* The Creation of Adam
- Part 3
We stopped last time at the
prostration of all the angels to Adam (AS) except Shaytan
who refused to prostrate.
Before we start there are some questions:
"And (remember) when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’
And they prostrated except Iblîs (Satan)".
(TMQ, 2:34) (1).
It might be thought that Shaytan is an angel, but this is not true. The scholars
have all agreed on that Shaytan is not an angel.
After the creation of earth, the jinn inhabited it [entirely] until the angels
drove them away to the islands and seas. Some of the jinn were evil, shedding
blood and killing, while others obeyed Allah (SWT). Shaytan was one of those obedient
jinn, hence, the angels took him to Heaven where he worshipped Allah (SWT) and he was completely devoted to
Him; Shaytan left no place in Heaven where he did not
prostrate to Allah (SWT). (Isra’iliyat) (2). However, deep inside him there was
something impure, which Allah (SWT)
knew well but kept it for a reason that only He knows.
Shaytan is not an angel and this can be proven
in the Holy Qur’an, in Surat
Al-Kahf (The Cave) through an undisputed verse,
that can be translated as, “And (remember) when We said to the angels:
"Prostrate yourselves unto Adam." So they prostrated themselves
except Iblis (Satan). He was one of the jinn; he
disobeyed the Command of his Lord.” (TMQ, ).
Allah (SWT) ordered the angels and not the jinn, so why would
Shaytan be punished for not prostrating? In
fact, the order was directed to him. It is true that the order was given to the
angels, but because he was in the company of the angels for a long time and he
was living with them, Shaytan was also included [in
this order].
When Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "What prevents you
from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with Both My Hands"
(TMQ, 38:75). Shaytan did not reply "O
Allah! You did not command me". He rather replied, "I am better
than he." Allah (SWT) says
what can be translated as, "What prevented you (O Iblis)
that you did not prostrate yourself, when I commanded you?" (TMQ, 7:12), which proves that
Allah (SWT) ordered him as well as He
ordered the angels.
His real name is Iblis
but the origin of the word "devil" (shaytan)
in the Arabic language is (shaytan) that means
“deviate or stray from”. Iblis deviated from Allah's
(SWT) path; he strayed far from
Allah's (SWT) commands, from obeying
Him, from repentance and from
Devils are the disobedient jinn: the
disobedient, unbelieving, dissolute jinn are called shayateen.
Therefore, every devil is a jinn but not every jinn is
a devil.
His point of view is mentioned in the
Holy Qur’an, in Surat
Al-A'raf (chapter of "The Heights"),
can be translated as, "What prevented you (O Iblis)
that you did not prostrate yourself, when I commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from
clay." (Allah) said: "(O Iblis) get down
from this (
Following
are the types of Arrogance. Try to discern if your heart carries any type of
these or not.
The first type of Arrogance is being unjust with people; holding
them in contempt, and oppressing them. I am afraid that a person might treat a servant
at home this way; the leader or manager might do that with his employees; or
the youth with people who are less fortunate or less intelligent. Showing
contempt for people and belittling their social level represents a kind of
arrogance.
The second type of Arrogance is strutting around [or showing off]. For example, when a woman walks in a way that shows off her beauty,
and the one who wears a suit and feels that he is better than everybody.
I do not mean we should not wear suits. The Prophet (PBUH) says,
"Allah is beautiful and admires beauty" (Muslim). Hence, you can wear
whatever you like but do not show off and think that people are lower than you.
The Prophet (PBUH) says, "A man strutted around, wearing his long
robe, and admiring himself a lot, and Allah caused the earth to sink with him,
thus such the man is in torture until the Day of Judgment” (Bukhari,
Muslim)
The third type of Arrogance is refusing to accept any advice and
refusing to get back to the right path even if you know the way to it. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And
when it is said to him, "Fear Allah", he is led by arrogance to
(more) crime. So enough for him is Hell, and worst indeed is that place to
rest!" (TMQ, 2:206).
The fourth type of Arrogance is the love of having people humiliated
and making them submit. Some husbands treat their wives this way
and humiliate them. The Prophet (PBUH) says that such people have their
places in Hell.
The fifth type of Arrogance is to stop praying. If one says, "I
want to pray but I cannot", this is the major proof of his Pride. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "And
your Lord said: "Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily!
Those who scorn My worship they will surely enter Hell
in humiliation!" (TMQ, 40:60). The person who demands nothing
from Allah (SWT),
and who stays one week without raising his hands asking Allah (SWT) to grant him what he needs is proud
and arrogant.
Let’s go back to Shaytan’s
excessive pride, which led him to think ignorantly. He says, addressing Allah (SWT), what can be translated as, "I
am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom You did
create from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape.” (TMQ,
). His point of
view is that fire is stronger and higher in status than clay, so how is it
possible that the stronger and higher prostrates to the weaker and the lower?
