Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Jinn Verse 19

Mufti Taqi Usmani

and that when Allah’s servant stood invoking Him, they almost rushed on him in crowds.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Yet when the servant of Allah[[ i.e., Muḥammad (ﷺ). ]] stood up calling upon Him ˹alone˺, the pagans almost swarmed over him.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Yet when the slave of Allah stood up supplicating Him, they swarmed around him.”

A. J. Arberry

When the servant of God stood calling on Him, they were wellnigh upon him in swarms.

Abdul Haleem

yet when God’s Servant stood up to pray to Him, they pressed in on him.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And when the bondman of Allah stood calling upon Him, they well nigh pressed on him stifling.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Yet when the Devotee of Allah stands forth to invoke Him, they just make round him a dense crowd."

Abul Ala Maududi

and when Allah's servant stood up to call on Him, they well-nigh swarmed him.

Ahmed Ali

When the devotee of God stood up to invoke Him (the jinns) crowded upon him (to listen).

Ahmed Raza Khan

‘And that when Allah’s bondman stood up to worship Him, the jinns had almost crowded upon him.’”

Ali Quli Qarai

When the servant of Allah rose to pray to Him, they almost crowded around him.

Ali Ünal

Yet, when God’s servant rises to pray, they (the polytheists) are all but upon him in swarms (with loud, derisive shouting to prevent his recitation of the Qur’an being heard).

Amatul Rahman Omar

And when (- Muhammad) Allâh´s servant stands up calling to Him these (- disbelievers) crowd upon him, well nigh suffocating him (to stifle and smother his voice).

English Literal

`And that he when God`s worshipper/servant stood/started calling Him, they were about to/almost to be interlocked/plenty on (with) him .`

Faridul Haque

‘And that when Allah’s bondman stood up to worship Him, the jinns had almost crowded upon him.’ ”

Hamid S. Aziz

And yet when the servant of Allah stood up in prayer to Him, they crowded almost stifling him.

Hilali & Khan

(It has been revealed to me that) When the slave of Allah (Muhammad SAW) stood up invoking (his Lord Allah) in prayer to Him they (the jinns) just made round him a dense crowd as if sticking one over the other (in order to listen to the Prophet's recitation).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

(Mine is naught) but to deliver (the command) of Allah and His messages. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, surely for him is the Fire of hell, to abide therein for ages,

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And that when the servant of Allah stood up calling upon Him, they wellnigh crowded him (to death).

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And when the slave of Allah stood up in prayer to Him, they crowded on him, almost stifling.

Muhammad Sarwar

Do not prostrate before anyone other than Him. When the servant of God (Muhammad) preached (his message) the jinn would all crowd around him.

Qaribullah & Darwish

When the worshiper of Allah stood supplicating to Him, they swarmed around him (Prophet Muhammad).

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

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.

Wahiduddin Khan

when God's servant stood up to pray to Him, they pressed close to him in great numbers, almost stifling him.

Talal Itani

And when the servant of God got up calling on Him, they almost fell on him in a mass.

Tafsir jalalayn

And that (annahu; or innahu as a new sentence, the pronoun being that of the matter) when the servant of God, the Prophet Muhammad (s), 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'n).

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

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