Here too there are certain des c r i p tions in the Qura’n that give rise to questions and doubts about the chastity and infallibility of the prophets. It is said i9n verse 52 of Surah Hajj:

“ We did not send any apostle or prophet before you but when he recited (desired) something Satan interjected ( or adulterated it) in it but God nullifies what Satan has interjected; then God confirms His signs and He is all-knowing , Wise.”

The question that arises here is, “How can the apostles be infallible when Satan can interject doubts or temptations in their hearts?”

The words of Satan and the Story of Gharaneeq.

There is a story about this issue which you know as “the story of Gharaneeq.”

The story says that the Holly Messenger was reciting the Surah Najm before the polytheists and when he came to the words, “ Verses 19 and 20” Satan added two more sentences from his tongue, “ the idols are mighty and we can hope that they will intercede.”(1)

The polytheists were very happy on hearing these sentences and said, “Mohammad had never spoken so beautifully about our gods” the Messenger and the polytheists prostrated themselves and they dispersed happily. A little later Gabriel came down and said, “I did not bring these two sentences to you and they are the additions made by Satan” and this verse was revealed. (Hajj 52)

This is what the true believers and the apostle are afraid of. (2)

The revelations and the chastity become unreliable by this hadith.

The Answer:

It is necessary that this verse should have a separate chapter through those traditions that have come about it. They should be analyzed and criticized. This verse should be kept aloof from concocted hadiths.

It has been researched that this verse is far from the frivolous words and there is no danger for the chastity or infallibility of the apostles of God. It can be taken to be one of the proofs of their purity. When we say that the apostles desire something good then it covers all the hopes but if we mean it is about the apostles fulfilling their goals then it is impossible that Satan can cause any obstruction in it. Satan tries to create obstruction in these purposes but God immediately eradicates all that he does and God establishes his verse even before the interjection (or the contamination) by the Satan reach it. (It is no secret that “Fa” in “Fayansakhullah” (which means God cancels immediately) denotes the continuity with break or God immediately eradicates the interjections of Satan.)

The proof of this is the other verses which clearly state as in verse 74 of Surah that says “Were it not for a fact that We had firmly established you, you would surely have been close to inclining a little towards them.” after reading verse 73 of Surah Isra, “ And verily they had been conspiring to turn you away from that which We have revealed to you, then would have surely taken you as a friend.” The previous verse tells us that the polytheists and idolaters used to try and interject with doubts in the revelations sent to the Messenger. So god made it clear that they can never succeed in what they try to do.

We read in Verse 113 of Surah Nisaa:

“Were it not for God’s grace and his mercy on you, a group of them were bent on leading you astray; but they do not mislead anyone except themselves, and they cannot harm you. God has sent down the Book and the wisdom to you and He has taught you what you did not know, and great is His grace upon you.”

All this tells that God has kept the Messenger protected from all kinds of denials. There is no scope of any kind of interjection by the Satan, humans, and Jinns to contaminate the words of God.

This is when we attach hope to any purpose or any laws. (Because this sentence is about fate, imagination, and duty.)

But if we attach it to recitation as the elder commentators have done as discerned in poetic verses ( Of Hasaan Ibn Thabit) (3) or as Fakhruddin Razi has stated in his Tafsir then it will mean “Qiraat” and the ideas in the mind.(4).

So in this condition the meaning of the verse will be that when the apostles of god recited the verses or taught them before the polytheists and idolaters (disbeliever) Satan used to interject his words into theirs to misguide the people. This law is also applicable for the Holy Messenger as is said in verse 26 of Surah Fussilat:

“The faithless say, “Do not listen to this Qura’n and hoot it down so that you may prevail (over the apostle)

This same meaning is also seen in other verses as in verse 53 of Surah Hajj that says:

“WE did not send any apostle or prophet before but that when he recited (the verses) Satan interjected (his words) in his recitation. God dispels whatever Satan has infused. Then God confirms His signs and God is all-knowing, all wise.”

We also see these days when something is said for the benefit of man then in the crowd there are people with diseased hearts and they keep interrupting the preaching of that orator and create satanic interpretations of his words.

It is actually the test of the people present. Those with diseased hearts renege from belief while the belief is strengthened in the hearts of the true believers about the truthfulness of the apostles of God. They are attached to their invitation. Verse 54 of Surah Hajj:

“That those bestowed with knowledge may know that it is the truth from you Lord, and they may believe in it and their hearts may be humbled before him. Indeed God guides those who believe in the straight path.”

But the interpretation of this verse as per the last des c r i p tion is not without doubt because the satanic interjections in the hearts of the Apostles are immediately eradicated.

 So it is not possible that it is a test for the disbelievers with diseased hearts who are epitome of the external existence of these doubts. And if this is so then such doubts will found in the souls of the apostles.

Moreover if we say that this means that when the apostles desire to inherit (their wishes) in their existence and implement them externally then Satan obstructs them through his doubts. This is the moment of their test. According to this the three verses are safely and continually interlinked (Verses 52, 53 and 54 of Surah Hajj)

It is surprising that some commentators have interrelated the first verse in various ways without linking it to the other two verses (Reflect deeply). We drive a conclusion in all such situation that the existence of these verses does not deny the infallibility and chastity of the apostles. But on the contrary it stresses on this issue because it says that God protects His apostles from the interjections of the Satan when they receive the revelation and also when they are busy in their mission.

It is now necessary to study the hadiths that have been written and recorded about this so that these human representative can be refuted who have termed these verses as “Satanic Verses” in the hope of creating doubts and mischief about the Prophet. We will try to discern importance of such hadiths and words.

1. Gharaneeq is the plural of “Ghurnuq” and it is a bird which stays in the water and is white or black in color and it has other meanings also. (Qamoos-ol-Loghat)

2. The elder and famous commentators have all quoted this hadith with slight difference.

3.The poetic verse is: “Tamanna Kitaballahi Awwala Layla; WA akhiru ha Laqa hammamil maqadir” The “Tamanna “mentioned here is the recitation of the book (Taji Uroos and Qamoos). It is also quoted by Zahri that “Amaniyat” means recitation but Qaari hopes for the mercy of God when he recites. When he reaches the verse where the chastisement is mentioned he hopes for salvation but the author of Maqayis-ol-Loghat says that this word means recitation and is one of the kinds of conjecture and by placing every verse in its proper place.

4.Tafsir Kabeer vol.23 page 51.