The Heights, The Elevated Places — Verse 14

فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا (Get down from this) "because you defied My command and disobeyed Me. Get out, it is not for you to be arrogant here," in Paradise, according to the scholars of Tafsir. It could also refer to particular status which he held in the utmost highs. Allah said to Iblis, فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّـغِرِينَ (Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced.) as just recompense for his ill intentions, by giving him the opposite of what he intended (arrogance). This is when the cursed one remembered and asked for respite until the Day of Judgment, قَالَ رَبِّ فَأَنظِرْنِى إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ - قَالَ فَإِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنظَرِينَ (Then allow me respite till the Day they are raised up. (Allah) said: "Then you are of those respited.") 15: 36-37 Allah gave Shaytan what he asked for out of His wisdom, being His decision and decree, that is never prevented or resisted. Surely, none can avert His decision, and He is swift in reckoning.

Said he ‘Reprieve me postpone my affair until the day when they people are resurrected’.

until the day when they are resurrected', from the tombs of [their] bodies and the burial places of the attributes of the soul following voluntary death at the middle resurrection through the life of the heart and the deliverance of primordial nature from the veils of configuration. Or [it means] [until] they are resurrected after annihilation in the unity at the major resurrection through the existence that is bestowed by the Truth and [through] real life. The former [type of] resurrected individual is the one who is mukliṣ, while the latter is mukhlaṣ. Iblis has no means of leading either of these two astray.

until the day when they are resurrected', from the tombs of [their] bodies and the burial places of the attributes of the soul following voluntary death at the middle resurrection through the life of the heart and the deliverance of primordial nature from the veils of configuration. Or [it means] [until] they are resurrected after annihilation in the unity at the major resurrection through the existence that is bestowed by the Truth and [through] real life. The former [type of] resurrected individual is the one who is mukliṣ, while the latter is mukhlaṣ. Iblis has no means of leading either of these two astray.

قال إبليس لله -جل وعلا- حينما يئس من رحمته: أمهلني إلى يوم البعث؛ وذلك لأتمكن من إغواء مَن أقدر عليه من بني آدم.

قال "أنظرني إلى يوم يبعثون قال إنك من المنظرين" أجابه تعالى إلى ما سأل لما له في ذلك من الحكمة والإرادة والمشيئة التي لا تخالف ولا تمانع ولا معقب لحكمه "وهو سريع الحساب".

أى : قال إبليس لله - تعالى - أخرنى ولا تمتنى إلى يوم بعث آدم وذريته من القبور ، وهو وقت النفخة الثانية عند قيام الساعة . وقد أراد بذلك النجاة من الموت : إذ لا موت بعد البعث . كما أراد بذلك أن يجد فسحة من الإغواء لبنى آدم .وقوله : ( أَنظِرْنِي ) مأخوذ من الإنظار بمعنى الإمهال والتأخير . تقول أنظرته بحقى أنظره إنظارا أى : أمهلته .

القول في تأويل قوله : قَالَ أَنْظِرْنِي إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ (14)قال أبو جعفر: وهذه أيضًا جَهْلة أخرى من جَهَلاته الخبيثة. سأل ربه ما قد علم أنه لا سبيل لأحد من خلق الله إليه . وذلك أنه سأل النَّظِرة إلى قيام الساعة, وذلك هو يوم يبعث فيه الخلق. ولو أعطي ما سأل من النَّظِرة، كان قد أعطي الخلودَ وبقاءً لا فناء معه, وذلك أنه لا موت بعد البعث. فقال جل ثناؤه له: فَإِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنْظَرِينَ * إِلَى يَوْمِ الْوَقْتِ الْمَعْلُومِ [سورة الحجر: 37-38 / سورة ص: 80 ، 81 ]، وذلك إلى اليوم الذي قد كتب الله عليه فيه الهلاك والموت والفناء، لأنه لا شيء يبقى فلا يفنى، غير ربِّنا الحيِّ الذي لا يموت. يقول الله تعالى ذكره: كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ، [سورة آل عمران: 185 / سورة الأنبياء: 35 / سورة العنكبوت: 57].* * *و " الإنظار " في كلام العرب، التأخير. يقال منه: " أنظرته بحقي عليه أنظره به إنظارًا ". (18)* * *فإن قال قائل: فإن الله قد قال له إذ سأله الإنظار إلى يوم يبعثون: (إنك من المنظرين) في هذا الموضع, فقد أجابه إلى ما سأل؟قيل له: ليس الأمر كذلك, وإنما كان مجيبًا له إلى ما سأل لو كان قال له: " إنك من المنظرين إلى الوقت الذي سألت = أو: إلى يوم البعث = أو إلى يوم يبعثون ", أو ما أشبه ذلك، مما يدل على إجابته إلى ما سأل من النظرة.-------------------------الهوامش :(18) انظر تفسير (( الإنظار )) فيما سلف 2 : 467 ، 468 /3 : 264 / 6 : 577 /11 : 267 .

