Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:22

Ibrahim (14:22)

And Satan will say when the matter is judged:

After Allah mentioned the dispute among the leaders and followers of the disbelievers among mankind, He follows it with the dispute between Satan and his followers among mankind.

There are several interpretations for the phrase "when the matter is judged" (لما قضى الامر):

1. The First View (Most Accepted): The commentators say that once the inhabitants of Paradise are settled in Paradise, and the inhabitants of the Fire are settled in the Fire, the people of the Fire will begin to blame and reproach Iblis. Then, Iblis will stand up among them as a speaker and say what Allah has informed us of: "And Satan will say when the matter is judged..."
2. The Second View: It means after the accounting (المحاسبة) has concluded. However, the first view is preferable because the final state of the Day of Resurrection is the establishment of the obedient in Paradise and the established of the disbelievers in the Fire, and this state endures thereafter.
3. The Third View (Considering Sinners): Our doctrine holds that the grave sinners (الفساق) among those who prayed will exit the Fire and enter Paradise. It is plausible that "when the matter is judged" refers to that time, as at that point, the temporary states cease, and only the permanence of what has occurred remains.

Regarding "Satan" (الشيطان): This refers to Iblis, as the word is singular and refers to the chief of the devils. This is supported by the Prophet's saying: "When Allah gathers the creation and judges between them, the disbeliever will say: 'The Muslims found someone to intercede for them, but who will intercede for us? It is only Iblis who misled us.' So they will come to him and ask him, and at that point, he will say this statement."

First Inquiry: Meaning of the Promises

1. Allah promised you the Promise of Truth (وعد الحق), which is the Resurrection and recompense for deeds, and He fulfilled that promise to you.
2. I promised you the opposite of that, and I failed you.

The structure of the speech implies that the self (النفس) calls towards worldly matters and cannot comprehend the nature of Hereafter bliss and spiritual perfection, whereas Allah calls towards them and encourages them, as in the verse: "The Hereafter is better and more enduring" (Al-A'la: 17).

Second Inquiry: The Meaning of "Promise of Truth" (وعد الحق)

1. It is an idafa (genitive construction) of the thing to itself, like saying حب الحصيد (the seed's harvest) or, according to the Kufans, مسجد الجامع (the congregational mosque). It means: "Allah promised you the True Promise."
2. According to the Basrans, the implied meaning is: "Allah promised you the True Day" or "the True Matter," or simply "Allah promised you the Truth," with the noun (الحق) added for emphasis.

Third Inquiry: Implied Omissions in the Verse

The verse implies omissions in two ways:

1. Omission of Confirmation: The implied meaning is: "Indeed, Allah promised you the Promise of Truth, and He was truthful to you; and I promised you, and I failed you." The confirmation of truthfulness is omitted because the situation they are witnessing (the judgment) proves the truth of Allah's promise, as there is no clearer proof than direct observation (العيان). Furthermore, the mention of Satan's failure implies the truthfulness of Allah's promise.
2. Omission of the Second Object: In the phrase "I promised you and failed you," the verb "promised" (وعدتكم) requires a second object, which is omitted because it is known. The implied meaning is: "I promised you that there would be no Paradise, no Fire, no gathering, and no accounting."

"And I had no authority over you" (وما كان لى عليكم من سلطان): Meaning, I had no power, ability, dominion, or coercion to force you into disbelief or sin.

"Except that I invited you" (إلا أن دعوتكم): Meaning, except my invitation to misguidance through my whispering (الوسوسة) and beautification (التزيين).

• Grammatical Note: Grammarians argue that "invitation" (الدعاء) is not of the same category as "authority" (السلطان), making this an exception of disconnection (استثناء منقطع), similar to the saying: "Their greeting is nothing but striking."
• My View: The word illa (إلا) here can be a true exception. A person's ability to make another act can be through coercion/force (القهر والقسر), or through strengthening the inner caller (الداعية) in the heart by casting whispers—this is a type of dominion (التسلط).

Implication: The apparent meaning of this verse indicates that Satan has no power to physically compel a person, twist their limbs, or remove their intellect, as the common folk and the Hashawiyyah claim.

"So do not blame me, but blame yourselves" (فلا تلومونى ولوموا أنفسكم): My role was only invitation and whispering. You heard the proofs of Allah and witnessed the coming of His Prophets. It was incumbent upon you not to be deceived by my saying or pay attention to it. Since you preferred my word over the clear proofs, the blame lies with you, not with me.

