Al-Hijr (15): 36–41

Issues in the Verses

There are several points of discussion regarding these verses:

The phrase فَأَنظِرْنِي (Grant me respite) is connected to the preceding statement: "If You have doomed me to be rejected and accursed until the Day of Resurrection." This means Iblis requested a delay from God Almighty, hoping for reprieve until the Day of Resurrection, since he despaired of salvation in the Hereafter.

His request was until the Day of Resurrection (إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ), which is the Day of Reawakening. God replied: "Indeed, you are of those reprieved until the Day of the Appointed Time (إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْوَقْتِ الْمَعْلُوم)."

Iblis sought respite until the Day of Resurrection, intending that he would not die before it. If he does not die before the Resurrection, and assuming no one dies after the Resurrection, it implies he would never die at all.

However, God denied him this ultimate request, stating: "Indeed, you are of those reprieved until the Day of the Appointed Time." Scholars have differed on the meaning of this "Appointed Time":

1. The First Opinion: The "Appointed Time" refers to the time of the First Trumpet Blast, when all creatures will die. It is called the "Appointed Time" because it is known that all creatures will die then. Alternatively, God named it this because only God Almighty knows that specific time, as He says: "Its knowledge is only with my Lord; none shall reveal it at its time except He" (Al-A'raf: 187), and "Indeed, Allah has with Him the knowledge of the Hour" (Luqman: 34).
2. The Second Opinion: The "Appointed Time" refers to the time Iblis specified: the Day of Resurrection (إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ). It was named the "Appointed Time" because Iblis explicitly designated and pointed to it, making it a known reference point.

Objection: If God granted his request until the Day of Resurrection, and no one dies after the Resurrection, then death is entirely averted from him.

Response: The phrase إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ should be interpreted as referring to a time close to it. The time when all accountable beings die is near the Day of Resurrection. Thus, this interpretation reverts to the first opinion.

3. The Third Opinion: The "Appointed Time" is a specific day known only to God Almighty, and it is not the Day of Resurrection.

Objection: It is not permissible for God to inform a responsible being (Mukallaf) of their exact time of death, as this would encourage them toward sin, which is impermissible for God.

Response: This objection only applies if the time of the Resurrection itself were known to the Mukallaf. Since God only informed him that he has respite until the Resurrection, but did not specify the exact moment the Resurrection occurs, there is no encouragement toward sin.

Counter-Response: Even if the exact time of the Resurrection is unknown, Iblis knew in general that there is a long period between Adam's creation and the Resurrection. He effectively knew he would not die during this long duration.

This statement involves two points of discussion:

First Point (Grammar and Meaning): The preposition Bā' (بِـ) in بِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي is for an oath, and Mā (مَا) is a relative pronoun (or masdariyyah). The answer to the oath is the subsequent statement: لَأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ (I will surely make it seem attractive to them). The meaning is: "I swear by Your misguidance of me, I will surely make it attractive to them." This is similar to His saying: "By Your might, I will surely mislead them all" (Sad: 82). However, in that verse, the oath is by God's Might (a quality of His Essence), whereas here, the oath is by God's act of misguidance (a quality of His Action). Jurists differed on the validity of swearing by the qualities of action, though swearing by the qualities of Essence is agreed upon as valid. Al-Wahidi narrated that some scholars held the Bā' here means causation: "Because I am misguided, I will make it attractive to them," similar to saying, "He swore by his disobedience that he would enter the Fire."

