This last part of the surah presents a different way of tackling the basic question of faith. It tells us the story of a group of jinn who heard the Qur’an being recited and who listened to it. They felt, at heart, that it was the word of truth and believed in it instantly. They then rushed to their own people calling on them to believe, giving them the good news of earning forgiveness for their past sins and warning them against turning away and persisting in error. The effect of the Qur’an on this group of jinn is clearly indicated in their advice to each other to hearken to its recitation, as well as the report they gave to their people about it, urging them to believe too. Reporting the story in this way should touch the hearts of human beings to whom the message of the Qur’an is firstly addressed. It should have a telling and profound effect on them. At the same time, a reference to the link between the book given to Moses and the Qur’an is mentioned by the jinn. This is a fact ignored by humans but highlighted by the jinn.

Again this has a profound effect which is consistent with the message of the surah.

The jinris discourse also refers to the open book of the universe, testifying to God’s great power manifested in the creation of the heavens and the earth and His ability to bring the dead back to life. Needless to say, people argue endlessly about this, often denying it altogether.

In the context of resurrection, the surah portrays a scene from the Day of Judgement speaking of the time when the unbelievers are brought before the fire of hell. Finally, the Prophet is instructed to remain patient in adversity and not to hasten their punishment. Rather, he should leave them to live their lives until the appointed time, which is bound to come soon, in no more than an hour of a day, during which the message is given.

We sent to you a group of Jinn to listen to the Qur'an. When they heard it, they said to one another, "Listen in silence!' When the recitation ended, they returned to their people to warn them. "Our people,' they said, "we have been listening to revelation bestowed from on high after Moses, confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path. Our people! Respond to God's call and have faith in Him. He will forgive you your sins and deliver you from grievous suffering. He who does not respond to God's call cannot elude Him on earth, nor will they have any protector against Him. They are indeed in manifest error. Are they not aware that God, who has created the heavens and the earth and was not wearied by their creation, has the power to bring the dead back to life? Yes, indeed. He has power over all things, (verses 29-33)

Those jinn who listened to the Qur’an in silence made a comment that embraced faith in its entirety: belief in Gods revelation; the unity of the message given in the Torah and the Qur’an; acknowledging the truth to which the Qur’an guides; belief in the Day of Resurrection and which actions earn forgiveness and which incur punishment; acknowledging God’s power of creation and His overall authority over all creatures, and recognizing the link between creation in the first place and bringing the dead back to life. These are the principles the surah discusses from start to finish. They are presented here by the jinn, in a voice that comes from beyond man’s world.

The fact that the Qur’an mentions how a number of jinn were sent to listen to the Qur’an as the Prophet recited it, and reports what they did and said afterwards, is sufficient to confirm the existence of the jinn and the event related. It further confirms that they were able to listen to the Qur’an in its Arabic wording as pronounced by the Prophet.

It also makes clear that the jinn are able to accept faith or deny it, that they have the choice to follow guidance or continue in error. There is no need for any further confirmation. No person can add anything to the reliability of a fact stated by God in the Qur’an. We, however, merely try to clarify it in our human perception.

The universe around us is full of secrets, as well as powers and creatures of which we know nothing: neither their nature, nor their shape, form or effect. We live in the midst of all these powers and secrets and every day discover some of these getting to know some of such creatures or their qualities and how they make their effect on the world around us. We are still, however, at the beginning of the road, leading to knowledge of the universe. We should bear in mind that all past generations of mankind, the present one and all future generations dwell on no more than a small particle in the vast universe, which is planet earth. When compared to human knowledge five centuries ago, what we now know when we are still just at the beginning of the road is considered stranger by far than the remarkable creatures known as the jinn. Had someone told people five centuries ago anything about atomic energy, they would have considered him crazy, or at least considered his views far stranger than the jinn.

We sent to you a group of jinn to listen to the Quran. When they heard it, they said to one another, "Listen in silence!* When the recitation ended, they returned to their people to warn them.

(Verse 29)

It was, then, a purposeful act of God’s that He sent this group of jinn to listen to the Qur’an; in other words, it was not mere coincidence.

God wanted the jinn to know about His final message, just as they had earlier learnt about Moses’ message. According to His design, some of them will then believe and spare themselves punishment in hell, which is the abode of unbelievers whether jinn or humans.

The surah draws before our eyes an image of this group, between three and ten jzhh, as they listened to the Qur’an. It paints for us their feelings as it was being recited: an overwhelming awe leading to submission and action. “ When they heard it, they said to one another, Listen in silence?” This short sentence gives a clear impression of their attitude as they hearkened to the Qur’anic recitation. Then, ""When the recitation ended, they returned to their people to warn them.” (Verse 29) This sentence confirms the effect the Qur’an had on them. They listened in complete silence, attentions focused throughout the recitation. When it was over, they returned at speed to their own people.

