Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (512)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

because its trees conceal and cover what is within it. Only a place containing abundant trees of various kinds properly bears this name.

Junnah, with the vowel u, means something used for protection, whether a shield or anything else. Hence Allah’s words:

“They have taken their oaths as a shield.”

They use them to shield themselves from the believers’ censure. From the same root comes jinnah, with the vowel i, meaning the jinn, as in Allah’s words:

“From among the jinn and mankind.”

A group of Quran commentators held that the angels are called jinnah. They cited Allah’s words as evidence:

37:158 “They have established a kinship between Him and the jinn.”

They said that this kinship refers to their assertion that the angels are Allah’s daughters. They favoured this interpretation for two reasons.

First, the kinship they alleged was between the angels and Him, not between the jinn and Him.

Second, Allah says:

“Yet the jinn certainly know that they will be brought forth.”

That is, the angels know that those who made this assertion will be brought forth for punishment.

The correct interpretation, however, is contrary to theirs: jinnah means the jinn themselves, as in Allah’s words, “From among the jinn and mankind.” On this understanding, there are two interpretations of the verse.

The first is Mujāhid’s interpretation. He said: “The disbelievers of Quraysh said, ‘The angels are Allah’s daughters.’ Abū Bakr asked them, ‘Then who are their mothers?’ They replied, ‘The noblewomen among the jinn.’” Al-Kalbī said: “They claimed that He married one of the jinn, and the angels were born of the two.” Qatādah said: “They claimed that He became related to the jinn by marriage.”

The second interpretation is that of al-Hasan. He said: “They associated the devils with Allah in worship. That is the kinship they established.”

The correct interpretation is that of Mujāhid and others.

The evidence cited by the proponents of the first view does not necessarily establish its correctness. For when they said that the angels were Allah’s daughters and were of the jinn, they established a kinship between Him and the jinn

لأنه يستر داخله بالأشجار ويغطيه. ولا يستحق هذا الاسم إلا الموضع الكثير الأشجار المختلفة الأنواع. والجنة- بالضم- ما يستجن به، من ترس أو غيره. ومنه قوله تعالى: اتَّخَذُوا أَيْمانَهُمْ جُنَّةً يستترون بها من إنكار المؤمنين عليهم. ومنه الجنة- بالكسر- وهم الجن، كما قال تعالى: مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ. وذهبت طائفة من المفسرين إلى أن الملائكة يسمون جنة. واحتجوا بقوله تعالى: ٣٧: ١٥٨ وَجَعَلُوا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجِنَّةِ نَسَباً قالوا: وهذا النسب قولهم: الملائكة بنات الله. ورجحوا هذا القول بوجهين. أحدهما: أن النسب الذي جعلوه إنما زعموا أنه بين الملائكة وبينه لا بين الجن وبينه. الثاني: قوله تعالى: وَلَقَدْ عَلِمَتِ الْجِنَّةُ إِنَّهُمْ لَمُحْضَرُونَ أي قد علمت الملائكة أن الذين قالوا هذا القول محضرون للعذاب. والصحيح: خلاف ما ذهب إليه هؤلاء، وأن الجنة هم الجن أنفسهم، كما قال تعالى: مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ وعلى هذا ففي الآية قولان. أحدهما: قول مجاهد: قال: قالت كفار قريش: الملائكة بنات الله. فقال لهم أبو بكر: فمن أمهاتهم؟ قالوا: سروات الجن. وقال الكلبي: قالوا تزوج من الجن، فخرج من بينهما الملائكة. وقال قتادة، قالوا: صاهر الجن. والقول الثاني: هو قول الحسن. قال: أشركوا الشياطين في عبادة الله. فهو النسب الذي جعلوه. والصحيح قول مجاهد وغيره. وما احتج به أصحاب القول الأول ليس بمستلزم لصحة قولهم. فإنهم لما قالوا: الملائكة بنات الله، وهم من الجن، عقدوا بينه وبين الجنة نسبا