The Quran

112

وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلنا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَياطينَ الإِنسِ وَالجِنِّ يوحي بَعضُهُم إِلىٰ بَعضٍ زُخرُفَ القَولِ غُرورًا ۚ وَلَو شاءَ رَبُّكَ ما فَعَلوهُ ۖ فَذَرهُم وَما يَفتَرونَ

Muhammad Asad

AND THUS it is that against every prophet We have set up as enemies the evil forces from among humans as well as from among invisible beings that whisper unto one another glittering half-truths meant to delude the mind¹ But they could not do this unless thy Sustainer had so willed: stand, therefore, aloof from them and from all their false imagery!

Lit., "embellished speech" or "varnished falsehood" (Lane III, 1223 - oy way of delusion" - i.e., half-truths which entice man by their deceptive attractiveness and cause him to overlook all real spiritual values (see also 25 : 30-31). - Regarding my rendering of jinn as "invisible beings", see note 86 above and Appendix III. The term shayatin (lit., "satans"), on the other hand, is often used in the Qur'an in the sense of evil forces inherent in man as well as in the spiritual world (cf. 2:14, and the corresponding note). According to several well-authenticated Traditions, quoted by Tabari, the Prophet was asked, "Are there satans from among men?" - and he replied, "Yes, and they are more evil than the satans from among the invisible beings (al-jinn)." Thus, the meaning of the above verse is that every prophet has had to contend against the spiritual - and often physical-enmity of the evil ones who, for whatever reason, refuse to listen to the voice of truth and try to lead others astray.