Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:20
And Iblees had already confirmed through them his assumption, so they followed him, except for a party of believers.
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.
The explanation of the statement of the Exalted: وَلَقَدْ صَدَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِبْلِيسُ ظَنَّهُ فَاتَّبَعُوهُ إِلَّا فَرِيقًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (And indeed Iblīs proved his assumption about them to be true, so they followed him, except for a group of the believers) (34:20).
The Qurʾān reciters (qurrāʾ) differed over the reading of His word And indeed Iblīs proved his assumption about them to be true. The general body of the Qurʾān reciters of Kūfa read it as "wa-laqad ṣaddaqa" with a doubled dāl (tashdīd) of ṣaddaqa, in the sense that he, out of an assumption of his, said: And You will not find most of them grateful, and that he said: By Your might, I will surely lead them all astray, except Your sincere servants among them; then he proved that assumption of his about them to be true and realized it in them, in that they followed him. The general body of the Qurʾān reciters of Medina, Syria (al-Shaʾm), and Basra read it as "wa-laqad ṣadaqa" with a lightened dāl (takhfīf), in the sense: and indeed his assumption about them came true.
The correct judgment about this, in my view, is that they are two well-known readings that are close to one another in meaning. For Iblīs proved himself true regarding the disbelieving sons of Adam in his assumption, and his assumption that he held came true regarding them, when he said: Then I will surely come to them from before them and from behind them and from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them grateful, and when he said: And I will surely lead them astray, and I will surely arouse in them vain desires... — the verse. This enemy of Allah said that out of an assumption of his that he would do this, not out of knowledge; and that came true in that they followed him. Whichever of the two readings the reciter reads, he has the correct one. Since that is so, the explanation of the words according to the reading of the one who reads with a doubled dāl is: and indeed Iblīs held about these — to whom We gave, in place of their two gardens, two gardens with bitter fruit, as a punishment from Us upon them — an assumption, not certain knowledge; he knew that they would follow him and obey him in disobedience to Allah, and so he proved his assumption about them to be true by misleading them, until they obeyed him and disobeyed their Lord, except for a group of the believers in Allah, for they stood firm in obedience to Allah and disobedience to Iblīs.
And as we have said, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have also said.
* Mention of who said that:
Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf related to me, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Hārūn, who said: ʿAmr ibn Mālik informed me, on the authority of Abū al-Jawzāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he read And indeed Iblīs proved his assumption about them to be true with doubling (mushaddada), and said: he held an assumption and proved his assumption to be true.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid And indeed Iblīs proved his assumption about them to be true, he said: he held an assumption, and they followed his assumption.
He said: Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word And indeed Iblīs proved his assumption about them to be true: Allah said: it was nothing but an assumption that he held; and Allah does not make a liar a truth-teller, nor does He charge a truth-teller with lying.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word And indeed Iblīs proved his assumption about them to be true, he said: do you see these whom You have honored, favored, and exalted above me — You will not find most of them grateful; and that was an assumption of his without knowledge, whereupon Allah said: so they followed him, except for a group of the believers.
