Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:50
And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was of the jinn and departed from the command of his Lord. Then will you take him and his descendants as allies other than Me while they are enemies to you? Wretched it is for the wrongdoers as an exchange.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلا (18:50)
Allah the Exalted reminds these polytheists of the envy that Iblīs harbored toward their forefather, and teaches them about what proceeded from him in the way of pride and arrogance toward Adam — when He commanded him to prostrate to him — and that today he treats them with the same enmity and envy with which he treated their forefather. وَ — remember, O Muḥammad — وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلا إِبْلِيسَ — who is obeyed by these polytheists and whose command is followed, while they transgress Allah's command — he did not prostrate to Adam, out of pride toward Allah and envy of Adam. كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ .
The exegetes differed concerning the meaning of كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ . Some said: he belonged to a tribe that was called the "jinn." Others said: he belonged to the guardians of the Paradise (al-jannā) and was ascribed to the Paradise. Yet others said: he was called "jinn" because, like the jinn, he is hidden from the eyes of the children of men.
Those who said this are mentioned below:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Khallād ibn ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ṭāwūs, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. He said: "His name, before he committed the disobedience, was ʿAzāzīl; he was an inhabitant of the earth and one of the most diligent and most learned of the angels; that was what led him to pride. He belonged to a tribe called 'jinn.'"
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Bishr ibn ʿUmāra, on the authority of Abī Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. He said: "Iblīs belonged to a tribe of the angels called 'al-jinn'; they were created from the fire of the desert wind (nār al-samūm), distinct from the other angels; his name was al-Ḥārith." And he was the guardian (khāzin) of the Paradise. The angels were created from light, apart from this tribe; and the jinn that are mentioned in the Qurʾān were created from the fire of a flame's tongue (mārij min nār) — that is, the tongues of fire that are at its end when it blazes up.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Shaybān related to me, saying: Sallām ibn Miskīn related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib. He said: "Iblīs was the chief of the angels of the lowest heaven."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning إِلا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ . He said: "Iblīs was the guardian of the Paradise and managed the affairs of the lowest heaven."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj. He said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "Iblīs belonged to the noblest and most distinguished angels by tribe. He was the guardian over the gardens (khāzin ʿalā al-jinān), possessed authority over the lowest heaven and authority over the earth. He saw — according to what Allah had decreed — that this granted him a standing and greatness above the inhabitants of the heaven; thereby there fell into his heart a pride of which only Allah knew. When the command to prostrate came down — when Allah commanded him to prostrate to Adam — Allah brought that pride out of him at the prostration; He cursed him and deferred him until the Day of Resurrection." Ibn ʿAbbās said: "His word كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ — he was ascribed to the gardens (al-jinān) because he was their guardian, just as one calls someone makkī, madanī, kūfī, or baṣrī; thus said Ibn Jurayj."
Others said: they are a tribe of angels — a clan (sibṭ) — and the name of his clan was "al-jinn."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Ṣāliḥ mawlā al-tawʾama, and Sharīk ibn Abī Namir — one of the two or both — on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. He said: "Among the angels there is a tribe of the jinn; Iblīs belonged to it; he governed what was between the heaven and the earth; he transgressed the command and Allah was angry with him and changed him into a despicable devil — Allah cursed him and changed him in his form." He said: "If someone's sin lies in pride, hold no hope for him; if someone's sin lies in disobedience, then hold hope for him. Adam's sin was disobedience; Iblīs' sin was pride."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ : "A folk (qabīl) of the angels called 'al-jinn'; Ibn ʿAbbās said: 'Had he not been of the angels, the command to prostrate would not have applied to him.'" And he was the guardian of the lowest heaven. Qatāda used to say: "He was removed from obedience to his Lord (janna ʿan)." Al-Ḥasan used to say: "Allah forced him back to his origin."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning إِلا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ . He said: "He belonged to a tribe of angels called 'al-jinn.'"
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of al-Ḥasan. He said: "Iblīs was never for even the blink of an eye an angel; he is the origin of the jinn, just as Adam ﷺ is the origin of mankind."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: "Iblīs was over the lowest heaven and the earth and the guardian over the gardens."
It was related to me, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning فَسَجَدُوا إِلا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ : "Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: Iblīs belonged to the noblest and most distinguished angels by tribe; he was the guardian over the gardens; he possessed authority over the lowest heaven and authority over the earth. According to what Allah had decreed, he supposed that this granted him a standing above the inhabitants of the heaven; thus there struck into his heart a pride that only Allah knew. Allah brought that pride out of him at the prostration to Adam; he became proud and was among the disbelievers. That is His word to the angels: إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ — He meant: what Iblīs concealed in his soul of pride." His word كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ — Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: Allah said كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ because he was the guardian over the gardens, just as one calls someone makkī, madanī, baṣrī, or kūfī.
