This part of surah al-Hijr narrates the story of the creation of man, the story of original disposition, and the story of guidance and misguidance, and their essential factors. It is the story of the creation of Adam. From what substance was he created? What accompanied and followed his creation?
The surah discusses the story of the creation of Adam from the viewpoint of his formation and bringing him into existence, and the cause behind being guided and misguided, and their fundamental factors in man’s constitution. Then the surah mentions the story of the angels’ prostration before Adam and the refusal of Satan to do so. It mentions also Satan’s attitudes towards Adam and his children.
Indeed, We created man from dry clay, made of black and molded mud. [Q 15:26]
And the Jinn We created before from scorching fire. [Q15:27]
Mention – when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I will create a human being out of dry clay, made of black and molded mud. [Q 15: 28]
When I have formed him and breathed into him the soul that I own, fall in prostrating before him.’ [Q 15:29]
Thus, the angels prostrated themselves, all together [Q 15: 30]
save Iblis. He refused to be among those prostrated. [Q 15: 31]
He said, ‘O Iblis! What made you not join those who prostrated?’[Q 15: 32]
He said, ‘I will not prostrate to a human whom You created out of dry clay, made of black and molded mud.’ [Q 15: 33]
He said, ‘Then, get out of it, for you are truly accursed.’ [Q 15:34]
The curse will surely be upon you until the Day of Judgment. [Q 15:35]
He said, ‘My Lord! Give me respite until the day they will be resurrected.’ [Q 15: 36]
He said, ‘Then surely, you are of those granted respite [Q 15: 37]
until the day of the predetermined time.’ [Q15:38]
He said, ‘My Lord, because You have made me go astray, I shall make evils seem fair to them on earth and I will surely make them go astray all together [Q15:39]
except, Your chosen slaves among them.’ [Q15:40]
He said, ‘This is a straight path leading to Me. [Q15:41]
Indeed, you will have no authority over My slaves except those who follow you of the misguided.’ [Q15:42]
And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all. [Q 15: 43]
It has seven gates. For every gate, there is a designated portion of them. [Q 15: 44]
Relationship with the Previous Part
The Quran repeats mentioning that man was created from nothing to denote the ability of Allah to resurrect people on the Day of Judgment. The fact that Allah can give life and cause death is mentioned in the previous part. It is expected that the next ayat will discuss the beginning of creating man from nothing, which is evidence for resurrection on the Day of Judgment that has been briefly mentioned in [Q 15:23]. [Nazam adurar fi Tanasub al-al-Ayat wa-as-Suwar, Burhan ad-Deen al-Biqa’y].
Tafsir
Indeed, We created man from dry clay, made of black and molded mud. [Q 15:26]
Man refers to Prophet Adam [peace be upon him] as he was the first man on earth.
The word ‘salsal’ translated into ‘dry clay’ is used in the Arabic version. ‘Salal’ is dry clay that produces sound when it is knocked.
‘Ham’’ translated into ‘black mud’ is used in the Arabic version. It refers to mud that is left for a long time then its color becomes black.
‘Masnun’ translated into ‘molded’ is used in the Arabic version. It means formed, fashioned, and molded to a specific shape.
Indeed, Allah created the first man from dry mud that produces sound when knocked. The clay is made of mud whose color became black because it was left for a long time. The mud is then molded and formed to a specific shape.
And the Jinn We created before from scorching fire. [Q15:27]
The jinn refers to Satan; however, some scholars say that it refers to the father of the Jinn. The Jinn were called so because they cannot be seen. ‘Jann’ means concealing in the Arabic language.
Allah created the Jinn before creating Adam. The Jinn were created from intensely flamy, hot, windy fire. Abdul-Allah bin Mas’ud said, ‘This intensely flamy, hot, windy fire equals to one part of seventy parts of the fire of Hell.’[Zad al-Masyr fi Ilm at-Tafsir, Ibn al-Jawzi]
Mention – when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I will create a human being out of dry clay, made of black and molded mud. [Q 15: 28]
When I have formed him and breathed into him the soul that I own, fall in prostrating before him.’ [Q 15:29]
O Messenger, mention to your people - when Allah said to the angels, who never disobey His commands, ‘I shall create a human being out of dry clay, made of black and molded mud. When I perfectly formed him, and then breathed into him the soul that I own, then you must immediately fall, prostrating before him.’
[…and breathed into him the soul that I own.] The word ‘ruhy, which means, my soul,’ is used in the Arabic version to refer to the fact that Allah is the only owner of the soul. The soul is described as ‘my soul’ to denote that Allah is its Creator and Owner as well as to indicate honor to Adam. Allah alone knows the true nature of the soul.
