Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 221 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:221

هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ عَلَىٰ مَن تَنَزَّلُ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ

“Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?”

Saheeh International

Essence

Accused of getting his words from devils, the Prophet ﷺ answers with a question: shall I tell you whom devils really visit?

A reflection

A question that makes the accuser lean in

A chemistry teacher holds up a sealed jar of something fizzing. The class is half asleep. She says: do you want to know why this jar will not explode? Thirty heads come up. She has not yet told them anything. She has made them want the answer.

The Quran could have stated the fact flatly here: devils come down on liars. Instead it opens with a question. Hal unabbiʾukum: shall I tell you? One commentary explains the question as one that draws the listener to the answer and fixes it. Concise commentaries name who is being asked. It is the people of Makkah who said this Quran came from devils.

Notice the effect. A slander usually puts the accused on the defensive. He explains, protests, apologises. Here the accused takes the floor. He does not plead. He offers information, and the accusers find themselves leaning in to hear it.

The Prophet ﷺ taught this way himself. Shall I not tell you the greatest of the major sins? he once asked, three times over (Sahih al-Bukhari). The Companions answered, yes, Messenger of Allah. By then they were ready to hear it.

There is a lesson for anyone who has to answer an accusation, or say something that matters. A question invites the listener into the search. It treats them as able to reason. A raised voice makes people defend themselves. A good question makes them think, and sometimes it is the only way a hostile room will listen at all.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.