๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง
Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR
In the Name of Allah, the Companionate, the Merciful
The Holy Quran has talked about Iblis(Satan) as a physical being made of fire. He is portrayed as a rebellious creature, basking in glory of the matter he was made of and showing arrogance to man, who was made of clay. To Satanโs mind, fire is far superior to clay because it can destroy clay with its power.
The cause of his rebellion against God was the high regard in which God had held Adam when He created him and for his forthcoming role on earth, especially when God ordered the angels to prostrate themselves to Adam. As the Quran implies, Satan was part of the angelic group.
The Quran keeps showing pictures that depict the dialogue with Satan to make clear the grudge this creature holds against man. He asked God to grant him immortal status in this life, so that he could concentrate on his vendetta against man.
In so doing, he wants to topple man from the lofty station God had put him in and rouse in him the struggle between good and evil. He spares no effort in tempting man to incline towards doing what would in the end spell disaster for his being, by dampening down manโs spirit and his position vis-ร -vis God.
Through the dialogue, the Holy Quran informs us that God had granted Satan his wish for the reasons He knows best. Nevertheless, He has made it abundantly clear to him and us that his power does not go beyond luring us towards committing what is vile and showing disobedience. There is, by no means, any direct authority that could entail force, coercion, and repression that Satan can exercise on man.
Indeed, it is the type of man who chooses to embark on unbelief, waywardness, trampling his faith and not experiencing a sense of enmity to Satan, who gives Satan the sway over himself. In contrast, the person who chooses the path of belief does not usually give Satan any chance to manipulate him because of the strength of his belief. Thus, Satanโs plans to mislead such a person are doomed to failure. The Quranic dialogue has sought to capture all that, highlighting the general characteristics of Satan.
๐๐๐ญ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆโ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
God created Satan and honoured and favoured him over many of his creatures. This regard with which Satan was held started when He ordered the angels, Satan included, to bow down to Adam in a big celebration that was held as a sign of glorification for the new creature on account of his intrinsic characteristics, the great role that awaited him on earth, and putting all creation at his service in order to play his part in the most efficient manner.
In many verses, the Holy Quran mentions the characteristics of Satan. By and large, he is portrayed as an insignificant creature who is at odds with God, especially in the great issues. He is painted as an egoistic self-centered and arrogant person, not least for his high opinion of his physical makeup being superior to others.
Satan does not seem to give genuine thought to the other characteristics that, if found in others, could make them far superior, namely the spiritual, intellectual, and behavioural. These are the qualities that make man strive to reach the highest stations while competing for a better future, through sound ideology and better work.
The Quranic verses assume different approaches to present the whole picture in scenes that seem pulsating with life, movement, and liveliness, with the aim of making the gulf between man and Satan far greater on the one hand. On the other hand, importance is given to the sense of the terribleness of arrogance and indulgence in self -worth and the extent to which it can influence the lives of living beings, as happened to Satan.
๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐:
Allah Exalted He says in the Glorious Quran:
“And หนrememberหบ when We said to the angels, โProstrate before Adam,โ1 so they all didโbut not Iblรฎs,2 who refused and acted arrogantly,3 becoming unfaithful.” Quran (2: 34)
And
“Surely We created you,1 then shaped you, then said to the angels, โProstrate before Adam,โ so they all didโbut not Iblรฎs,2 who refused to prostrate with the others. Allah asked, โWhat prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?โ He replied, โI am better than he is: You created me from fire and him from clay.โAllah said, โThen get down from Paradise! It is not for you to be arrogant here. So get out! You are truly one of the disgraced.โ Quran (7: 11โ13)
And
“And หนrememberหบ when We said to the angels, โProstrate before Adam,โ so they all didโbut not Iblรฎs,1 who protested, โShould I prostrate to the one You have created from mud?โ Adding, โDo you see this one you honoured above me? If you delay my end until the Day of Judgment, I will certainly take hold of his descendants, except for a few.โ Quran (17: 61โ62)
Going through these verses would suffice to draw a clear picture of Satanโs character. It is that of an arrogant creature that thinks highly of his physical fiber, so much so that he rebels against the will of God when he perceives that it clashes with the intrinsic conceited tendency of his character. Not only this, but he also seems bent on facing the consequences of his rebellion and not bothering about his fate, only to keep his โprideโ.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง, ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Some philosophers have tried to describe Satanโs position vis-ร -vis his belief as tragic. They seem to portray him as a true monotheist and believer, who refused to bow down to Adam out of a desire to worship God alone, i.e. no one should prostrate to anyone else but God. He has been depicted as willing to rebel against Godโs command and tolerate His punishment, for the sheer love for, and truthfulness of belief in, Him.
๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ, ๐ง๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ง๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐, ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ:
1. The idea of Satan as a living being is not one that can be subjected to the empirical approach, so that we can have access to its details through our personal experiences. It is a matter of the unseen, which we have come to know about from God through what He revealed to His prophets. In this context, we have to countenance its features and details from the body of religious traditions, especially Godโs divine revelations.
As is evident from the above-mentioned verses, Satanโs refusal to prostrate himself to Adam was not induced by monotheism and love for God; rather, it was due to arrogance. We shall see in the ensuing discussion how he has a begrudging character, whose resentment knows no bounds, so much so that he spares no effort to inflict damage on the new creature and his offspring, as a means for venting his hate. And in order to achieve that evil end, he pleaded with God to let him live until the Day of Judgement.
If this is the picture of Satan depicted in the Holy Quran, from where did those philosophers bring us the portrait of the true believer and lover of God Satan had been, to the extent that he is prepared to be consumed by fire simply to keep pure his love for God and belief in Him?
๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐๐ญ?
A poet who is daydreaming and trying to confer the semblance of tragedy on criminals, by virtue of identifying with their feelings, without giving measured thought to the real motives of the crime and its consequences on the land and people. A similar case is he who condemns the death penalty meted out to a murderer, [as a punishment in the Islamic penal code], on the basis of naive emotional feelings, losing sight of the conscious planning of legislation for manโs life. We may find some other details pertaining to this subject in the traditions of the Progeny of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
In Biharul Anwar, [a compendium of traditions (hadith)], and in the context of the stories of the prophets, Imam Jaโfar as-Sadiq (a.s.) was quoted as saying, โSatan was ordered to bow down to Adam. He replied: O Lord! If You forgive me for not prostrating to him, I would worship You the kind of worship that no one else could match. God Almighty said: I wish to be obeyed whence I have decreed.โ1
Some traditions from the Progeny of the Prophet (a.s.) spoke about this in a similar vein. In Tuhaful Uqool, Imam Jaโfar as-Sadiq (a.s.) has been quoted as saying, โThe angelsโ prostrating to Adam was a sign of submission to God and out of love for Adam.โ2
Abu Basira asked Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.), โDid the angels perform the prostrating act by putting their foreheads on the earth? He said: Yes, as a mark of glory to God Almighty.โ 3
In the tradition (hadith) of the protestation (ihtijaj), in the context of a dialogue with a Jew, Imam Ali (a.s.) has been quoted as saying, โTheir [the angels] prostration was not out of submission and worship for Adam himself. They prostrated to Adam as a sign of respect for the new creature and not worshipping Adam or associating him in worship with Allah Exalted He.
Such prostrate to Adam can not be polytheism or committing shirk or associating Adam in worship with Allah, simply because Allah Exalted He himself ordered the angels, Satan included to prostrate to Adam. So, Allah will not order anyone to associate anyone with him in worship. However, it was out of recognition for Adamโs loftier station and by way of asking mercy for him.โ 4
๐๐๐ญ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ-๐ฬ-๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง
What is Satanโs role vis-ร -vis man? Does Satan have overwhelming power over man, so much so that the latter cannot walk the path of submission to and harmony with the will of God?
