يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ ۖ وَلَن نُّشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَا أَحَدًا (2)
(72:2) 'We have indeed heard a wonderful Qur'an *2 which guides to the Right Way; so we have come to believe in it, and we will not associate aught with Our Lord in His Divinity'; *3
*2) The words in the original are: Qur an-an 'ajaba. Qur an means "something which is read again and again", and the jinn probably used this word in this very meaning, for they were introduced to this Divine Revelation for the first time, and they did not perhaps know then that what they were hearing, was the Qur'an itself. 'Ajab is a superlative, which is used in Arabic for a wonderful thing. So, what the jinn said means: "We have heard such a wonderful recital which is unique both in its language and in its subject-matter. " This also shows that the jinn not only hear what human beings say but also understand their language fully, although it is not necessary that alI the jinn might know all the human languages. It is possible that those of them who live in a particular region of the earth might know the language of the people of that region. But in any case this statement of the Qur'an clearly shows that the jinn who listened to the Qur'an at that time were so conversant with the Arabic language that they not only appreciated the matchless eloquence of the Divine Word but also understood its sublime subject-matter fully well.
*3) This throws light on several things: (1) That the jinn do not deny Allah's existence and His being Lord and Sustainer; (2) that among them also there are polytheists, who like polytheistic human beings ascribe divinity to others than AIlah: thus, the community of the jinn whose members heard the Qur'an was polytheistic; (3) that the Prophethood and revelation of Divine scriptures dces not exist among the jinn, but whoever of them believe, they believe in the Prophets raised among human beings and in the Books brought by them. This same thing is confirmed by Al-Ahqaf: 29-30, where it has been stated that the jinn who had then heard the Qur'an, were from among the followers of the Prophet Moses, and they after having heard the Qur'an, had invited their people to believe in the Revelation that had been sent down by God confirming the previous scriptures. Surah ArRahman also points to the same, for its whole subject-matter shows that the audience of the Holy Prophet's invitation are both the men and the jinn.