The Qu'ranic verse

7:179 wa laqad dhara’naa li jahannama kathiyram minal jinni wal insi lahum quluubul laa yafqahuuna bihaa wa lahum a’Åyunul laa yubSiruuna bihaa wa lahum aadhaanul laa yasma’UUna bihaa* ulaaika kal an’AAmi balhum aDall* ulaaika humul gaafiluun

The Translations

Ahmed Raza Khan: Mohammed Aqib Qadri: And indeed We have created many jinns and men for hell; they have hearts in which there is no understanding; and the eyes they do not see with; and the ears they do not hear with; they are like cattle - in fact more astray; it is they who are the neglectful.

Yusuf Ali: Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning).

Pickthal: Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.

The Background

This verse comes from Chapter 7 of the Noble Qu'ran called Al-A'raf or "The Heights". This is a chapter that was revealed in Mecca and is named after the heights of the barrier which will divide the righteous from the damned on the Day of Judgement.

The chapter begins by addressing the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, reassuring him about his revelations and closes by emphasizing the fact that he merely repeats what is revealed to him. It warns the disbelievers of their fate via various stories of disobedient civilisations of the past, in the hope that they may take heed and repent before it is too late. Both subjects also serve to give encouragement to the Prophet and the believers.

The Relevance to events in the book

The passage was selected for the book due firstly for its direct references to Jinn, Mankind and Jahannam (Hell). This establishes that Jinn are a species created by God and given the same free will that he has given Mankind. It also confirms that many of the Jinn and Mankind have been created by God for Jahannam (Hell).

Secondly, it emphasizes that although the Jinn and Mankind have all the faculties of reason and perception, some have so deadened them that those faculties no longer function as they were intended. As a result these individuals are destined to go headlong into Jahannam (Hell). They are as it were, made for Hell.