Chapter 15: “Until when fear is banished from their hearts.” The Jinn Carrying News To The Fortunetellers and Soothsayers: Kitāb At-Tawheed

“Ash-Sharh al-Moojaz al-Mumahhad li Tawheed al-Khaaliq al-Mumajjad alladhi allafahu Shaikhul-Islaam Muhammad” (The Concise, Simple and Straight-forward Explanation of the Tawheed of the Exalted Creator – which was Authored by the Shaikhul-Islaam Muhammad b. Abdul-Wahhaab) This is an explanation of Kitaab at-Tawheed of Shaikhul-Islaam Muhammad b. Abdul-Wahhaab (d. 1206H, rahimahullaah) by ash-Shaikh al-Allaamah Ahmad b. Yahyaa an-Najmee (rahimahullaah).

So Shaikhul-Islaam Muhammad b. Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ

Chapter 15: The Saying of Allah, the Most High: “Until when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: ‘What is it that your Lord has said?’ They say: ‘The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.’”

It is recorded in the “Saheeh” from Abu Hurairah (radiyallaahu `anhu) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“When Allah decrees an affair in the heaven, the Angels strike their wings in submission to His statement, as if it [His voice] were a chain being dragged upon smooth rocks and it penetrates them causing them to be terrified (the Messenger then recited):

وَلَا تَنفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ۚ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ

“Intercession with Allah does not benefit except for him whom He permits.

Until when fear is removed from the hearts of the Angels, then the Angels say: “What is it that your Lord has said?” So they say: “The truth. And Allah is the Most High, the Most Great.”” (Saba’a: 23)

Then, the eavesdroppers [from the Devils] hear this order, and these eavesdroppers are like this, one over the other – (Sufyaan demonstrated that by turning his hand sideways and separating his fingers). Thus, an eavesdropper hears a word which he will convey to one who is below him, and then the second will convey it to the one below him, until the last of them will convey it to the tongue of the the Magician or fortune-teller. Sometimes a shooting star may strike the devil before he can convey it, and sometimes he may convey it [to a magician or fortune-teller] before the shooting star strikes him – whereupon the magician, soothsayer or fortuneteller adds to it a hundred lies. Then it is said [by the people]: ‘Did he not tell us such and such a thing on such and such a day?’ So they are believed due to that statement that was heard from the heaven.”

(Reported by Bukhaaree, no. 4701)

An-Nawwaas bin Sam`aan (radiyallaahu `anhu) narrated that Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:

“When Allah, the Most High, wishes to reveal an affair, He speaks with Revelation that causes the Heavens to shake [or] severe thundering due to the fear of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. So when the inhabitants of the heavens hear that, they are stunned and fall down in prostration to Allah. The first to raise his head is Jibreel, and Allah informs him regarding what He wants of His Revelation. Then Jibreel passes amongst the Angels, and every time he passes through one of the heavens, the Angels ask him: ‘What has your Lord said, O Jibreel?’ Jibreel replies: ‘He said the Truth, and He is the Most High, the Greatest.’ Then all of them say what Jibreel said. So Jibreel takes the Revelation to where Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has commanded him.”

(Reported by Ibn Abee `Aasim in “As-Sunnah” (1/267). Declared weak (da`eef) by Al-Albaanee in “Dhilaal al-Jannah” (115))

Explanation:

The meaning of فُزِّعَ means when it is removed or banished. And the intent of “from their hearts” is the hearts [of the Angels] as occurs in the narrations. So when their senses return back to them: قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ “What is it that your Lord has said?” So some of them said to others it is “Al-Haq (The Truth)”, i.e. Our Lord said that.

The saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): “in submission (khud`aanan)” means in submission, servitude and fear from His Majesty.

The saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): “..as if [His voice] were a chain being dragged upon smooth rocks.” As-Safwaan refers to a smooth rock, and when a chain is dragged over it, it makes a sound.

The saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): “Then, the eavesdroppers hear this order…” This refers to the Jinn.

