Oleh Ustaz Nouman Ali Khan

BAHAGIAN 1

Kisah ini agak sukar untuk difahami kerana ia mengandungi banyak bahagian dan sebahagian daripadanya perlu kita fahami secara tidak langsung.

Sebagai permulaan, harus diingatkan bahawa terdapat 4 kisah yang paling penting yang perlu kita ketahui: kisah Nabi Adam, Nabi Ibrahim, Nabi Musa dan Nabi Muhammad. Dan anda harus mempelajarinya mengikut susunan ini. Jika anda mengetahui 4 kisah ini, maka anda in sha Allah memahami Islam. Ya, memang terdapat ramai lagi kisah rasul dan nabi yang lain, namun begitu kisah nabi-nabi tersebut semuanya berkait dengan 4 nabi ini. Contohnya, kisah Nabi Nuh adalah kesinambungan daripada kisah Nabi Adam manakala kisah Nabi Isa pula berkait rapat dengan Nabi Musa.

Puak Yahudi juga percaya akan kisah Nabi Adam, Nabi Ibrahim dan Nabi Musa ini. Kisah mereka terdapat di dalam ‘Bible’ (Kitab Injil) mereka. Namun begitu, Qur’an menceritakan kisah Nabi-nabi ini dalam bentuk yang berbeza. Inilah yang kita akan sampaikan di sini.

Kisah Nabi Adam adalah yang paling mencabar kerana amat sukar untuk membezakan kisah yang sudah lama dipelajari dan diyakini selama ini. Kita sendiri sudah mempunyai pemahaman sendiri sejak sekian lama mengenai kisah Nabi Adam ini. Maka, kita hendaklah ‘unlearn’ kisah sebelum ini demi untuk memahami kisah daripada Qur’an yang sudah tentunya lebih tepat dan benar.

Kisah Nabi Adam

Kisah Nabi Adam telah diceritakan sebanyak 2 kali secara agak terperinci di dalam Qur’an. Secara keseluruhannya, kisah Nabi Adam telah diceritakan sebanyak 7 kali, tetapi yang paling rinci dijelaskan di dalam Surah Al-Baqarah dan Surah Al-A’raf. Secara dasarnya, ia merupakan kisah yang sama, cuma dijelaskan dalam sudut yang berbeza. Di dalam Surah Al-Baqarah, kisah Nabi Adam diceritakan dari sudut pandangan para Malaikat, manakala di dalam Surah Al-A’raf pula, ia diceritakan dari sudut pandangan Iblis. Hari ini, kita akan menekankan kisah daripada Surah Al-A’raf. Maka, secara tidak langsung kita akan mempelajari tentang asal usul syaitan.

Senario: Dunia di mana manusia belum dijadikan lagi. Hanya terdapat malaikat dan jin. Seperti yang kita ketahui, jin dijadikan daripada api. Mereka juga diberikan pilihan untuk membuat pilihan antara benar atau salah, sama seperti manusia. Pilihan ini tidak diberikan kepada para malaikat. Malaikat mesti tunduk dan patuh segala perintah Allah tanpa pilihan.

Namun begitu, harus difahami bahawa para Malaikat juga mempunyai perasaan. Mereka bukanlah robot. Mereka boleh berfikir, mampu menganalisa dan bertanyakan soalan. Mereka ada perasaan takut, risau, kasih dan sebagainya. Satu perbezaan ketara yang ada pada mereka adalah, jika diberikan pilihan mereka akan membuat apa sahaja pilihan yang dapat keredhaan Allah.

Terdapat salah satu daripada jin itu yang sangat taat kepada perintah Allah walaupun dia bukanlah Malaikat. Dia kuat beribadah dan patuh serta taat kepada perintah Allah sepanjang hidupnya. Maka Allah telah meninggikan darjatnya di sisi Allah. Dan darjatnya sentiasa dinaikkan kerana ketaatannya tahun demi tahun. Kedudukannya dinaikkan begitu tinggi sehingga dia layak duduk bersama-sama para Malaikat yang lain di langit. Malah dia dibenarkan untuk duduk bermesyuarat bersama-sama mereka.

