Story of Iblis
7. Sura al-Araf, Mecca 39
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَلَقَدْ
خَلَقْنَاكُمْ
ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ
...
7: 11. It is We who created you and gave you shape;
C996. Shape or form must be interpreted not only to refer to the physical form, which changes day by day, but also the various forms or shapes which our ideal and spiritual existence may take from time to time according to our inner experience; Cf. 82:8.
It was after Adam (as standing for all mankind) had been so taught that the angels were asked to prostrate to him, for, by Allah's grace, his status had actually been raised higher.
Note the transition from "you" (plural) in the first clause to "Adam" in the second clause: Adam and mankind are synonymous: the plural is reverted to in 7:14, 16-18. (R).
... ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلآئِكَةِ اسْجُدُواْ لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُواْ إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ...
then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis;
...لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ السَّاجِدِينَ ﴿١١﴾
he refused to be of those who bow down.
C997. Iblis not only refused to bow down: he refused to be of those who prostrated.
In other words he arrogantly despised the angels who prostrated as well as man to whom they prostrated and he was in rebellion against Allah for not obeying His order.
Arrogance, jealousy, and rebellion were his triple crime.
قَالَ
مَا مَنَعَكَ
أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَ
إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ...
7: 12. (Allah) said: "What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?"
...قَالَ أَنَاْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ...
He said:
"I am better than he:
...خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ ﴿١٢﴾
thou didst create me from fire and him from clay."
C998. Notice the subtle wiles of Iblis: his egotism in putting himself above man, and his falsehood in ignoring the fact that Allah had not merely made man's body from clay, but had given him spiritual form, - in other words, had taught him the nature of things and raised him above the angels.
قَالَ
فَاهْبِطْ
مِنْهَا فَمَا
يَكُونُ لَكَ
أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ
فِيهَا ...
7: 13. (Allah) said:
"Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here:
C999. "This": the situation as it was then- a rebellious creature impertinent to His Creator. At every step Iblis falls lower;
- arrogance,
- jealousy,
- disobedience,
- egotism and
- untruth.
...فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ ﴿١٣﴾
get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)."
قَالَ
فَأَنظِرْنِي
إِلَى يَوْمِ
يُبْعَثُونَ
﴿١٤﴾
7: 14. He said: "Give me respite till the day they are raised up."
قَالَ
إِنَّكَ مِنَ
المُنظَرِينَ
﴿١٥﴾
7: 15. (Allah) said: "Be thou among those who have respite."
C1000. Are there others under respite?
Yes, Iblis has a large army of wicked seducers, and those men who are their dupes. For though degradation takes effect at once, its appearance may be long delayed.
قَالَ
فَبِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي
لأَقْعُدَنَّ
لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ
الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
﴿١٦﴾
7: 16. He said:
"Because Thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on Thy straight way.
C1001. Another instance of Iblis's subtlety and falsehood.
He waits till he gets the respite. Then he breaks out into a lie and impertinent defiance.
- The lie is in suggesting that Allah had thrown him out of the Way, in other words misled him: whereas his own conduct was responsible for his degradation.
- The defiance is in his setting snares on the Straight Way to which Allah directs men.
Iblis now falls a step lower than the five steps mentioned in n. 999. His sixth step is defiance.
فَوَسْوَسَ
لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ
...
7: 20. Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them,
C1005. The transition from the name "Iblis" to the name "Satan" is similar to that in 2:36, where it is explained in n. 52.
... لِيُبْدِيَ لَهُمَا مَا وُورِيَ عَنْهُمَا مِن سَوْءَاتِهِمَا...
bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before):
C1006. Our first parents as created by Allah (and this applies to all of us) were innocent in matters material as well as spiritual. They knew no evil. But the faculty of choice, which was given to them and which raised them above the angels, also implied that they had the capacity of evil, which by the training of their own will, they were to reject.
They were warned of the danger. When they fell, they realized the evil. They were (and we are) still given the chance, in this life on a lower plane, to make good and recover the lost status of innocence and bliss.
...وَقَالَ مَا نَهَاكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَـذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ...
he said
"Your Lord only forbade you this tree,
...إِلاَّ أَن تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ الْخَالِدِينَ ﴿٢٠﴾
lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever."
وَقَاسَمَهُمَا
إِنِّي لَكُمَا
لَمِنَ النَّاصِحِينَ
﴿٢١﴾
7: 21. And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser.
Asad’s Version:
7: 11 Yea, indeed, We have created you, and then formed you; and then We said unto the angels, “Prostrate yourselves before Adam!” – WHEREUPON they prostrated themselves, save Iblis : he was not among those who prostrated themselves.
7: 12 [And God] said: “What has kept you from prostrating yourself when I commanded you?”
Answered [Iblis] : “I am better than he: You have created me out of fire, whereas him You have created out of clay.”
7: 13 [God] said: “Down with you, then, from this [state] – for it is not meet for you
to show arrogance here! Go forth, then: verily, among the humiliated shall you be!”
