Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:27
And the jinn We created before from scorching fire.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted be His praise, says: وَالْجَانَّ — we have already explained earlier what al-jānn means and why he is so called. By al-jānn here is meant: Iblīs, the father of the jinn. Allah, exalted be His praise, says: and Iblīs — him We created before man from the fire of the samūm (نَارِ السَّمُومِ).
As Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ : and he is Iblīs, who was created before Adam. For Adam was created last of the creation. Then the enemy of Allah, Iblīs, envied him for the honor that Allah had given him, and he said: I am of fire and this one is of clay. The prostration was for Adam, and the obedience was to Allah, exalted be His praise. Then He said: اخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيمٌ .
The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of نَارِ السَّمُومِ . Some said: it is the hot poisonous wind that kills.
Mention of those who said this:
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Abī Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Tamīmī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the saying وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ مِنْ نَارِ السَّمُومِ : he said: it is the poisonous wind that kills — a whirlwind with fire struck him and burned him. He said: it is the poisonous wind that kills.
Al-Mathnā related to me, he said: al-Ḥimmānī related to us, he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Abī Isḥāq al-Tamīmī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ مِنْ نَارِ السَّمُومِ : he said: it is the poisonous wind that kills — a whirlwind with fire struck him and burned him. He said: it is the poisonous wind that kills.
Others said: by it is meant: from the flame of the fire.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Mathnā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Maghrāʾ related to us, on the authority of Juwaybar, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ مِنْ نَارِ السَّمُومِ : he said: from a flame of the fire of the samūm.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: ʿUthmān related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, he said: Bishr ibn ʿUmāra related to us, on the authority of Abī Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Iblīs belonged to a group of angels called al-jinn; they were created from the fire of the samūm, distinct from the rest of the angels. And the jinn who are mentioned in the Qurʾān were created from mārijin min nār (flames of fire).
Muḥammad ibn al-Mathnā related to us, he said: Abū Dāwūd related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abī Isḥāq, who said: I visited ʿAmr ibn al-Aṣam to visit him. He said: may I relate to you a tradition that I heard from ʿAbdallāh? I heard ʿAbdallāh say: this samūm is one of the seventy parts of the samūm from which the jānn came forth. He said: and he recited وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ مِنْ نَارِ السَّمُومِ . Some of the Arabic philologists said: the samūm occurs both by night and by day. Others said: al-ḥarūr is the wind by day, and al-samūm is the wind by night. One says: samma yawmunā yasammu samūman.
Al-Mathnā related to me, he said: Muḥammad ibn Sahl ibn ʿAskar related to us, he said: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil related to me, he said: I heard Wahb ibn Munabbih — he had been asked what the jinn are, whether they eat, drink, die, and reproduce. He said: they are of various kinds. The pure jinn are wind — they do not eat, do not drink, do not die, and do not reproduce. And among them are kinds that eat, drink, mate, and die — these are the kinds among which are the saʿālī (evil spirits), the ghūl, and the like.
