َ مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ﴿۴﴾ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ﴿۵﴾ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ ﴿۶﴾

﴾4﴿ Min sharril waswaasil khannaas
﴾5﴿ Allazee yuwaswisu fee sudoorin naas
﴾6﴿ Minal jinnati wannaas9

﴾4﴿ From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws
﴾5﴿ The one who whispers into the hearts of mankind
﴾6﴿ From among the jinn and mankind

[4] In this verse, the one from whom refuge is sought (مستعاذمنه) is mentioned, along with three of its attributes:
1. (الْوَسْوَاسِ) – "The Whisperer": In common usage, "whispering" refers to the secret instillation of evil into the soul, either through a hidden voice that only the one being whispered to hears or without a voice at all. This whispering can come from one's own soul, from the jinn, or from humans. If the secret instillation is of good rather than evil, it is called "inspiration" (الهام).
2. (الْخَنَّاسِ) – "The Withdrawer": This word is derived from "خنس", meaning to retreat and hide after appearing. According to a narration from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), the devil sits crouched over a human's heart; when the person becomes heedless, the devil whispers evil to them, but when the person remembers Allah, the devil withdraws and hides. This attribute subtly indicates that Shaytan is fundamentally weak because he is unable to stand against the remembrance of Allah.
[5] This is the third attribute mentioned.
(Question): This attribute seems similar to the first one, so why is it mentioned again?
(Answer): The first mention refers merely to whispering evil, while this second mention specifies the place where the whispering occurs—the chests of people (فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ).
(Question): Isn't it well known from narrations and common understanding that whispers enter the heart? Why then is the chest mentioned here instead of the heart?
(Answer): The chest is the gateway to the heart. The heart is specifically reserved for the remembrance of Allah, and Shaytan does not have the ability to directly enter it. Instead, he whispers from the chest, attempting to influence the heart. There are two possible meanings of (فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ):
1. Literal meaning: It refers to the physical location of whispering, indicating that both human and jinn devils strive to influence the heart of a person.
2. Figurative meaning: It refers to faith and beliefs, meaning that Shaytan focuses his whispers first on corrupting beliefs—leading people to disbelief and polytheism. Once their faith is ruined, all their good deeds become void. Thus, the phrase (الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ) after (الْوَسْوَاسِ) is an example of specification after generalization, emphasizing how Shaytan strategically manipulates a person’s thoughts and beliefs.
[6] This explanation clarifies (الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ)—that the whisperers are of two types:
1. Jinn
2. Humans
This is supported by Surah Al-An’am (6:112): "And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy—devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring one another with decorative speech in delusion." The whispering of human devils reaches the heart through the ears, as they speak and manipulate thoughts through direct communication. The whispering of jinn devils happens in multiple ways: Sometimes, they enter a person’s body and whisper into their chest. Sometimes, they take the form of a human and whisper into the person’s ears. As mentioned in an authentic hadith, Shaytan eavesdrops on the speech of angels, then conveys some of that information to fortune tellers, mixing it with a hundred lies.