Surah 15. Al-Hijr

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Verses [Section]: 1-15[1], 16-25 [2], 26-44 [3], 45-60 [4], 61-79 [5], 80-99 [6]

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Quran Text of Verse 26-44وَ لَقَدْAnd verilyخَلَقْنَاWe createdالْاِنْسَانَhumankindمِنْ(out) ofصَلْصَالٍsounding clayمِّنْfromحَمَاٍblack mudمَّسْنُوْنٍۚaltered وَ الْجَآنَّAnd the jinnخَلَقْنٰهُWe created itمِنْbeforeقَبْلُbeforeمِنْfromنَّارِfireالسَّمُوْمِ scorching وَ اِذْAnd whenقَالَyour Lord saidرَبُّكَyour Lord saidلِلْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِto the AngelsاِنِّیْIndeed, Iخَالِقٌۢ(will) createبَشَرًاa human beingمِّنْ(out) ofصَلْصَالٍclayمِّنْfromحَمَاٍblack mudمَّسْنُوْنٍ altered فَاِذَاSo whenسَوَّیْتُهٗI have fashioned himوَ نَفَخْتُand [I] breathedفِیْهِinto himمِنْofرُّوْحِیْMy spiritفَقَعُوْاthen fall downلَهٗto himسٰجِدِیْنَ prostrating فَسَجَدَSo prostratedالْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُthe Angelsكُلُّهُمْall of themاَجْمَعُوْنَۙtogether اِلَّاۤExceptاِبْلِیْسَ ؕIblisاَبٰۤیHe refusedاَنْtoیَّكُوْنَbeمَعَwithالسّٰجِدِیْنَ those who prostrated 15. Al-Hijr Page 264قَالَHe saidیٰۤاِبْلِیْسُO Iblis!مَاWhatلَكَ(is) for youاَلَّاthat notتَكُوْنَyou areمَعَwithالسّٰجِدِیْنَ those who prostrated قَالَHe saidلَمْI am notاَكُنْI am notلِّاَسْجُدَ(one) to prostrateلِبَشَرٍto a humanخَلَقْتَهٗwhom You createdمِنْ(out) ofصَلْصَالٍclayمِّنْfromحَمَاٍblack mudمَّسْنُوْنٍ altered قَالَHe saidفَاخْرُجْThen get outمِنْهَاof itفَاِنَّكَfor indeed youرَجِیْمٌۙ(are) expelled وَّ اِنَّAnd indeedعَلَیْكَupon youاللَّعْنَةَ(will be) the curseاِلٰیtillیَوْمِ(the) Dayالدِّیْنِ (of) [the] Judgment قَالَHe saidرَبِّO my Lord!فَاَنْظِرْنِیْۤThen give me respiteاِلٰیtillیَوْمِ(the) Dayیُبْعَثُوْنَ they are raised قَالَHe saidفَاِنَّكَThen indeed youمِنَ(are) ofالْمُنْظَرِیْنَۙthe ones given respite اِلٰیTillیَوْمِthe Dayالْوَقْتِ(of) the timeالْمَعْلُوْمِ well-known قَالَHe saidرَبِّMy Lord!بِمَاۤBecauseاَغْوَیْتَنِیْYou misled meلَاُزَیِّنَنَّsurely I will make (evil) fair-seemingلَهُمْto themفِیinالْاَرْضِthe earthوَ لَاُغْوِیَنَّهُمْand I will mislead themاَجْمَعِیْنَۙall اِلَّاExceptعِبَادَكَYour slavesمِنْهُمُamong themالْمُخْلَصِیْنَ the ones who are sincere قَالَHe saidهٰذَاThisصِرَاطٌ(is) the wayعَلَیَّto Meمُسْتَقِیْمٌ straight اِنَّIndeedعِبَادِیْMy slavesلَیْسَnotلَكَyou haveعَلَیْهِمْover themسُلْطٰنٌany authorityاِلَّاexceptمَنِthose whoاتَّبَعَكَfollow youمِنَofالْغٰوِیْنَ the ones who go astray وَ اِنَّAnd indeedجَهَنَّمَHellلَمَوْعِدُهُمْ(is) surely the promised place for themاَجْمَعِیْنَ۫ۙall لَهَاFor itسَبْعَةُ(are) sevenاَبْوَابٍ ؕgatesلِكُلِّfor eachبَابٍgateمِّنْهُمْamong themجُزْءٌ(is) a portionمَّقْسُوْمٌ۠assigned

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Translation of Verse 26-44

(15:26) Surely We brought man into being out of dry ringing clay which was wrought from black mud,¹⁷

(15:27) while We had brought the jinn into being before out of blazing fire.¹⁸

(15:28) Recall when your Lord said to the angels: "I will indeed bring into being a human being out of dry ringing clay wrought from black mud.