( قال ) إبليس عند ذلك ، ( أنظرني ) أخرني وأمهلني فلا تمتني ، ( إلى يوم يبعثون ) من قبورهم وهو النفخة الأخيرة عند قيام الساعة ، أراد الخبيث أن لا يذوق الموت .

لمّا كوّن الله فيه الصّغار والحقارة بعد عزّة الملَكية وشرفها انقلبت مرامي همّته إلى التّعلق بالسّفاسف ( إذَا ما لم تكن إبل فمَعْزَى ) فسأل النَّظِرة بطول الحياة إلى يوم البعث ، إذ كان يعلم قبل ذلك أنّه من الحوادث الباقية لأنّه من أهل العالم الباقي ، فلمّا أهبط إلى العالم الأرضي ظنّ أنّه صائر إلى العدم فلذلك سأل النَظِرة إبقاء لما كان له من قبلُ ، وإذ قد كان ذلك بتقدير الله تعالى وعلِمه ، وبَدر من إبليس طلب النظِرة ، قال الله تعالى : { إنك من المنظرين } أي إنّك من المخلوقات الباقية .

فلما أعلن عدو اللّه بعداوة اللّه، وعداوة آدم وذريته، سأل اللّهَ النَّظِرَةَ والإمهال إلى يوم البعث، ليتمكن من إغواء ما يقدر عليه من بني آدم.

قوله تعالى قال أنظرني إلى يوم يبعثونسأل النظرة والإمهال إلى يوم البعث والحساب . طلب ألا يموت لأن يوم البعث لا موت [ ص: 157 ] بعده ;

Sometimes God chooses a messenger to convey His word to the people, but his status as a guide is not readily acceptable to them. For this would imply that they were inferior to the messenger as they had failed to arrive at the truth. On such occasions Satan stirs up feelings of jealousy and pride. Puffed up with the feeling: ‘I am better,’ a man is not prepared to acknowledge the superiority of his brother. In the eyes of God, this amounts to treading the path of Satan. In such instances, one who treads the path of jealousy and pride makes himself deserving of the fate of hell, while one who remains humble proves that he deserves to find an abode in the gardens of Paradise. Whatever a man receives comes from God. So, the admission of someone else’s superiority is in fact an admission of the propriety of God’s endowments. Thus, denying the superiority of a well-endowed person is like the denial of God’s own decree. Similarly, when one man yields to another on the basis of some truth, he is not bowing down before just some man but before God; he does so in response to God’s command and not because of the other’s personal superiority.

