38:75 Saad (The letter Saad)

فـ { قَالَ } اللّه موبخا ومعاتبا: { مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ } أي: شرفته وكرمته واختصصته بهذه الخصيصة، التي اختص بها عن سائر الخلق، وذلك يقتضي عدم التكبر عليه.{ أسْتَكْبَرْتَ } في امتناعك { أَمْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْعَالِينَ }

هذه القصة ذكرها اللّه تبارك وتعالى في سورة البقرة وفي أول سورة الأعراف وفي سورة الحجر وسبحان والكهف وهنا وهي أن اللّه سبحانه وتعالى أعلم الملائكة قبل خلق آدم عليه الصلاة والسلام بأنه سيخلق بشرا من صلصال من حمأ مسنون وتقدم إليهم بالأمر: متى فرغ من خلقه وتسويته فليسجدوا له إكراما وإعظاما واحتراما وامتثالا لأمر الله عز وجل فامتثل الملائكة كلهم ذلك سوى إبليس ولم يكن منهم جنسا كان من الجن فخانه. طبعه وجبلته أحوج ما كان إليه فاستنكف عن السجود لآدم وخاصم ربه عز وجل فيه وادعى أنه خير من آدم فإنه مخلوق من نار وآدم خلق من طين والنار خير من الطين في زعمه وقد أخطأ في ذلك وخالف أمر اللّه تعالى وكفر بذلك فأبعده الله عز وجل وأرغم أنفه وطرده عن باب رحمته ومحل أنسه وحضرة قدسه وسماه إبليس إعلاما له بأنه قد أبلس من الرحمة وأنزله من السماء مذموما مدحورا إلى الأرض فسأل اللّه النظرة إلى يوم البعث فأنظره الحليم الذي لا يعجل على من عصاه فلما أمن الهلاك إلى القيامة تمرد وطغى وقال " فبعزتك لأغوينهم أجمعين إلا عبادك منهم المخلصين" كما قال عز وجل " أرأيتك هذا الذي كرمت علي لئن أخرتن إلى يوم القيامة لأحتنكن ذريته إلا قليلا" وهؤلاء هم المسنون في الآية الأخرى وهي قوله تعالى " إن عبادي ليس لك عليهم سلطان وكفى بربك وكيلا" وقوله تبارك وتعالى " قال فالحق والحق أقول لأملأن جهنم منك وممن تبعك منهم أجمعين " قرأ ذلك جماعة منهم مجاهد برفع الحق الأول وفسره مجاهد بأن معناه أنا الحق والحق أقول وفي رواية عنه: الحق مني وأقول الحق وقرأ آخرون بنصبهما قال السدي هو قسم أقسم اللّه به " قلت "وهذه الآية كقوله تعالى " ولكن حق القول مني لأملأن جهنم من الجنة والناس أجمعين" وكقوله عز وجل " قال اذهب فمن تبعك منهم فإن جهنم جزاؤكم جزاء موفورا ".

The Story of Adam and Iblis

Allah mentions this story in Surat Al-Baqarah, at the beginning of Surat Al-A`raf, in Surat Al-Hijr, Al-Isra', Al-Kahf and here. Before creating Adam, peace be upon him, Allah told the angels that He was going to create a human being from sounding clay of altered smooth black mud. He told them that when He finished creating and forming him, they were to prostrate to him as a sign of honor and respect, and out of obedience to the command of Allah, may He be exalted. All of the angels obeyed this command except for Iblis, who was not one of them. He was one of the Jinn, and his nature betrayed him at his time of greatest need. He refused to prostrate to Adam, and he disputed with his Lord about him, claiming that he was better than Adam, because he was created from fire while Adam was created from clay, and fire was better than clay, or so he said. He made a mistake by doing this, and he went against the command of Allah, thus committing the sin of disbelief. So Allah exiled him, humiliated him, and cast him out of His mercy and His sacred Presence, and called him "Iblis" symbolizing that he had Ablasa min Ar-Rahmah (despaired of mercy) -- that there was no hope for him of mercy. He cast him down from the heavens, disgraced and rejected, to the earth. Iblis asked Allah to give him a reprieve until the Day of Resurrection, so the Forbearing One, Who does not hasten to punish those who disobey Him, gave him a reprieve. When he knew that he was safe from destruction until the Day of Resurrection, he rebelled and transgressed.

فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لأغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَإِلاَّ عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ

(Iblis said: "By Your might, then I will surely mislead them all, except Your true servants amongst them.") This is like the Ayat:

أَرَءَيْتَكَ هَـذَا الَّذِى كَرَّمْتَ عَلَىَّ لَئِنْ أَخَّرْتَنِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ لأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُ إَلاَّ قَلِيلاً

(Iblis said: "See this one whom You have honored above me, if You give me respite until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely seize and mislead his offspring all but a few!") (17:62). These few are the ones who are excepted in another Ayah, which is:

إِنَّ عِبَادِى لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَـنٌ وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ وَكِيلاً

(Verily, My servants -- you have no authority over them. And All-Sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian.) (17:65)

قَالَ فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ

لاّمْلاّنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكَ وَمِمَّن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

((Allah) said: "The truth is -- and the truth I say that I will fill Hell with you and those of them (mankind) that follow you, together.") Some of them, including Mujahid, read this as meaning, "I am the Truth and the truth I say." According to another report narrated from Mujahid, it means, "The truth is from Me and I speak the truth." Others, such as As-Suddi, interpreted it as being an oath sworn by Allah. This Ayah is like the Ayat:

وَلَـكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنْى لاّمْلأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

(but the Word from Me took effect, that I will fill Hell with Jinn and mankind together.) (32:13), and

قَالَ اذْهَبْ فَمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ فَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ جَزَآؤُكُمْ جَزَاءً مَّوفُورًا

((Allah) said: "Go, and whosoever of them follows you, surely, Hell will be the recompense of you (all) - an ample recompense.) (17:63).

He said ‘O Iblīs! What prevents you from prostrating before that which I have created with My own hands? in other words whose creation I Myself have undertaken. This in itself is an honour for Adam as God has Himself undertaken the unmediated creation of all creatures. Are you being arrogant now in refraining from prostrating an interrogative meant as a rebuke; or are you of the exalted?’ of the proud and have therefore disdained to prostrate yourself because you are one of them?

In verse 75, it was said: لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ (what I created with My hands...):

Here, it is about Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) that Allah Ta’ ala has said that it is He who had created him with His hands. There is a consensus among the majority of the Muslim Ummah that "hands" do not mean that Allah Ta’ ala has hands as human being do. The reason is that Allah Ta’ ala is absolutely pure and free from the need of body or its active limbs. Therefore, it means the power and control of Allah Ta’ ala and that the word: یَد (yad: hand) is commonly used in the Arabic language in the sense of power - for example, it was said: بِيَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّكَاحِ (in whose hand lies the marriage tie - 2:237). Therefore, the verse means: 'I created 'Adam with My power.' For that matter, everything in this universe owes its creation to nothing but Divine power. But, when Allah Ta’ ala intends to manifest the particular sublimity of something, He would specially attribute it to Himself, for instance, by such attribution the Ka'bah becomes Baytullah, the House of Allah; the she-camel of Sayyidna Salih نَاقۃُ اللہ 'nagatullah', the She-Camel of Allah; and Sayyidna ` Isa ' (علیہ السلام) - 'kalimatullah,' 'the Word of Allah' or 'ruhullah,' 'the Spirit of Allah.' Here too, this attribution has been introduced there to enhance the grace of Sayyidna 'Adam (Qurtubi)l

1. This interpretation is based on the line adopted by some theologians. The others are of the view that the word 'yad' (hand) used for Allah does not refer to a limb like the hand of human beings. It is rather an attribute of Allah Ta ala, the exact nature of which is unknown. The third view is of some other elders who abstain from indulging in the interpretation of such expressions and prefer to keep silent about them, and leave their exact meaning to Allah Ta ala. Muhammad Taqi Usmani.