Ada suatu ketika, terdapat mesyuarat yang membincangkan mengenai manusia. Allah telah membincangkan dengan Malaikat akan perihal manusia.

Siapakah jin tersebut? Dia dikatakan mempunyai 2 nama iaitu Iblis dan Syaitan. Iblis berasal daripada perkataan greek ‘diabolos’. Diabolos bermaksud seseorang yang tidak mempunyai harapan. Ia juga bermaksud seseorang yang suka menuduh dan membuat tohmahan.

Satu lagi namanya adalah Syaitan. Ia bermaksud musuh, atau seseorang yang mempunyai penuh kebencian. Dalam Bahasa Arab ia membawa maksud seseorang yang dipenuhi dengan sifat amarah.

Syaitan berada di dalam pertemuan ketika mana Allah mengumumkan bahawa Dia akan mencipta manusia dengan kulit yang terdedah iaitu بشر  [Al-Hijr: 28]

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلاَئِكَةِ إِنِّي خَالِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ ﴿٢٨﴾

Dan (ingatlah), ketika Tuhanmu berfirman kepada para malaikat: “Sesungguhnya Aku akan menciptakan seorang manusia daripada tanah liat kering (yang berasal) daripada lumpur hitam yang diberi bentuk,

Seperti yang kita semua tahu, manusia sememangnya telah dijadikan daripada tanah. Ketika ini, Allah telah menjadikan pelbagai makhluk daripada tanah contohnya seperti burung, ikan paus, tupai dan sebagainya. Semua makhluk ini dijadikan daripada tanah. Namun begitu, untuk kali ini, Allah akan menjadikan sesuatu yang unik daripada tanah. Ia adalah daripada bahan yang sama iaitu tanah, tetapi ia berbeza dan unik sekali.

Kejadian manusia tidak terhenti di situ sahaja. Allah kemudiannya telah menjadikan keseimbangan untuk manusia [Al-Hijr: 29]

فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ

Maka apabila Aku telah menyempurnakan (menyeimbangkan) kejadiannya

Banyak pendapat yang ditafsirkan untuk kalimah (سَوَّيْتُهُ) itu. Ada mufassir menafsirkan membawa maksud ‘seimbang’ di mana manusia di dalam keadaan seimbang dan boleh berjalan di atas dua kaki. Tidak seperti kebanyakan haiwan yang berjalan menggunakan empat kaki. Walaupun terdapat haiwan yang dapat berdiri dengan dua kaki, namun mereka tidak dapat berdiri dengan sempurna dan seimbang. Manusia pula dapat berdiri dengan sempurna.

Maksud kalimah (سَوَّيْتُهُ) yang lain pula ialah manusia dapat seimbangkan pelbagai perkara lain seperti keseimbangan di antara kesabaran dan kemarahan; di antara matlamat jangka panjang dan matlamat jangka pendek; di antara diam atau berkata-kata. Maksudnya kita masih dapat menahan diri daripada mengatakan apa di dalam benak fikiran kita iaitu dapat seimbangkan pengaruh lain yang datang kepada kita ketika itu. Haiwan tidak dapat melakukan perkara tersebut kerana mereka adalah makhluk impulsif. Mereka tidak mampu mengawal perbuatan mereka.

Selain daripada itu juga, kita manusia secara nalurinya mempunyai rasa keadilan. Kita inginkan keadilan, keseimbangan di dalam hidup ini. Sebab itulah kita dapat melihat neraca yang seimbang menjadi simbol keadilan di dunia ini.

Kemudian Allah telah berfirman bahawa Dia meniupkan roh-Nya ke dalam manusia itu [Al-Hijr: 29]

وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي فَقَعُواْ لَهُ سَاجِدِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾

dan telah meniupkan ke dalamnya roh (ciptaan)-Ku, maka tunduklah kamu kepadanya dengan bersujud

Kalimah ‘roh’ berkait rapat dengan sesuatu yang membawa ketenangan, kesenangan, kemudahan, (salah satu nama-nama Allah). Maka di sini ia bermaksud Allah telah memberikan ketenangan ke dalam manusia. Makhluk lain tidak mendapat ketenangan ini.

