| The Two Quranic Sermons of the Jinn | |
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By : Azali When Muhammad’s first wife, Khadija, and his uncle, Abu Talib, died in the same year, Muhammad lost his protection and tried to find refuge in Taif, a village high above the hills of Mecca, but he was rejected harshly by the inhabitants of this village. Muhammad was helpless and in deep despair, so he escaped into the desert where Jinn (demons or spirits) met with him while he was reciting the Qur’an. Many scientists view this Sura with a smile. Scholars have rejected it as nonsense. Others have portrayed the jinn as good and helpful spirits. Let us examine the two sermons of the jinn written in the Qur’an, which are claimed to have been revealed to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel (Sura al-Jinn 72:1-15): Say: it has been revealed to me that a company of jinn listened (To the recitation of the Qur’an). They said, ‘We have indeed heard a wonderful Recital. It gives guidance to rectitude. We have believed in it: We will not associate anyone with our Lord. Exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: He has taken neither a wife nor a son. The fool among us uttered extravagant lies against Allah. 5 And we thought that men and jinn would never speak a lie against Allah. Truly, there were some among mankind who contacted persons connected With the jinn. They increased them in vileness. And they thought as you thought, that Allah would never raise up anyone. We tried to enter heaven; but we found it filled with terrible guards and shooting stars. So we used to sit in (hidden) stations, to hear the secrets of heaven; But anyone who listens now will find a shooting star thrown at him. 10 So we do not know whether evil is intended to those on earth, Or whether their Lord intends rectitude for them. Some of us are righteous, and some the contrary: We follow divergent paths. We thought that we would never be able to frustrate Allah throughout the earth, Nor can we frustrate Him by flight. When we listened to the Guidance, we believed in it; And any who believes in his Lord shall fear neither triviality nor vileness. Among us are some that have surrendered and some that have deviated. Those who surrendered sought rectitude But those who deviated have become firewood for hell.’ The second Sura dealing with the same event is Sura al-Ahqaf 46: 28-32: Behold we turned towards you a company of jinn listening to the Qur’an. When they stood in its presence, they said, ‘Listen, be silent!’ When the recitation was finished, they returned to their people to warn them. They said: ‘Our people! We have heard a book sent down after Moses Confirming what was before it: It guides to the truth and to a straight path. O our people, answer to Allah’s summoner and believe in Him: He will forgive you some of your sins and protect you from a painful chastisement. If any does not listen to Allah’s summoner, he cannot frustrate Allah on earth. He will have no protectors besides Him: Such men are in manifest error.’ The Qur’an recognizes the fact that Muhammad had actual contact with the jinn. With the Gospel as our plumb line, let us examine what these demons in the Qur’an say to Muhammad, as revealed by Allah. In Sura al-Jinn 72:1-3, we read, “We have indeed heard a wonderful Recital.” According to the Qur’an, these spirits have the ability to listen to what has been said in public or secret and are able to differentiate in peoples’ matters. They can declare whether a recital is good or bad. Here they testify that the Qur’an is wonderful and that it guides men to rectitude, to the right way of life in doctrine and ethical standards. They confess, “We have believed in it.” This means that some of these spirits and demons understood the Qur’an, found it helpful, accepted it, and bound themselves to it. They quickly confess the main point: “We will not associate anyone with our Lord.” Some commentators say this means idols or pictures of idols. However, in the next sentence, we recognize that this opinion is insufficient, for the sermon speaks directly against Jesus: “He has taken neither a wife nor a son.” In the Qur’an, the word walad (son) is often used in relation to Jesus Christ, and the demons testify that God has no Son. This, according to 1 John 4:2-4, is an indication of an antichrist spirit. The Bible answers clearly to the rejection of the Fatherhood of God and the Sonship of Christ with condemnatory consequences. Jesus stated that no one is good except God; therefore, jinn are not good, even though they call themselves righteous. They are not merely goblins but anti-Christ spirits that work against the Fatherhood of God and the Sonship of His Christ, testifying that God has no Son. They claim that everyone who says God has a Son is a liar. In verse four, we read, “The fool among us uttered extravagant lies against Allah.” Muslim scholars indicate that the foolish one among the jinn is Satan personally. He is considered to have invented the unforgivable lie of God having a Son. By this trick, Satan even accepts the title of al-Safeeh (the foolish one) if he can jeopardize the Sonship of Christ, and vaccinate all Muslims against it. According to the Qur’an, it was not God who revealed Jesus as His Son but rather Satan who, in his foolishness, uttered the lie of the incarnation of Christ to mislead all Christians to hell. The jinn reject the Sonship of Christ as a lie and a blasphemy. They try to create hatred against the Son of God in all Muslims and seek to immunize them against his salvation, claiming: “We thought that men and jinn (demons) never speak a lie against Allah.” But according to the Qur’an, it is the lie of lies when Satan confesses Jesus as the Son of God. Consequently, the jinn called the head of all liars (Satan) an impudent fool; he revealed the truth in the form of a lie, and thus his words vaccinate all Muslims against the truth. This is utter perversion, and it confirms what Christ said about Satan being a liar and the father of lies. The