First Issue: Proofs for the Mu'tazila

This verse proves three things for the Mu'tazila:

1. If disbelief and sin were from Allah, it would have been necessary to say: "So do not blame me, nor blame yourselves," because Allah decreed disbelief upon you and forced you into it.
2. The verse shows that Satan has no power to physically compel a person, twist their limbs, or remove their intellect, contrary to what the Hashawiyyah and common people say.
3. This verse proves that a person should not be blamed, censured, or punished for the actions of another. Consequently, it is not permissible to punish the children of disbelievers for the disbelief of their fathers.

Response to the Mu'tazila: Some scholars respond that this is the statement of Satan, and therefore, it should not be used as proof.

Counter-Response: If this statement were false, Allah would have clarified its falsehood and shown His rejection of it. Moreover, there would be no benefit in mentioning false speech on that Day. Notice that the first part, "Indeed, Allah promised you the promise of truth, but I promised you and failed you," is true. And "I had no authority over you" is also true, as supported by the verse: "Indeed, My servants—you will have no authority over them except over those who follow you of the misguided" (Al-Hijr: 42).

Second Issue: The True Satan is the Self (النفس)

This verse indicates that the original Satan is the self (النفس). This is because Satan explained that he only brought whispering (الوسوسة). If there were no inclination arising from desire, anger, illusion, or imagination, his whispering would have no effect whatsoever. This proves that the original Satan is the self.

Inquiry: Explain the reality of whispering (الوسوسة).

Answer: An action only proceeds from a person when four matters occur, one necessarily following the other in a natural sequence:

1. The human limbs, by virtue of their original soundness and natural potentiality, are capable of action and inaction, advance and retreat. Action cannot occur unless a inclination arises in the heart to prefer action over inaction, or vice versa. This inclination is the decisive will (الإرادة الجازمة) and firm intention (القصد الجازم).
2. This decisive will only arises upon the occurrence of knowledge, belief, or conjecture that the action is a cause for benefit or harm. If this belief does not occur, there will be no inclination toward action or inaction.
3. Thus, when a person senses something, it results in their feeling that it is either agreeable, repulsive, or neutral.
   • If the feeling of agreeableness occurs, the decisive inclination toward action follows.
   • If the feeling of repulsion occurs, the decisive inclination toward inaction follows.
   • If neither occurs, no inclination arises toward the thing or its opposite; the person remains as they were.
4. When this decisive inclination occurs, power combined with that inclination necessitates the action.

Given this, the occurrence of the action from the combination of power and the resulting call (الداعي) is necessary (واجب), so Satan has no role in it. The arising of inclination from the perception of something as good or evil is also necessary, so Satan has no role there. The arising of the perception of good or evil from mere sensory perception is also necessary, so Satan has no role there.

Therefore, Satan's only role remains in reminding (يذكره) something, by casting its narrative into the mind—for example, if a person was heedless of the image of a woman, Satan casts her image into his thought. Satan has no power except in this stage, which is exactly what Allah recounted: "And I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me..." Meaning, my part was only this invitation; the subsequent stages did not originate from me, nor did I have any effect upon them.

Question 1: How is Satan's penetration into the human interior and casting whispers conceivable?

Answer: There are two main views regarding angels and devils:

First View (Spiritual Essences): Everything besides Allah, by intellectual division, falls into three categories: the corporeal (المتحيز), the state within the corporeal (الحال في المتحيز), and that which is neither corporeal nor a state within it. Proofs confirm the validity of this third category, which is called spirits (الأرواح).

• If these spirits are pure and sanctified from the realm of sublime spirituality, they are Angels.
• If they are malicious, calling towards evils, the world of bodies, and the abodes of darkness, they are Devils.

Under this view, Satan is not a body requiring entry into the physical body; rather, he is a malicious spiritual essence (جوهر روحاني خبيث الفعل) inherently inclined to evil, just as the human soul is. Thus, it is not improbable that these spirits cast types of whispers and falsehoods into the essence of the human soul.

• Second Possibility (Related Spirits): Some scholars suggest that human rational souls (النفوس الناطقة البشرية) differ by type and belong to different groups. Each group is managed by a specific celestial spirit (روح سماوي). A group with good morals and actions is connected to one spirit, while a harsh, strong group is connected to another. These human spirits are like the offspring or results of that celestial spirit, which guides them to their welfare and inspires them during sleep and wakefulness (the ancients called this the "Perfect Nature" (الطباع التام)). This celestial spirit has many branches and results, all of the same genus as the human spirit. Due to similarity and affinity, some of these branches assist others in appropriate actions. If they are good and pure, they are angels, and this assistance is called Inspiration (الإلهام). If they are evil and malicious, they are devils, and this assistance is called Whispering (الوسوسة).
• Third Possibility (Post-Mortem Connection): Human souls, upon leaving their bodies, become stronger in the qualities they acquired. If a new soul arises that resembles the departed soul and is in a body similar to the body the departed soul inhabited, a connection forms between the departed soul and this new body due to the similarity. The departed soul then assists the embodied soul in its states and actions. If this assistance is in good matters, it is inspiration; if in evil, it is whispering.

