Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL JIN [11]

11. `There are among us some that are righteous, and some the contrary; we are groups having different ways.' 12.`And we think that we cannot escape Allah in the earth, nor can we escape Him by flight.' 13. `And indeed when we heard the Guidance, we believed therein, and whosoever believes in his Lord shall have no fear, either of a decrease in the reward of his good deeds or an increase in the punishment for his sins.' 14. `And of us some are Muslims, and of us some are Al-Qasitun. And whosoever has embraced Islam, then such have sought the right path.' '' 15. And as for the Qasitun, they shall be firewood for Hell. 16. If they had believed in Allah, and went on the way, We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance. 17. That We might try them thereby. And whosoever turns away from the Reminder of his Lord, He will cause him to enter in a Sa`ad torment. Allah says that the Jinns said about themselves,

(There are among us some that are righteous, and some the contrary;) meaning, other than that.

(We are groups having different ways.) meaning, on numerous differing paths and having different thoughts and opinions. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and others have said,

(We are groups having different ways.) ”This means among us are believers and among us are disbelievers.'' Ahmad bin Sulayman An-Najjad reported in his (book of) Amali that he heard Al-A`mash saying, ”A Jinn came to us, so I said to him, `What is the most beloved food to your kind' He replied, `Rice.' So we brought them some rice and I saw the morsels being lifted but I did not see a hand lifting it. So I asked him, `Do you have these desires (religious innovations) among your kind as we have among ours' He replied, `Yes.' Then I said, `Who are the Rafidah among you' He said, `They are the worst of us.''' I presented this chain of narration to our Shaykh, Al-Hafiz Abi Al-Hajjaj Al-Mizzi and he said its chain is authentic to Al-A`mash. Concerning Allah's statement,

(And we think that we cannot escape Allah in the earth, nor can we escape Him by flight.) meaning, `we know that the power of Allah is decisive over us and that we cannot escape Him in the earth. Even if we try to flee, we know that He has complete control over us and that none of us can escape Him.'

(And indeed when we heard the Guidance, we believed therein,) They were proud of this, and it is something for them to be proud of, as well as a great honor for them and a good characteristic. Concerning their statement,

(and whosoever believes in his Lord shall have no fear, either of a decrease in the reward of his good deeds or an increase in the punishment for his sins.) Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and others said, ”This means, he should not fear that the reward for his good deeds will be decreased or that he will be burdened with anything other than his sins.'' This is as Allah says,

(Then he will have no fear of injustice, nor of any curtailment.) (20:112)

(And of us some are Muslims, and of us some are Al-Qasitun.) meaning, `among us there is the Muslim and the Qasit.' The Qasit is he who behaves unjustly with the truth and deviates from it. This is the opposite of the Muqsit, the one who is just.

(And whosoever has embraced Islam, then such have sought the right path.) meaning, they sought salvation for themselves.

(And as for the Qasitun, they shall be firewood for Hell.) meaning, fuel, for they will be used to kindle it (the Fire). Concerning Allah's statement,

(If they had believed in Allah, and went on the way, We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance. That We might try them thereby.) The commentators have differed over the explanation of this. There are two views concerning it. The First View That if the deviant ones would stand firmly upon the path of Islam, being just upon it and remaining upon it,

(We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance.) meaning, a lot. The intent behind this is to say that they would be given an abundance of sustenance. With this, the meaning of Allah's statement,

(That We might try them thereby.) is that, `We will test them.' As Malik reported from Zayd bin Aslam, he said, ”That We might try them - means, so that We may test them to see who will remain upon the guidance from those who will turn back to sin.''   Al-`Awfi reported similar to this from Ibn `Abbas, and likewise said Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, `Ata, As-Suddi, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak. Muqatil said, ”This Ayah was revealed about the disbelievers of the Quraysh when they were deprived of rain for seven years.'' The Second View

(If they had believed in Allah, and went on the way,) meaning, of misguidance.

(We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance.) meaning, `then We would have increased their sustenance to allow a gradual respite.' As Allah says,

(So, when they forgot that with which they had been reminded, We opened for them the gates of everything, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows. ) (6:44) Allah also says,

(Do they think that in wealth and children with which We expand them. We hasten unto them with good things. Nay, but they percieve not.) (23:55,56) This is the view of Abu Mijlaz and it agrees with the opinion of Ibn Humayd. For verily, he (Ibn Humayd) said concerning Allah's statement,

(If they had believed in Allah, and went on the way,) ”This means the path of misguidance.'' Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim both recorded this. Al-Baghawi also mentioned it from Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Zayd bin Aslam, Al-Kalbi and Ibn Kaysan. It seems that he (Al-Baghawi) took this position. And it is supported by Allah's saying, ”That We might try them thereby.'' Concerning Allah's statement,

(And whosoever turns away from the Reminder of his Lord, He will cause him to enter in a Sa`ad torment.) meaning, a harsh, severe, agonizing and painful punishment. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd, all said,

(in a Sa`ad torment.) ”This means harsh having no relaxation in it.'' It has also been reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, ”It is a mountain in Hell.'' It has been related from Sa`id bin Jubayr that he said, ”It is a well in Hell.''