Evil indeed is their judgment!”
“Those who do not believe in the Hereafter have evil attributes, while Allah has the highest attributes. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
The polytheists whom Allah and His Messenger described as such trace their origins to two groups: the people of Noah and the people of Abraham. The polytheism of Noah’s people began with their remaining at the graves of the righteous. They then made statues of them and subsequently worshipped them. The polytheism of Abraham’s people began with worshipping the stars, the sun, and the moon.
Both groups worship the jinn, for devils may speak to them and help them with various things. They may believe that they are worshipping angels, although in reality they are worshipping only the jinn, since it is the jinn who help them and approve of their polytheism. He, the Most High, says:
“On the Day He gathers them all together, He will say to the angels, ‘Was it you these people used to worship?’”
“They will say, ‘Glory be to You! You are our Protector, not they. Rather, they used to worship the jinn; most of them believed in them.’”
The angels do not help them in their polytheism, either in life or in death, nor do they approve of it. Devils, however, may help them and appear to them in human forms, so that they see them with their own eyes. One of them may say: “I am Abraham. I am the Messiah. I am Muhammad. I am al-Khidr. I am Abū Bakr. I am ‘Umar. I am ‘Uthmān. I am ‘Alī. I am such-and-such a shaykh.”
Some may say of others: “This is such-and-such a prophet,” or, “This is al-Khidr.” Yet all of them are jinn, vouching for one another.
The jinn are like human beings: among them are disbelievers, the morally corrupt, and the disobedient, as well as ignorant worshippers. Some of them love a shaykh, assume his appearance, and say: “I am so-and-so.” This may happen in a wilderness or a desolate place. The jinn then gives that person food and drink, shows him the way, or tells him about events occurring beyond his knowledge, so he supposes