Appendix 21
of the
Authorized
English translation of the Quran by
Dr.
Rashad Khalifa
In God's kingdom, certain creatures are necessarily given the powers
needed to perform their duties. Satan believed that his God-given powers
qualified him to function as an independent god. As evidenced by the
prevalence of misery, disease, accidents, and war in his dominion, we
now know that Satan is incompetent.
The Quran clearly states that Satan was an angel, by virtue of
the immense powers and rank bestowed upon him. This is why he is
addressed as an angel (2:34,
7:11,
15:29,
17:61,
18:50,
20:116,
38:71)
prior to his fall. By definition, a jinn is a fallen angel (18:50).
Satan's rebellion teaches us that the angels were created with minds
of their own, and absolute freedom of choice. (2:34).
__________________________________________________________________________
A question and answer about Satan, the
fallen Angel:
The Question:
Assalam-o-alaikum
It is good to see such zeal for the Qur'an on your website. I
pray that Allah guide all Muslims towards the right path and not
forgetting about non-Muslims, may Allah rid them of some of their
misconceptions and hatred for the word of Allah. I do however feel
that some of the articles were written out of great passion whereas
some patience whilst reading the Qur'an would have not gone without
its benefit. Without going into too much detail- there is one
article about Shaytan (I prefer to use the name given him by Allah
in the Qur'an rather than the name translated from another language
that appears in the modern English Bible). The ayat of the Qur'an
that you have stated (18:50) is not defining jinns as being fallen
angels but it is saying that 'he (Shaytan) was of the Jinn and so he
disobeyed his Lord's command'. He had a choice of obeying Allah or
disobeying as all humans do. This is not the case with angels. You
will know from your substantial reading of the Qur'an that Angels do
not disobey Allah but do as He commands them. Refer to (66:6). In a
Sahih Muslim hadith related by Aishah (may Allah be pleased with
her) the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that angels
were created from light, jinn were created from fire and humans from
'what has been described to you'. In the Qur'an when Shaytan refuses
to prostrate himself in front of Aadam, he says that Allah made him
from fire whereas He made Aadam from clay. How then can Shaytan be
an angel? That would go against the Hadith of our prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) and against the Qur'an.
As I was saying, I would exercise caution before jumping to
conclusions about the Qur'an. I do agree that in the early centuries
of Islam when books were being written for the first time some
scholars would refer to the Christians and Jews when trying to
elaborate on the historic references in the Qur'an and this is not
advisable because those books are corrupt as Allah Himself has
mentioned several times in the Qur'an. For instance, after
questioning some Christian acquaintances of mine about what the
Bible says about 'Isa (peace be upon him) being able to fashion a
bird from clay and breathing life into it and it coming alive with
the will of Allah (3:49). They said that they didn't know of such
miracles. This proves the fact that there are certain omissions from
the Bible seeing that the ardent followers of 'Isa (peace be upon
him) i.e. the Christians, are in ignorance of certain fundamental
facts about him. Not to mention the shirk that has been fabricated
in the name of prophet 'Isa. I find it hard to imagine that all of
the Muslim scholars have been misguided for so many centuries whilst
understanding the Qur'an and sayings of prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him).
May Allah guide us all and open our hearts for Islam. Ameen.
Assalaam-o-alaikum,
The Answer:
In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Salaam Alaikum A,
You wrote: <Without going into too much detail - there is one
article about Shaytan (I prefer to use the name given him by Allah
in the Qur'an rather than the name translated from another language
that appears in the modern English Bible)>.
It is fine to call him by Shaytan, or as Iblis which is also used
in the original Arabic language in the Quran, but we must remember
that God is the Creator of everything including languages and all
names –
[2:31] He taught Adam
all the names then presented them to the angels, saying, "Give me
the names of these, if you are right."
When addressing an English speaking audience, we see that it is
beneficial to use the accepted and commonly understood names when
speaking about Satan as well as when speaking about God.
You wrote: <The ayat of the Qur'an that you have stated (18:50)
is not defining jinns as being fallen angels but it is saying that
'he (Shaytan) was of the Jinn and so he disobeyed his Lord's
command'. He had a choice of obeying Allah or disobeying as all
humans do>.
