يَهدي إِلَى الرُّشدِ فَآمَنّا بِهِ ۖ وَلَن نُشرِكَ بِرَبِّنا أَحَدًا
Which guides to rectitude. Hence we have believed in it and we will never ascribe any partner to our Lord.
EXEGESIS
Yahdī is an imperfect tense verb that comes from the root hadā which denotes to guide and to show someone the way, as it even means to explain and to illustrate in some Arabic dialects. Rāghib further restricts the meaning of hidāyah with the qualification that it should take place out of kindness and benevolence. Moreover, Muṣṭafawī brings to light yet another element that is lexically embedded in the word hidāyah – which is the opposite of ḍalālah; he maintains that the term involves the idea of showing someone the right way that would take him to a certain point. Therefore, the word hidāyah lexically appears to entail two important elements: directing someone out of benevolence, and leading him to the right course that would take him to the desired destination. In other words, hidāyah means to exhibit the goal by revealing the path towards it.
The term hidāyah, together with its derivatives, has appeared 316 times in the Quran. Although the lexical meaning of the term is preserved in all its usages, it appears from some verses of the Quran that the term has been used, at times, in addition to showing the right path that leads to God, to also imply the divine guidance that accompanies man, stage after stage, throughout his journey towards the goal of his creation. The verb yahdī has been deployed in this verse in the first sense, that is, showing the right path.
Rushd is a noun which signifies that which is in the interest of man (ṣalāḥ). The term rushd has also been explained by grammarians as arriving at the truth or at that which is right, since adhering to the truth and what is right is always in the interest of man. The term rushd implies here the truth that represents beliefs and practices which guarantee true felicity for one who adopts them in this life.
Āmannā is a perfect tense verb which derives from the root amn that denotes peace of mind, tranquillity, and to be free from fear and anxiety. The word īmān thus implies to keep oneself or another person in a state of safety and tranquillity. When used with the preposition bāʾ – for example, āmana bi-llāh – it signifies the attainment of peace and serenity through belief in God. As a result, the reality of īmān – which is the affirmation of truth by the soul – is closely associated with the feeling of safety and peace, since it protects one from the temporary, and at times fancied, worries and anxieties of this world, as well as from divine wrath and punishment in this life and the hereafter. The term muʾmin therefore means one who is in the state of peace and tranquillity as a result of professing faith in God. One of the beautiful names of God is al-muʾmin, meaning one who provides security and protection from punishment to those who submit to His will. A trustworthy person is called amīn in Arabic, since one can deposit valuables with him without any fear or anxiety.
However, Qurashī provides a somewhat different insight into the reality of īmān as understood from the verses of the Quran. According to him, īmān – in the Quranic connotation – stands for submission (taslīm) that is accompanied by peace of mind.
The verb āmanū in the expression Indeed those who believe in 5:69, stands for the divine law brought by Prophet Muhammad (s), and, as such, anyone who professes belief in God and His last messenger would be called a muʾmin. In some cases an act of worship is also called īmān as in 2:143, since all acts of worship are based on īmān (faith).
Nushrika is a verb that lexically comes from the root sharika which means to become someone’s partner in something or to share something with someone. In other words, it denotes the association of two or more people in a particular matter or activity such that each one of them holds a share in the matter, or is effectual in the accomplishment of an activity. Sharīk means a partner or associate, and the term has appeared in this connotation in the Quran in 25:2. Shirk is a verbal noun that signifies, in the Islamic tradition, the act of ascribing partners to God. The term is also used in Arabic for ‘the share’ and has appeared in this meaning in 35:40 and 46:4. In the verse under discussion, the verb signifies to associate partners with God.
Rabbinā: rabb is a noun that according to some grammarians is used in the Arabic language to denote the owner of a thing, or one who looks after something that is under his possession. Thus it is also used to imply trainer, master, or benefactor. However, Rāghib maintains that the term rabb lexically involves the idea of nurturing (tarbiyah) and upbringing, and as such it means to raise and rear something from one state to another, until it is complete and fully grown. As such, the noun rabb signifies to direct a thing towards its perfection by purifying it of deficiencies and developing in it the traits of perfection, in accordance with the kind of its existence and perfection. This meaning is applicable in the case of animals and plants just as it is relevant to human beings. As such, defining the term rabb to mean a trainer, master, or benefactor is in fact illustrating the concept by its instances. It is in light of this that a nursemaid is called rābbah or rabībah.
The word rabb has appeared in the Quran around 980 times. With the exception of very few cases such as 12:42, the term has consistently occurred in the Quran to refer to God. Rabb has appeared in the Quran in respect to God with different annexations, such as my Lord (rabbī) in 3:51; the Lord of the worlds (rabb al-ʿālamīn) in 1:2, 2:131, and 5:28; the Lord of all things (rabbu kulli shayʾ) in 6:164; the Lord of the heavens and the earth (rabb al-samāwāt wa al-arḍ) in 13:16; the Lord of the great Throne (rabb al-ʿarsh al-ʿaẓīm) in 27:26; the Lord of the easts and the wests (rabb al-mashāriq wa al-maghārib) as in 70:40; and the Lord of humans (rabb al-nās) in 114:1. It is clearly inferred from the usage of this term in the Quran and its attribution to God that He alone is the creator as well as the nurturer of all beings in the universe. As God is the creator (khāliq) of everything, He is the real owner (mālik) of the creation. And it is by virtue of Him being the true owner that He looks after His creation and nurtures them to reach their perfection. Thus He alone would be worthy of worship and reverence by His creation.
