15. Surah Al Hijr
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَقَدْ
خَلَقْنَا
الإِنسَانَ
مِن صَلْصَالٍ
مِّنْ حَمَإٍ
مَّسْنُونٍ ﴿٢٦﴾
15: 26. We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape;
C1966. Salsal.- dry clay which produces a sound, like pottery. Cf. 55:14.
Taking verses 26 and 29 together, I understand the meaning to be:
- that man's body was formed from wet clay molded into shape and then dried until it could emit sound;
- that it was then further fashioned and completed;
- that into the animal form thus fashioned was breathed the spirit from Allah, which gave it a superiority over other Creation: and
- that the order for obeisance was then given.
وَالْجَآنَّ
خَلَقْنَاهُ
مِن قَبْلُ مِن
نَّارِ السَّمُومِ ﴿٢٧﴾
15: 27. And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind.
C1967. Cf. 6:100 and .
Hidden or invisible forces are aptly typified as arising "from the fire of scorching winds."
وَإِذْ
قَالَ رَبُّكَ
لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ
إِنِّي خَالِقٌ
بَشَرًا مِّن
صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ
حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ ﴿٢٨﴾
15: 28. Behold! thy Lord said to the angels:
"I am about to create man, from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape;
فَإِذَا
سَوَّيْتُهُ
وَنَفَخْتُ
فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي
فَقَعُواْ لَهُ
سَاجِدِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾
15: 29. "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him."
C1968. Among other passages where the creation of Adam is referred to, cf. the following;
Note that here the emphasis is on three points:
1. the breathing from Allah's spirit into man i.e., the faculty of God-like knowledge and will, which, if rightly used, would give man superiority over other creatures:
2. the origin of evil in arrogance and jealousy on the part of Satan, who saw only the lower side of man (his clay) and failed to see the higher side, the faculty brought in from the spirit of Allah;
3. that this evil only touches those who yield to it, and has no power over Allah's sincere servants, purified by His grace (15:40, 42).
Adam is not here mentioned by name, but only Man, whose symbol is Adam.
فَسَجَدَ
الْمَلآئِكَةُ
كُلُّهُمْ
أَجْمَعُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾
15: 30. So the angels prostrated themselves all of them together:
15: 31. Not so
C1969. Cf. n. 49 to 2:34.
... إِبْلِيسَ...
Iblis:
C1970. lblis: the name has in it the root-idea of desperateness or rebellion.
Cf. n. 52 to 2:36.
...أَبَى أَن يَكُونَ مَعَ السَّاجِدِينَ ﴿٣١﴾
he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.
C1971. Apparently Iblis's arrogance had two grounds:
- that man was made of clay while he was made of fire;
- that he did not wish to do what others did.
Both grounds were false;
- because man had the spirit of Allah breathed into him;
- because contempt of the angels who obeyed Allah's words showed not Iblis's superiority but his inferiority.
The word "bashar" for man (verse 33) suggests a gross physical body.
قَالَ
يَا إِبْلِيسُ
مَا لَكَ أَلاَّ
تَكُونَ مَعَ
السَّاجِدِينَ ﴿٣٢﴾
15: 32. (Allah) said: "O Iblis! what is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves?"
قَالَ
لَمْ أَكُن
لِّأَسْجُدَ
لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُ
مِن صَلْصَالٍ
مِّنْ حَمَإٍ
مَّسْنُونٍ ﴿٣٣﴾
15: 33. (Iblis) said:
"I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape."
قَالَ
فَاخْرُجْ
مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ
رَجِيمٌ ﴿٣٤﴾
15: 34. (Allah) said:
"Then get thee out from here;
for thou art rejected, accursed.
وَإِنَّ
عَلَيْكَ اللَّعْنَةَ
إِلَى يَوْمِ
الدِّينِ ﴿٣٥﴾
15: 35. "And the Curse shall be on thee till the Day of Judgment."
C1972. After the Day of Judgment the whole constitution of the universe will be different. There will be a new world altogether, on a wholly different plane. (Cf. 21:104).
