In the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Al-Qaadir (The Capable)
"And We have certainly created you, [O Mankind], and given you [human] form. Then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was not of those who prostrated.[ 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." " (Quran 7:11-12)
"And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred.Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him]." (Quran 20:121-122)
Recently, I observed the pride among some Muslims, who boasted their race, language, country, unique circumstances etc. They would claim that they were born in a family of scholars, and hence have some magical knowledge flowing through their blood. They would claim that they were born to family of the Prophet (PBUH), which makes them superior than others. They would claim that they are following a madhab that is superior than others. They would claim that their customs are above the commands of God. I hear them, and wonder, what Iblis did to deserve the disgrace no creature ever receive from Allah.
Iblis, was the best among his race of Jinn, who were the custodian of earth, and creature of higher status before humans.He had earned the status in eyes of Allah so much so that Allah allowed him to dwell among the Angels, and in the presence of Allah. When Allah commanded him to prostrate a seemingly inferior creature, he refused, because he couldn't surrender his pride to the will of Allah. On top of that, he did not repent, because he didn't see his mistake in refusing it.
Now, one should wonder that Iblis must have been obeying Allah's command for a very long time to be in a high status with Allah, so why he couldn't just obey another, and surrender his pride. Well, sometimes pride and customs become the reason for existence and breaking them could be seen as losing all the respect. It is easy to read these verses and explain their meaning, but it is hard to do what Iblis didn't do, which is to admit that Allah's command is right, and anything contradicts it is wrong.
On the other hand, Adam and Hawwa, disobeyed Allah as well, but they did it in absence of any such emotions, and hence when they realize the punishment, they surrendered and repented, because they knew that Allah's command is above everything we possess and love. If we are not ready to give in to the Haqq ( the absoluteness of Allah's Command), we are not on the winning side.
In Iblis, we have an example for us. We can be the highest ranking scholar, or the best of the worshiper, but if we refuse a command of Allah because it contradicts our culture, or office status, or status quo, we are following the path that Iblis paved with his example. He was not an evil entity, until his racial pride became more beloved to him than his Creator's command. It was definitely an awkward command to prostrate a seemingly weak being, and he refused, although his belief in Allah was much stronger than any human being, since we have not seen the world that he saw.
It does not matter what the command is that we are disobeying. It could be shaving beard, in fear of Employer, or not wearing hijab, in fear of bullying. It could be participating in the tradition of Milad, in fear of taunts from family. It could be not standing up to justice, in fear losing facilities from the person in charge. It could be not reminding a brother, in fear of losing social connections.It could be disobeying parents, in fear of wife. It could be not practicing Islam, in fear of being called religious. If we disobey Allah, to avoid embarrassment, we are putting ourselves ahead of our Creator. What went through Iblis mind before he refused? He must have known what Allah's reaction will be. After the reaction, he stood firm, so what was motivating him. Any of us can fall into this, and some of us are motivated by this firm notion of being better.
I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the one who was disgraced. We should examine our lives, and make corrections, if we are not obeying any of Allah's command, even if it is very awkward. It is not the sheer quantity of our deeds that will take us to paradise, but Allah's approval of our sincerity.
Without his forgiveness, there is no peace,
a single disobedience, we lose it all.
Oh believers! this world is not what it seems,
pride in the world, will ruin it all.
JazakAllahuKhairin
A repenting sinner.
AbuArman Jumani
