41 Preface قالوا سُبحانَكَ أَنتَ وَلِيُّنا مِن دونِهِم ۖ بَل كانوا يَعبُدونَ الجِنَّ ۖ أَكثَرُهُم بِهِم مُؤمِنونَYusuf AliThey will say, “Glory to Thee! our (tie) is with Thee - as Protector1 - not with them. Nay, but they worshipped the Jinns:2 most of them believed in them.”Wali in Arabic may mean Friend either in the sense of Protector and Benefactor or in the sense of the Beloved. The tie of benevolence, confidence, and friendship is implied, either active or passive. The angels first proclaim their dependence on God and their need of His protection, and then disclaim any idea of their having protected or encouraged the false worshippers to worship beings other than God. They go further, and suggest that when men pretended to worship angels, they worshipped, not angels, but Jinns. See next note.Jinns: see 6:100 and n. 929. The false worshippers pretended to worship the bright and radiant angels of good, but in reality worshipped the dark and hidden forces of evil-the devils hidden within themselves or in the life around them. They trusted and believed in such forces of evil, although such forces of evil had really no power.