If this is the case, how can one understand this โGod-givenโ domineering power? And how can one reconcile this with Godโs Justice? The God who threatens man with punishment, if he rebelled against His commands, while making it possible for Satan to lure him away from the right path?
This could be the impression that is predominant among the generality of people, as a way of blaming Satan for many of the ills they are afflicted with and for being noncommittal. Thus, they find in Satan a whipping boy, i.e., to their mind, their going astray is a natural result of falling to Satanโs devices.
๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐.
Satan has no power to exert on man, apart from trying to mislead him by way of devilish insinuations and creating tempting conditions for man to commit what is vile.
Man, on the other hand, has been endowed with conscious intellect that can draw the line between good and evil and be clear on the Divine messages, which open up all the roads to acquire the necessary knowledge to lead to Godโs way. Man has also been graced with a strong will that helps in the process of sound decision-making and walking with firm steps on the right path.
This is what makes the struggle between man and Satan an equal one. In this fight, man has the free will to make choices amidst evil inclinations, tempting climates, and devilish suggestions. Yet, he has the means, of willpower, intellect, and conviction, to emerge victorious from this standoff, without giving in to factors of weakness or failure.
In portraying the character of Satan and his part in misleading man, the Holy Quran has provoked in the mind of the believers the strength of conviction that is capable of defeating all the forces of evil, especially with the weapons of mental power and strong belief, should he use them in the struggle. As for those who fall victim to his temptations, their failure is not due to intrinsic weakness but rather, because they contributed to paralysing, and eventually neutralizing, the powers at their disposal.
In this light, we should now know that lengthening Satanโs life till the Day of Judgement, and giving him the freedom to seduce man, who is armed with all the weapons necessary to put up a determined fight, into leaving the right way is a sign of confidence in man. This is so that man should be able to choose his destiny on account of his will and capability, not because of coercion and repression that could weaken his resolve and make him buckle under pressure.
This is the difference between one who gets influenced by events and falls under their sway, and one who is the master of his own destiny and who makes the events subservient to his willpower and choice.
๐๐จ๐ฐ, ๐ฅ๐๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ก ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง:
Allah Exalted He says in the Glorious Quran:
“Instead of Allah, they (The Pagans) only invoke female gods1 and they หนactuallyหบ invoke none but a rebellious Satanโcursed by Allahโwho said, โI will surely take hold of a certain number of Your servants. I will certainly mislead them and delude them with empty hopes. Also, I will order them and they will slit the ears of cattle1 and alter Allahโs creation.โ And whoever takes Satan as a guardian instead of Allah has certainly suffered a tremendous loss. Satan only makes them หนfalseหบ promises and deludes them with หนemptyหบ hopes. Truly Satan promises them nothing but delusion. It is they who will have Hell as their home, and they will find no escape from it! Quran (4:117-121)
And
” And หนrememberหบ when We said to the angels, โProstrate before Adam,โ so they all didโbut not Iblรฎs,1 who protested, โShould I prostrate to the one You have created from mud?โ Adding, โDo you see this one you honoured above me? If you delay my end until the Day of Judgment, I will certainly take hold of his descendants, except for a few. Allah responded, โBe gone! Whoever of them follows you, Hell will surely be the reward for all of youโan ample reward. And incite whoever you can of them with your voice, mobilize against them all your cavalry and infantry, manipulate them in their wealth and children, and make them promises.โ But Satan promises them nothing but delusion. หนAllah added,หบ โYou will truly have no authority over My หนfaithfulหบ servants.โ And sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian. Quran (17:61-65)
And
“Satan appealed, โMy Lord! Then delay my end until the Day of their resurrection. Allah said, โYou will be delayed until the appointed Day.โSatan responded, โMy Lord! For allowing me to stray I will surely tempt them on earth and mislead them all together, except Your chosen servants among them.โ Allah said, โThis is the Way, binding on Me: you will certainly have no authority over My servants, except the deviant who follow you” Quran (15:36-42)
And
