Surah Ash-Shu'ara — Verse 223

Word Meanings:

• يُلْقُونَ السَّمْعَ (They cast the hearing): They convey what they have secretly overheard from the celestial realm (the angels) to their human associates among the soothsayers and fortune-tellers.
• وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ كَاذِبُونَ (And most of them are liars): The majority of those who receive and transmit such information are fabricators, mixing truth with abundant falsehood.

Explanation of the Verse:

This verse continues the description of the devils and their activities, following the previous verse which stated that they descend upon every sinful liar. Here, Allah clarifies their method: the devils strain to overhear fragments of conversation from the higher celestial realm—the angels—and then cast these snatched pieces of information down to their human allies, the soothsayers and fortune-tellers. However, the key point is that most of these soothsayers are liars. Even if they happen to catch a single true word from the heavens, they embellish it with over a hundred lies of their own invention. They take a kernel of truth and wrap it in layers of deception, misleading people who are unaware of their trickery.

This verse serves as a powerful warning: the sources of unseen knowledge are not the devils or their human agents, but rather Allah alone, who reveals His knowledge to His chosen messengers. The soothsayers' claims to know the unseen are built on shaky foundations—stolen whispers mixed with rampant fabrication.

A Call to Reflection and Faith:

Dear reader, reflect on the wisdom of this divine revelation. Allah, in His infinite mercy, has exposed the falsehood of those who claim knowledge of the unseen through demonic means. He has protected His final revelation, the Qur'an, from any satanic interference, as He says elsewhere: *"And indeed, it is a revelation of the Lord of the worlds. The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart, [O Muhammad]—that you may be of the warners—in a clear Arabic language. And indeed, it is in the scriptures of the former peoples."* (26:192-196).

This verse invites you to place your trust solely in Allah and His Book, which is pure, untainted, and free from any falsehood. It also urges you to be cautious of those who claim to know the hidden—whether through astrology, fortune-telling, or any other means—for their knowledge is nothing but stolen whispers mixed with lies. The Qur'an, by contrast, is a light that guides to the straight path, a mercy for all humanity, and a criterion between truth and falsehood. Embrace it, and you will find peace, certainty, and salvation in this life and the Hereafter.