jinn confess with astonishment that there are men who search for guidance, along with those who are in contact with them. They wonder why people would make contact with demons, as was the case with Muhammad himself. The demons shake their heads and say, “Would you believe that some men could be so senseless as to seek contact with spirits, believing in the lie of Satan that God has a Son?” Then they come to the point: Those (misled people) thought that Allah would never raise up anyone, (nor send anyone). This is a reference to Muhammad’s claim of having been sent by Allah. In Sura al-Baqara 2:14, the spiritual leaders of the Jews are referred to as Satans. Also, Khomeini called the Americans and Russians, greater or lesser devils. About the Jews it is written, “When they meet those who believe, they say: ‘We believe;’ but when they go privily to their Satans, they say: ‘We are with you; we were only mocking.’” This verse states that there were Jews who resisted and opposed the Qur’an. Muhammad thought that demons and devils must have influenced them; that was the reason why they could not believe that Allah had sent him. For Muslims, all who reject Allah’s Qur’an and Muhammad have most likely been influenced by demons and led astray. After this, we find a surprising (and almost true) statement by the jinn: “We tried to enter into heaven, but we found it filled with (protected by) stern guards and shooting stars.” They were unable to storm the heavens. This is another instance in which the jinn are revealed as demons and not as holy, superior angels. Demons have no admittance into heaven. They claim they tried to enter heaven by force, but found it shut against them and defended by fierce guards. Thus, they encountered the angels of God who drive unclean intruders away. The Muslim spirits in the Qur’an continue: “So we (previously) used to sit in (hidden) stations to hear the secrets of heaven. But anyone who listens now will find a shooting star thrown at him.” These jinn tried to spy out what was going on between heaven and earth, but found impenetrable opposition. Like Muhammad, they confess that they are not sure whether Allah had planned evil for mankind or wanted to lead them in the right way – whether to heaven or hell. The jinn do not know the will of God. There is a noteworthy statement in verse 11 which speaks of some jinn claiming to be good: “Some of us are righteous and some the contrary: We follow divergent paths.” This statement in the Qur’an makes it clear that Satan has a divided house, where everyone fights the other. Some think they alone are good and that all others are bad. Verse 12 continues: “We thought that we would never be able to frustrate Allah throughout the earth, nor can we frustrate him by flight.” They tried to escape from the holiness of God, but were unable to do so. His authority reaches everywhere. Verse 13 says: “When we listened to the Guidance, we believed in it. And any who believes in his Lord shall fear neither triviality nor vileness.” They believed in the message of the Qur’an and used the term vileness in their confession to show that they overcame the vileness of the Sonship of Christ, which they rejected in verse five. Then, in verse 14, they say: “Among us are some that have surrendered (to Allah and became Muslims)....” This is an extraordinary confession, because some jinn in the Qur’an claim to be Muslims, submitted to Allah. However, according to the Christian Scriptures, all that deny the Son of God will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The verse continues: “...and some that have deviated. Those who surrendered (to Allah as Muslims) sought rectitude.” They claim to have found the true way. But, according to the Qur’an, the unjust who believe that God has a Son are “firewood for hell.” In Sura al-Ahqaf 46:29-32, we find an additional statement from the jinn as they plan to support the spread of Islam. When they heard Muhammad’s recital of the Qur’an, they said, “Listen! Be silent!” When they had finished listening to it, they accepted the Qur’an and suggested returning to their people to warn them about the “truth” of Islam. By this Qur’anic statement, it is implied that every jinn and demon has a particular area for which he is responsible. Some of these jinn may have returned to Yathrib (Medina), whispering into the hearts of their people, “We have heard a book (in Arabic) sent down after Moses, confirming what was before it: It guides to the truth and to a straight path.” They continued according to Muhammad’s preaching: “O our people, answer to Allah’s summoner and believe in Him: He will forgive you some of your sins and protect you from a painful chastisement (when you accept Islam).” Verse 32 says: “If anyone does not listen to Allah’s summoner (Muhammad), he cannot frustrate Allah on earth. He will have no protector besides Him. Such men are in manifest error.” The jinn in the Qur’an warn everyone to believe in the message of Muhammad, and they deny the mediation of Christ on the Day of Judgment for those who believe in him. Shortly after Muhammad had met the jinn, a number of the pagans in Medina believed in Islam. After two years, there were 73 men who had become Muslims there, without Muhammad ever having visited the town. This may have come from the intervention of demonic spirits who influenced their people to believe in the Qur’an. Basically, the Qur’an acknowledges that Islam spread with the help of jinn and that not only people can be Muslims, but also jinn. We must recognize that Muslims believe in the reality of spirits. Two sermons of the jinn are revealed in the Qur’an, presented as an integral part of the revelation. The words of the demons fit the words of the Islamic Allah; both agree in rejecting the Son of God and climax in denying the divinity of Jesus. The jinn admit to being banned from heaven. Anyone who wants to understand can recognize the significance of that fact. Muslim spirits are not allowed to enter heaven! |
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