Satan & the Inner Struggle
Iblis as the voice of arrogance and rationalization — Asad reads this as humanity's lower impulses, not a cosmic villain
63 verse references across 33 surahs
And when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" - they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis, who refused and gloried in his arrogance: and thus he became one of those who deny the truth.
Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on the day when the two hosts met in battle Satan caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done. But now God has effaced this sin of theirs: verily, God is much-forgiving, forbearing.
It is but Satan who instils [into you] fear of his allies:133 so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [truly] believers!
And [God does not love] those who spend their possessions on others [only] to be seen and praised by men, the while they believe neither in God nor in the Last Day; and he who has Satan for a soul-mate, how evil a soulmate has he!
ART THOU NOT aware of those who claim that they believe in what has been bestowed from on high upon thee, [O Prophet,] as well as in what was bestowed from on high before thee, [and yet] are willing to defer to the rule of the powers of evil - although they were bidden to deny it, seeing that Satan but wants to lead them far astray?
Those who have attained to faith fight in the cause of God, whereas those who are bent on denying the truth fight in the cause of the powers of evil. Fight, then, against those friends of Satan: verily, Satan's guile is weak indeed!
VERILY, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin unto whomever He wills: for those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God have indeed gone far astray.
and shall lead them astray, and fill them with vain desires; and I shall command them - and they will cut off the ears of cattle [in idolatrous sacrifice]; and I shall command them - and they will corrupt God's creation!" But all who take Satan rather than God for their master do indeed, most clearly, lose all:
And, indeed, He has enjoined upon you in this divine writ that whenever you hear people deny the truth of God's messages and mock at them, you shall avoid their company until they begin to talk of other things - or else, verily, you will become like them. Behold, together with those who deny the truth God will gather in hell the hypocrites,
Verily, the hypocrites shall be in the lowest depth of the fire, and thou wilt find none who could succour them.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Intoxicants, and games of chance, and idolatrous practices, and the divining of the future are but a loathsome evil of Satan's doing:105 shun it, then, so that you might attain to a happy state!
By means of intoxicants and games of chance Satan seeks only to sow enmity and hatred among you, and to turn you away from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not, then, desist?
although there is no beast that walks on earth and no bird that flies on its two wings which is not [God's] creature like yourselves: no single thing have We neglected in Our decree. And once again:31Unto their Sustainer shall they [all] be gathered.
yet when the misfortune decreed by Us befell them, they did not humble themselves, but rather their hearts grew hard, for Satan had made all their doings seem goodly to them.
NOW, whenever thou meet such as indulge in [blasphemous] talk about Our messages, turn thy back upon them until they begin to talk of other things; and if Satan should ever cause thee to forget [thyself], remain not, after recollection, in the company of such evildoing folk,
Yea, indeed, We have created you, and then formed you; and then We said unto the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" - whereupon they [all] prostrated themselves, save Iblis: he was not among those who prostrated themselves.
Thereupon Satan whispered unto the two with a view to making them conscious of their nakedness, of which [hitherto] they had been unaware; and he said: "Your Sustainer has but forbidden you this tree lest you two become [as] angels, or lest you live forever."
And he swore unto them, "Verily, I am of those who wish you well indeed!