Kemudian Allah berfirman: apabila Dia telah selesai, para malaikat mesti sujud kepadanya (manusia itu). Kenapa? Kerana manusia merupakan makhluk ciptaan-Nya yang amat hebat. Ini kerana apabila Allah telah melakukan sesuatu yang hebat, maka manusia mesti sujud sebagai tanda ketakjuban. Sebagaimana kisah para ahli sihir dengan Nabi Musa, seorang Muslim yang sujud syukur setelah memenangi perlawanan bola sepak. Oleh itu, pengajarannya di sini adalah apabila Allah telah melakukan sesuatu yang hebat, dan kita dapat menyaksikannya, maka kita harus sujud kerana takjub. Allah telah memberitahu para malaikat apa yang mereka harus lakukan dan ketika itu, Nabi Adam belum diciptakan lagi.

Di dalam ayat yang lain, Allah menambah lagi:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنٰكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ اسْجُدُوْا لِاٰدَمَ فَسَجَدُوْٓا اِلَّآ اِبْلِيْسَۗ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِّنَ السّٰجِدِيْنَ

Dan sungguh, Kami telah menciptakan kamu, kemudian membentuk (tubuh)mu, kemudian Kami berfirman kepada para malaikat, “Bersujudlah kamu kepada Adam,” maka mereka pun sujud kecuali Iblis. Ia (Iblis) tidak termasuk mereka yang bersujud.

Ia bermaksud bahawa Allah telah membentuk kita, maka kita adalah makhluk yang begitu indah sekali ciptaanNya. Di sini membuktikan yang kita adalah makhluk yang tinggi kedudukannya. Setiap daripada kita layak untuk disujud oleh malaikat kerana kita dijadikan daripada tanah, diseimbangkan dengan sempurna, dan menerima roh daripada Allah. Kita amat berharga dan bernilai tinggi sekali. Oleh itu kita harus memahami maksud harga diri kita. Sesetengah daripada kita mengalami masalah ini. Ramai yang terlalu merendah diri sehingga hilang harga diri sehingga merasakan diri tiada nilai. Sedangkan Allah memandang tinggi kejadian manusia sehingga memerintahkan malaikat untuk sujud. Apabila kita fahami ini melalui Qur’am maka kita sedar betapa tingginya darjat kita di sisi Allah sehingga para malaikat turut mengagumi kita.

Maka, sehingga saat ini, kejadian manusia dan ketinggian nilainya hanyalah merupakan suatu pengumuman daripada Allah sahaja. Iblis telah mendengarnya tetapi tidak berkata apa-apa. Namun tidak dengan para malaikat. Mereka mempunyai persoalan dan terus mengajukan pertanyaan dan kemusykilan mereka kepada Allah. Ini kerana Allah telah berkata bahawa manusia akan menjadi Khalifah di bumi (Al-Baqarah: 30)

وَاِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ اِنِّيْ جَاعِلٌ فِى الْاَرْضِ خَلِيْفَةً

Dan (ingatlah) ketika Tuhanmu berfirman kepada para malaikat, “Aku hendak menjadikan khalifah di bumi.”

Perkataan خَلِيْفَةً berasal daripada خلف yang bermaksud ‘belakang’. Apakah maksudnya di sini? Analogi yang mudahnya adalah begini: Apabila kita keluar rumah dan meninggalkan anak kita di ‘belakang’ selama 30 minit, maknanya kita telah menjadikan mereka sebagai  خَلِفَ. Jika kita meninggalkan mereka selama 9 bulan, maknanya kita telah menjadikan mereka خَلِيْفَةً, kerana 9 bulan merupakan tempoh yang lama berserta dengan tanggungjawab yang besar untuk mereka. Kita telah tinggalkan mereka secara bersendirian untuk menguruskan diri masing-masing. Benar kita berikan arahan dan panduan untuk melakukan tugas, tetapi mereka yang perlu membuat keputusan di dalam setiap situasi mereka hadapi sehari-hari kerana kita tidak ada untuk mengawal mereka. Dan ini adalah apa yang Allah telah tentukan terhadap kita semasa kita hidup di dunia ini. Iaitu kita ada pilihan untuk membuat keputusan sendiri.