This hadeeth describes the fact that they eavesdrop and listen in. That is because Jinn are spirits in the manner that Allah created them – there are amongst them those who are are swift and light. So some of them ride upon others until they reach above the clouds, and they eavesdrop and listen in to the words. Then they transmit that to those beneath them, then those in turn pass it down to those beneath them until it is passed on and transmitted to the tongue of the magician or fortune-teller. It is possible that the Jinn is struck by a shooting star before it is able to convey the news – and it is possible that the Jinn conveys it before it is struck. When it reaches the Fortune-teller, he then mixes it with a hundred lies and conveys it to the people.

[TN] The people are then deceived into thinking that this magician, fortune-tellers or soothsayer has miraculous powers and knowledge of the Unseen, whilst they are simultaneously fully aware that most of what the fortune-teller is saying is utter nonsense and untrue!

The Numerous Benefits That Can Be Extracted:

Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, enabled the Devils to listen in to, and eavesdrop upon the news passed amongst the Angels as a test for the servants of Allah. So either the people will believe in the truthfulness of the Messengers and thus they disbelieve in the Devils – or they will believe the Devils and therefore disbelieve the Messengers. However, once the Revelation of the Qur’an began, the Devils were cast away from the heaven – and not a single one of them was able to listen in to the words due to the many shooting stars being thrown at them out of fear that they may hear something of the Qur’an, which they would pass on to the magicians, soothsayers and fortune-tellers who would in turn deceive and beguile the people. For this reason Allah said regarding them that they said:

وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ ۖ فَمَن يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَّصَدًا

“And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.”

(Al-Jinn: 9)

So the Devils were cast out during the period of Revelation – and this was from the preservation and protection of the Qur’an by Allah during that time. Then even after its revelation, Allaah’s continues to protect and preserve it from anything being added to it. Now over 1400 years have passed since its revelation yet no one is able to add even a single letter to it!

And in that is refutation of the lying, fabricating Raafidah Shee’ah in their false claim that verses from the Qur’an have been lost, or been left out. This is a denial of Allah in what He stated:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian.”

(Al-Hijr 15:9)

Then after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ) the devils returned back to eavesdropping [by the Will of Allaah] – and Allaah tests His servants by way of that.

There is a mention in the narration of An-Nawwaas Ibn Sam`aan (radiyallaahu `anhu) of how the Revelation comes about, wherein Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “When Allah, the Most High, wishes to reveal an affair, He speaks with Revelation that causes the Heavens to shake..”

The narration also mentions that the Angels are stunned, meaning that they lose consciousness – and that is for all of the inhabitants of the Heavens.

From the benefits of these narrations is the affirmation of the Attribute of Speech for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic – and that Allah Speaks with words that are heard by the Angel Jibreel, and whomever else Allah wishes to hear amongst the Angels. And the Prophet Moosaa (`alaihis-salaam) heard Allah speak. This incident is mentioned in the Qur’an:

 تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۘ مِّنْهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ

“Those Messengers! We preferred some to others; to some of them Allah spoke [directly]; others He raised to degrees of honour..”

(Al-Baqarah 2:253)

From the benefits derived from these narrations is that we come to know that the souls of the children of Aadam are prepared and capable of accepting falsehood (baatil) and truth (haqq), good and evil. For this reason it is necessary for the servant to protect himself from listening to evil so that his heart not affected by it.

Also in these narrations is a refutation of those who negate from Allah His Attributes, and they deny the Attribute of Speech for Allah (the Mighty and Majestic), such as the Jahmiyyah and the Mu`tazilah or those who explain away the Attributes by giving them metaphoric meanings such as the Ash`ariyyah.

Another benefit we attain is that the Angels are fearful of their Lord so how can they ever worship anyone other than Him. Allah has described with His saying:

يَخَافُونَ رَبَّهُم مِّن فَوْقِهِمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ

“They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.”

(An-Nahl: 50)

Indeed success lies with Allah.