Waakhareena muqarraneena fee al-asfad (surah Sad: 38)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(38:38) and others that were bound with chains. *38

Wa aakhareena muqarraneena fil asfaad

*38) For explanation, see Al-Anbiya': 82, An-Naml: 17, 39 and the E.N.'s thereof. "The satans" imply the jinns, and "the satans bound in chains" imply the serving satans, who were fettered and imprisoned as a punishment for making mischief. It is not necessary that the fetters and chains in which those satans were bound might be made of iron and they might appear as bound in them like the human prisoners. In any case, they were imprisoned in a manner that they could neither escape nor were able to commit further mischief.