Oleh sebab itulah, para malaikat berasa keliru dengan keputusan Allah untuk menjadikan manusia sebagai khalifah di bumi ini. Kerana para jin telah diberikan tanggungjawab tersebut sebelum manusia dan lihatlah apa yang telah berlaku kepada bumi? Inilah akibatnya apabila makhluk dibiarkan di muka bumi dengan mempunyai pilihan sendiri, dimana kebanyakan akan tidak memperdulikan peraturan, maka huru hara yang berlaku.

Katakanlah tiada polis ditugaskan untuk memantau kesalahan penjenayah. Apakah yang akan berlaku kepada sesebuah bandar atau penempatan manusia? Tiada sesiapa yang akan mematuhi undang-undang dan segalanya akan menjadi kacau bilau, jenayah akan berleluasa sana sini.

Oleh kerana itu kita boleh faham kenapa para malaikat amat terkejut dengan keputusan Allah itu. Mereka sudah mengetahui (daripada pengalaman) bahawa akan timbulnya pelbagai masalah nanti (Al-Baqarah: 30)

قَالُوْٓا اَتَجْعَلُ فِيْهَا مَنْ يُّفْسِدُ فِيْهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاۤءَۚ

Mereka berkata, “Apakah Engkau hendak menjadikan orang yang merosakkan dan menumpahkan darah di sana,

Sedang mereka sendiri (para malaikat) pasti akan sentiasa bertasbih serta patuh kepada Allah,

وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۗ

sedangkan kami bertasbih memuji-Mu dan menyucikan nama-Mu?”

Atau dengan erti kata lain mereka berkata: Memilih manusia sebagai khalifah adalah pilihan yang tidak baik, tetapi adalah lebih baik jika memilih para malaikat untuk memikul tugas ini. Maka, mengapakah perlu diciptakan makhluk yang lain pula sedangkan kami ini ada untuk menggalas tanggungjawab ini?

Siapakah yang mendengar semua perbualan dan perbincangan ini? Iblis ada mendengar tetapi dia tidak berkata apa-apa. Sudah tentu dia ada merasakan sesuatu tetapi dia hanya mendiamkan diri sahaja. Sudah pasti ada sesuatu yang bermain dan menggelodak di fikirannya itu.

Maka, kita sekarang sedang mempelajari tentang syaitan pula. Ingat, apa sahaja yang dia rasakan, dia mahu kita merasakannya sama. Pengajaran pertama kita belajar di sini adalah: dia merasakan sesuatu tetapi dia hanya pendamkan sahaja. Dia tidak bertindak sebagaimana malaikat yang terus bertanya dan mendapatkan penjelasan daripada Allah. Ini amat penting sekali untuk kita fahami.

Kita sebagai manusia juga akan mengalami masalah yang sama jika suka memendam perasaan. Contohnya, jika kita bertemu seseorang dan menegurnya tetapi dia tidak membalas teguran kita. Sudah tentu pelbagai tanggapan  terus datang ke benak pemikiran kita. Kita hanya mendiamkan diri sahaja tetapi pelbagai tanggapan telah ada dalam fikiran kita, bukan? Kita mencipta realiti kita sendiri dengan tanggapan tersebut kerana kita tidak menyuarakan apa yang kita rasa. Kita anggap apa yang kita fikirkan itu benar padahal kita tidak tahu kebenarannya. Biasanya apabila kita mendapat penjelasan sebenarnya, mungkin ia berbeza dengan apa yang kita anggap sebelum itu. Sebagai contoh, orang itu mungkin tidak membalas sapaan kita kerana dia telalu sibuk dan tidak mendengar kita. Tidak semestinya dia sengaja tidak membalas kerana marahkan kita.

