and offering greetings of peace, and standing in prayer at night while people are asleep.” He said: “Say: O Allah, I ask You for good deeds, to forsake evil deeds, love for the poor, and that You forgive me, have mercy on me, and accept my repentance. If You intend a trial for a people, then cause me to die without having been subjected to trial.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Learn them, for by Him in whose Hand Muhammad’s soul lies, they are indeed true.” (1)

“When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I am creating a human being from clay. (71) So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down before him in prostration.’ (72) So the angels all prostrated, all together, (73) except Iblis. He was arrogant and was among the disbelievers. (74) He said, ‘O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My two Hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the exalted?’ (75) He said, ‘I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.’ (76) He said, ‘Then get out of it, for indeed you are banished. (77) And indeed, upon you is My curse until the Day of Recompense.’ (78) He said, ‘My Lord, then grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected.’ (79) He said, ‘Then indeed, you are among those granted respite (80) until the Day of the appointed time.’ (81)”

His saying, exalted is He: “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I am creating a human being from clay’”—meaning Adam, peace be upon him.

“So when I have fashioned him”: that is, completed his creation. “And breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down before him in prostration. So the angels all prostrated, all together, except Iblis. He was arrogant and was among the disbelievers. He said, ‘O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My two Hands? Were you arrogant’”—the interrogative hamzah has been prefixed to the connecting hamzah—“or were you among the exalted?” That is, the arrogant. This is an interrogative of rebuke and condemnation. He says: Did you become arrogant in yourself, so that you refused to prostrate? Or were you among the people who are arrogant, and so you arrogantly refused to prostrate because you were one of them?

He said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.” He said, “Then get out of it”—that is, out of Paradise. It was also said: out of the heavens. Al-Hasan and Abu al-Aliyah said: that is, out of the form in which you are. Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl said: This is a sound interpretation, because Iblis acted tyrannically and boasted of his form, so Allah changed his form; he became black and ugly after having been beautiful. “For indeed, you are banished”: that is, expelled.

“And indeed, upon you is My curse until the Day of Recompense. He said, ‘My Lord, then grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected.’ He said, ‘Then indeed, you are among those granted respite until the Day of the appointed time’”—and this is the first blast of the Trumpet.