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Qur'an 72:18

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Qur'an 72:18
Verse's Information
Suraal-Jinn (Qur'an 72)
Verse18
Juz'29
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
TopicPlaces of worship
AboutPlaces of worship are exclusively for the worship of the One God.
Related VersesQur'an 2:114, 9:17-18, 22:40, 72:19-20.


Qur'an 72:18 declares that places of worship belong exclusively to the worship of God and that no one other than Him should be invoked or worshipped therein.

Most exegetes have interpreted "masajid" (mosques) in Verse 18 of Sura al-Jinn as places of worship, considering the meaning of the verse to be a prohibition against worshipping non-God in all such sanctuaries. In Tafsir-i nimuna, this meaning is considered consistent with the apparent meaning of the verse due to its compatibility with the preceding and following verses regarding Tawhid and the exclusivity of worship to God.

Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, relying on certain narrations, has interpreted "masajid" as the seven parts of prostration. He interprets the verse to mean that the parts of the body used in prostration belong to God, as they are His creation; thus, they should not be placed on the ground for anyone other than God. Some exegetes, criticizing this interpretation, have deemed the hadiths supporting it to be mostly without chains of transmission or having weak chains, and have presented counter-arguments to this interpretation.

Other exegetes have taken "masajid" as the plural of "masjad" meaning prostration, interpreting the verse to mean that prostrations belong to God and it is not permissible for anyone to prostrate to other than God. This meaning has been considered weak by some exegetes.

Text and Translation

Meaning of Masajid

Various opinions have been expressed by exegetes regarding the meaning of "masajid" in Verse 18 of Sura al-Jinn;[1] Nasir Makarim Shirazi has summarized these opinions into three general interpretations:[2]

  • That "masajid" is the plural of "masjid", as a noun of place, which includes all places where God is prostrated to.[3]
  • That "masajid" is the plural of "masjad", meaning that with which one prostrates, which includes the seven parts of the body used in prostration in prayer (forehead, two palms, two knees, and the two big toes).[4]
  • That "masajid" is the plural of "masjad" meaning the act of prostration.[5] Thus, the meaning of the verse is presented as: prostrations belong to God and it is not permissible for anyone to prostrate to other than God.[6] Some exegetes have considered this possibility contrary to the apparent meaning of the verse and have found no evidence for it.[7]

Masajid as Places of Worship

Fakhr al-Razi, a Sunni exegete, considers the interpretation of "masajid" in Verse 18 of Sura al-Jinn as "places of worship" to be the view of the majority of exegetes.[8] Some exegetes consider the most perfect instance of these places to be Masjid al-Haram and its other instances to be other mosques.[9] They consider the broadest instance of "masajid" to be all places where a human prays and prostrates to God.[10] The latter broad interpretation is based on this narration from Prophet Muhammad (s): "The earth has been made for me a place of worship (masjid) and a purifier."[11][12] Therefore, the meaning of the verse is understood as: places of worship belong to God, so do not invoke anyone with God in your worship therein.[13]

Some exegetes consider this verse a response to the Jews, Christians, and polytheists of Mecca who worshipped people or things alongside the One God in their places of worship.[14] This meaning has also been reported in a narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a).[15] Nasir Makarim Shirazi regards this interpretation as consistent with the apparent meaning of the verse due to its compatibility with the preceding and following verses regarding Tawhid and the exclusivity of worship to God.[16] Relying on this meaning of "masajid", exegetes have considered it haram to designate a mosque as a place for worshipping other than God or for performing acts other than the worship of God.[17]

Masajid as Parts of Prostration

The interpretation of "masajid" in Verse 18 of Sura al-Jinn as the "parts of the body used in prostration" appears in Sunni[18] and Shi'a[19] exegetical texts. In Shi'a exegetical texts, this interpretation is based on narrations from Imam 'Ali (a),[20] Imam al-Sadiq (a),[21] and Imam al-Jawad (a).[22] In a narration from Imam al-Jawad (a), this verse was used to explain a religious ruling regarding Hudud (punishments);[23] in rejecting the opinions of Sunni jurists regarding the punishment of cutting the hand of a thief in the court of al-Mu'tasim al-Abbasi, Imam al-Jawad (a) cited this verse and defined "masajid" as the parts of prostration.[24]

Based on the narration of Imam al-Jawad (a), some Shi'a exegetes, including Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i[25] and Fadil al-Miqdad,[26] have considered the meaning of "masajid" in this verse to be the parts of prostration. According to this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is presented as follows: the parts of prostration belong to God, because they are His creation, so they should not be placed on the ground for prostration to anyone other than God.[27] Tabataba'i considers the meaning of the exclusivity of the human parts of prostration to God to be that these seven parts belong to God legislatively (tashri'an); while all parts of the human body are the genetic/existential (takwini) property of God, these seven parts, in addition to being His genetic property, are considered His legislative property as well.[28]

Nasir Makarim Shirazi has considered the hadiths supporting this meaning of the word "masajid" to be mostly without chains of transmission or having weak chains.[29] He has also presented counter-arguments to this interpretation; including that it is indisputable among Shi'a jurists that if a thief steals for the second time, the front part of his foot, including the big toe, is cut off, while the big toe is also one of the seven parts of prostration.[30] Ultimately, Makarim Shirazi considers it probable that this interpretation is a form of extending the concept of the verse.[31]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 49.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, pp. 124–125.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 124.
  4. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 30, pp. 673–674; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 125; Maʿrifat, ʿUlūm-i Qurʾānī, 1381 Sh, p. 102.
  5. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 30, p. 673; Maʿrifat, ʿUlūm-i Qurʾānī, 1381 Sh, p. 102.
  6. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, 1340 Sh, vol. 10, p. 37; Maʿrifat, ʿUlūm-i Qurʾānī, 1381 Sh, p. 102; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 126.
  7. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 126.
  8. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 30, p. 673.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 124.
  10. ↑ Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 1364 Sh, vol. 19, p. 20; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 124.
  11. ↑ Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-shīʿa, 1416 AH, vol. 5, p. 345.
  12. ↑ Thaʿlabī, Al-Kashf wa l-bayān, 1422 AH, vol. 10, p. 54; Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 10, p. 560.
  13. ↑ Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1408 AH, vol. 19, pp. 452–453; Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 7, p. 441; Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Tafsīr-i rāhnamā, 1386 Sh, vol. 19, p. 342.
  14. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 10, p. 155; Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 4, p. 629.
  15. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 73, p. 355.
  16. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 126.
  17. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 16, p. 465.
  18. ↑ Ṭabarānī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 2008, vol. 6, p. 366.
  19. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1415 AH, vol. 5, p. 237.
  20. ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, 1413 AH, vol. 2, p. 626.
  21. ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, 1407 AH, vol. 3, p. 312.
  22. ↑ ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, 1380 AH, vol. 1, pp. 319–320.
  23. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 16, p. 464.
  24. ↑ ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, 1380 AH, vol. 1, pp. 319–320.
  25. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 50.
  26. ↑ Fāḍil al-Miqdād, Kanz al-ʿirfān, 1373 Sh, vol. 1, p. 127.
  27. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, 1340 Sh, vol. 10, p. 37; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 50.
  28. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1394 AH, vol. 20, p. 50.
  29. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 125.
  30. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 126.
  31. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 25, p. 126.

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