The prostration of the angels before Adam was for salutation and honoring, not prostration out of worship. Prostration of worship is due only to Allah, Exalted be He.
Then the ayat mention the response of the angels and Satan to Allah’s command to prostrate before Adam.
Thus, the angels prostrated themselves, all together [Q 15: 30]
save Iblis. He refused to be among those prostrated. [Q 15: 31]
The angels obeyed Allah’s command. They all immediately fall, prostrating before Adam. However, Satan refused to join the angels in their prostration to Adam out of disobedience to Allah, haughtiness, and conceit.
The scholars have two opinions on whether Satan was one of the angels or not. The first opinion says that Satan was one of the angels since Allah commanded the angels and Satan to prostrate before Adam. Had he not been one of them, he would not have been commanded to prostrate before Adam. Moreover, had the command to prostrate before Adam not been directed to him, he would not have been disobedient and deserved Allah’s curse. The second opinion says that Satan was not one of the angels. Another surah in the Quran mentions that Satan was one of the Jinn. [Mention when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ They prostrated except Satan, who was one of the Jinn. He disobeyed the command of his Lord. Then do you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me though they are your enemies? How an evil substitute for the wrongdoers is!] [Surah al-Kahf: 50] Moreover, Satan was created from fire and has progeny, while the angels were created from light and do not have progeny.
Anyway, the most important thing is that Allah explicitly commanded Satan to prostrate before Adam and that he disobeyed His command. Satan’s presence with the angels does not necessitate that he was one of them.
He said, ‘O Iblis! What made you not join those who prostrated?’[Q 15: 32]
Reproachingly, Allah said to Satan, ‘What made you not join those who prostrated to Adam? Why did you disobey My command to prostrate to Adam?’
He said, ‘I will not prostrate to a human whom You created out of dry clay, made of black and molded mud.’ [Q 15: 33]
Satan said, ‘I will not prostrate to a human whom You created out of dry clay, made of black and molded mud. It does not behoove me to prostrate to him.’
Satan's statement implies disobedience to Allah, arrogance, pride, refusal to the judgment of Allah, and ill-manner with Allah. It also implies envy for Adam. In other words, Satan meant that he was better than Adam since he was created from fire and Adam was created from mud.
Satan thought that his origin was superior to that of Adam because of the substance that he was created from, i.e. he believed fire is better than mud. He did not know that superiority originates from the Creator, Allah, who grants superiority to whomever He wills of His slaves.
Then the ayat mention Allah’s just judgment on Satan.
He said, ‘Then, get out of it, for you are truly accursed.’ [Q 15:34]
The curse will surely be upon you until the Day of Judgment. [Q 15:35]
[Then, get out of it.] The pronoun ‘it’ may refer to Paradise as it is the abode of the obedient or the rank that Satan enjoyed before being expelled from the mercy of Allah.
Reprovingly, Allah said to Satan, ‘Get out of My Paradise and heaven. Indeed, you are accursed. You will be deprived of My mercy and attaining any honor. You will deserve My curse until the Day of Judgment.’
[…until the Day of Judgment.] This does not mean that the curse of Allah will not affect Satan on the Day of Judgment; rather, the intended meaning is that the curse of Allah will keep on affecting Satan forever when the Day of Judgment takes place.
Then the ayat mention what Satan requested Allah and what Allah said to him.
He said, ‘My Lord! Give me respite until the day they will be resurrected.’ [Q 15: 36]
Satan said to Allah, ‘My Lord! Since You expelled me from Paradise, and cursed me until the Day of Judgment, delay my death until the Day of Judgment takes place and You will resurrect the people then for reckoning.’
Satan addressed Allah humbly by saying, ‘My Lord’ hoping that his request would be accepted. Satan asked Allah to delay his death until the Day of Judgment takes place not because he was certain of his rank with Allah and that he believed his request deserved acceptance; rather, he did so out of despair just as a despairing person of salvation does.
He said, ‘Then surely, you are of those granted respite [Q 15: 37]
until the day of the predetermined time.’ [Q15:38]
Allah accepted Satan’s request and granted him respite until the Day of Judgment takes place. Thus, Satan will not die until the Day of Judgment occurs, which no one knows when it will be except Allah.
Allah accepted Satan’s request not to honor him; rather, He did so to test him and people so that it will be clear who is a truthful and obedient slave of Allah and who is disobedient. Therefore, Allah explicitly and strongly has warned people of the evils of Satan and told them about his wicked way and cunning.