7: 14 Said [Iblis] : “Grant me a respite till the Day when all shall be raised from the dead.”
7: 15 [And God] replied: “Verily, you shall be among those who are granted a respite.”
7: 16 [Whereupon Iblis ] said: ‘Now that You have thwarted me, I shall most certainly lie in ambush for them all along your Straight way, and shall most certainly fall upon the openly as well as in a manner beyond their ken, and from their right and from their left:
and most of them You will find ungrateful.”
7: 20 Thereupon Stan whispered unto the two with a view to making them conscious of their nakedness, of which they had been unaware; and he said: “Your Sustainer has but forbidden you this tree lest you two become angels, or lest you live forever.”
7: 21 And he swore unto them, ‘Verily, I am of those who wish you well indeed!” and thus he led them on with deluding thoughts. But as soon as the two had tasted [the fruit] of the tree, they became conscious of their nakedness; and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And their Sustainer called unto them: “Did I not forbid that tree unto you and tell you, ‘Verily, Satan is your open foe?”
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18. Surah al-Kahf, Mecca 69
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا
لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ
اسْجُدُوا
لِآدَمَ ...
18: 50. Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam":
C2392. Cf. 2:34, where the story is told of the fall of mankind through Adam.
Here the point is referred to in order to bring home the individual responsibility of the erring soul.
Iblis is your enemy; you have been told his history; will you prefer to go to him rather than to the merciful Allah, your Creator and Cherisher?
What a false exchange you would make!'
... فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ...
they bowed down except Iblis.
... كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ...
He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord.
C2393. Cf. 6:100, .
... أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاء مِن دُونِي ...
Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me?
C2394. Satan's progeny: we need not take the epithet only in a literal sense.
All his followers are also his progeny. (R).
... وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ...
And they are enemies to you!
... بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلًا ﴿٥٠﴾
Evil would be the exchange for the wrongdoers!
C2395. Out of the limited free-will that man has, if he were to choose Evil instead of Good, Satan instead of Allah, what a dreadful choice it would be!
It would really be an evil exchange. For man is Allah's creature, cared for and cherished by Him. He abandons his Cherisher to become the slave of his enemy!
18: 50
Asad …….save Iblis: he [too] was one of those invisible beings, but then he turned away from his Sustainer’s command.
Pickthall And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the Jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord's command. Will ye choose him and his seed for your protecting friends instead of Me, when they are an enemy unto you? Calamitous is the exchange for evil doers!
Transliteration Wa iz qulna_ lil mala_'ikati-sjudu_ li'a_dama fasajadu_ illa_ iblis(a), ka_na minal jinni fafasaqa 'an amri rabbih(i), afatattakhizu_nahu_ wa zurriyyatahu_ auliya_'a min du_ni wa hum lakum 'aduww(un), bi'sa liz za_limina badala_(n).
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38. Surah Sad [88 verses]
Mecca Period 38
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
38: 74. Not so Iblis:
... اسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنْ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٧٤﴾
he was haughty, and became one of those who reject Faith.
C4228. Arrogance (self-love) is thus the root of Evil and of Unfaith.
قَالَ
يَا إِبْلِيسُ
مَا مَنَعَكَ
أَن تَسْجُدَ
لِمَا خَلَقْتُ
بِيَدَيَّ...
38: 75. (Allah) said:
"O Iblis!
what prevents thee from prostrating thyself to one whom I have created with My hands?
C4229. Man, as typified by Adam, is in himself nothing but frail clay. But as fashioned by Allah's creative power into something with Allah's spirit breathed into him, his dignity is raised above that of the highest creatures.
... أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ الْعَالِينَ ﴿٧٥﴾
Art thou haughty?
Or art thou one of the high (and mighty) ones?"
C4230. If, then, Satan refuses, it is a rebellion against Allah. It arises from arrogance or haughtiness, an exaggerated idea of Self.
Or, it is asked, are you really sufficiently high in rank to dispute with the Almighty?
Of course he was not.
38: 76. (Iblis) said:
"I am better than he:
... خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ ﴿٧٦﴾
Thou createdst me from fire, and him Thou createdst from clay."
قَالَ
فَاخْرُجْ
مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ
رَجِيمٌ ﴿٧٧﴾
38: 77. (Allah) said:
"Then get thee out from here: for thou art rejected, accursed.
Asad’s Version:
(38:74) save Iblis: he gloried in his arrogance, and [thus] became one of those who deny the truth. 57
38:75 Said He: "O Iblis! What has kept thee from prostrating thyself before that [being] which I have created with My hands? 58 Art thou too proud [to bow down before another created being], or art thou of those who think [only] of themselves as high?" 5 '
38:76 Answered [Iblis): "I am better than he: Thou hast created me out of fire,' whereas him Thou hast created out of clay."
38:77 Said He: "Go forth, then, from this [angelic state] - for, behold, thou art henceforth accursed,