[65–88] “Say, ‘I am only a warner, and there is no god worthy of worship except Allah—the One, the Supreme Subduer * Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving.’ * Say, ‘It is momentous news * from which you turn away. * I had no knowledge of the highest assembly when they disputed. * It is revealed to me only that I am a clear warner.’ * When your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am creating a human being from clay. * When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration.’ * So the angels all prostrated together, * except Iblis. He grew arrogant and was among the disbelievers. * He said, ‘O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating before what I created with My two hands? Did you deem yourself too great, or were you among the exalted?’ * He said, ‘I am better than he: You created me from fire and created him from clay.’ * He said, ‘Then depart from it, for you are accursed, * and My curse shall remain upon you until the Day of Judgment.’ * He said, ‘My Lord, then grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected.’ * He said, ‘You are among those granted respite * until the Day of the appointed time.’ * He said, ‘By Your might, I will surely lead them all astray, * except Your chosen servants among them.’”

“Say,” O Messenger, to these deniers if they demand from you what is neither yours nor within your power: “I am only a warner.” This is the utmost extent of my role; all affairs rest with Allah Most High. I command and forbid you, urge you toward good, and restrain you from evil. “Whoever follows guidance does so to his own benefit, and whoever goes astray does so to his own detriment.”

“There is no god worthy of worship except Allah.” That is, none is rightfully regarded as a god and worshipped except Allah, “the One, the Supreme Subduer.” This affirms His divinity with a decisive proof: His oneness, Most High, and His subjugation of all things. Supreme subjugation necessarily entails oneness, for there can never be two supreme subduers equal in their dominion.

The One who subdues all things is therefore the One who has no equal. He alone deserves to be worshipped, just as He alone exercises irresistible dominion. He further established this by affirming His exclusive lordship, saying: “Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them”—that is, their Creator and Nurturer, and the One who governs it (1) in every way. “The Almighty,” who possesses the power by which He created the mighty creatures; “the Ever-Forgiving,” who forgives every sin, minor and major, for whoever repents to Him and abandons it.

He, then, is the One who is to be loved and deserves to be worshipped, rather than one who neither creates nor provides, can neither harm nor benefit, has no control over anything, possesses no power or might, and has no authority to forgive sins and burdens of guilt.

“Say” to them, instilling fear, warning them, rousing them, and cautioning them: “It is momentous news.” That is, what I have told you about the resurrection, the rising from the graves, and recompense for deeds is momentous news that deserves your utmost attention and must not be neglected.

Yet “you turn away from it,” as though no reckoning, punishment, or reward lay ahead of you. If you doubt my words and question my report, I am informing you of matters of which I previously had no knowledge and which I had never studied in any book. My reporting them exactly as they occurred, without addition or omission, is the greatest testimony to my truthfulness and the clearest proof that what I have brought you is true. Hence He said: “I had no knowledge of the highest assembly”—that is, the angels—“when they disputed,” were it not for Allah teaching me and revealing it to me. Hence He said: “It is revealed to me only that I am a clear warner”—that is, one whose warning is manifest and unmistakable. No warner conveys a more compelling warning than he does—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

⦗717⦘

He then mentioned the dispute of the highest assembly, saying: “When your Lord said to the angels,” by way of informing them, “I am creating a human being from clay”—that is, his substance would be clay.

“When I have fashioned him”—that is, when I have fashioned his body and completed it—“and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration.” The noble angels therefore prepared themselves to do so once his creation was complete and the spirit had been breathed into him, in obedience to their Lord and in honor of Adam, peace be upon him. When his body and spirit had been fully created, Allah tested Adam and the angels with respect to knowledge. Once Adam’s superiority over them became evident, Allah commanded them to prostrate.

They all prostrated together, except Iblis, who did not prostrate. “He grew arrogant” toward his Lord’s command and acted arrogantly toward Adam, “and was among the disbelievers” in the prior knowledge of Allah Most High.

Allah then “said,” rebuking and reproaching him: “What prevented you from prostrating before what I created with My two hands?” That is, I honored him, ennobled him, and distinguished him with this special distinction above all other creatures, which required that you not act arrogantly toward him.

“Did you deem yourself too great” by refusing, “or were you among the exalted?”

Iblis “said,” objecting to his Lord and contradicting Him: “I am better than he: You created me from fire and created him from clay.” He claimed that the element of fire is better than the element of clay. This is an invalid analogy, for fire is the substance of evil, corruption, rising upward, recklessness, and levity, whereas clay is the substance of composure, humility, and the growth of every kind of tree and plant. Clay overcomes fire and extinguishes it; fire requires fuel by which to subsist, whereas clay subsists by itself. Thus, the utter invalidity and corruption of this analogy made by their master—by which he opposed Allah’s direct verbal command—has become manifest. What, then, of the analogies devised by his disciples to oppose the truth? All of them are even more invalid and corrupt than this analogy.

Allah therefore “said” to him: “Then depart from it”—that is, from heaven and that honored station—“for you are accursed,” meaning banished and driven away.

“My curse shall remain upon you”—that is, My banishment and exclusion—“until the Day of Judgment,” meaning forever and ever.

He “said, ‘My Lord, then grant me respite until the Day they are resurrected,’” because of his intense enmity toward Adam and his descendants, so that he might be able to mislead those whom Allah had decreed he would mislead.

Allah “said,” answering his request because His wisdom required it: “You are among those granted respite until the Day of the appointed time,” when all the descendants have come into being and the trial has concluded.

When he learned that he had been granted respite, his wickedness led him openly to display before his Lord his intense enmity toward Him, Adam, and Adam’s descendants. He said: “By Your might, I will surely lead them all astray.” The initial preposition may introduce an oath, meaning that he swore by Allah’s might that he would surely lead every one of them astray.

“Except Your chosen servants among them.” He knew that Allah would protect them from his schemes. The preposition may also denote seeking assistance: when he realized that he was utterly powerless and could lead no one astray except by the will of Allah Most High, he sought aid through Allah’s might to mislead Adam’s descendants. Truly, he is Allah’s enemy.

Our Lord, we are helpless and negligent, acknowledging every blessing as Yours, and we are the descendants of the one whom You honored and ennobled. We therefore seek aid through Your immense might, Your power, Your mercy that encompasses every creature, and the mercy through which You have bestowed upon us the religious and worldly blessings You have bestowed and turned away from us the afflictions You have turned away. We ask You to help us wage war against him, treat him as an enemy, and remain safe from his evil and his snares. We trust that You will answer our prayer, and we believe in the promise You made when You said to us: “And your Lord said, ‘Call upon Me; I will answer you.’” We have called upon You as You commanded us, so answer us as You promised. “Indeed, You never fail in Your promise.”