قَالَ
رَبِّ فَأَنظِرْنِي
إِلَى يَوْمِ
يُبْعَثُونَ ﴿٣٦﴾
15: 36. (Iblis) said: "O my Lord! give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised."
C1973. What was this respite?
The curse on Iblis remained, i.e. he was deprived of Allah's grace and became in the spiritual world what an outlaw is in a political kingdom. An earthly kingdom may not be able to catch and destroy an outlaw. But Allah is Omnipotent, and such power as Iblis may have can only come through the respite granted by Allah. The respite then is what is expressed in 15:39 below.
In Allah's grant of limited free-will to man is implied the faculty of choosing between good and evil, and the faculty is exercised through the temptations and allurements put forward by Satan, "the open enemy" of man. This is for the period of man's probation on this earth.
Even so, no temptations have power over the sincere worshippers of Allah, who are purified by His grace.
قَالَ
فَإِنَّكَ مِنَ
الْمُنظَرِينَ ﴿٣٧﴾
15: 37. (Allah) said:
"Respite is granted thee --
إِلَى
يَومِ الْوَقْتِ
الْمَعْلُومِ ﴿٣٨﴾
15: 38. "Till the Day of the Time Appointed."
قَالَ
رَبِّ بِمَآ
أَغْوَيْتَنِي
لأُزَيِّنَنَّ
لَهُمْ فِي
الأَرْضِ...
15: 39. (Iblis) said:
"O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth,
C1974. Agwaitani: 'thrown me out of the way, put me in the wrong': Cf. 7:16.
Satan cannot be straight or truthful even before Allah. By his own arrogance and rebellion he fell; he attributes this to Allah. Between Allah's righteous judgment and Satan's snares and temptations there cannot be the remotest comparison. Yet he presumes to put them on an equal footing. He is taking advantage of the respite.
...وَلأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿٣٩﴾
and I will put them all in the wrong --
C1975. Iblis (the Satan) is powerless against Allah. He turns therefore against man and becomes Satan (the Enemy).
إِلاَّ
عِبَادَكَ
مِنْهُمُ
الْمُخْلَصِينَ ﴿٤٠﴾
15: 40. "Except Thy servants among them, sincere and purified (by Thy grace)."
قَالَ
هَذَا صِرَاطٌ
عَلَيَّ مُسْتَقِيمٌ ﴿٤١﴾
15: 41. (Allah) said:
"This (Way of My sincere servants) is indeed a Way that leads straight to Me.
C1976. To be sincere in the worship of Allah is to obtain purification from all stain of evil and exemption from all influence of evil. It changes the whole nature of man. After that, evil cannot touch him. Evil will acknowledge him to be beyond its power and will not even tempt him.
Apart from such purified souls, everyone who worships Allah invites Allah's grace to protect him. But if he puts himself in the way of wrong and deliberately chooses evil, he must take the consequences. The blame is not even on Satan, the power of evil, it is on the sinner himself, who puts himself into his power; 14:22: 15:42.
إِنَّ عِبَادِي
لَيْسَ لَكَ
عَلَيْهِمْ
سُلْطَانٌ...
15: 42. "For over My servants no authority shalt thou have,
...إِلاَّ مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ ﴿٤٢﴾
except such as put themselves in the wrong and follow thee."
15: 26
Asad And, indeed We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted-
Pickthall Verily We created man of potter's clay of black mud altered,
Transliteration Wa laqad khalaqnal insa_na min salsa_lim min hama'im masnu_n(in).