O children of Adam! Do not allow Satan to seduce you in the same way as he caused your ancestors to be driven out of the garden: he deprived them of their garment [of God-consciousness] in order to make them aware of their nakedness. Verily, he and his tribe are lying in wait for you where you cannot perceive them! Verily, We have placed [all manner of] satanic forces near unto those who do not [truly] believe;
And tell them what happens to him to whom We vouchsafe Our messages and who then discards them: Satan catches up with him, and he strays, like so many others, into grievous error. 141
And if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger]," seek refuge with God: behold, He is all-hearing, all-knowing. 160 Lit., "summon your [God-]partners" (see surah 6, note 15). 161 Lit., "though thou seest them looking at thee" - but since the pronoun "them" in tarahum ("thou seest them") refers to mental images no less than to physical representations, the verb must be understood in its abstract sense of "seeing with the mind", i.e., "considering" or "imagining". In contrast with the preceding passages, which are addressed to those who actually invoke false deities or images, the last sentence is addressed to man in general, sinner and believer alike: and this generalization is brought out by changing the form of address from "you" to "thou". 162 Lit., "accept what is easily forthcoming [from man's nature]". According to Zamakhshari, khudh al-afw means: "Accept what comes easily to thee [or "what is willingly accorded to thee"] of the doings and the nature of men, and make things easy [for them], without causing them undue hardship (kulfah); and do not demand of them efforts that may be too difficult for them." This interpretation - which has been adopted by many other classical commentators as well - is based on the identical explanation of the phrase khudh al-afw by 'Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr and his brother 'Urwah (Bukhari), as well as by 'A'ishah and, in the next generation, by Hisham ibn 'Urwah and Mujahid (see Tabari, Baghawi and Ibn Kathir). Thus, in accordance with the Qur'anic statements that "man has been created weak" (4:28) and that "God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" (2:286. 6:152, 7:42, 23:62), the believer is admonished to make due allowance for human nature and not to be too harsh with those who err. This admonition is the more remarkable as it follows immediately upon a discourse on the most unforgivable of all sins - the ascribing of divine powers or qualities to anyone or anything but God.' 163 Lit., "the ignorant ones" - i.e., those who wilfully remain deaf to moral truths and not those who are simply unaware of them. 164 I.e., anger at the rejection of the truth by "those who choose to remain ignorant". The words "to blind anger" interpolated between brackets are based on a Tradition according to which the Prophet, after the revelation of the preceding verse calling for forbearance, exclaimed, "And what about [justified] anger, O my Sustainer?" - whereupon the above verse was revealed to him (Tabari, Zamakhshari, Razi, Ibn Kathir).
Verily, they who are conscious of God bethink themselves [of Him] whenever any dark suggestion from Satan touches them - whereupon, lo! they begin to see [things] clearly,
[Remember how it was] when He caused inner calm to enfold you, as an assurance from Him, and sent down upon you water from the skies, so that He might purify you thereby and free you from Satan's unclean whisperings and strengthen your hearts and thus make firm your steps.
And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, "No one can overcome you this day, for, behold, I shall be your protector! 52 - but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he turned on his heels and said, "Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I fear God - for God is severe in retribution!"
[Jacob] replied: "O my dear son! Do not relate thy dream to thy brothers lest [out of envy] they devise an evil scheme against thee; verily, Satan is man's open foe!
And [thereupon Joseph] said unto the one of the two whom he considered saved: "Mention me unto thy lord [when thou art free]!" But Satan caused him to forget to mention [Joseph] to his lord, and so he remained in prison a few [more] years.
And he raised his parents to the highest place of honour; and they [all] fell down before Him, prostrating themselves in adoration. Thereupon [Joseph] said: "O my father! This is the real meaning of my dream of long ago, which my Sustainer has made come true. And He was indeed good to me when He freed me from the prison, and [when] He brought you [all unto me] from the desert after Satan had sown discord between me and my brothers. Verily, my Sustainer is unfathomable in [the way He brings about] whatever He wills:100 verily, He alone is all-knowing, truly wise!
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And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: "Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true! I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you - but I deceived you. Yet I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded unto me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves. It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:32 for, behold, I have [always] refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God's divinity." Verily, for all evildoers there is grievous suffering in store.
save Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.
By God, [O Prophet,] even before thy time have We sent apostles unto [various] communities: but [those who were bent on denying the truth have always refused to listen to Our messages because] Satan has made all their own doings seem goodly to them: and he is [as] close to them today [as he was to the sinners of yore]; hence, grievous suffering awaits them.
NOW whenever thou happen to read this Qur'an, seek refuge with God from Satan, the accursed.
Behold, he has no power over those who have attained to faith and in their Sustainer place their trust:
Behold, the squanderers are, indeed, of the ilk of the satans - inasmuch as Satan has indeed proved most ungrateful to his Sustainer.
AND TELL My servants that they should speak in the most kindly manner [unto those who do not share their beliefs]:60 verily, Satan is always ready to stir up discord between men 61 - for, verily, Satan is man's open foe!
AND LO! We said unto the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam" - whereupon they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis. Said he: "Shall I prostrate myself before one whom Thou hast created out of clay?"
Entice, then, with thy voice such of them as thou canst, and bear upon them with all thy horses and all thy men, and be their partner in [all sins relating to] worldly goods and children, and hold out [all manner of] promises to them: and [they will not know that] whatever Satan promises them is but meant to delude the mind.