EXPOSITION
This is the second attribute that the jinn ascribed to the Quran: it guides to rectitude. In a similar story in 46:29-32, the jinn are quoted to have described the Quran as a book that guides to the truth and to a straight path (46:30). At another occasion, God describes the final message sent to mankind as such: Indeed this Quran guides to what is most upright (17:9). Moreover, those endowed with divine knowledge also attest to the fact that the Quran is the truth that leads to the path of God: Those who have been given knowledge see that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth and [that] it guides to the path of the All-Mighty, the All-Laudable (34:6). Based on this, the term rectitude (rushd) can be interpreted here as ‘the truth’ and a path that is straight and upright. On the other hand, the straight path, as explained in some verses of the Quran, represents the religion which is upright: Say: ‘Indeed my Lord has guided me to a straight path, the upright religion, the creed of Abraham, a ḥanīf, and he was not one of the polytheists’ (6:161). Hence, the term rushd in this verse can be further explained to be implying the upright religion. Consequently, the phrase Which guides to rectitude would thus imply that the Quran is a book that calls towards such rightful doctrines and practices that guarantee felicity for whosoever adopts them in life.
In their encounter with the Quran, the jinn were, in the first instance, wonderstruck with its supernatural eloquence and style, and thus they described it as a wonderful recitation: Indeed we heard a wonderful qurʾān; thereafter, they acknowledged the veracity of its content as a book that leads to the truth and to that which is in the interest of man: Which guides to rectitude. They were thus convinced that the Quran is God’s word and hence professed belief in it.
The sentence Hence we have believed in it alludes that īmān is not mere acknowledgement of the truth, but rather, it represents the act of willingly submitting to that which one has recognised as the truth. In other words, īmān is not a consequent that inevitably follows knowledge and conviction, rather it is a voluntary act of submitting to that of which one is convinced. This can be clearly inferred from what the Quran says about the rejection of God’s signs by Pharaoh and his people: They impugned them – though they were convinced in their hearts – wrongfully and defiantly (27:14).
Belief in the Quran necessitates belief in the oneness of God (tawḥīd). As such, the teachings of the Quran stand in sharp contrast to any kind of acknowledgement of polytheism. Stated differently, renouncing all forms of shirk is a natural consequence of belief in the Quran: Hence we have believed in it and we will never ascribe any partner to our Lord. The last part of the verse is clear in that this group of jinn were polytheists (mushrikīn) and used to associate partners to God. However, the phrase our Lord suggests that like other polytheists during the time of the Prophet, these members of the jinn used to ascribe partners to God at the level of lordship (rubūbiyyah) and did not believe in the oneness of the source that governs the universe and man.
The fact that the jinn appreciated the miraculous nature of the Quran after listening to it and professed belief in it thereafter, affirms that they are conscious and accountable beings like mankind. It also confirms that the Prophet’s mission extended to the world of the jinn.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Explaining the phrase and we will never ascribe any partner to our Lord, Qurṭubī asserts that what the jinn meant here was that they shall never return to Satan and be at his obedience, since it was he who had dispatched them to find out the cause of their failure to access the heavenly news.
There seems to be unanimity amongst the exegetes that the Prophet of Islam was sent as a messenger to both the jinn and mankind. This can be understood from the opening verses of this surah, as well as from the fact that the jinn used to often come to see the Prophet after they accepted Islam, as reported by Qummī. According to Ṭabrisī, no prophet before him was ever sent to both the jinn and humans. Furthermore, Khaṭīb seems to be of the view that the jinn had prophets from their own kind, while Shawkānī maintains that all prophets were without exception from human beings.
[1] Lisan, under h-d-y.
[2] Raghib, under h-d-y.
[3] Tahqiq, under h-d-y.
[4] Mizan, 1/34.
[5] Mizan, 5/245.
[6] Fayyumi, under al-rushd; Bahrayn, under r-sh-d.
[7] Bahrayn and Tahqiq, under r-sh-d; Fayyumi, under al-rushd.
[8] Mizan, 20/38.
[9] Fayyumi, under amina; Tahqiq and Raghib, under ʾ-m-n.
[10] Tahqiq, under ʾ-m-n.
[11] Raghib, under ʾ-m-n.
[12] Tahqiq, under ʾ-m-n.
[13] Bahrayn, under ʾ-m-n.
[14] See Qamus, under īmān.
[15] Raghib, under ʾ-m-n.
[16] Bahrayn, under ʾ-m-n.
[17] Qamus, under sh-r-k.
[18] Hans Wehr, under sh-r-k.
[19] Qamus, under sh-r-k.
[20] Bahrayn and Lisan, under r-b-b.
[21] Bahrayn, under r-b-b.
[22] Raghib, under r-b-b.
[23] Tahqiq, under r-b-b.
[24] Fayyumi, under al-rabb.
[25] Qamus, under rabb.
[26] Mizan, 20/38.
[27] Jaʿfar Subḥānī, Doctrines of Shi’i Islam: A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices (translated and edited by Reza Shah-Kazemi, Qum: Imam Sadeq Institute, 2003), p. 25.
[28] Nemuneh, 25/102.
[29] Shubbar, p. 535; Tabrisi 10/544; Mizan, 20/39; Khatib, 15/1210; Qaraati, 6/329.
[30] Qurtubi, 20/7; Zamakhshari, 4/623.
[31] Razi, 30/665; Shubbar, p. 535; Tabrisi, 10/554.
[32] Tabrisi, 9/142; Zubdah, 6/340-341.
[33] Tabrisi, 9/142.
[34] Khatib, 15/1210.
[35] Shawkani, 5/364.