َ وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الْإِنْسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًا ﴿۶﴾ وَأَنَّهُمْ ظَنُّوا كَمَا ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنْ لَنْ يَبْعَثَ اللَّهُ أَحَدًا ﴿۷﴾ وَأَنَّا لَمَسْنَا السَّمَاءَ فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مُلِئَتْ حَرَسًا شَدِيدًا وَشُهُبًا ﴿۸﴾ وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ فَمَنْ يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَصَدًا ﴿۹﴾

﴾6﴿ Wa annahoo kaana rijaalun minal insi ya'oozoona bi rijaalin minal jinni fa zaadoohum rahaqa
﴾7﴿ Wa annahum zannoo kamaa zanantum al lany yab'asal laahu 'ahada
﴾8﴿ Wa annaa lamasnas samaaa'a fa wajadnaahaa muli'at harasan shadeedanw wa shuhuba
﴾9﴿ Wa annaa kunnaa naq'udu minhaa maqaa'ida lis'sam'i famany yastami'il 'aana yajid lahoo shihaabar rasada

﴾6﴿ And indeed, there were men among humans who sought refuge in men among the jinn, so they increased them in rebellion
﴾7﴿ And indeed, they thought, just as you thought, that Allah the Exalted would never resurrect anyone
﴾8﴿ And indeed, we sought to reach the news of the heavens, but we found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires
﴾9﴿ And indeed, we used to sit in positions for listening; but whoever listens now will find a flaming fire lying in wait for him

[6] This verse is a refutation of shirk fī al-isti‘ādhah (associating partners with Allah by seeking refuge in others besides Him), which leads to rahq—harm, fear, and domination by the jinn. In the time of ignorance (Jāhiliyyah), when some people traveled through deserts, the jinn would play tricks on them and frighten them. Since these travelers did not carry the remembrance of Allah, nor true religion, nor the Book of Allah—which are the real protections against jinn—they believed that each desert had a chief jinn who could grant safety and protection. So they would say: “A‘ūdhu bi-sayyidi hādhā al-wādī min sufahā’i qawmih” (I seek refuge with the chief of this valley from the foolish among his people). In response, that chief jinn would command the younger or lesser jinn not to harm the human, allowing him to pass the night in safety. Sometimes, the jinn would even guide them on the right path or help recover lost belongings. Over time, humans began to believe that these jinn had power and control, and they began dedicating vows (nadhars) to them by name. This false belief led to shirk—as they treated the jinn like protectors and lords beside Allah.
[7] This is also a statement of the jinn.
(Lan yab‘atha Allāhu aḥadan) – This refers either to resurrection after death or the sending of a messenger.
Both groups—those who denied resurrection and those who denied prophethood—were following mere assumptions.
However, upon hearing the Qur’an, it became clear to them that both assumptions were false.
[8,9] This too is among the statements of the jinn.
There are three sentences here: the first describes the situation at the time of the Qur’an’s revelation; the second refers to the state before its revelation; the third is connected to the first sentence.
(Maqā‘ida lil-sam‘) – Before the Qur’an was revealed, rebellious jinn would sit in many places in the heavens or just below them to listen to the speech of the angels.
They would hear information about future events (like rain, storms, earthquakes, etc.) and mix it with lies, then deliver it to fortune-tellers on earth.
As a result, people thought the soothsayers had knowledge of the unseen.
However, when the Qur’an was revealed, the angels—through divine command—guarded the heavens to preserve the purity of revelation so that no falsehood could mix with the truth.
Note: There is a difference of opinion among scholars: were jinn being repelled from the heavens even before the Qur’an's revelation?
One view says no, but the stronger opinion is that it did happen before—just less frequently. At the time of the Qur’an’s revelation, this increased significantly, as the word muli’at (“filled”) indicates.