When We Directed to You a Group of Jinn Listening to the Quran — The Quran Guides Every Attentive Ear
tadabbur
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صَرَفۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ نَفَرٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ يَسۡتَمِعُونَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ
— الأحقاف 29
Verse: "When We directed to you a group of jinn listening to the Quran — when they attended to it they said: Be silent!" (46:29) — In Wadi Nakhla — when the Prophet ﷺ went despairing from the people of Taif — the jinn listened to his recitation. They said to each other: "Be silent" — etiquette in listening. When finished they went "back to their people as warners." They said: "O our people we heard a book revealed after Moses confirming what came before it, guiding to truth" — the jinn had more tender hearts than the people of Taif. Whoever has a present heart hears the truth. Lesson: the Quran is guidance for whoever listens with an attentive heart — even jinn who were not directly sent to.
Source: Ibn Kathir (7/280); Al-Sadi
Question: In what circumstance did the jinn listen to the Quran in Al-Ahqaf? What does that signify?
Answer: In Wadi Nakhla when the Prophet returned brokenhearted from Taif — signifying: Allah compensates those broken for His sake with support from where unexpected.