Others said: the name of Iblīs' tribe was "al-jinn"; they are a clan (sibṭ) of angels called "al-jinn"; that is why Allah, Mighty and Exalted, said كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ — He ascribed him to his tribe.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, concerning كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ . He said: "Of the gardeners (al-jannānūn) who worked in the gardens."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: Abū Saʿīd al-Yaḥmudī Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Sawwār ibn al-Jaʿd al-Yaḥmudī related to me, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, concerning مِنَ الْجِنِّ . He said: "Iblīs belonged to the jinn who had been driven off by the angels; one of the angels took him captive and brought him up with him to the heaven."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning إِلا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ . He said: "He was the guardian of the Paradise and was named after the Paradise."
Naṣr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Awdī related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Bashīr related to us, on the authority of Sufyān ibn Abī al-Mqdām, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr. He said: "Iblīs belonged to the guardians of the Paradise."
We have already set forth our position on this in the earlier part of this work, and mentioned the disagreement of the scholars therein — so that repetition here is unnecessary.
His word فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ : he deviated from the command of his Lord, departed from it and inclined away from it, as Ruʾba said:
يَهْوِينَ فِي نَجْدٍ وَغَوْرًا غَائِرَا فَوَاسِقًا عَنْ قَصْدِهَا جَوَائِرَا
(They descend into Najd and deep into the lowland — deviating from their course, sinking down.)
"Al-fawāsiq" here means: she-camels that deviated from the straight path of Najd. Likewise, al-fisq in religion is nothing but deviating from the straight way and inclining from the straight path. It is related from the Arabs: "fasaqat al-rutabatu min qishrihā" (the ripe date slipped out of its skin) when it slips out of it; "fasaqat al-faʾra" (the mouse slipped away) when it leaves its hole. Some Arabic philologists of Baṣra said: one says فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ because what is meant is: "he deviated as a result of his rejection of Allah's command" — just as the Arabs say: "ittakhamt ʿan al-ṭaʿām" (I got indigestion from the food), with the meaning: "from that which I ate." We have already dealt with this position: the meaning is "he deviated from Allah's command, was unjust toward it, and departed from it." Some philologists said: the meaning of al-fisq is "taking ample room" (al-ittisāʿ); they claimed that the Arabs say: "fasaqa fī al-nafaqa" — he took ample room in spending. They said: a fāsiq is called fāsiq because he takes ample room in what Allah has forbidden.
In agreement with what we have said concerning this the exegetes spoke.
Those who said this are mentioned below:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us. And al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ . He said: "At the prostration to Adam."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ . He said: "He transgressed the command at the prostration to Adam."
His word أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ : Allah, exalted be His mention, says: "Do you, O children of men, take him who was arrogant toward your forefather and envied him, who was ungrateful for My favor to him and deceived him until he was driven out of the Paradise — with its noble life therein — to the earth with its hard existence, as protectors instead of Allah, while you obey Him and follow His command and prohibition? You abandon obedience to your Lord who has favored and honored you — in that He caused His angels to prostrate to your forefather, made him dwell in His gardens, and bestowed upon you of His favors more than can be counted — while you take him and his progeny as protectors." The descendants of Iblīs are the devils who tempt the children of men.
As al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي . He said: "His descendants are the devils. He enumerated them: 'Zalanbūr' — the master of the markets, who plants his banner in every market between heaven and earth; 'Thabr' — the master of calamities; 'al-Aʿwar' — the master of adultery; 'Masūṭ' — the master of rumors, who brings rumors and places them in the mouths of the people without anyone finding any origin for them; 'Dāsim' — who, when a man enters his house without giving the greeting and remembering Allah, makes him see the household goods that he had not put away, and when he eats without mentioning the name of Allah, eats along with him.'"
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth related to us. He said: I heard al-Aʿmash say: "When I enter a house without giving the greeting, I see a water jug and say: 'Take it away, take it away' and then quarrel; then I remember and say: 'Dāsim, Dāsim.'"
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Mujāhid. He said: "They are four: Thabr, Dāsim, Zalanbūr, and al-Aʿwar; Masūṭ is one of them."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي — the āya: "They reproduce as the children of men reproduce, and they are enemies to you."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ : "He is the father of the jinn, just as Adam is the father of mankind." And he said: "Allah said to Iblīs: 'I will not bring forth any progeny for Adam unless I bring forth for you the like of it; there is no child of Adam but he has a devil bound to him.'"
His word بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلا : Allah, mighty be His mention, says: "How evil is the exchange for those who disbelieve in Allah — taking Iblīs and his progeny as protectors instead of Allah, while they are enemies to you, in exchange for abandoning the taking of Allah as protector by following His command and prohibition — while He has favored them and their forefather Adam and bestowed upon them gifts beyond counting."
In agreement with what we have said concerning this the exegetes spoke.
Those who said this are mentioned below:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلا : "How evil is what they took in exchange for the worship of their Lord — in that they obeyed Iblīs."