His pride rendered him blind in front of the truth. The nature of fire is
burning, while the nature of clay is goodness, blessing and feeding people. The
nature of fire is violence and recklessness, while the nature of clay is
firmness and stability. Although the fire has some benefits, there is evil
inherent within. As for clay; it cannot bear evil since it is full of benefits.
Can you see how Allah (SWT) has been
so generous in our creation? Sometimes we do exactly as Shaytan
did with regard to this point and we misunderstand while making comparisons.
For example, we leave boys and girls to mix freely as they want, because if we
separate them they will be repressed and they will miss each other. Sometimes we follow the Shaytan and start thinking that we can leave the boys and girls to have
free relations with each other so they won’t have any suppression later on.
This is the way we think sometimes, right? Nevertheless, you have to
avoid this devilish thinking and realize the consequences. Notice what happened
in the West, where lust is everywhere and open to everyone, until people
started heading into perversions. Limiting the relationships between boys and
girls to marriage helps to maintain the pure instinct, which in turn keeps the
human desire burning after marriage rather than destroying it before marriage
and corrupting man.
Back to Shaytan
when he says what can be translated as, "You have created me"
(TMQ, 38:76). Here he admitted Allah’s (SWT)
creation. In another verse he swears by Allah’s (SWT) glory "by Your glory" as he admits Allah's (SWT) glory and in a third verse that can
be translated as, "Give me then respite till the Day they (the dead)
will be resurrected" (TMQ, 7:14). Thus, Shaytan
did not deny that Allah (SWT) is the
Creator but his problem was being disobedient (Allah (SWT) is our God, but has no right to say “do that” and “don’t do
that”). He considered that obeying Allah (SWT)
and His creation of us are two different issues; that Allah (SWT) has created us but we wander about
in the world as we like. This is not true. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "Surely, His is the
Creation and Commandment…" (TMQ, ).
Thus He who creates, orders as well. Beware of falling
into that mistake of separating between creation and obedience. Another verse
clarifies what can be translated as, "It is not for a believer, man or
woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have
any option in their decision". (TMQ, 33:36).
Islam is the name of our religion, which
means submission to Allah (SWT) and
to his orders. Being a Muslim means being submissive to Allah (SWT). Shaytan's
problem is that he has not submitted to Allah (SWT), although he is fully aware of Allah’s (SWT) glory and that Allah (SWT)
is the only Creator. Is any one suffering from such a problem? The problem is
not in disobeying but the problem is in saying “No” to disobedience and
rejecting sins.
Has Shaytan stopped
at this extent? No, but he declared war on Adam (PBUH). Read Surat Al-Araf (chapter of “The Heights”) verses 11-13, and
always remember that Shaytan is your enemy. “And
surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave
you shape (the noble shape of a human being); then We told the angels,
"Prostrate yourselves to Adam", and they prostrated themselves,
except Iblis (Satan), he refused to be of those who
prostrated themselves. Allah) said: "What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate yourself, when I
commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better
than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You
created from clay." (Allah) said: "(O Iblis)
get down from this (
Also declare to Allah (SWT) that Shaytan
is your archenemy. “Surely, Shaytan is an enemy to
you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his followers so that
they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire.” (TMQ, 35:6).
The Holy Qur’an
displays Shaytan's point of view and gives him the
chance to express it freely. But Allah (SWT)
says what can be translated as, "(O Iblis)
get down from this (
The verse following these verses, can be
translated as, "Give me then respite till the Day they (the dead) will
be resurrected” (TMQ, ),
shows that he will stay alive until the Day of Judgment. This means that his
enmity and hatred is directed to every human being, not only Adam (PBUH). Can you realize how much he hates
the human race? He prayed to Allah (SWT)
to keep him alive until the Resurrection Day. Allah (SWT) agreed and responded to his request, "You are of those
given respite." (TMQ, ).
One of the generation following the Companions of the
Prophet (PBUH) said, “Don't be
deceived with your vices or defects. Allah has responded to the prayers of the
most evil creature (Shaytan), so wouldn't He respond
to yours and accept them?"
In the next verse, Shaytan
says, what can be translated as, "(Iblis)
said: "Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against
them (human beings) on Your Straight Path" (TMQ, 7:16). Do you
perceive Shaytan’s rudeness in addressing Allah (SWT) when saying that Allah (SWT) has sent him astray? Allah forbid!
Some people do that; they say, “ What can I do? Allah did this to me! If Allah had rightly
guided me, I would have been on the right way; I wanted to be good, but Allah has
put me with the company bad friends, and so I got lost!” Beware of that
impudence with Allah (SWT).