Then the ayat mention why Satan asked Allah to delay his death until the Day of Judgment takes place.
He said, ‘My Lord, because You have made me go astray, I shall make evils seem fair to them on earth and I will surely make them go astray all together [Q15:39]
except, Your chosen slaves among them.’ [Q15:40]
Satan said, ‘My Lord, because You have made me go astray and deviate from following the path of guidance, I shall make evils seem fair to the children of Adam. I shall endear sins to them and make them love whims. I shall do my best to make them disobey You and follow the path of misguidance.’
In other words, Satan solemnly swore that he would work hard and do his best without any slackness or despair to make the children of Adam go astray and not follow the path of guidance that Allah loves.
[…except, Your chosen slaves among them.]
This is a confession from Satan. He confessed that he could not make some of the slaves of Allah go astray, obey him, and follow the path of misguidance. They are the obedient, pious, and sincere slaves. Allah has chosen them to be sincere worshipers and obedient slaves.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudry reported that the Messenger [peace be upon him] said, ‘Satan said, ‘My Lord, I swear by Your mighty and majesty that I shall keep on leading the children of Adam astray as long as their souls are still in their bodies, i.e. they are alive.’ Allah said, ‘By My mighty and majesty, I shall keep on forgiving their sins as long as they keep on seeking forgiveness from Me.’[Tafsir al-Qurtubi]’
He said, ‘This is a straight path leading to Me. [Q15:41]
Indeed, you will have no authority over My slaves except those who follow you of the misguided.’ [Q15:42]
Allah strongly warned and threatened Satan. He told him that the path of sincere worship, leading to Him is straight. He will make his sincere slaves follow it and comply with His commands.
The path of sincere worship is described, as straight to emphasize that is it an upright path. It has no deviation nor crookedness. It will be easy for the righteous and pious slaves of Allah to follow it by Allah’s help and guidance.
Satan does not have authority nor power over the sincere and pious slaves of Allah and he does not have any authority over the deviated ones. However, Satan has authority and power over those who willingly choose to follow him and obey his commands.
In other words, the wisdom, justice, and mercy of Allah necessitate that Satan will be unable to misguide the sincere, obedient slaves of Allah. Even if they sin, they will immediately repent and ask Allah for forgiveness. On the other hand, Satan can misguide those who choose to obey him and follow his footsteps. By doing so, they give Satan authority and power over them to misguide them.
And surely, Hell is the promised place for them all. [Q 15: 43]
It has seven gates. For every gate, there is a designated portion of them. [Q 15: 44]
Hell will be the inevitable destination of the heedless. They willingly choose to follow Satan’s footsteps in the worldly life. Hell has seven gates. There will be a specific gate for a designated portion of its dwellers. The gates are designated according to the degree of the deviation of those who will enter through it.
Learned Lessons from Surah al-Hijr Ayah: 26-44
• Allah’s ability is perfect and His creation is marvelous. He created man in the best form.
• Allah honored man and distinguished him from the rest of the creatures. He granted him the intellect that he can use to know the path of guidance and misguidance.
• Jinn were created before human beings.
• The angels are honored slaves of Allah. They never disobey Allah’s commands. Allah commanded them to prostrate before Adam, which was to salute and honor him. They obeyed Allah’s command and prostrated before Adam.
• Satan disobeyed Allah. He refused to prostrate before Adam, which made him cursed and deprived of Allah’s mercy forever.
• Insistence on disobeying Allah causes loss in the worldly life and the Hereafter.
• Arrogance, conceit, and envy made Satan refuse to prostrate before Adam. Consequently, he disobeyed Allah.
• Allah gave Satan respite. He delayed his death until the Day of Judgment takes place to test the children of Adam. Thus, the sincere and pious slaves of Allah will be distinguished from the wicked and evil ones.
• The enmity between Satan and his progeny and Adam and his progeny will remain until the occurrence of the Day of Judgment.
• Satan and his children will do their best to make the children of Adam deviate from the right path that Allah loves.
• The wisdom and justice of Allah necessitate that Satan will not have power nor authority over the sincere slaves of Allah. On the other hand, he will have authority over those who willingly choose to obey him and follow his footsteps.
• Hell is the abode of Satan and his followers. It has seven gates. Each group of its dwellers will enter through a specific gate.
Quran, English Translation of Surah al-Hijr
Quran, Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Tafsir of Surah al-Hijr