These possibilities are based on affirming sublime essences free from corporeality and localization, a concept well-known among ancient philosophers.

Second View (Corporeal Beings): Angels and devils must be bodies. However, they cannot be dense bodies; they must be subtle bodies (أجسام لطيفة) composed in a wondrous manner that prevents dispersion, corruption, or decay despite their subtlety. The penetration of subtle bodies into dense bodies is not far-fetched. The human soul is a subtle body that penetrates the depth of the physical body; if that is conceivable, how can the penetration of subtle bodies into this body be rejected? Fire permeates charcoal, rosewater permeates rose petals, and sesame oil permeates the sesame seed.

Therefore, affirming Jinn and devils is not logically impossible or refuted by evidence. The insistence on denial stems only from ignorance.

If affirming devils is possible, it is most appropriate to say that angels are created from Light (النور), and devils are created from Smoke and Flame, as Allah says: "And the Jinn, We created before from smokeless fire" (Al-Hijr: 27), a view famous among ancient philosophers.

Question 2: Why did Satan say, "So do not blame me, but blame yourselves," when he is also blameworthy for undertaking that false whispering?

Answer: He meant: "Do not blame me for what you did, but blame yourselves for it, because you turned away from the guidance Allah required of you."

Allah then recounts Satan saying: "I will not save you, nor will you save me" (ما أنا بمصرخكم وما أنتم بمصرخى).

First Issue: Meaning of بمصرخكم

• Ibn Abbas: It means "I will not relieve you (بمغيثكم) nor rescue you (بمنقذكم)."
• Ibn al-A'rabi: The one who cries out (الصارخ) is the one seeking help; the one who relieves (المصرخ) is the one providing help. One says, "So-and-so cried out" (صرخ فلان) when he sought aid, saying, "Woe is me, help!" And "I relieved him" (أصرحته) means I helped him.

Second Issue: Variant Reading

Hamzah read it as بمصرخي (with a kasra on the ya). Al-Wahidi notes that this is also the reading of Al-A'mash and Yahya ibn Wathab. Al-Farrā' suggested this might be a scribal error, as scribes often err. He speculates they might have thought the ba' in بمصرخى governed the entire word, which is incorrect because the ya of the first-person pronoun is external to that structure. Al-Farrā' also points to a similar potential error in the reading of نوله ما تولى ونصله جهنم (An-Nisa: 115), where the ha is read with sukūn, thinking the jazm (jussive mood) applied to the ha, which is wrong since the ha is in the accusative case (نصب) and the preceding verb had its ya dropped. While some grammarians tried to justify the reading بمصرخي, the majority consider it an error (لحن).

First Issue: Meaning of بما أشرك أبويك من قبل

1. The Ma is Masdariyyah (Source Noun): The meaning is: "I disavowed your associating me with Allah in obedience." This means I reject what those followers believed—that Iblis was a partner with Allah in managing the universe—or that they obeyed Satan in evil deeds just as they obeyed Allah in good deeds; this is what is meant by association (الإشراك).
2. The Ma is Min (Relative Pronoun) (Al-Farrā's View): The meaning is: "I disavowed Allah, whom you associated me with before your disbelief." This implies that Iblis's disbelief preceded the disbelief of those followers. In this case, the ma means min.

Preference: The first interpretation is more coherent with the flow of the discourse. However, the second interpretation can also be coherent: Iblis might be saying, "My whispering had no effect on your disbelief, as evidenced by the fact that I disavowed Allah before you fell into disbelief. My disbelief was not caused by another whisper, or else it would lead to an infinite regress (التسلسل). Thus, the cause of your falling into disbelief must be something other than whispering."

Regarding: "Indeed, the wrongdoers have a painful punishment."

This is most likely the statement of Allah the Almighty, concluding Iblis's speech. It is also possible that it is a continuation of Iblis's speech, intended to cut off any lingering hope the disbelievers might have for aid or relief.

Ibrahim (14:23)

And those who believed and did righteous deeds will be admitted to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally by the permission of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be, "Peace."