Kita telah sebutkan tadi yang iblis telah mematuhi segala perintah Allah sepanjang hidupnya, tetapi apabila Allah berkata Dia akan mencipta suatu makhluk lain, maka sudah tentu iblis ada merasakan sesuatu. Namun begitu, dia tidak berkata apa-apa. Tetapi sudah pasti dia ada memikirkannya, bukan? Maka, inilah yang telah dilakukan oleh iblis. Oleh itu, jika kita gemar melakukan perkara seperti ini, maka sebenarnya kita telah meniru cara iblis. Dan lama kelamaan jangkitan di dalam minda kita akan bertambah teruk. Maka, ini merupakan masalah yang pertama

Masalah kedua pula adalah: Dia berfikir, “Kenapa Allah tidak pilih aku? Kenapa manusia dan bukan aku?” Ingat, iblis telah diberikan kedudukan yang tinggi. Ya, Adam telah diberikan tugas dan kedudukan menjadi khalifah di bumi, namun adakah ini bermakna kedudukan Iblis berkurangan pula? Tidak. Dia masih mempunyai kedudukan yang tinggi. Ia bermakna yang dia tidak kehilangan apa-apa pun. Namun dia tidak fikir begitu. Dia rasakan yang dia kurang bernilai pula apabila melihat makhluk lain yang mendapat sesuatu yang dia tidak dapat. Pernahkah anda merasa begini? Dia merasakan yang dia yang sepatutnya mendapat pengiktirafan itu, tetapi apabila orang lain yang mendapatnya, dia berasa tidak senang.

Iblis mahukan anda berperasaan begini juga. Contohnya jika seseorang tidak mengucapkan terima kasih kepada anda, tapi ucap terima kasih pula kepada orang lain, timbul rasa tidak senang di hati anda, bukan? Seolah-olah orang lain mendapat penghargaan tetapi kita tidak mendapatnya. Satu lagi contoh, apabila ibu kita memeluk orang lain, timbul rasa sakit di hati kita, bukan? Apabila satu anak ditunjukkan kasih sayang, manakala yang lain tidak, maka akan timbul rasa tidak senang di dalam hati anak yang lain itu. Namun sebenarnya, ini bukanlah bermakna ibubapa tersebut tidak menyayangi anak-anak lain pula. Kadangkala, anak yang diberikan perhatian dan penghargaan yang lebih itu kerana dia layak menerimanya. Mungkin kerana dia telah melakukan sesuatu yang menyenangkan hati ibu bapa itu. Tetapi, syaitan akan mengambil peluang ini. DIa akan cuba mengusik dan bermain di dalam pemikiran anak tersebut dengan menimbulkan rasa iri, dengki, cemburu. Inilah yang telah terjadi kepada adik beradik Nabi Yusuf.

Sekarang kembali semula kepada kisah iblis tadi. Allah telah mencipta kita semua dalam waktu yang sama. Kita sebenarnya telah wujud dan sedar di alam roh. Kita pernah berkomunikasi secara terus dengan Allah. Tubuh badan kita hanya merupakan jasad sementara di bumi ini. Kita sebenarnya telah dijadikan apabila Allah telah mengumumkan tentang kita kepada malaikat. Cuma roh sahaja dijadikan tanpa tubuh badan lagi pada waktu itu.

Ketika itu kita dikumpulkan beramai-ramai di alam arwah. Inilah sebabnya mengapa kadangkala kita mudah mesra dan tertarik rapat dengan seseorang. Ini kerana roh kita pernah diletakkan bersama ketika di alam arwah. Oleh kerana berdekatan, kita sudah mempunyai ikatan kemesraan dengan orang itu. Dan tidak semestinya ikatan ini adalah dengan ahli keluarga kita. Ini dapat menjelaskan fenomena di mana kita boleh rasakan ikatan yang kuat dengan seseorang tetapi tidak dengan yang lain. Inilah jawapannya. Ia kerana kita pernah bersama-sama ketika di alam roh.

