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Ayah
Word by Word
وَأَنَّهُۥ
And that
لَمَّا
when
قَامَ
stood up
عَبۡدُ
(the) slave
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
يَدۡعُوهُ
calling (upon) Him
كَادُواْ
they almost
يَكُونُونَ
became
عَلَيۡهِ
around him
لِبَدٗا
a compacted mass
وَأَنَّهُۥ
And that
لَمَّا
when
قَامَ
stood up
عَبۡدُ
(the) slave
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
يَدۡعُوهُ
calling (upon) Him
كَادُواْ
they almost
يَكُونُونَ
became
عَلَيۡهِ
around him
لِبَدٗا
a compacted mass
Translation
And that when the Servant [i.e., Prophet] of Allāh stood up supplicating Him, they almost became about him a compacted mass."1
Footnotes
1 - Crowding on top of each other in the manner of locusts in order to hear him (ﷺ). "They" may refer to the jinn or to the disbelievers among the Arabs.
Tafsir
And that (annahu; or innahu as a new sentence, the pronoun being that of the matter) when the servant of God, the Prophet Muhammad may peace and salutation be upon him, rose to invoke Him, to worship Him, at Batn Nakhla, they, that is, the jinn listening to his recitation, were almost upon him in heaps (libadan or lubadan, the plural of libda [or lubda], like felt in the way they were heaped on top of one another, crowding in their eagerness to listen to the Qur'aan).
The Command to worship Allah Alone and shun Shirk
Allah commands His servants to single Him out alone for worship and that none should be supplicated to along with Him, nor should any partners be associated with Him. As Qatadah said concerning Allah's statement,
وَأَنَّ الْمَسَاجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَأ تَدْعُوا مَعَ اللَّهِ أَحَدًا
And the Masjids are for Allah, so invoke not anyone along with Allah.
Whenever the Jews and Christians used to enter their churches and synagogues, they would associate partners with Allah. Thus, Allah commanded His Prophet to tell them that they should single Him out alone for worship.
Ibn Jarir recorded from Sa`id bin Jubayr that he said concerning this verse,
The Jinns said to the Prophet of Allah, `How can we come to the Masjid while we are distant - meaning very far away - from you And how can we be present for the prayer while we are far away from you' So Allah revealed this Ayah.
The Jinns crowding together to hear the Qur'an. Allah said,
وَأَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا
And when the servant of Allah stood up invoking Him in prayer they just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other.
Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas,
When they heard the Prophet reciting the Qur'an they almost mounted on top of him due to their zeal. When they heard him reciting the Qur'an they drew very near to him. He was unaware of them until the messenger (i.e., Jibril) came to him and made him recite,
قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ
(Say:It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened). (72:1)
They were listening to the Qur'an.
This is one opinion and it has been reported from Az-Zubayr bin Al-`Awwam.
Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn `Abbas that he said,
The Jinns said to their people,
لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا
(when the servant of Allah stood up invoking Him in prayer they just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other).
This is the second view and it has also been reported from Sa`id bin Jubayr.
Al-Hasan said,
When the Messenger of Allah stood up and said none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and he called the people to their Lord, the Arabs almost crowded over him together (against him).
Qatadah said concerning Allah's statement,
وَأَنَّهُ لَمَّا قَامَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَدْعُوهُ كَادُوا يَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِ لِبَدًا
when the servant of Allah stood up invoking Him in prayer they just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other.
Humans and Jinns both crowded together over this matter in order to extinguish it. However, Allah insisted upon helping it, supporting it and making it victorious over those who opposed it.
This is the third view and it has also been reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ibn Zayd.
It was also the view preferred by Ibn Jarir. This view seems to be the most apparent meaning of the Ayah due to Allah's statement which follows it,
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَدْعُو رَبِّي وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِهِ أَحَدً
ا
Say:I invoke only my Lord, and I associate none as partners along with Him.
meaning, when they harmed him, opposed him, denied him and stood against him in order to thwart the truth he came with, and to unite against him, the Messenger said to them
إِنَّمَا أَدْعُو رَبِّي
(I invoke only my Lord),
meaning, `I only worship my Lord alone, and He has no partners. I seek His help and I put my trust in Him.'
وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِهِ أَحَدً
ا
(and I associate none as partners along with Him).
The Messenger does not have Power to harm or give Guidance
Concerning Allah's statement,
قُلْ إِنِّي لَا أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا رَشَدًا
Say:
It is not in my power to cause you harm, or to bring you to the right path.
meaning, `say:I am only a man like you all and I have received revelation. I am only a servant among the servants of Allah. I have no control over the affairs of your guidance or your misguidance. Rather all of these things are referred to Allah.
قُلْ إِنِّي لَن يُجِيرَنِي مِنَ اللَّهِ أَحَدٌ
Say:
None can protect me from Allah's punishment, nor can I find refuge except in Him.
Then he (the Prophet) says about himself that no one can save him from Allah either.
This means, `if I disobey Allah, then no one would be able to rescue me from His punishment.'
وَلَنْ أَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَدًا
and nor can I find refuge except in Him.
Mujahid, Qatadah and As-Suddi all said, No place to escape to.
It is only obligatory upon the Messenger to convey the Message
Concerning Allah's statement
إِلاَّ بَلَغًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِسَالَاتِهِ
(Mine is) but conveyance from Allah and His Messages,
This is an exception related to the previous statement,
لَن يُجِيرَنِي مِنَ اللَّهِ أَحَدٌ
(None can protect me from Allah's punishment),
meaning, `nothing can save me from Him and rescue me except my conveyance of the Message that He has obligated me to carry out.'
This is as Allah says,
يَـأَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَأ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ
O Messenger!
Proclaim which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind. (5:67)
Then Allah says,
وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا
and whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever.
meaning, `I will convey unto you all the Messages of Allah, so whoever disobeys after that, then his reward will be the fire of Hell wherein he will abide forever.'
This means, they will not be able to avoid it nor escape from it.
Then Allah says,
حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَوْا مَا يُوعَدُونَ فَسَيَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ أَضْعَفُ نَاصِرًا وَأَقَلُّ عَدَدًا
Till, when they see that which they are promised, then they will know who it is that is weaker concerning helpers and less important concerning numbers.
meaning, until these idolators from the Jinns and humans see what has been promised to them on the Day of Judgement. Then on that day, they will know who's helpers are weaker and fewer in number -- them or the believers who worship Allah alone.
This means that the idolators have no helper at all and they are fewer in number than the soldiers of Allah.
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