(15:29) When I have completed shaping him and have breathed into him of My Spirit,¹⁹ then fall you down before him in prostration."

(15:30) So, the angels - all of them - fell down in prostration,²⁰

(15:31) except Iblis; he refused to join those who prostrated.

(15:32) The Lord inquired: "Iblis! What is the matter with you that you did not join those who prostrated?"

(15:33) He said: "It does not behove of me to prostrate myself before a human being whom You have created out of dry ringing clay wrought from black mud."

(15:34) The Lord said: "Then get out of here; you are rejected,

(15:35) and there shall be a curse upon you till the Day of Recompense."²¹

(15:36) Iblis said: "My Lord! Grant me respite till the Day when they will be resurrected."

(15:37) Allah said: "For sure you are granted respite

(15:38) until the day of a known time."

(15:39) Iblis said: "My Lord! In the manner You led me to error, I will make things on earth seem attractive to them²² and lead all of them to error,

(15:40) except those of Your servants whom You have singled out for Yourself."

(15:41) Allah said: "Here is the path that leads straight to Me.²³

(15:42) Over My true servants you will be able to exercise no power, your power will be confined to the erring ones, those who choose to follow you.²⁴

(15:43) Surely Hell is the promised place for all of them."²⁵

(15:44) There are seven gates in it, and to each gate a portion of them has been allotted.²⁶

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Commentary

17. The Qur’an here clearly refutes the doctrine that it was after a process of evolution in the course of which man passed through genetic adaptations involving many stages of animal existence that he entered the stage of humanity. This Qur’anic statement is, therefore, in direct conflict with the opinions that are currently being expressed by some commentators on the Qur’an who, under the influence of the Darwinian theory of evolution, are striving to lend support to that theory with arguments drawn from the Qur’an. They do so in spite of the fact that the Qur’an envisages that man was directly created out of elements derived from the earth.

The material mentioned has been described as, the word hama’ in Arabic is used for black mud which has a bad odour owing to its rottenness or as a result of fermentation. As for the word masnun, it has two meanings. First, it denotes something smooth and slippery because of its rottenness. Second, the word signifies something that has been fashioned into a particular shape. The word salsal is used for clay which, once dried, has a ringing sound.

These words are clearly indicative of the fact that the skeleton of a species was fashioned out of rotting clay; once it dried up it was infused with a soul.

18. ‘Samim’ denotes blazing wind. Used in conjunction with nar, the word suggests intense heat. This explains the Qur’anic statements which mention the jinn to have been brought into being out of fire. (For details see al-Rahman 55, nn. 14-16.)

19, From this we learn that the soul infused into man is a reflection of God’s attributes. We see that man has been invested with life, knowledge, power, will, volition and other similar attributes. Taken together, these stand for his soul or spirit. It is a mild reflection of the Divine attributes bestowed on man who was created out of clay. By dint of the reflection of Divine attributes, man became God’s vicegerent on earth. By virtue of the same, everything on the earth, including angels, were made to prostrate before man. Every attribute found in human beings owes its origin either to one attribute of God or another. This is evident from the tradition which states: ‘God divided mercy into a hundred parts: Of this He retained ninety-nine parts and sent down to earth just one part. It is because of this that creatures are kind to one another. So much so that an animal raises its hoof away from the body of its young one lest it might hurt it’ (al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Adab, ‘Bab Ja‘al Allah al-Rahmah Mi’ at juz’ ’; Muslim, Kitab al-Tawbah, ‘Bab fi Saat Rahmat Allah Ta‘ala’’.(The word used in the tradition above occurs in Muslim whereas the word ‘horse’ occurs in al-Bukhari — Ed.)

What, however, distinguishes man from other creatures and makes him superior to them is the comprehensiveness of God’s attributes as reflected in man.