Ketika para malaikat mempersoalkan keputusan Allah, Allah terus berfirman bahawa Dia lebih mengetahui apa yang malaikat tidak tahu:

قَالَ اِنِّيْٓ اَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ

Dia berfirman, “Sungguh, Aku mengetahui apa yang tidak kamu ketahui.”

Malaikat hanya mampu membuat spekulasi, namun Allah lebih mengetahui apa yang Dia lakukan. Kemudian nanti, Allah akan tunjukkan mengapa manusia ini begitu istimewa.

Allah memilih roh Adam dan meletakkannya di dalam satu jasad. Inilah yang dimaksudkan dengan ‘Allah telah memilih Adam’. Ia bermaksud Allah telah memilih roh Adam daripada banyak roh yang telah ada. Bukanlah ia bermaksud ketika itu roh Adam sahaja yang telah dijadikan. Semua roh telah ada, cuma roh Adam sahaja yang diberikan jasad.

Kemudian Adam ditunjukkan kesemua anak cucunya. Allah berfirman di dalam (Baqarah: 31)

وَعَلَّمَ اٰدَمَ الْاَسْمَاۤءَ كُلَّهَا

Dan Dia ajarkan kepada Adam nama-nama (benda) semuanya,

Setiap daripada kita ini telah ditunjukkan kepada Adam. Kemudian, Allah telah ajarkan setiap nama kita serta sifat yang ada pada kita. Ini kerana الْاَسْمَاۤءَ bermaksud nama berserta dengan sifatnya sekali. Bukan hanya nama semata-mata. Inilah yang ramai tidak tahu.

Maka Adam telah melihat segala potensi kebaikan di dalam diri kita (juga keburukan kita). Kemudian kita ditunjukkan pula kepada para malaikat.

ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ فَقَالَ اَنْۢبِـُٔوْنِيْ بِاَسْمَاۤءِ هٰٓؤُلَاۤ

kemudian Dia perlihatkan kepada para malaikat, seraya berfirman, “Sebutkan kepada-Ku nama semua (benda) ini, 

Malaikat telah melihat roh kita dan Allah memerintahkan mereka untuk menerangkan siapakah kita.

قَالُوْا سُبْحٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ اِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا ۗ

Mereka menjawab, “Maha Suci Engkau, tidak ada yang kami ketahui selain apa yang telah Engkau ajarkan kepada kami”

Mereka langsung tidak mengetahui apa-apa mengenai kita. Kemudian Allah memerintahkan Adam untuk menerangkannya.

قَالَ يٰٓاٰدَمُ اَنْۢبِئْهُمْ بِاَسْمَاۤىِٕهِمْ ۚ

Dia (Allah) berfirman, “Wahai Adam! Beritahukanlah kepada mereka nama-nama itu!”

Maka, pada ketika itu, kita telah diperkenalkan oleh Adam kepada para malaikat, seorang demi seorang. Tentunya ini mengambil masa yang amat lama. Oleh itu, malaikat sebenarnya telah mengenali anda dan saya serta kelebihan yang ada pada diri kita.

Ketika seluruh proses ini berlaku, Iblis ada bersama dan menyaksikan segala-galanya. Amat penting untuk kita mengingati peristiwa ini agar kita dapat benar-benar memahami apa yang telah berlaku kepada Iblis itu. Pada ketika itu, kita memiliki cahaya kerana kita berada dalam bentuk roh. Ini termasuk Firaun sekali. Adam menceritakan kepada malaikat tentang kelebihan dan kebaikan kita, dan apabila telah selesai, para malaikat memuji Allah. Sekarang, para malaikat sudah jelas dan memahami sepenuhnya kenapa mereka mesti sujud kepada manusia. Namun begitu, pada saat ini, Iblis masih lagi mendiamkan dirinya. Tetapi kita sudah semakin jelas betapa hasadnya perasaannya ketika ini, bukan?