Commentary The event relating to Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and the Shaytan has appeared earlier in Section four of Surah Al-Baqarah (Ma` ariful-Qur'an, English Translation, under verse 34). Some aspects of the subject have been covered in comments given there. Answers to some others are being given here. How Long was the Respite given to Iblis? It was exactly at the time Iblis was under the wrath of Allah, he made a prayer, a strange prayer indeed. He asked for a lease of life until the day of Resurrection. The words in which Allah Ta` ala answered the prayer, as they appear in this verse, are no more than: إِنَّكَ مِنَ الْمُنظَرِ‌ينَ (Respite is given to you). From these words, given the nature of the question and the answer, it can be understood that this respite was given until the Resurrection as asked by him. But, what is not stated in this verse clearly is whether the giving of respite mentioned here is until the Resurrection as asked by Iblis, or is for some other duration. But, in another verse, the words: إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْوَقْتِ الْمَعْلُومِ ﴿38﴾ (Till the day of the appointed time - 15:38) appear at this place which, on the surface, seem to suggest that the respite till the day of Qiyamah as asked by Iblis was not given. Instead, given to him was a respite till a particular time which is preserved in Divine knowledge. The outcome is that the prayer of Iblis was answered - though not completely. He was given respite till a particular time and not till the day of Resurrection or Qiyamah. Reported in Tafsir Ibn Jarir is a narration from Suddiy which supports this view. The exact words of the report are: فلم ینظرہ الی یوم البعث و لکن انظرہ الی یوم الوقت المعلوم و ھو یوم ینفخ فی الصور النفخۃ الاولی فصعق من فی السموات و من فی الارض فمات، Allah Ta` ala did not give respite to Iblis till the day of Resurrection, instead, He has given him respite till a day the time of which is appointed and that is the day when the Horn will be blown the first time and whoever there is in the heavens or the earth shall be stunned, and dead. In summation, we can say that the Shaytan had actually asked for a respite in his prayer till the time when the second Horn will be blown and all the dead will be resurrected. This is what is called: یوم البعث (Yowm al-Ba’ th). If this prayer was answered as asked, it would have meant that Iblis was to be alive as based on his prayer while the facts on the ground would have been different: That would be a time when nothing will be alive except the One Being of the Eternally-Alive and the Self-Sustaining Hayy and Qaiyyum and that would be the time when the great promise of: كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ﴿26﴾ وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَ‌بِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَ‌امِ ﴿27﴾ (All that is on it will perish and to remain there shall be the Face of your Lord, full of majesty, bounty and honour - 55:26-27) will stand immensely manifested. On that basis, Iblis was not to live to see that time. Therefore, his one prayer for respite till the Yowm al-Ba’ th was not granted, instead of which, the time of the respite was changed to Yowma yunfakhu fi as-sur, till the day blown is the Horn, and granted at that. The effect would be that death shall be the order of the day for the whole creation. Iblis will have his death as well. When all others are resurrected, he too shall stand resurrected. These details remove the possible doubt that could arise from the verse: كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ﴿26﴾ (All that is on it will perish -55:26) referred immediately above specially in relation with this prayer. The apparent contra-diction between the two thus stands resolved. The substance of this investigation is that Yowm al-Ba'th and Yowm al-Waqt al-Ma'lum are two separate days. Iblis had asked for respite till the Yowm al-Ba’ th. This was not granted wholly. Instead of that, a change was made and respite was given till the Yowm al-Waqt al-Ma'lum. Hadrat Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) ، in Bayan al-Qur'an, has preferred the view that these two are really two separate days. In fact, from the time of the blowing of the first Horn upto the entry into Paradise or Hell, it will be a long day with different things happening at different times in it. Based on these different happenings, that day could be attributed to every event which takes place therein. For instance, it could be called the day of the blowing of the Horn (صُور) and the day of perishing (فَنَا), as well as, the day of Resurrection (بعث) and the day of .Recompense (جزَا). This helps resolves all doubts and difficulties فَللہِ الحَمد . Can the Prayer of a Disbeliever be Acceptable? The question comes from the verse: وَمَا دُعَاءُ الْكَافِرِ‌ينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ (And the prayer of disbelievers is but in vain - 13:14), it is usually taken that the prayer made by a disbeliever is not answered. But, from this event concerning Iblis and the statement in the verse, this difficulty becomes obvious. The answer is that, in this mortal world, even the prayer of a disbeliever can be answered - so much so, that even the prayer of the foremost disbeliever, Iblis, was answered. But, in the Hereafter, the prayer of a disbeliever will not be answered. The verse quoted above relates to the Hereafter ('Akhirah). It has nothing to do with this mortal world. The Event of 'Adam and Iblis: The Rationale of Different Words This story appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places. The words used in relevant questions and answers differ everywhere, though the event is the same. The reason is that the subject remains the same when the main event is described. That the words remain exactly the same everywhere is not necessary. A narration could be based on meaning too. If the unity of subject and sense exists, variations in words do not deserve consideration. What made Iblis speak the way he did before Allah? The place where Iblis dared to speak was in the Most August conceivable Presence of the Master of all Honour where the awe and majesty of the occasion would not allow even angels and prophets and messengers to breathe. How did he do that? ` Ulama say that this was a somber and highly cutting manifestation of the Divine wrath that, because of the rejection of Iblis, his view was so obstructed (hijab) that he became blind to the grandeur and awe of Allah Ta` ala and irreverence came down to settle on him all over. (Abridged from Bayern al-Qur'an) The Assault of Shaytan is Multi-Dimensional, not simply Four-Sided In the present verse (17), Iblis is said to have identified four sides from which he planned to mislead the children of 'Adam, that is, the front, the rear and the right and the left. But, the purpose here is not to set up any limits. Instead, the sense is that this will be from all sides and directions. Therefore, the probability of his leading people astray from above and beneath the feet does not contradict it. Similarly, the saying of the Hadith that - Shaytan can enter the human body and move through the arteries and veins of blood and take command of the whole body - is also not contradictory to this. In the cited verses (13 18), the Shaytan has been commanded to leave the heavens twice. First, when it was said: فَاخْرُ‌جْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِ‌ينَ (So, go. You are of the low.) and then, when it was said: فَاخْرُ‌جْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِ‌ينَ (Get out of here, condemned ...). Here, the first saying is perhaps a proposal while the other is its implementation. (Abridged from Bayan a1-Qur'an)

(He said: Reprieve me) give me respite (till the day when they are raised) from the graves-accursed not wanting to die.