29 Jan 2014

Those who disbelieve ( Part 1) – The Fall of Iblis.

by | posted in: Scriptural Studies | 0

Author: Harris Abdullah 

  1. Surah 2:29-34 (QS 2: 34 And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam they did obeisance, but Iblis (did it not). He refused and he was proud, and he was one of the unbelievers.)
  2. Surah 7:11-18 Allah) (QS 7: 11 And certainly We created you, then We fashioned you, then We said to the angels: Prostrate to Adam. So they did prostrate except Iblis; he was not of those who prostrated.)
  3. Surah 15:28-34(QS 15: 34 He said: Then get out of it, for surely you are driven away)
  4. Surah 17: 61-65(QS 17: 63 He said: Be gone! for whoever of them will follow you, then surely hell is your recompense, a full recompense:)
  5. Surah 18:50 And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam; they made obeisance but Iblis (did it not). He was of the jinn, so he transgressed the commandment of his Lord. What! Would you then take him and his offspring for friends rather than Me, and they are your enemies? Evil is (this) change for the unjust.
  6. Surah 20: 116-123 (QS 20:116 And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam, they made obeisance, but Iblis (did it not); he refused.
  7. Surah 38: 71-78 (QS 38: 73,74  And the angels did obeisance, all of them, But not Iblis: he was proud and he was one of the unbelievers.)

These are the verses that show how Iblis fell. In due time, I will show you the connection between these verses and what we had studied on Surah 4:157 concerning the importance of Al Masih Isa being taken up or in other words, resurrected to life. I truly hope you will be given the hidayah to see all the connections.

Iblis did not obey Allah S.W.T and was referred to as unbeliever (or as one of those who rejected faith according to Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation). So, from here there are two things that we can see concerning the matter of unbelief/reject faith:

  1. This term has a parallel meaning of being disobedient to Allah S.W.T. When Iblis refused to bow down to Adam, he was disobedient to the commandment of Allah S.W.T.  The verses above show that Iblis only disobeyed one thing and he got rejected by Allah S.W.T. Does this not show that sin is a serious matter in the eyes of Allah because one act of disobedience results in a serious consequence? It is not like what we say, we are only human, it is normal to commit sin and Allah will forgive when we repent, so sin is just a relative matter as mentioned by many traditional believers. You would also say it is because Iblis is very proud and arrogant. If this is the case, then sin would become even more absolute because with this sin of arrogance and pride, Allah S.W.T has rejected Iblis. Is this what actually meant in the Quran? Is sin regarded as an absolute matter? From here we see that the matter of disobedience is not a relative matter or can be taken very lightly just as being taught by many traditional teachings. It is regarded as very, very serious matter. It is very absolute, if you read the Quran carefully without trying to downplay the message of the Scripture.
  2. How do we understand Allah S.W.T/Yahweh’s nature in His dealings with Iblis? It shows that Allah S.W.T/Yahweh always deals with absolute. Why? Because Allah S.W.T/Yahweh is absolute. When Allah says ‘Yes’, it means ‘Yes’, there is no relative meaning to ‘Yes’, that it might be a lesser ‘Yes’.

As a result of Iblis’ response, he was banished from heaven and would relentlessly lead mankind astray. This matter is so serious if you have the eyes to see what the Quran wants to reveal. What is the Quran trying to say? It is as though mankind in general is literally controlled or influenced by Iblis as stated in Surah 7:17-18; 15:39; 17:62-64; 38:82. That mankind is in Iblis’ clutches. We would make an in-depth study on this matter later on.

How does Allah S.W.T refer those who reject faith? It is very frightening to see what the Quran says in Surah 2:98, 18: 50. Those who disbelieve are the enemies of Allah S.W.T. To put it simply, those who disobey Allah S.W.T are the enemies of Allah S.W.T. Is this not clearly written here? Also in Surah 2:161, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, on them will be Allah’s curse. Are these not absolute matters in regard to disobedience? Another Surah 2:257, Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; and those who disbelieve, their guardians are Shaitans who take them out of the light into the darkness; they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide. (cross ref.: Surah 2:39). Are these not as much as absolute in regard to sin in the Quran? It is either you are part of the believers or of those who reject faith (disbelievers). There is no middle ground to this.

Why did Allah S.W.T deals with disobedience with such an absolute way? It is because we are dealing with an Absolute God. An Absolute God requires an absolute response. Isn’t this stated very clearly in all the Scriptures? If we don’t understand this, then we do not understand the Holiness of Allah S.W.T.

If we look at a similar situation, did God actually bring Adam back to the Garden even though God had mercy on him? All the verses have mentioned that Adam was kicked out of the Garden with one act of disobedience, isn’t that an absolute act of Allah? It is as though God had taken away that life of blessings from Adam. Is it not an absolute loss? (Ref.: Surah 2:36 But the Shaitan made them both fall from it, and caused them to depart from that (state) in which they were; and We said: Get forth, some of you being the enemies of others, and there is for you in the earth an abode and a provision for a time). Does the Quran mention that Adam asked for forgiveness? It was silent, does silent mean yes? Or is it in man’s nature to feel the shame and fear to face Allah squarely? It is as though Allah/Yahweh knew about man’s heart and would want to give man a second chance by removing man out of the Garden. It is a trial period on earth. It is actually Allah’s mercy.

Interestingly, if we look a little bit more at the analysis of the word ‘disbelievers’ الكافرين, it is noun genitive masculine plural active participle, such as in Surah 2:34 which is being used in regard to Iblis together with those who disbelieve. From the word analysis, we could see that Iblis was not only disobedient at that time but his disobedience continues up to the present time as a result of Allah S.W.T’s rejecting him. Iblis will mislead people especially the believers and the first believer is none other than Adam himself. The situation seemed quite complicated in that heavenly scene; Iblis believed in the one and only God to be worshipped and prostrated, that is Allah S.W.T and he saw Allah/Yahweh in all of Allah S.W.T’s glory but did that save Iblis? If we reflect this together with the religious people who say with their mouths that they believe in the one and only God, Allah S.W.T but in their hearts they choose to obey what they think is right, does this save them?

However, here comes another very important and crucial question – how do you consider yourself as truly belong to the faith, as those who are obedient/do not reject faith? According to traditions, it is very simple; you just go to the place of worship once a week, and pray at home five times a day would be even better. It is measured by all these works. Don’t get me wrong, good works are very important but good works without obedience/faith from the heart is something else. Surah 2:264 mentions that doing good things to be seen by men but do not believe in Allah or the last day are those who disbelieve. Similar thing was mentioned of the Jewish leaders namely the Pharisees during Al Masih Isa’s time (references: Gospel of Matthew 6:1-5, 6:16-18 and subsequently in Gospel of Mark 7:6).

Matthew 6:1-5   ¶ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.  2 ¶ “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  3 “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  5 ¶ “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 6:16-18  16 ¶ “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face  18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Mark 7:6   6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

Does this not make most of our religious groups as guilty as they were? They, the Pharisees, were the people of the law, who meticulously follow their traditions and by doing these, it is meant to be the manifestation of obeying God. Isn’t this what had been taught to them? Are your lives like gamble, trying to do some of the required religious duties and hope that it would outweigh the evil/bad deeds that you have done? Is this what the Quran or the Scriptures meant in order to be a true Muslim?

 

To be continued….

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 Note:

  1. All Al-Quran verses are sourced from English Translation of Al-Quran by M.H.Shakir, with thanks.
  2. All Injil verses are sourced from New American Standard Bible with Codes (1995), with thanks.
1026 Total Views 2 Views Today