“Whenever We intend to destroy a society, We command its elite หนto obey Allahหบ but they act rebelliously in it. So the decree หนof punishmentหบ is justified, and We destroy it utterly. หนImagineหบ how many peoples We have destroyed after Noah! And sufficient is your Lord as All-Aware and All-Seeing of the sins of His servants. Whoever desires this fleeting world หนaloneหบ, We hasten in it whatever We please to whoever We will; then We destine them for Hell, where they will burn, condemned and rejected.” Quran (17:16-18)
And
“And Satan will say หนto his followersหบ after the judgment has been passed, โIndeed, Allah has made you a true promise. I too made you a promise, but I failed you. I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves. I cannot save you, nor can you save me. Indeed, I denounce your previous association of me with Allah หนin loyaltyหบ. Surely the wrongdoers will suffer a painful punishment. Those who believe and do good will be admitted into Gardens, under which rivers flowโto stay there forever by the Will of their Lordโwhere they will be greeted with โPeace!โ Quran (14:22-23)
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐งโ๐ฌ โ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒโ
It can be gathered from the verses above that, in his argument with God, Satan seems determined to entice Adamโs offspring away from the right path, by lying in wait for them at every corner and tempting them with false promises of impending good, if they turn their backs to God. However, God granted Satan his wish, but warned him against indulging in his dreams and posturing, in that he did not have any direct power to mislead people.
That is, he cannot mislead those who strive in the way of guidance. It is not in his power to tempt those who aim for forthrightness and good works and get to them. All that Satan can do is arouse doubts in peopleโs minds. Thus, those who are overwhelmed by wishful thinking may fall prey to his lure and follow him without any resistance.
Satan makes no bones about leading people astray. On the Day of Judgement, he openly confesses before those who were ensnared by his guile. He abdicates his responsibility in misleading the people who followed him by proclaiming that his role was confined to tempting them with wicked suggestions, i.e. he did not have access to their mental faculties so that he could adversely affect their willpower and freedom of choice.
It is evident that the issue is not one of deviating from the path of justice in creating man and directing his steps, in that it is within its natural environment, i.e. as God has willed. That is, it is a means of rousing struggle within manโs psyche, so that he is in a position to choose his way by exercising his free will, not by means of compulsion and suppression.
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐:
“Indeed, Iblรฎsโ assumption about them has come true,1 so they หนallหบ follow him, except a group of หนtrueหบ believers. He does not have any authority over them, but หนOur Will isหบ only to distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. And your Lord is a หนvigilantหบ Keeper over all things.โ Quran (34:20-21)
However, the picture becomes sharper when one consults other Quranic verses, which seek to rouse man and call on him to be unequivocally hostile to Satan.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ค ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฒ, ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ฌ:
Allah Exalted He says in the Glorious Quran:
“When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed. He certainly has no authority over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. Quran (16: 98โ100)
And
“O humanity! Indeed, Allahโs promise is true. So do not let the life of this world deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver1 deceive you about Allah. Surely Satan is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his followers to become inmates of the Blaze.” Quran (35:5-6)
And
“If you are tempted by Satan, then seek refuge with Allah. Surely He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Indeed, when Satan whispers to those mindful หนof Allahหบ, they remember หนtheir Lordหบ then they start to see หนthingsหบ clearly. But the devils persistently plunge their หนhumanหบ associates1 deeper into wickedness, sparing no effort.” Quran (7:200-202)
Experiencing the atmosphere of the Quranic dialogue between God and Satan exposes Satanโs acrimonious position towards man. It is thus evident that he is bent on destroying man and undermining the lofty station God has lifted him to. Satan does this in reaction to God ousting him from the domain of His Mercy for having failed to obey His orders.
Thus, there is no shadow of a doubt that the idea that Satan has not been done justice, in that he is a true believer deep down, is a ludicrous one.
On the contrary, a picture of a psychopath comes across very clearly. The manifestations of this picture are his disobeying Godโs orders and the positions he takes that are induced by selfish reactions, without giving a considered thought to the consequences of his actions to his destiny in this world and the hereafter.
๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐!
Allah knows Best