This idea, however, is quite subtle and any misunderstanding in grasping it might result. in creating the illusory belief that the reflection of a Divine attribute amounts to acquiring a part of divinity. That is, of course, altogether out of the question since divinity is ‘totally beyond the reach of all creatures.

20. Cf. al-Baqarah 2: 30 ff.; al-Nisa’ 4: 116 ff.; al-A‘raf7: 11 ff., and the relevant notes therein.

21. This means that Satan will remain cursed till the Day of Judgement, and that he will be punished subsequently for his disobedience in the Afterlife.

22. Satan responded by saying that since he was asked to prostrate before an inferior creature, he was virtually compelled to disobey God. He would, therefore, make the worldly life attractive to mankind so that they are tempted by it and disobey God. In other words, Satan said that he would make the ephemeral benefits and advantages of worldly life so attractive to man that he would forget all about his vicegerency of God and his accountability to Him in the Hereafter. Men will thus either altogether forget God or if they do remember Him, they will violate His commands.

23. The Qur’anic expression may be translated in two ways. One possible meaning is: ‘Here is the path that leads straight to Me.’ We have understood the verse to mean so and this is reflected in our translation. Another meaning could be: “This is the right way which I have taken upon Myself to keep under My protection.’

24. This Qur’anic statement may also be interpreted in two ways. One is that which is reflected in our translation. The other meaning could be: ‘You will have no power over My servants (i.e. mankind) to force them to disobedience. However, those who have fallen into error and have decided to follow you out of their own volition, they will be allowed to do so. We will not forcefully prevent them from proceeding in that direction.’ According to the first interpretation, the basic idea that the verse conveys is that worshipping God constitutes the true way that leads man to God. Satan is unable to exercise any dominating influence over the people who choose to follow this way. God will single out such people exclusively for Himself. Satan also acknowledges that he is unable to lead such people astray.

However, those who disobey God will lose. the road to their felicity and success. They will fall prey to Satan, will follow him blindly and will be vulnerable to all his contriving’s.

Were one to accept the second interpretation, the verse purports to mention Satan’s future plan. He would do everything possible to make the worldly life attractive to human beings. He would do so in order to make people heedless of God and tum them away from obeying Him. God verifies this, pointing out that Satan was being granted a fixed period of time during which he had the opportunity to attempt to mislead human beings. It was clear, however, that God had not granted him the power to force people to err.

It is also evident from the above verse that Satan accepted the fact that he would be unable to mislead those whom God singled out for Himself. This might lead to a misconception that God would arbitrarily choose some people, to the exclusion of others, and make them immune to Satan’s contriving.

However, there is no basis for this misunderstandings since God makes it unequivocally clear that only those given to error will follows Satan. In other words, those who are on the right path will not fall prey to Satan. These are the ones whom God will single out for Himself.

25. In order to fully appreciate the purpose of this story it is important to bear in mind its context. Looking at the themes set out in verses I ff. and 18 ff., it becomes clear that the story of Adam and Satan has been recounted so as to warn the unbelievers that they had been misled by their eternal enemy, Satan, and that they were following his ways. As a result, they were sliding into those depths of error and degradation which, out of his jealousy, Satan had always wanted to push all mankind into. On the contrary, the Prophet (peace be on him) has a compassionate concern for all mankind and seeks to liberate them.

He also wishes to lead them to the heights of success and honor to which they were entitled by virtue of the position accorded to them under God’s scheme of things. In view of the above, it seems astonishing that people are often inclined to look upon their enemies as friends, and their friends as enemies.

It is also emphasized that there is just one way which can ensure man’s salvation and felicity. That way consists of sincerely worshipping and serving God. All other ways are Satan’s, and each of them will directly lead to Hell.

Another truth that is brought home through this story is that the unbelievers themselves are to blame for their error. Satan can at best try to delude people by making the worldly life seem overly attractive to them. However, if people fall into any error, that is entirely their own act, and for all such acts they alone will bear all responsibility. (For further details see Ibrahim 14: 22 ff. and n. 31.)

26. The gates of Hell will correspond to the kind of error and sin which a person commits, making him deserving of being cast into Hell. Some people deserve being cast into Hell because of polytheism; some because of hypocrisy; some because of excessive self-indulgence, some because of their injustice and oppression and the harm they have done to other human beings.

There are still others who deserve to be cast into Hell on the basis that they propagated some outrageously misleading doctrines, or had made unbelief prevail, or had worked to spread corruption and shameful immorality.