Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:75
[Allah] said, "O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?"
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 saying of the Exalted: قَالَ يَا إِبْلِيسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْعَالِينَ (75) (He said: O Iblīs, what prevented you from prostrating yourself before that which I have created with My own two hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the exalted ones? (38:75))
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: ( قَالَ ) Allah spoke to Iblīs, when he did not prostrate himself before Adam and transgressed His command: ( يَا إِبْلِيسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ ) (O Iblīs, what prevented you from prostrating yourself), He says: what matter prevented you from prostrating yourself ( لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ ) (before that which I have created with My own two hands), He says: before the creation of My own two hands; the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, thereby informs that He created Adam with His own two hands.
As Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, he said: ʿUbayd al-Maktib informed me, he said: I heard Mujāhid relate on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, he said: Allah created four things with His hand: the Throne, ʿAdn (the Garden), the Pen, and Adam; then He said to all the rest: 'Be', and it was.
And His saying ( أَسْتَكْبَرْت ) (were you arrogant): He says to Iblīs: did you deem yourself too exalted to prostrate yourself before Adam, so that you abstained from prostrating before him out of arrogance toward him, while before that moment you were not among the arrogant, exalted ones? ( أَمْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْعَالِينَ ) (or were you among the exalted ones), He says: or were you already so before that moment, with exaltedness and arrogance toward your Lord?