Yuksel’s version Creation of Humans
15:26 We have created the human being from hardened clay of aged mud.*
[Asad note 24: There are many references in the Quran to man’s having been “created out of clay [tin]” or “ out of dust [turab]”, both these terms signifying man’s lowly biological origins as well as the fact that his body is composed of various organic and inorganic substances existing – in other combination or in their elementary forms – on or in the earth. The term “salsal, occurring in three verses of this surah as well as in 55:14, adds a further dimension to this concept. Accordin to most of the philological authorities, it denotes “dried clay that emits a sound” [i.e. when it is struck]; and since it is used in the Quran exclusively with reference to the creation of man, it seems to contain an allusion to the power of articulate speech which distinguishes man from all other animal species, as well as to the brittleness of his existence…………………….As the construction of the sentence shows, this, “salsal” is stated to have evolved [Razi] out of hama” – which according to some authorities, is the plural of ham’ah, signifying “dark, fetid mud” or “dark slime” – while the participial adjective ‘masnun’ which qualifies this noun denotes, as Razi points out, both “altered” [i.e. in its composition] and “brought into shape”: hence my rendering of this expression as “transmuted”, which to some extent combines both of the above meanings.
To my mind, we have here description of the primeval biological environment out of which the sounding clay – the matrix, as it were-of man’s physical body has evolved in accordance with God’s plan of creation.)
[Ruby’s note: Asad’s explanation seems much better than that of Ali’s. Association of potter’s clay or sounding clay seems to refer a type of clay which is sticky, and not that God has created a human like a pottery and then breathed into it His spirit as Ali suggests.]
15: 28
Asad And lo! Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: “Behold, I am about to create mortal man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted;
Pickthall And (remember) when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am creating a mortal out of potter's clay of black mud altered.
Transliteration Wa iz qa_la rabbuka lil mala_'ikati inni kha_liqum basyaram min salsa_lim min hama'im masnu_n(in).
15: 29
Asad and when I have formed him fully and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration!”
Pickthall So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him.
Transliteration Fa iza-stawaituhu_ wa nafakhtu fihi mir ru_hi fa qa'u_ lahu_ sa_jidin(a).
[ Asad’s note 26: Cf. 2:30-34 and the corresponding ntoes, as well as 7:11-18. The allegorical character of all the passages bearing on the creation of man and on God’s command to the angels to prostrate themselves before him is brought out clearly…………. ]
15: 30
Pickthall So the angels fell prostrate, all of them together
Transliteration Fasajadal mala_'ikatu kulluhum ajma'u_n(a),
15: 30
Pickthall So the angels fell prostrate, all of them together
Transliteration Fasajadal mala_'ikatu kulluhum ajma'u_n(a),
15: 31
Pickthall Save Iblis. He refused to be among the prostrate.
Transliteration Illa_ iblis(a), aba_ ay yaku_na ma'as sa_jidin(a).
15: 32
Pickthall He said: O Iblis! What aileth thee that thou art not among the prostrate?
Transliteration Qa_la ya_ iblisu ma_ laka alla_ taku_na ma'as sa_jidin(a).
15: 33
Pickthall He said: Why should I prostrate myself unto a mortal whom Thou hast created out of potter's clay of black mud altered?
Transliteration Qa_la lam akul li'asjuda li basyarin khalaqtahu_ min salsa_lim min hama'im masnu_n(in).
[ Ruby’s note: With this the arrogance of Iblis came out. He may be superior in some aspects of his existence such as a being of energy and being possessing immortality, etc., and with his limited knowledge he focused on those aspects and became arrogant. But in many other aspects and in the whole a human God just created is far superior. And only God knows the full extend of this superiority of human over other beings or creation, and that is why God commanded others to prostrate before human. Prostration is reserved only for God, and through this symbol of prostration God is giving human a God-like status. This idea is critical for human understanding for a correct way of living in this life.
God gives responsibility according to one’s ability and endowment.
God is giving enormous responsibility to human beings, that is why they are God’s vicegerent on earth. It also indicates that life on earth is not going to be easy. See my article of knowledge and human life and responsibility.]
[Ali’s note: 1968 Among other passages where the creation of Adam is referred to, cf. the following; ii. 30-39; vii. 11-25. Note that here the emphasis is on three points: (1) the breathing from Allah's spirit into man i.e., the faculty of God-like knowledge and will, which, if rightly used, would give man superiority over other creatures: (2) the origin of evil in arrogance and jealousy on the part of Satan, who saw only the lower side of man (his clay) and failed to see the higher side, the faculty brought in from the spirit of Allah; (3) that this evil only touches those who yield to it, and has no power over Allah's sincere servants, purified by His grace (xv. 40, 42). Adam is not here mentioned by name, but only Man. (15.29)
15: 34
Pickthall He said: Then go thou forth from hence, for verily thou art outcast.
