سورة الجنّ
Surah Al-Jinn 72:9
The Jinn · Verse 9 of 28
وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ ۖ فَمَنْ يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَصَدًا
Abdul Mannan Omar
"And that we used to sit in some of the observatories to listen to something. But he that tries to listen (in order to forecast some event) now (with the advent of Islam) finds a shooting star in ambush for him.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
'We used, indeed, to sit there in (hidden) stations, to (steal) a hearing; but any who listen now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush.
Ahmed Ali
We sat in observatories to listen; but any one who listened found a shooting star in wait for him.
12 more translations
Ali Unal
‘We used to be established in position to overhear (its inhabitants); but now whoever attempts to listen finds a flaming fire in wait for him.
Daryabadi
And we were wont to sit on seats therein to listen; but whosoever listeneth now findeth for him a dartin meteor in wait.
Faridul Haque
‘And that we sometimes used to sit in some places in the sky, to listen; so whoever now listens finds a fiery comet waiting for him.’
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And we used to sit in some of the sitting-places thereof to steal a hearing. But he who tries to listen now finds a flame lying in wait for him:
Maulvi Sher Ali
`And we used to sit in some of its seats to listen. But whoso listens now finds a shooting star in ambush for him,
Muhammad Asad
notwithstanding that we were established in positions [which we had thought well-suited] to listening to [whatever secrets might be in] it: and anyone who now [or ever] tries to listen will [likewise] find a flame lying in wait for him!
Muhammad Musin Khan
'And verily, we used to sit there in stations, to (steal) a hearing, but any who listens now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush.
Muhammad Pickthall
And we used to sit on places (high) therein to listen. But he who listeneth now findeth a flame in wait for him;
Muhammad Sarwar
We used to sit near by and try to listen to the heavens, but shooting flames now await those who try to do that.
Muhammed ali Shakir
And that we used to sit in some of the sitting-places thereof to steal a hearing, but he who would (try to) listen now would find a flame lying in wait for him:
Rashad Khalifa
`We used to sit there in order to spy. Anyone who listens is pursued by a powerful projectile.
Shabbir Ahmed
(The nomads continued), “And we used to sit on places listening to
Commentary 72:9 Rasada رَّصَدً – to watch, to lie in wait, observe Maqâ‘idمَقَاعِدَ – observatory, place of observation. Here the mention is of places of observation, not…
وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ ۖ فَمَن يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَّصَدًا
72:9 Rasada رَّصَدً – to watch, to lie in wait, observe Maqâ‘idمَقَاعِدَ – observatory, place of observation. Here the mention is of places of observation, not necessarily the observatories of the movement of stars.
In the above two verses and the following verses, the “jinns” were particularly Jews described as righteous (cf. verse 11) people of learning, who were busy in observing the laws of physics in space. These verses and also verses 37:10-11, 67:5 and 72:10-11 deal with the same subject matter. There are more verses in the Holy Qur’ân that convey similar information when their in-depth meanings are taken into consideration. They are verses 77:1-9, and 79:1-8.