They felt that what they had heard must be immediately told and passed on. Their people needed to know so that they could be warned.

It is a situation where one is highly influenced by something which motivates him to immediate action that seeks to spread the benefit and to get others to adopt the same serious attitude: “Our people, they said, we have been listening to revelation bestowed from on high after Moses, confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path." (Verse 30)

The first thing they said to their people was that the revelation they had heard had been bestowed from on high after the book of Moses and that it confirmed the scriptures before it. Thus, they knew about Moses’ book and recognized, once they heard the Qur’an, that it was closely related to the Torah. What they heard of the Qur’an might not have mentioned Moses or his book, but its very nature suggested that it came from the same source. This acknowledgement by the jinn, who are relatively unaffected by factors that operate in human life, has a clear and profound import.

They give expression to their feelings as they listened to the Qur’an:

“It guides to the truth and to a straight path." (Verse 30) The truth and the guidance provided by the Qur’an have a profound effect on people.

Only a sealed heart and an arrogant, stubborn soul, motivated by selfish interests, will resist it. Hence, it had an immediate and telling effect on the hearts of those jinn, prompting them to give this testimony of its truth. They proceeded with their warning to their people, full of enthusiasm and expressing their firm conviction of the truth they had learnt. In other words, this recitation of the Qur’an placed a duty on them to inform and warn others: “Our people! Respond to God's call and have faith in Him. He will forgive you your sins and deliver you from grievous sufferings (Verse 31) They considered the revelation of the Qur’an a call on everyone who learned of it, whether human or jinn, to believe. They also considered Muhammad, (peace be upon him), to be the one who called them to believe in God merely by reciting the Qur’an. Hence their appeal to their people: “Respond to God's call and have faith in Him." (Verse 31) They also believed in the Day of Judgement and learnt that belief and positive response to the Divine call ensured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from punishment.

Having referred to bringing the dead back to life, the surah paints a picture of reckoning and accountability as though we see all this before our eyes:

On the Day when the unbelievers will be brought before the fire, [they will be asked]: 7s this not the truth?' They will answer: ‘Yes, by our Lord.' He will say: ‘Taste, then, this suffering, for you were unbelievers' (Verse 34)

The scene here begins with a narrative, or an introduction to a narrative: “On the Day when the unbelievers will be brought before the fire..The audience are waiting for the narrative describing what will happen, but instead of a description, the scene is present before our eyes, with a dialogue taking place: “Is this not the truth? What a question! It falls like a hammer on the heads of those who used to reject the truth, ridicule the message and hasten the punishment they were warned against. Now they are face to face with the truth they used to deny. They arrive at an answer, in fear and humility: “ Yes, by our Lord? Now they swear ‘ by our Lord', the very Lord whose messenger they rejected and whose Lordship they denied. Now they swear by Him affirming the truth they once denied.

At this point, the matter reaches maximum rebuke. The dialogue is over and the issue is settled: “He will say: ‘Taste, then, this suffering, for you were unbelievers?” (Verse 34) It is just an answer to a simple question: the crime is seen in full clarity and the criminal admits his guilt. The outcome is settled.

This scene is portrayed very speedily. This is deliberate because the confrontation is decisive. There is no room for argument. They used to deny the truth; now they acknowledge it and are made to suffer the consequences.

Following this scene that decisively spells out the fate of the unbelievers, and the one that touches the hearts of a group from a different world, the surah makes its final statement. It instructs the Prophet to remain patient with them and not to hasten their punishment. He has seen what awaits them, which is close at hand:

Remain, then, patient in adversity, just as all messengers endowed with firm resolve bore themselves with patience. Do not seek to hasten their punishment. On the Day when they see what they were promised, it will seem to them as though they had dwelt [on earth] no more than an hour in a single day. This has been made clear.

Will, then, any be destroyed except the evildoers? (Verse 35)

Every word in this verse is charged with meaning; every phrase draws a whole world of images and impressions and refers to great issues and values. “Remain, then, patient in adversity, just as all messengers endowed with firm resolve bore themselves with patience. Do not seek to hasten their punishment.” (Verse 35) This is a directive given to Muhammad (peace be upon him) who had shown more patience than anyone can tolerate while suffering persecution at the hands of his people. He grew up an orphan in their midst, then lost his guardian as well as every human support, one by one, losing his father, mother, grandfather, uncle as well as the wife who was the symbol of loving care. Thus he was free of all preoccupations, dedicating himself totally to his message. Yet he received at the hands of his unbelieving relatives more trouble than at the hands of others unrelated to him. He had to approach tribe after tribe, as well as individuals, seeking support in delivering his message but only meeting with rejection time after time. Some even set their henchmen against him and he was stoned and injured. His response was nothing more than a passionate appeal to his Lord, as quoted earlier.