Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 61

The Story of Adam and Iblis

Allah mentions here the enmity of Iblis, may the curse of Allah be upon him and his progeny. This is an ancient hatred, dating from the time that Allah created Adam, when He commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam, and all of them prostrated except Iblis, who was too arrogant and he haughtily refused to prostrate to him. He said in a tone indicating contempt:

قَالَ أَءَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِينًا

(He said: "Shall I prostrate myself to one whom You created from clay") According to another Ayah, he said:

أَنَاْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ

(I am better than he. You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.) 7:12 He also said, speaking to the Lord with disbelief and insolence, but the Lord bore it patiently:

قَالَ أَرَءَيْتَكَ هَـذَا الَّذِى كَرَّمْتَ عَلَىَّ

(He said: "See this one whom You have honored above me...") `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "He is saying, `I am going to dominate his offspring, all but a few."' Mujahid said (it means), "I am going to surround them." Ibn Zayd said (it means), "I am going to lead them astray." All of them are close in meaning, and the meaning of the Ayah is, "Do You see this one whom You have honored and made greater than me If You give me time, I will lead his descendants astray, all but a few of them."

Commentary

The word fitnah' (فِتنَہ) appearing in verse 60: وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الرُّ‌ؤْيَا الَّتِي أَرَ‌يْنَاكَ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلنَّاسِ (And We showed you the scene [ in the Night of Ascent - al-Mi` raj ] only to make it a test for the people) is used in the Arabic language to convey many different meanings. It could mean falling into error and going astray, or trial or test or some disorder or upheaval as well. At this place, the probability of all these meanings exists. Early Tafsir authorities - Sayyidah ` A'ishah, Sayyidna Mu` awiyah, Hasan, Mujahid and others - have taken fitnah' as carrying the last sense given above. They have said that this fitnah' was that of apostasy (Irtidad) which relates to the time when the Holy Prophet ﷺ told people about Mi` raj, how he went on his nocturnal journey to Baitul-Maqdis, to the heavens from there and his return to Makkah al-Mukarramah before dawn. There were many neo-Muslims who had yet to become staunch in their faith fell into the error of belying his statement and turned apostates. (Qurtubi)

People often demanded some miracle of their own choice— a miracle, which they wanted in order to judge the veracity of the preacher, whereas if they had kept an open mind, they would have realized that they had already been given that miracle in the form of the special divine succour to the preacher. In answer to their demand for tangible miracles the Quran had this to say: ‘Is this miracle not enough to open their eyes?’ i.e. in the initial stages of conveying the word of God when the Prophet apparently had no power, it was declared that mankind had been encircled by God. This statement was corroborated with the spreading of Islam among the Arab tribes. It saw its completion with the victory of Badr, and the conquest of Makkah after the Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty. Similarly, when the Prophet Muhammad announced on the morning following the Night Journey that the previous night he had been taken from the Ka‘bah to al-Bayt al-Maqdis, people did not believe him. His opponents summoned those individuals who had actually seen al-Bayt al-Maqdis and the Prophet was then asked to describe the details of the building. This he did with great accuracy. Still these happenings were not taken seriously. They scoffed at them, demanding proof of his veracity in the shape of miracles. The truth is that the actual problem is not one of showing tangible miracles but rather of serious thinking about the mission. When people are not serious about the divine call, they make a mockery of everything, even if it is of great importance. When the Quran warned that in hell people would have to eat the fruit of the Zaqqum tree ( 37:62 ), Abu Jahal called for dates and butter to be brought, and asked others to eat them, saying that that was what Zaqqum was. (Tafsir ibn Kathir). The fruits of this tree will serve as food for the inhabitants of hell. When this verse was revealed in the Quran, one of the leaders of the Quraysh remarked, ‘Look at Abu Kabsha’s son, he warns us of a hell which will burn up everything in it, even the stones. Then how does he think that a tree can grow in that fire? We all know that fire burns everything.’ (At-Tafsir al-Mazhari).