Second Point (Theological Implications): Our scholars used this verse to argue that God sometimes wills the creation of disbelief in a disbeliever, prevents him from religion, and misguides him from the truth, based on several points:

1. Iblis sought a long respite until the Resurrection specifically for the purpose of misleading humankind. God granted this request. If God strictly adhered to the interests of the accountable beings in religion, He would not have granted him such a long reprieve or enabled him to mislead and whisper temptations.
2. The greatest prophets and saints strive diligently to guide people to the true religion, while Iblis and his followers strive diligently in misguidance. If God's will were solely guidance, it would be necessary to preserve the guides and destroy the misleaders. Since the opposite occurred, we know that God willed disbelief and abandonment for them.
3. When God informed Iblis that he would die upon disbelief and be cursed until the Day of Judgment, this constituted an encouragement for him toward disbelief and evil. Since he despaired of forgiveness and success in Paradise, he became emboldened to commit all types of sins and disbelief.
4. When Iblis asked for this long life, knowing God knew he would only use it to increase disbelief and sin—thereby increasing his deservingness of severe punishment—this reprieve became a means for increasing his torment, indicating God willed his torment to increase.
5. Iblis explicitly stated: رَبِّ بِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي (My Lord, because You have misguided me), which is an explicit assertion that God misguided him.

Refutation of Objections to the above points:

• Regarding Point 1: God did not deny this statement when Iblis made it, indicating Iblis was truthful in what he said.
• Regarding Point 2: The statement لَأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ (I will make it attractive to them) here means the same as لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ (I will surely mislead them all) in the other verse. However, this verse clarifies that he could only make falsehood attractive because God had misguided him first. This resolves the contradiction. This is supported by what God narrated about the devils in Surah Al-Qasas: "These are the ones whom we misguided; we misguided them just as we ourselves were misguided" (Al-Qasas: 63).
• Regarding Point 5 (The question of Iblis's confession): If Iblis confessed that God misguided him, we ask: Did he know God misguided him, or not?
  • If he knew God misguided him, then it is impossible for him to remain misguided, because knowing that one is misguided implies recognizing that one's state is ignorance and falsehood, and one who knows this cannot remain in ignorance.
  • If he did not know God misguided him, how could he say رَبِّ بِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي?

Mu'tazilite Responses to these Issues:

The Mu'tazilites offered two paths regarding the first issue (why God granted respite):

1. Path of Al-Jubba'i: God granted the long respite because He knew that the state of people would not change due to Iblis's whispering. Even if Iblis and his whispers did not exist, the disbeliever and sinner would still commit that disbelief and sin through their own choice. Therefore, it was not necessary to deny him the respite.
2. Path of Abu Hashim: It is possible that God knew some people would fall into disbelief due to Iblis's whispering, but his whispering was not the cause of that disbelief; the disbeliever chose it through his own volition. At most, Iblis's whispering makes avoiding evil harder than when it is absent. This increased difficulty in performing obedience does not prevent a wise being from acting, just as sending down hardships or ambiguous verses increases doubt, yet God still does these things.

• Response to Issues 3 & 4 (Encouragement to sin/Increased torment): These two issues are answered by the same reasoning as above: If God knew that Iblis's knowledge of his fate would not cause any difference in his actions (i.e., he would sin anyway), then the objection is void.

• Response to Issue 5 (Iblis attributing misguidance to God): They offered other interpretations for بِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي:
  1. It means: "Because You disappointed me of Your Mercy, I will disappoint them by calling them to disobedience."
  2. It means: "Just as You misguided me from the path to Paradise, I will misguide them by calling them to sin."
  3. The first "misguidance" means disappointment (from mercy), and the second means leading astray (from the path).
  4. God's "misguidance" of him was commanding him to prostrate to Adam, which led to his deviation. This deviation occurred subsequently through Iblis's own choice. The command itself was not the inherent cause of the deviation.

Refutation of Mu'tazilite Answers (Al-Razi's View): All these Mu'tazilite answers are weak.

