Does the verse “And that we used to sit in positions for listening” indicate that the jinn knew something of the unseen before the Prophet’s mission?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He asks: Is it true that the jinn knew something of the unseen before the mission of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the statement of the Exalted regarding the jinn:[Al-Jinn 72:9] and that they informed the sorcerers of it?
Answer:
They do not know the unseen; no one knows the unseen except Allah, not the jinn or anyone else, except those whom Allah reveals it to. However, the jinn used to eavesdrop on the angels, listening to them as the angels spoke what Allah had commanded. So they eavesdropped on the angels. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, the sky was guarded with shooting stars[Al-Jinn 72:9] meaning listening to the speech of the angels [Al-Jinn 72:9] This was when the Messenger was sent; the sky was guarded when the Messenger was sent. They said, what happened?
This was a strange occurrence: the guarding of the sky. They were thrown about and wandering, and they met the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) calling in Makkah. They returned to Satan and said, “We have found that Allah has sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).” They knew the reason. Yes.
He asks: Is it true that the jinn knew something of the unseen before the mission of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the statement of the Exalted regarding the jinn:
And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing
وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِAnswer:
They do not know the unseen; no one knows the unseen except Allah, not the jinn or anyone else, except those whom Allah reveals it to. However, the jinn used to eavesdrop on the angels, listening to them as the angels spoke what Allah had commanded. So they eavesdropped on the angels. When the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, the sky was guarded with shooting stars
And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing
وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِbut whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.
فَمَن يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَّصَدًاThis was a strange occurrence: the guarding of the sky. They were thrown about and wandering, and they met the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) calling in Makkah. They returned to Satan and said, “We have found that Allah has sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).” They knew the reason. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل تدل آية ﴿وأنّا كنّا نقعد منها مقاعد للسّمع﴾على أن الجن كانوا يعلمون شيئا من الغيب قبل بعثة؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.