Sekarang sudah tiba masanya untuk melakukan sajdah. Semua malaikat sujud kecuali Iblis (Baqarah: 34)

وَاِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلٰۤىِٕكَةِ اسْجُدُوْا لِاٰدَمَ فَسَجَدُوْٓا اِلَّآ اِبْلِيْسَۗ

Dan (ingatlah) ketika Kami berfirman kepada para malaikat, “Sujudlah kamu kepada Adam!” Maka mereka pun sujud kecuali Iblis.

Siapakah yang sedang menyaksikan peristiwa sajdah tersebut? Kita! Kita berada di situ! Kita telah dijadikan dan telah diperkenalkan oleh Adam. Ia di dalam satu peristiwa yang sama.

Kita semua ada di situ ketika semua malaikat kecuali Iblis sujud kepada Adam. Iblis masih membangkang dalam diam sehinggakan Allah terpaksa bertanya kepadanya apakah yang menyebabkan dia tidak mahu ikut serta sujud bersama malaikat lain? (Al-A’raf: 12)

قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ اَلَّا تَسْجُدَ اِذْ اَمَرْتُكَ ۗ

(Allah) berfirman, “Apakah yang menghalangimu (sehingga) kamu tidak bersujud (kepada Adam) ketika Aku menyuruhmu?”

Harus diingatkan bahawa Allah telah memerintahkan mereka untuk sujud walaupun sebelum Adam dijadikan lagi. Maka, ini bukanlah suatu perintah yang baru.

Para Malaikat telah menyuarakan rasa kebimbangan mereka tentang keputusan Allah mengenai manusia. Hasilnya Allah telah menjelaskan kepada mereka sehingga mereka berpuas hati. Namun Iblis tidak berkata apa-apa. Maka, Allah tidak menjelaskan apa-apa kepadanya. Dia hanya buat anggapan sendiri sahaja dan memendam perasaannya tanpa menyuarakan apa yang dia rasa. Inilah yang berlaku jika anda tidak menyuarakan apa yang terpendam. Anda mula beranggapan buruk dan menganggap apa yang disangkakan itu adalah benar. Sedangkan tanggapan tersebut adalah tidak benar tanpa bukti yang kukuh tetapi hanya wujud di dalam fikiran sahaja dan ini amat sukar untuk dipecahkan oleh orang lain.

Ramai ibu bapa melakukan hal yang sedemikian. Mungkin ada ketika anak-anak mereka mungkin telah melakukan atau menyatakan sesuatu dan mereka mungkin telah salah sangka dan terus beranggapan yang anak-anak mereka tidak lagi menyayangi mereka. Malangnya, apabila ini terjadi, anak-anak tidak dapat menerangkan dan memperbetulkan anggapan mereka itu. Mereka tetap dianggap salah!

Maka, situasi inilah yang telah berlaku kepada Iblis. Dia sudah nekad membuat keputusannya. Dan tiada yang dapat mengubahnya sehingga sekarang, sehingga akhirat.

Namun begitu, mengapakah Allah telah bersungguh-sungguh juga menunjukkan kehebatan manusia kepada malaikat? Sedangkan para malaikat tetap akan mematuhi perintah Allah walau apapun yang berlaku? Sebab sebenarnya adalah untuk menunjukkan kepada Iblis supaya dia dapat melihatnya. Dia yang perlu melihatnya kerana dia ada pilihan untuk membuat keputusan. Malaikat tiada pilihan itu. Malaikat hanya tunduk dan patuh sahaja kepada arahan Allah walaupun Allah tidak menjelaskan kepada mereka.

Maka Iblis telah mempunyai masa untuk buat keputusan dan memilih. Ia bukanlah keputusan yang tergesa-gesa. Maka, ketika Iblis tidak sujud, bukan sahaja ini bermaksud dia merasakan yang dia lagi hebat daripada manusia, tetapi ini juga menunjukkan bahawa dia tidak kagum dengan ciptaan Allah itu. Dia sudah dibutakan dengan anggapan yang dibuatnya di dalam fikirannya.

