وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا مَا حَوْلَكُمْ مِنَ الْقُرَى وَصَرَّفْنَا الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿۲۷﴾ فَلَوْلَا نَصَرَهُمُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ قُرْبَانًا آلِهَةً بَلْ ضَلُّوا عَنْهُمْ وَذَلِكَ إِفْكُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ ﴿۲۸﴾ وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَا إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقُرْآنَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوا أَنْصِتُوا فَلَمَّا قُضِيَ وَلَّوْا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ مُنْذِرِينَ ﴿۲۹﴾

﴾27﴿ Wa laqad ahlaknaa ma hawlakum minal quraa wa sarrafnal Aayaati la'allahum yarji'oon
﴾28﴿ Falaw laa nasarahumul lazeenat takhazoo min doonil laahi qurbaanan aalihatam bal dalloo 'anhum' wa zaalika ifkuhum wa maa kaanoo yaftaroon
﴾29﴿ Wa iz sarafinaaa ilaika nafaram minal jinni yastami'oonal Quraana falammaa hadaroohu qaalooo ansitoo falammaa qudiya wallaw ilaa qawmihim munzireen

﴾27﴿ And surely, We destroyed many towns around you, and We varied the signs so that they might return (from falsehood)
﴾28﴿ So why did those whom they had taken as gods besides Allah, as a means of nearness (to Him), not help them? Rather, they abandoned them. And this was their falsehood and what they had fabricated5
﴾29﴿ And when We directed a group of jinn toward you, listening to the Qur’an, then when they came near, they said (to one another), Be silent and listen. Then when it was finished, they returned to their people as warners

[27] This is a warning of the Hereafter presented in a general manner.
(Mā ḥawlakum mina al-qurā)—refers to the events of the people of Thamūd, the people of Lūṭ (peace be upon him), and the people of Madyan. These nations lived near the people of Ḥijāz.
[28] This is a refutation of shirk (polytheism), connected to the previous event, and it serves as a response to the doubt of the polytheists—who say, “We call upon our father, or Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir, etc., because through their blessing our calamities and misfortunes are repelled.”
The essence of the reply is: the previous polytheists (like the people of ‘Ād, etc.) did the same. But when punishment came upon them, their gods did not help them.
(Qurbānā)—refers to anything by which one seeks nearness to Allah the Exalted.
So the polytheists made saints and elders into intermediaries to draw near to Allah—similar to what was mentioned in Sūrat al-Zumar (verse 3).
(Ifkuhum)—means their turning away from tawḥīd (monotheism).
Dhālika refers to the misguidance of their gods.
In (ifkuhum), the iḍāfah (possessive connection) is implied—meaning: “the result or effect of their turning away from truth.”
[29] This is a transmitted proof from the jinn to affirm the truthfulness of the Prophet and the Qur’an.
It also contains consolation for the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and it highlights the method of da‘wah (calling to Islam): first comes the knowledge of the Qur’an, then the call to the Qur’an, and finally the call to obey and respond to the Messenger.
This incident occurred during the Prophet’s journey to Ṭā’if, when he was reciting the Qur’an in the valley of Naḥlah, and the jinn heard it.
Or, it refers to the Prophet’s invitation to the jinn on the night known as Laylat al-Jinn.
The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) appointed these jinn as callers to their own people.
(Nafaran)—They were either seven or nine in number, some from Najrān, some from Naṣībīn.
(Wallaw ilā qawmihim mundhirīn)—They immediately returned to their people with the intention of warning them.
This is an etiquette and principle for anyone who gains knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah: he should then convey it to his own people.