Quran Universe
26:211

وَمَا يَنۢبَغِي لَهُمۡ وَمَا يَسۡتَطِيعُونَ

Wama yanbaghee lahum wama yastateeAAoona

It is not allowable for them, nor would they be able.

Word by word
  1. وَمَاAnd not
  2. يَنۢبَغِي(it) suits
  3. لَهُمۡ[for] them
  4. وَمَاand not
  5. يَسۡتَطِيعُونَthey are able
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:211Makkah

It would not suit them, and they could not.

Two reasons the devils are not its source

Why not the devils
would not suit themtheir nature is to misguide
not ableeven if they wanted
because
its weighta mountain would humble itself
What its content proves
words are just words
guidance shows its sourcedevils never call to good

Ibn Kathir explains: it would not suit them, because the Quran enjoins what is right and forbids what is evil, the opposite of what devils want. And they are not able: had it been sent on a mountain, the mountain would have humbled itself from fear of Allah.

You read one verse and feel pulled to call your mother, forgive a friend, give in charity. That pull toward good tells you where those words came from.

I cannot tell where any message really comes from.

Words that pull me toward good and away from harm carry the mark of their source.

Try this

Read one verse today and do the good it points you toward.

Related59:21
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:210)

And it is not the Shayatin (devils) who have brought it down (210)Neither would it suit them nor are they able (211)Verily, they have been removed far from hearing it (212)

The Qur'an Was Brought Down by Jibril, Not Shaytan

Allah tells us about His Book, which falsehood cannot approach from before or behind it, sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise. He states that it has been brought down by the trustworthy Ruh (i.e., Jibril) who is helped by Allah,

وَمَا تَنَزَّلَتْ بِهِ الشَّيَاطِينُ

(And it is not the Shayatin who have brought it down.) Then He tells us that it could not be the case for three reasons that the Shayatin brought it down. One is that it would not suit them, i.e., they have no desire to do so and they do not want to, because their nature is to corrupt and misguide people, but this contains words enjoining what is right and forbidding what is evil, and light, guidance and mighty proofs. There is a big difference between this and the Shayatin, Allah says:

وَمَا يَنبَغِي لَهُمْ

(Neither would it suit them)

وَمَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ

(nor are they able.) meaning, even if they wanted to, they could not do it. Allah says:

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ

(Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah)(59:21).

Then Allah explains that even if they wanted to and were able to bear it and convey it, they still would not be able to achieve that, because they were prevented from hearing the Qur'an when it was brought down, for the heavens were filled with guardians and shooting stars at the time when the Qur'an was being revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so none of the Shayatin could hear even one letter of it, lest there be any confusion in the matter. This is a part of Allah's mercy towards His servants, protection of His Laws, and support for His Book and His Messenger ﷺ. Allah says:

إِنَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّمْعِ لَمَعْزُولُونَ

(Verily, they have been removed far from hearing it.) This is like what Allah tells us about the Jinn:

وَأَنَّا لَمَسْنَا السَّمَاءَ فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مُلِئَتْ حَرَسًا شَدِيدًا وَشُهُبًا - وَأَنَّا كُنَّا نَقْعُدُ مِنْهَا مَقَاعِدَ لِلسَّمْعِ ۖ فَمَن يَسْتَمِعِ الْآنَ يَجِدْ لَهُ شِهَابًا رَّصَدًا

(And we have sought to reach the heaven; but found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires. And verily, we used to sit there in stations, to (steal) a hearing, but any who listens now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush.) until;

أَمْ أَرَادَ بِهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ رَشَدًا

(or whether their Lord intends for them a right path)[72:8-10].