• The claim that Iblis's whispering causes no difference is false, supported by the Qur'an (e.g., "Then Satan made them slip" [Al-Baqarah: 36], "He will not expel you from the Garden, and you will be miserable" [Taha: 117], and Moses saying, "This is of the work of Satan" [Al-Qasas: 15]), all indicating Satan's actions have an effect.
• By rational proof, it is evident that one exposed to someone constantly encouraging evil and discouraging good is not in the same state as one not exposed to such influence.
• The argument that increased difficulty only affects the reward (if one obeys) or the punishment (if one sins) is flawed. A wise person prioritizes preventing great harm (increased punishment) over seeking extra benefit (increased reward) that is not strictly necessary. Since these two Mu'tazilite answers are refuted, the other interpretations become stronger.
• The interpretation that أَغْوَيْتَنِي means disappointment from mercy or misguidance from Paradise is far-fetched, because Iblis disappointed himself of mercy and misguided himself from Paradise by choosing disbelief. It is not appropriate to attribute this to God.

Therefore, the initial theological problems remain, and the Mu'tazilite answers are weak.

First Issue: Iblis excepted the sincere ones (الْمُخْلَصِينَ) because he knew his scheme would not work on them, and they would not accept him. It is mentioned that Iblis made this exception so he would not be a liar in his claim. Since Iblis guarded against lying, we know that lying is extremely base.

Second Issue (Qira'at): Ibn Kathir, Ibn 'Amir, and Abu 'Amr read الْمُخْلَصِينَ (with a Kasra on the Lām) throughout the Qur'an. The rest read الْمُخْلِصِينَ (with a Fathah on the Lām).

• Reading with Kasra (الْمُخْلَصِينَ - Mukhlaṣīn): They are those who have purified their religion and worship from any taint contradicting faith and monotheism.
• Reading with Fathah (الْمُخْلِصِينَ - Mukhliṣīn): This means those whom God has chosen/sincere through guidance, faith, success, and protection. This reading indicates that sincerity and faith are solely from God.

Third Issue (The Nature of Sincerity): Sincerity (الإخلاص) means making an act pure from the taint of anything else. Any action performed falls into one of these categories:

1. Done only for God.
2. Done only for others.
3. Done for both, where the desire for God's pleasure is:
   • a) Dominant (Rajih).
   • b) Subordinate (Marjūh).
   • c) Equal (Mu'ādil).
4. Done for no purpose (impossible, as action requires a motive).

• Category 1 (Purely for God): This is absolute sincerity. The motive is solely seeking God's pleasure, untainted by other motives. This is sincerity in the true sense.
• Category 2 (Purely for others): This is clearly not sincerity toward God.
• Category 3a (God's side dominant): This is hoped to be among the sincere, as the dominant part remains pure from taint.
• Categories 3b & 3c (Subordinate or Equal): These are clearly outside the scope of sincerity toward God.

In summary, Category 1 is certainly sincerity. Category 2 might be included through God's grace. The remaining categories are definitively outside sincerity toward God.

There are several interpretations:

1. Connection to Sincerity: Since Iblis mentioned the sincere ones (الْمُخْلَصِينَ), the word هَٰذَا (This) refers back to sincerity. Meaning: Sincerity is a path leading to Me (God), meaning it leads to My honor and reward. Al-Hasan said it means: "This is a straight path to Me." Others said: "This is a path for whoever traverses it, traversing My pleasure and honor, just as one says, 'Your path is upon me.'"
2. Path of Servitude: Sincerity is the path of servitude (العبودية). Meaning: This path in servitude is a straight path to Me.
3. Delegation to God: Since Iblis mentioned that he misguides mankind except those whom God protects by His success, this implies delegating matters to God's will. God replies: هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ عَلَيَّ (This is a path upon Me), meaning: Delegating matters to My Will and Decree is a straight path.
4. Emphasis and Truth: Meaning: This is a path that is affirmed and confirmed by Me, and it is truly and verifiably straight. Ya'qub read صِرَاطٌ عَلِيٌّ (a high path) with Tanwin (indefinite), meaning it is lofty and straight, with no crookedness. Al-Wahidi explained this as: "The path of delegating matters to God and believing in His decree is a lofty, straight path."

Regarding the exception: Iblis excepted the sincere ones because he knew his scheme would not work on them.