Transliteration Qa_la fa-khruj minha_ fa innaka rajim(uw),
[ Ruby’s note: The concept of ‘Satan’ may be allegorical. But what it conveys is that in this life God has deliberately put a negative force that is either implanted in human beings as God has put a positive force in human nature, in the true nature. A human has to struggle between these two to make the right choices. But it is clearly indicated here that far superior is the positive force if exercised over the negative. Because that is why Satan would be rendered powerless over the righteous. ]
15: 35
Pickthall And lo! the curse shall be upon thee till the Day of Judgment.
Transliteration Wa inna 'alaikal la'nata ila_ yaumid din(i).
15: 36
Pickthall He said: My Lord! Reprieve me till the day when they are raised.
Transliteration Qa_la rabbi fa anzirni ila_ yaumi yub'asu_n(a).
15: 37
Pickthall He said: Then lo! thou art of those reprieved
Transliteration Qa_la fa innaka minal munzarin(a),
[ Ali’s note 1973: What was this respite? The curse on Iblis remained, i.e. he was deprived of Allah's grace and became in the spiritual world what an outlaw is in a political kingdom. An earthly kingdom may not be able to catch and destroy an outlaw. But Allah is Omnipotent, and such power as Iblis may have can only come through the respite granted by Allah. The respite then is what is expressed in xv. 39 below. In Allah's grant of limited free-will to man is implied the faculty of choosing between good and evil, and the faculty is exercised through the temptations and allurements put forward by Satan, "the open enemy" of man. This is for the period of man's probation on this earth. Even so, no temptations have power over the sincere worshippers of Allah, who are purified by His grace. (15.36)]
15: 38
Pickthall Till an appointed time.
Transliteration Ila_ yaumil waqtil ma'lu_m(i).
15: 39
Pickthall He said: My Lord, Because Thou has sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead them every one.
Transliteration Qa_la rabbi bima_ agwaitani la uzayyinanna lahum fil ardi wa la'ugwiyannahum ajma'in(a),
[ Ruby’s note: I think these are all allegorical statements to convey deeper meaning of creation and purpose: Here the question is that Iblis previously belonging to the category of angels, why he rebelled? Why? If angles do not possess will, how come Iblis willed differently? The angels also questioned God regarding the creation of human who would do mischief on earth? But anyway even if Iblis rebelled, knowing God and talking to God directly face to face, and knowing that he himself has done a mistake before God, should have been repented and fearful. Instead Iblis why he asked permission to do more evil, more wrong ? A being who is immortal and who knows God, cannot possibly ask for more evil because he knows very well that there is a consequence to pay later. He instead should have been extremely fearful and repented and would try to atone and make-up for it. All these make no sense unless these are allegorical.
And through these allegories, I believe God is conveying inner truth to humans: that it is God who has set the parameters of good and bad. It is God who has the prerogative to choose and set certain set of laws instead of others. The concept of good and evil is set my God based on what He has created and what He Wills.
Iblis here is embodiment of rebellion, arrogance, and mischief these God has set as evil and cursed. God is conveying through these stories that even a virtue can be turned into vice if not exercised right. And continuing on to the path of the arrogance and rebellion, one accrues more and more wrongs and evils until the soul is dead and cannot receive anymore light. ]
15: 40
Pickthall Save such of them as are Thy perfectly devoted slaves.
Transliteration Illa_ 'iba_daka minhumul mukhlasin(a).
15: 41
Pickthall He said: This is a right course incumbent upon Me:
Transliteration Qa_la ha_za_ sira_tun 'alayya mustaqim(un).
15: 42
Pickthall Lo! as for My slaves, thou hast no power over any of them save such of the froward as follow thee,
Transliteration Inna 'iba_di laisa laka 'alaihim sulta_nun illa_ man-ittaba'aka minal ga_win(a).