AND [remember that] when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam," they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis: he [too] was one of those invisible beings, but then he turned away from his Sustainer's command. Will you, then, take him and his cohorts for (your], masters instead of Me, although they are your foe? How vile an exchange on the evildoers' part!
Said [the servant]: "Wouldst thou believe it? When we betook ourselves to that rock for a rest, behold, I forgot about the fish - and none but Satan made me thus forget it! - and it took its way into the sea! How strange!"
"O my father! Do not worship Satan - for, verily, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious!"
O my father! I dread lest a chastisement from the Most Gracious befall thee, and then thou wilt become [aware of having been] close unto Satan!"
For [thus it was:] when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" - they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis, who refused [to do it];
But Satan whispered unto him, saying: "O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the tree of life eternal; and [thus] to a kingdom that will never decay?"
Yet whenever We sent forth any apostle or prophet before thee, and he was hoping [that his warnings would be heeded], Satan would cast an aspersion on his innermost aims:66 but God renders null and void whatever aspersion Satan may cast; and God makes His messages clear in and by themselves - for God is all-knowing, wise.
[And He allows doubts to arise] so that He might cause whatever aspersion Satan may cast [against His prophets] to become a trial for all in whose hearts is disease and all whose hearts are hardened: for, verily, all who are {thus] sinning [against themselves] are most deeply in the wrong.
O YOU who have attained to faith! Follow not Satan's footsteps: for he who follows Satan's foot steps [will find that], behold, he enjoins but deeds of abomination and all that runs counter to reason. And were it not for God's favour upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For [thus it is:] it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
Indeed, he led me astray from the remembrance (of God] after it had come unto me!" For (thus it is:] Satan is ever a betrayer of man.
and the hosts of Iblis - all together.
And l found her and her people adoring the sun instead of God; and Satan has made these doings of theirs seem goodly to them, and [thus] has barred them from the path [of God], so that they cannot find the right way:
And (one day] he entered the city at a time when [most of] its people were [resting in their houses,] unaware of what was going on [in the streets]; and there he encountered two men fighting with one another - one of his own people, and the other of his enemies. And the one who belonged to his own people cried out to him for help against him who was of his enemies - whereupon Moses struck him down with his fist, and [thus] brought about his end. [But then] he said [to himself]: "This is of Satan's doing! Verily, he is an open foe, leading [man] astray!"
AND [the tribes of] 'Ad and Thamud, [too, did We destroy -] as should have become obvious to you from [whatever there remains of] their dwellings. (They perished] because Satan had made their [sinful] doings seem goodly to them, and thus had barred them from the path (of God] despite their having been endowed with the ability to perceive the truth.
and when such [people] are told to follow that which God has bestowed from on high, they answer, "Nay, we shall follow that which we found our forefathers believing in and doing!" Why - [would you follow your forefathers] even if Satan had invited them unto the suffering of the blazing flame?
Now, indeed, Iblis did prove that his opinion of them had been right:29 for [when he called them,] they followed him - all but some of the believers [among them].
Behold, Satan is a foe unto you: so treat him as a foe. He but calls on his followers to the end that they might find themselves among such as are destined for the blazing flame -
Did I not enjoin on you, O you children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan - since, verily, he is your open foe -
its fruit [as repulsive] as satans' heads;
AND CALL to mind Our servant Job, [how it was] when he cried out to his Sustainer, "Behold, Satan has afflicted me with [utter] weariness and suffering!" -
save Iblis: he gloried in his arrogance, and [thus] became one of those who deny the truth.
Hence, if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger], seek refuge with God: behold, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!
And let not Satan bar you [from it] - for, verily, he is your open foe!
VERILY, those who turn their backs [on this message] after guidance has been vouchsafed to them, [do it because] Satan has embellished their fancies and filled them with false hopes:
[All other kinds of] secret confabulations are but of Satan's doing, so that he might cause grief to those who have attained to faith; yet he cannot harm them in the least, unless it be by God's leave:17 in God, then, let the believers place their trust!
Satan has gained mastery over them, and has caused them to remain oblivious of the remembrance of God. Such as these are Satan's partisans: oh, verily, it is they, the partisans of Satan, who will truly be the losers!
the like of [what happens] when Satan says unto man, "Deny the truth!" - but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, "Behold, I am not responsible for thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"