passages, we are told that God commanded the angels to bow down to Adam, and they obeyed except Iblis. That implies that Iblis had been of the company of angels. In many passages Jinns and men are spoken of together. In lv. 14-15, man is stated to have been created from clay, while Jinns from a flame of fire. The root meaning of junna, yujannu, is "to be covered or hidden," and janna yajunnu, in the active voice, "to cover or hide," as in vi. 76. Some people say that jinn therefore means the hidden qualities or capacities in man; others that it means wild or jungle folk hidden in the hills or forests. I do not wish to be dogmatic, but I think, from a collation and study of the Quranic passages, that the meaning is simply "a spirit," or an invisible or hidden force. In folklore stories and romances like the Arabian Nights they become personified into fantastic forms, but with them we are not concerned here. |
