Abu ‘Ubaydah said: It means poured out. The Arabs say, “I poured the water,” meaning, “I caused it to flow.”

Ibn ‘Abbas said: It is wet, fetid soil, which was made into dried clay like pottery. (1)

In some reports, it is related that Allah kneaded Adam’s clay and left it until it became altered and black; then He created Adam from it, peace be upon him. (2)

“And the jinn—We created them before—from scorching fire.” (27)

Regarding His saying, “And the jinn We created before”: Ibn ‘Abbas said: He is the father of the jinn, just as Adam is the father of humankind.

Qatadah said: He is Iblis, who was created before Adam.

It is also said: Al-Jann is the father of the jinn, while Iblis is the father of the devils.

Among the jinn are Muslims and disbelievers; they live and die. As for the devils, none of them are Muslims, and they die when Iblis dies.

Wahb related that among the jinn are those who reproduce, eat, and drink like human beings, (3) and among them are those like the wind: they neither eat nor drink, nor do they reproduce.

“From scorching fire”: al-samum is a hot wind that enters a person’s pores and kills him. It is also said that al-samum occurs by day, while al-harur occurs by night.

Al-Kalbi related from Abu Salih: Al-samum is a smokeless fire, from which thunderbolts arise. It is a fire between heaven and the veil; whenever Allah decrees a matter, it pierces the veil and descends to where it has been commanded. Thus, the crashing sound you hear is that of its piercing through this veil.

It was also said: The fire of al-samum is the flame of fire.

And it was said: “From the fire of al-samum” means from the fire of Hell.

Al-Dahhak related from Ibn ‘Abbas that Iblis was from a group of angels called the jinn; they were created from scorching fire. (4) The jinn mentioned in the Quran, however, were created from a smokeless flame of fire. As for the angels, they were created