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His words, “And from the evil of an envier when he envies,” encompass enviers among both jinn and humankind.
Satan and his party envy the believers for what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty, just as Iblīs envied our father Adam. He is an enemy to Adam’s descendants, as Allah Most High says:
35:6 “Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy.”
Whispering, however, is more characteristic of the devils among the jinn, while envy is more characteristic of the devils among humankind. Whispering encompasses both, as will be explained. Envy likewise encompasses both. Both kinds of devil envy and whisper; thus, seeking refuge from the evil of an envier includes them both.
The surah therefore encompasses seeking refuge from every evil in the world. It contains four evils from which refuge is sought: a general evil—the evil of whatever He has created—and the evil of darkness when it settles. These are two kinds.
Then He mentions the evil of the sorcerer and the envier, another two kinds, for both arise from an evil soul. One of them—the sorcerer—seeks Satan’s aid and worships him. Sorcery can rarely be accomplished without some form of worship of Satan and an attempt to draw near to him: whether by slaughtering an animal in his name, or slaughtering it as an offering intended for him, thereby making it a sacrifice to someone other than Allah, or through other forms of associating partners with Allah and wickedness.
Even if the sorcerer does not call this worship of Satan, it remains worship of him, whatever name he gives it. Associating partners with Allah and disbelief are what they are because of their reality and meaning, not because of their names or wording. If someone prostrates before a created being and says, “This is not prostration before him; it is submission and kissing the ground with my forehead, just as I kiss it with blessings,” or, “This is a mark of honour,” these expressions do not make his act anything other than prostration before someone other than Allah. Let him call it whatever he wishes.
Likewise, whoever sacrifices to Satan, calls upon him, seeks refuge in him, and draws near to him through what he loves has worshipped him, even if he does not call it worship, but instead calls it putting Satan to his service. Indeed, he has spoken the truth: it is Satan putting him to his service. He thus becomes one of Satan’s servants and worshippers. And through this he is served by