َ وَأَنَّا لَا نَدْرِي أَشَرٌّ أُرِيدَ بِمَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ أَرَادَ بِهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ رَشَدًا ﴿۱۰﴾ وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنَّا دُونَ ذَلِكَ كُنَّا طَرَائِقَ قِدَدًا ﴿۱۱﴾ وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّا أَنْ لَنْ نُعْجِزَ اللَّهَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَنْ نُعْجِزَهُ هَرَبًا ﴿۱۲﴾

﴾10﴿ Wa annaa laa nadreee asharrun ureeda biman fil ardi 'am 'araada bihim rabbuhum rashada
﴾11﴿ Wa annaa minnas saalihoona wa minnaa doona zaalika kunnaa taraaa'iqa qidada
﴾12﴿ Wa annaa zanan naaa al lan nu'jizal laaha fil ardi wa lan nu'jizahoo haraba

﴾10﴿ And indeed, we did not know whether evil was intended for those on earth, or whether their Lord intended to guide them to the truth
﴾11﴿ And indeed, among us are the righteous, and among us are others who are not; we have always been groups following different paths
﴾12﴿ And indeed, we have become certain that we can never frustrate Allah on earth, nor can we escape Him by fleeing

[10] The word sharr refers to punishment, and rushdan refers to the sending of a messenger.
The jinn, seeing themselves barred from the heavens, wondered whether this meant a punishment was coming, or that a prophet had been sent.
Another interpretation is that sharr refers to people falling into disbelief, and rushd refers to their coming to faith—meaning the barring of the jinn could be tied to either the rejection of the message or the acceptance of it.
(Lā nadrī) – This is proof that the jinn do not have knowledge of the unseen.
[11] This also describes the condition of the jinn before hearing the Qur’an—meaning, not all of them were disbelievers.
Just like humans, there were many different groups among them: some were Muslims, some Jews, some Christians, and some Magians.
It is narrated from Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that among them are also groups like Qadariyyah, Murji’ah, Khawārij, Rāfiḍah, Shī‘ah, Sunnis, and others.
(Wa minnā dūna dhālik) – The term ṣāliḥūn refers to the believers, and dūna dhālik refers either to the disbelievers and polytheists, or to the sinful among the believers.
[12] This describes their state after hearing the Qur’an—or possibly the state of those among them who were already believers before hearing it, since some had believed in the Torah, as mentioned in Sūrah al-Aḥqāf (46:30).
(Ẓannanā) – The word ẓann is shared between meanings: sometimes it means doubt, sometimes assumption, and sometimes certainty. If it means knowledge and conviction here, then that is what is intended.
It means that through reflection and reasoning—or from belief in the Torah or through hearing the Qur’an—they became certain that they are powerless, and only Allah the Exalted is capable of everything.
(Haraban) – Refers to fleeing toward the sky. If understood in contrast with fī al-arḍ (on earth), then the comparison is sound.
Alternatively, fī al-arḍ may refer to dwelling or residing, while harab may mean running on the earth. In either case, the meaning holds: there is no escape from the power of Allah in any condition.