The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 101
PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH his having despaired of God's mercy, owing to His disobedience, is left perplexed and confounded and unable to see his way. Iblis is often considered identical with Satan, but is in some cases different from him, as will appear from the following commentary. (was) is a very common word of the Arabic language giving a vast variety of meanings some of which are: (1) he or it was; (2) he or it is; (3) he or it shall be; (4) he or it came into being; (5) he or it became; etc. The word is also used to express a permanent attribute or quality, as the Quran says: Lala abi. e. Allah is All-Knowing, Wise. The expression b. means, it does not behove a Prophet, or it does not become a Prophet, or it is not right or proper for a Prophet that captives be taken for him (8:68). The clause of means, it is impossible for a لنبي ان يغل Prophet to act dishonestly, or a Prophet cannot act dishonestly (3:162) (Aqrab, Mufradāt, Tāj & Kashshāf). Commentary: CH. 2 The word has been used here in the sense of "obedience", and "submission". Thus the verse means that God bade the angels to serve Adam, that is, assist him in his mission. In this way, the angels are ordered to serve all the Prophets of God, their chief duty being to help the cause of a Prophet and to draw the hearts of men towards him. (Iblis), it must be clearly understood, was not one of the angels, because, whereas Iblis has been here described as disobeying God, the angels have been described as ever 'submissive' and 'obedient'. Says the Quran: They disobey not Allah in what He commands them, and do what they are commanded (66:7). Hence could not be an angel. The objection, why was God angry with Iblis whereas the commandment stated in this verse was meant for the angels and not for him, is baseless, for elsewhere the Quran makes it clear that Iblis was also commanded to serve Adam. God says: What prevented thee (O Iblis,) from submitting (to Adam) when I commanded thee? (7:13). This shows that Iblis, though not an angel, was also ordered to make submission to Adam. Moreover, even if there were no separate commandment for Iblis, the one for angels must be taken to extend to all others, because angels being the custodians or guardians of different parts of the universe, the commandment given to them automatically extends to all. When Adam became an image of the attributes of God, and attained the rank of a Prophet, God ordered the angels to serve him. The words do not mean, "Fall prostrate before Adam. " The Quran definitely says: Prostrate not yourselves before the sun, nor before the moon, but prostrate yourselves before Allah, Who created them (41:38). Thus prostration before Adam by way of worship is opposed to the teachings As to the identity of Iblis it may be of the Quran, and a command to that briefly stated that, as described under effect could never proceed from God. | Important Words, Iblīs is really an 101