And … <angels were created from light, jinn were created from fire
and humans from 'what has been described to you'. In the Qur'an when
Shaytan refuses to prostrate himself in front of Aadam, he says that
Allah made him from fire whereas He made Aadam from clay. How then
can Shaytan be an angel? That would go against the Hadith of our
prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and against the Qur'an>.
The Arabic in verse 18:50 could be translated as he was a jinn or
it could be translated as he became a jinn. The following
translation of the Arabic verse 18:50 stating that Satan became a
jinn, however, is the correct understanding for reasons stated
below.
[18:50] We said to the angels, "Fall
prostrate before Adam." They fell prostrate, except Satan. He became
a jinn, for he disobeyed the order of His Lord. Will you choose him
and his descendants as lords instead of Me, even though they are
your enemies? What a miserable substitute!
It can be understood that Satan became disobedient and therefore
no longer an angel through looking at other verses as well as this
one rather than coming to a conclusion using only this verse. We
should not take the scripture partially:
[15:90] We will deal with the dividers.
[15:91] They accept the Quran only partially.
First, God spoke specifically to the angels, not the angels and
the jinns:
[15:28] Your Lord said
to the angels, "I am creating a human being from aged mud, like the
potter's clay.
And:
[38:71] Your Lord said to the angels, "I
am creating a human being from clay.
Second, God issued the command to fall prostrate to the angels;
and the angels fell prostrate, all of them, except Satan. Some
Islamic “scholars” argue about the use of the Arabic word “illah”
(except), but it is just a distraction from the fact that God is
clearly speaking to and giving the command to angels:
[15:29]
“Once I perfect him, and blow
into him from My spirit, you shall fall prostrate before him.”
[15:30]
The angels fell prostrate; all of them,
[15:31]
except Iblis (Satan). He refused to be with the prostrators.
And:
[38:72]
"Once I design him, and blow
into him from My spirit, you shall fall prostrate before him."
[38:73] The angels fell prostrate, all of them,
[38:74]
except Satan; he refused, and was too arrogant,
unappreciative.
And:
[2:34] When we said to
the angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam," they fell prostrate,
except Satan; he refused, was too arrogant, and a disbeliever.
Third, There is no mistaking that Satan has fallen, God tells us
Satan is in his act of rebellion, which is followed by his
banishment:
[38:75] He said, "O Satan, what
prevented you from prostrating before what I created with My hands?
Are you too arrogant? Have you rebelled?"
[38:77] He said, "Therefore, you must be exiled, you will be
banished.
And, the following shows a consequence for his rebellion:
[18:50] … He became a
jinn, for he disobeyed the order of His Lord.
Lastly, the Islamic “scholars” claim that angels are made of
light, but nowhere in the Quran does it say what angels are made of.
Since there are no inconsistencies or contradictions in the Quran
and it is perfect (16:103,18:2, 26:195), complete (6:115, 41:3), and
fully detailed (6:114, 7:52, 10:37), we can conclude that the
confusion is caused by the contradicting Hadith.
[6:114]
Shall I seek other than GOD as a
source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed?
Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed
from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.
[6:115] The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice.
Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.
There are many beautiful lessons in the Quran. When the focus
shifts off of hadith and on what the passages are saying we learn
from these verses, for example, that Satan was the first bigot and
the first to express prejudice:
[15:33] He said, "I am not to prostrate
before a human being, whom You created from aged mud, like the
potter's clay."
And:
[38:76]
He said, "I am better than he; You created
me from fire, and created him from clay."
So, now we know the roots of prejudice and what example we follow
when we behave in a prejudice way.
I would like to recommend some links for your consideration: The
following link, gives an overview of this topic:
..\quran\app7.html
For download- the book at the following link, titled Quran,
Hadith, and Islam explains why Prophet’s hadith should not be used
as a source of religious law:
http://www.submission.org/qhi.html
I also would like to recommend to you the following link so you
have the best available Quran translation by Rashad Khalifa to
reference and read in the future:
http://www.submission.org/quran/
I have been referencing this translation in my responses to you.
Please write back to Submission.org if you have any further
questions or concerns.
Peace !
info@submission.org
