Al-Qur'an Surah Ash-Shu'ara Verse 223

Mufti Taqi Usmani

They give ear to hear (secretly,) and most of them tell lies.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

who gives an ˹attentive˺ ear ˹to half-truths˺, mostly passing on sheer lies.[[ This refers to fortune-tellers who listen to Satanic whispers, adding more lies as they pass on the information to people. ]] 

Ruwwad Translation Center

who whisper hearsay in the ears, but most of them are liars.

A. J. Arberry

They give ear, but most of them are liars.

Abdul Haleem

who readily lends an ear to them, and most of them are liars:

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Who give ear, and most of them are liars.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(Into whose ears) they pour hearsay vanities, and most of them are liars.

Abul Ala Maududi

on those who whisper hearsay in the ears of people; and most of them are liars.

Ahmed Ali

Who listens to you (for spreading rumours); but most of them are liars.

Ahmed Raza Khan

The devils convey upon them what they heard, but most of them are liars.

Ali Quli Qarai

They eavesdrop, and most of them are liars.

Ali Ünal

They (the satans) give ear eagerly (to the conversations of the angels, and whisper to every forger lost in sin as if they received something), but they (both the satans and their sinful agents) are liars in most of their words.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Who listen eagerly (to what the evil ones say), yet mostly they tell them lies.

English Literal

They listen attentively the hearing/listening , and most of them (are) lying/denying.

Faridul Haque

The devils convey upon them what they heard, but most of them are liars.

Hamid S. Aziz

They descend upon every wicked liar,

Hilali & Khan

Who gives ear (to the devils and they pour what they may have heard of the unseen from the angels), and most of them are liars.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?

Mohammad Habib Shakir

They incline their ears, and most of them are liars.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

They listen eagerly, but most of them are liars.

Muhammad Sarwar

The satans try to listen to the heavens but many of them are liars.

Qaribullah & Darwish

They listen, but most of them are liars.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Who gives ear, and most of them are liars.

Wahiduddin Khan

who lends an ear to them, and most of them are liars.

Talal Itani

They give ear, and most of them are liars.

Tafsir jalalayn

They, the devils, report the heard [sayings], what they hear from the angels [they report] to the soothsayers, but most of them are liars, adding much that is false to what they hear -- this was [revealed] before the devils were barred from the heaven.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

يُلْقُونَ السَّمْعَ

Who gives ear,

means, they try to overhear what is said in the heavens, and they try to hear something of the Unseen, then they add to it a hundred lies and tell it to their human comrades, who then tell it to others. Then the people believe everything they say because they were right about the one thing which was heard from the heavens.

وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ كَاذِبُونَ



and most of them are liars.

This was stated in an authentic Hadith recorded by Al-Bukhari from A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said,

"The people asked the Prophet about fortune-tellers, and he said;

إِنَّهُمْ لَيْسُوا بِشَيْء

They are nothing.

They said;"O Messenger of Allah, they say things that come true."

The Prophet said;

تِلْكَ الْكَلِمَةُ مِنَ الْحَقِّ يَخْطَفُهَا الْجِنِّيُّ فَيُقَرْقِرُهَا فِي أُذُنِ وَلِيِّهِ كَقَرْقَرَةِ الدَّجَاجِ فَيَخْلِطُونَ مَعَهَا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ مِايَةِ كَذْبَة

That is a word of truth which the Jinn snatches, then he gabbles it like the clucking of a chicken into the ear of his friend, but he mixes it with more than one hundred lies.

Al-Bukhari also recorded that Abu Hurayrah said,

"The Prophet said;

إِذَا قَضَى اللهُ الاَْمْرَ فِي السَّمَاءِ ضَرَبَتِ الْمَلَيِكَةُ بِأَجْنِحَتِهَا خُضْعَانًا لِقَوْلِهِ كَأَنَّهَا سِلْسِلَةٌ عَلَى صَفْوَانٍ فَإِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا لِلَّذِي قَالَ الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ فَيَسْمَعُهَا مُسْتَرِقُو السَّمْعِ وَمُسْتَرِقُو السَّمْعِ هَكَذَا بَعْضُهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ وَصَفَ سُفْيَانُ بِيَدِهِ فَحَرَّفَهَا وَبَدَّدَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ فَيَسْمَعُ الْكَلِمَةَ فَيُلْقِيهَا إِلَى مَنْ تَحْتَهُ ثُمَّ يُلْقِيهَا الاْخَرُ إِلَى مَنْ تَحْتَهُ حَتَّى يُلْقِيَهَا عَلَى لِسَانِ السَّاحِرِ أَوِ الْكَاهِنِ فَرُبَّمَا أَدْرَكَهُ الشِّهَابُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُلْقِيَهَا وَرُبَّمَا أَلْقَاهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يُدْرِكَهُ فَيَكْذِبُ مَعَهَا مِايَةَ كَذْبَةٍ فَيُقَالُ أَلَيْسَ قَدْ قَالَ لَنَا يَوْمَ كَذَا وَكَذَا كَذَا وَكَذَا فَيُصَدَّقُ بِتِلْكَ الْكَلِمَةِ الَّتِي سُمِعَتْ مِنَ السَّمَاء

When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His decree, a chain beating on a rock. And when the fear in their hearts subsides, they say;"What is it that your Lord has said"

They say;"The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

Then when the Jinn who are listening out, one above the other

(-- and Sufyan illustrated this with a gesture, holding his hand vertically with his fingers outspread --)

when they hear this, they throw it down from one to another, until it is passed to the fortune-teller or soothsayer. The shooting star may strike the Jinn before he passes it on, or he may pass it on before he is struck, and he adds to it one hundred lies, thus it is said;

"Did he not tell us that on such and such a day, such and such would happen"

So they believe him because of that one thing which was heard from the heavens.

This was recorded by Al-Bukhari.

Al-Bukhari recorded from A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet said;

إِنَّ الْمَلَيِكَةَ تَحَدَّثُ فِي الْعَنَانِ وَالْعَنَانُ الْغَمَامُ بِالاَْمْرِ يَكُونُ فِي الاَْرْضِ فَتَسْمَعُ الشَّيَاطِينُ الْكَلِمَةَ فَتَقُرُّهَا فِي أُذُنِ الْكَاهِنِ كَمَا تُقَرُّ الْقَارُورَةُ فَيَزِيدُونَ مَعَهَا مِايَةَ كَذْبَة

The angels speak in the clouds about some matter on earth, and the Shayatin overhear what they say, so they tell it to the fortune-teller, gurgling into his ear like (a liquid poured) from a glass bottle, and he adds to it one hundred lies.
Refutation of the Claim that the Prophet was a Poet

Allah tells;

وَالشُّعَرَاء يَتَّبِعُهُمُ الْغَاوُونَ