Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:28

{And when your Lord said} Remember the time of His saying.

{I have fashioned him} I balanced his creation, perfected it, and prepared it for the breathing of the spirit into him.

{And I have breathed into him of My spirit} I gave him life. There is no literal breathing or "breathed-into" object here; it is a metaphor for the acquisition of that by which he lives.

{Iblis} He was excepted from the angels because he was among them, commanded along with them to prostrate. The term "angels" was used to cover the group, and then he was excepted after this generalization, similar to saying: "I saw them, except Hind."

{He refused} This is a new sentence (isti'naf) in response to one who might ask: "Why did he not prostrate?" It is said: He refused that and grew arrogant toward it. Others say the meaning is: "But Iblis refused."

{What is [the matter] with you} The preposition with "an" (that) is omitted. The meaning of {that you are not with those who prostrate} is: What purpose do you have in refusing to prostrate? What is driving you to it?

{That I should prostrate} The *lam* is for the emphasis of negation. It means: It is not appropriate for me, it contradicts my state, and it is impossible for me to prostrate to a human.

{Rajim (Accursed/Stoned)} A devil from among those who are pelted with shooting stars, or one driven away from the mercy of Allah; for whoever is driven away is pelted with stones. It means "cursed," for cursing is the act of driving away from mercy and distancing from it.

{Until the Day of Recompense} The pronoun in {thereof} refers to Paradise, the heavens, or the collective body of angels. The "Day of Recompense" is set as a limit for the curse, either because it is a deadline people use in their speech—like His saying {as long as the heavens and the earth endure} (Hud: 107) to denote eternity—or it means: You are condemned and cursed in the heavens and earth until the Day of Recompense, without being punished. When that day arrives, you will be punished with something that makes the curse forgotten.

{By what} The *ba* is for an oath. *Ma* is a masdariyah (infinitive particle). The answer to the oath is {I will surely beautify for them}. The meaning: I swear by Your causing me to go astray, I will surely beautify [sin] for them. His "causing him to go astray" means He was the cause of his error by commanding him to prostrate to Adam (peace be upon him), which led to his error. The command to prostrate was nothing but goodness and an opportunity for reward through humility and submission to Allah’s command, but Iblis chose refusal and arrogance, so he perished. Allah is free from his error, his desire for it, and being pleased with it.

{In the earth} Either in the world, which is the abode of deception, or he meant: I am capable of scheming against Adam and beautifying the eating from the tree for him while he was in heaven, so I am even more capable of beautifying it for his children on earth. Or he meant: I will make the earth the place where they find beauty, and I will cause my beautification to occur within it—meaning I will make them see it as beautiful and convince them that beauty exists only in the world, until they prefer it over the Hereafter and find comfort in it instead.

{Except Your chosen servants} He excepted the sincere ones because He knew his deception would not work on them and they would not accept it from him.

{This is a straight path upon Me} Meaning: This is a path of truth that I must observe, which is that you shall have no authority over My servants, except for those who choose to follow you in their error.

{For their appointed time} The pronoun refers to the misguided. It is said the gates of Hell are its levels and depths: the highest for the monotheists, the second for the Jews, the third for the Christians, the fourth for the Sabians, the fifth for the Magians, the sixth for the polytheists, and the seventh for the hypocrites. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Jahannam is for those who claimed divinity, Laza for those who turned away from the fire, Al-Hutamah for idol worshippers, Saqar for the Jews, Al-Sa'ir for the Christians, Al-Jahim for the Sabians, and Al-Hawiyah for the monotheists.