Shaytan says to Allah (SWT) that he won't go to those who always go nightclubs, but I will
lie in wait for anyone who walks in Your path and I will
spoil it, taking him away from that path. Thus, Shaytan
saves all his efforts for the believers and does not care much about the
disobedient. The more the number of believers’ increases, the more he becomes
tired. Ibn
al-‘Abbas said that someone came to him and told him
that the Jews had claimed that Shaytan did not
whisper evil to them during their prayers. Why would Shaytan
whisper evil to them when their prayer is mainly false?
Hence, the more you go along the right
path, the more Shaytan lurks there waiting for you.
Such is the battle between you and Shaytan, and when
it gets fiercer with the depth and power of your belief, he will gather his
soldiers against you. Will you give up, get weak and lose the battle?
In the next verse that can be
translated as, "Then I will come to them from before them and behind
them, from their right and from their left, and You
will not find most of them as thankful ones." (TMQ,
). Shaytan mentions four directions (right-left-back-front)
while originally there are 6 directions. He did not mention the direction where
the person prostrates to Allah while praying (down below), and the direction
that is opened for the prayers and set as an outlet for Allah’s (SWT) mercy to people (from above).
One of the most serious methods of
misguidance that Shaytan uses is making us discontent
with Allah's (SWT) grace. Allah (SWT) has warned us from this in the Holy
Qur’an by saying what can be translated as, “You
will not find most of them as thankful ones", because when we feel
thankful to Allah (SWT) we will
continue worshipping and loving Him. Shaytan tries
hard to make us forget Allah's (SWT)
blessings. Beware of forgetting Allah's (SWT)
blessings and graces. Allah (SWT) has
sent the whole chapter of Quraysh in the Holy Qur’an to show the danger of forgetting Allah's (SWT) grace: “(It is a great Grace
from Allah) for the protection of the Quraysh, (We
cause) the (Quraysh) caravans to set forth safely in
winter and in summer, So let them worship (Allah) the Lord of this House (the Ka’ba in Makkah), (He) Who has
fed them against hunger, and has made them safe from fear." (TMQ,
106:1-4).
Allah (SWT) says in Surat An-Nisaa (chapter “The Women”) what can be
translated as, "Allah cursed him. And he [Shaytan]
said: "I will take an appointed portion of your slaves." (TMQ,
4:118). Do you see how Shaytan speaks about us?
He wants us to be lost. “Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will
arouse in them false desires” (TMQ, 4:119). He whispers evil to the
youth, and beautifies sins before their eyes, like secret marriage, disobeying
parents, ignoring studies, as well as luring girls to take off their Hijab on their wedding days. “…and certainly, I will
order them to slit the ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change
the nature created by Allah." (TMQ, 4:119),
like the modern hairstyles and dyes, and guys wearing earrings. “And
whoever takes Shaytan as a Wali
(protector or helper) instead of Allah, has surely suffered a manifest loss. He
(Shaytan) makes promises to them, and arouses in them
false desires; and Shaytan’s promises are nothing but
deceptions. The dwelling of such (people) is Hell, and they will find no way of
escape from it.” (TMQ, 4:119-121).
Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Israa (the Night Journey) what can be translated as:
"And (remember) when We said to the angels:
"Prostrate yourselves unto Adam." They prostrated themselves except Iblis. He said: "Shall I prostrate myself to one whom You created from clay?" (Iblis)
said: "See this one whom You have honored above
me, if You give me respite (keep me alive) to the Day of Resurrection, I will
surely seize and mislead his offspring (by sending them astray) all but a
few!" (TMQ, 17:61-62). Can you sense Shaytan’s
hatred and rudeness? The Arabic word used (ahtanekan)
and translated into “seize”, came from the word (hanak)
that means mouth or jaw. This means that he will put the bridle around your
mouth, exactly like putting the bridle around the jaw of an animal. Has he
succeeded in putting the bridle around your mouth? Have you taken the bridle
off? Read the Holy Qur’an with all your heart, "(Allah)
said, "Go, and whosoever of them follows you, surely Hell will be the
recompense of you (all) - an ample recompense." (TMQ, 17:63).
Any one who accepts your bridle deserves to go to hell with the devils.
"And befool them gradually, those
whom you can among them, with your voice; make assaults on them with your
cavalry and your infantry; share with them wealth and children, and make
promises to them." But Satan promises them nothing but deceit." (TMQ, 17:64). This verse shows
the battle between Shaytan and us: he starts calling
and asking his cavalry, soldiers from mankind or from jinn. It is the same
voice he uses when he whispers suggestions of sexual excitement or for seeking
ill-gotten gains in your ears. This is besides his sharing in your money by
wasting it in useless things. As for youth, he urges them marry corrupted
people and bring up devilish children. This is why you have to choose your
spouse carefully so that Shaytan gets no share in
your children.
Has Shaytan succeeded in carrying out his
threats?
Go to * The Creation of Adam - Part 4