Quran 7:12 — Surah Al-A'raaf Ayah 12 | Arabic, Translation & Tafsir

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَٰكُمْ ثُمَّ ...

7:12

Al-A'raaf

قَالَ فَٱهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَت...

قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ ۖ قَالَ أَنَا۠ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِى مِن نَّارٍۢ وَخَلَقْتَهُۥ مِن طِينٍۢ

Qaala maa mana'aka allaa tasjuda iz amartuka qaala ana khairum minhu khalaqtanee min naarinw wa khalaqtahoo min teen

[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."

Related Tafsir

Ibn Kathir

مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَ

(What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate) 7: 12 meaning, what stopped and hindered you from prostrating after I ordered you to do so, according to Ibn Jarir. This meaning is sound, and Allah knows best. Iblis, may Allah curse him, said,

أَنَاْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ

(I am better than him (Adam)), and this excuse is worse than the crime itself! Shaytan said that he did not obey Allah because he who is better cannot prostrate to he who is less. Shaytan, may Allah curse him, meant that he is better than Adam, "So how can You order me to prostrate before him" Shaytan said that he is better than Adam because he was created from fire while, "You created him from clay, and fire is better." The cursed one looked at the origin of creation not at the honor bestowed, that is, Allah creating Adam with His Hand and blowing life into him. Shaytan made a false comparison when confronted by Allah's command,

فَقَعُواْ لَهُ سَـجِدِينَ

("Then you fall down prostrate to him")38:72. Therefore, Shaytan alone contradicted the angels, because he refused to prostrate. He, thus, became `Ablasa' from the mercy, meaning, lost hope in acquiring Allah's mercy. He committed this error, may Allah curse him, due to his false comparison. His claim that the fire is more honored than mud was also false, because mud has the qualities of wisdom, for - bearance, patience and assurance, mud is where plants grow, flourish, increase, and provide good. To the contrary, fire has the qualities of burning, recklessness and hastiness. Therefore, the origin of creation directed Shaytan to failure, while the origin of Adam led him to return to Allah with repentance, humbleness, obedience and submission to His command, admitting his error and seeking Allah's forgiveness and pardon for it. Muslim recorded that `Aishah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«خُلِقَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ نُورٍ وَخُلِقَ إِبْلِيسُ مِنْ مَارِجٍ مِنْ نَارٍ وَخُلِقَ آدَمُ مِمَّا وُصِفَ لَكُم»

(The angels were created from light, Shaytan from a smokeless flame of fire, while Adam was created from what was described to you).

Iblis was the First to use Qiyas (Analogical Comparison)

Ibn Jarir recorded that Al-Hasan commented on Shaytan's statement,

خَلَقْتَنِى مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ

("You created me from fire, and him You created from clay.") "Iblis used Qiyas analogy, and he was the first one to do so." This statement has an authentic chain of narration. Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn Sirin said, "The first to use Qiyas was Iblis, and would the sun and moon be worshipped if it was not for Qiyas" This statement also has an authentic chain of narration.

View Full Tafsir: مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَAyahs 12–12

I said to al-Hasan: Abu Sa’id, tell me about Adam. Was he created for the heaven or the earth? He said: No, for the earth. I said: It was unavoidable for him. I said: Tell me about the following verse of the Quran: ”can lead (any) into temptation concerning Allah, except such as are (themselves) going to blazing fire.” He said: The devils do not lead anyone astray by their temptation except the one whom Allah destined to go to Hell.

Sahih Muslim #6486Anas reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

When Allah fashioned Adam in Paradise, He left him as He liked him to leave. Then Iblis roamed round him to see what actually that was and when he found him hollow from within, he recognised that he had been created with a disposition that he would not have control over himself.

Sahih Muslim #251This hadith has been transmitted by Mahmud b. Ghailan by another chain of transmitters (and the words are):

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: The Satan will come to everyone of you and say: Who created the heaven, who created the earth? (And the man) replies: It is Allah, Then the remaining part of the hadith was narrated as mentioned above and the words 'His prophets" were added to it.

Sunan Ibn Majah #786It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘When a son of Adam recites a Sajdah* and prostrates, Satan withdraws weeping, saying: ‘Woe is me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated, and Paradise will be his; I was commanded to prostrate and I refused, so I am doomed to Hell.’” * An Ayah indicating prostration.

Sahih al-Bukhari #3196Narrated Anas:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah will say to that person of the (Hell) Fire who will receive the least punishment, 'If you had everything on the earth, would you give it as a ransom to free yourself (i.e. save yourself from this Fire)?' He will say, 'Yes.' Then Allah will say, 'While you were in the backbone of Adam, I asked you much less than this, i.e. not to worship others besides Me, but you insisted on worshipping others besides me.' "