Chapter Two
The
Sin of Satan
Before relating the story of Satan’s
hostility against Adam (peace be upon him) and his offspring, and how he
whispers evil to them and lures them into sin, we have to study in depth the
sin of Satan, that sin that incurred upon him the Curse of Allah till the Day
of Judgment.
When Satan refused to obey Allah’s
Command of prostrating to Adam (peace be upon him) he never tried to repent or
revert to truth. He never said, “O Lord, Your Word is the Truth and Your
Command is the Truth, but O Lord I could not subdue myself, so please forgive
me” , he did not awake and fell down prostrating, but pride filled him and he
persisted in sin. Allah, all glory is to Him, narrates to us in the Noble
Qur’an what means:
“[Allah] said,
‘What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?’ [Satan] said, ‘I am
better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.’”(Al-A‘râf, 7: 12)
Thus, he rejected the Command of Allah,
all praise and glory is to Him. As if Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic,
forgot that He created jinn from fire and mankind from clay! That was enough to
cast Satan out of Allah’s Mercy and out of the place wherein he lived together
with the angels. Concerning this Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says
what means:
“[Allah] said,
‘Descend from it, for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So get out;
indeed, you are of the debased.’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 13)
The Command: “Descend” signifies that
Satan was at a high honorary place before sin, for getting down can only be
from a place high to one that is low.
Some people think of descent only in
terms of distance, but it can also signifies a moral fall. For example, if man
is a chief or a ruler and then he is expelled from his position, he will sink
in estimation, though still living in his same house. In other words he did not
fall down from a place high to one low with regard to distance, but he sank
into a state of disgrace, and after once enjoying an honorary status he is now
worth nothing.
Also, falling down can be in
appreciation. As when you believe that someone is a highly esteemed person, you
see him respectable and truthful, but suddenly he commits an offense that makes
him sink in your estimation. Thus, you no longer respect or esteem him.
Thus, descent is not necessarily
physical, in terms of distance, but can also be a fall in value and status.
Therefore Satan did not necessarily live at paradise or a high place in heaven
and then he descended from it as some interpreters say but it is possible that
it was a moral fall by becoming worth nothing. A depreciation of rank for he no
longer deserved to be present among the angels; he lived among them because he
abided by obedience, while having the free will to obey or disobey. But when he
forsook that attribute he no longer merited such an honorary status, because angels do not disobey Allah in what
He commands them but do what they are commanded. (At-Tahrîm, 66: 6).
Therefore, “Descend” signifies and indicates that the fall is moral, meaning that
he is unworthy of this high status or rank, then followed the Command of “Get
out” of the place itself.
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