وَما هُوَ بِقَولِ شَيطانٍ رَجيمٍ

And it is not the speech of an outcast Satan.

EXPOSITION

Ṭūsī writes that the meaning of this verse is that the Quran is not the speech of the outcast Satan, an accusation the polytheists levelled against the Prophet. The polytheists maintained that Satan inspires the Prophet with (Quranic) messages just as he inspires the soothsayers.^{‎[1]Tabrisi, 10/678.} Similar reproofs occur in other passages of the Quran such as in 26:210-212, where, in addition to negating any role for the devils in Quranic revelations, the verses add that it is neither in their interest to inspire such messages and teachings as are found in the Quran, and nor are they capable of doing so; rather, they are prevented from even overhearing it. In 72:8-9 the inability of the jinn to access divine revelations is reiterated and the same is emphasised in 37:7-10.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Qummī reports a tradition attributed to Abū Baṣīr who asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) about verse 25, And it is not the speech of an outcast Satan. The Imam replied: ‘It is a reference to the soothsayers (kāhinah) who existed among the Quraysh. So He [God] attributed their speech to the devils, which were with them and were speaking through the medium of their tongues. Hence God said: And it is not the speech of an outcast Satan, like their speech, i.e. like the speech of the kāhinah.’^{‎[2]Qummi, 2/409.}

[1] Tabrisi, 10/678.
[2] Qummi, 2/409.