Apabila ditanya, ini jawapan Iblis:

قَالَ اَنَا۠ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُۚ

(Iblis) menjawab, “Aku lebih baik daripada dia.

Kemudian dia menambah lagi;

خَلَقْتَنِيْ مِنْ نَّارٍ وَّخَلَقْتَهٗ مِنْ طِيْنٍ

Engkau ciptakan aku dari api, sedangkan dia Engkau ciptakan dari tanah.”

Dia beralasan yang manusia dijadikan daripada tanah. Ini adalah benar kerana Allah turut menyatakan fakta tersebut. Namun, itu hanyalah ketika peringkat pertama sahaja. Manusia bukanlah makhluk daripada tanah seperti mana haiwan. Ini kerana Allah telah menyempurnakan kejadian kita dan meniupkan roh-Nya ke dalam kita.

Iblis sedar akan perkara ini tetapi ketika memberikan alasan dia sengaja meninggalkan fakta ini. Dia hanya menekankan ‘tanah’. Tujuannya agar manusia kelihatan seolah-olah sama taraf dengan haiwan sahaja. Pernyataan ini samalah seperti falsafah yang menyatakan bahawa manusia tidak lebih hanyalah bahan organik sahaja. Pegangan ini hendak menolak kewujudan roh dan menunjukkan hanya kedangkalan manusia sahaja.

Jika Iblis dapat meyakinkan manusia yang mereka sama taraf dengan haiwan, maka tidaklah salahlah kalau kita berperangai seperti haiwan, bukan? Haiwan nilainya lebih rendah daripada manusia, dan Iblis mahukan kita berfikiran begitu. Dia mahu manusia dipandang hanyalah seperti haiwan sahaja, maka mudah dikorbankan, mudah bertumpahan darah. Dia mahu manusia boleh melakukan apa sahaja sebagaimana haiwan tanpa perlu memikirkan halal atau haram.

Api biasanya disimbolkan sebagai panas baran dan impulsif. Maka, Iblis juga cuba memutarbelitkan fakta dengan mengatakan bahawa Allahlah yang telah menjadikan dia begitu, dan bukannya salah dia. Iblis hanya mahu menyalahkan Allah untuk permasalahannya itu. Di sinilah juga masalah dengan sesetengah manusia. Ramai yang suka menunding jari menyalahkan Allah di atas segala masalahnya kerana beralasan Allahlah yang menjadikan mereka begitu. Mereka hendak kata yang semua yang terjadi bukanlah salah mereka.

Seperti yang telah disebut sebelum ini, manusia dijadikan daripada tanah manakalah jin dijadikan daripada api. Namun begitu, jika dimasukkan tanah ke dalam api, tanah itu akan menjadi semakin keras dan boleh bertukar menjadi sesuatu yang lebih bermanfaat seperti tembikar yang boleh dimanfaatkan. Maksudnya apabila dibakar api, tidaklah pula tanah itu menjadi rosak malah akan bertukar menjadi suatu yang berfaedah. Maka boleh dilihat di sini, apabila Iblis menyerang manusia, sebenarnya akan membuatkan manusia itu menjadi lebih kuat! Amat menakjubkan, bukan?

Api dan tanah adalah unsur yang tentunya berbeza. Dan inilah yang Iblis mahu kita rasa dan buat, iaitu membandingkan sesama kita dan sering berasakan kita lebih baik daripada yang lain. Maka anda sering mendengar kata-kata seperti: Saya telah belajar di sini, anak saya melangsungkan perkahwinan di sini, inilah masjid saya yang hebat, lihatlah betapa majunya syarikat saya ini… Perkara ini biasa sahaja berlaku di dalam hidup dan masyarakat kita, sama ada di dalam masjid malah dalam organisasi Islam sekalipun. Syaitan akan datang di setiap penjuru kehidupan kita. Maka di sini, kita dapat memahami bahawa apa yang syaitan mahu kita lakukan adalah:

• Merendahkan diri sendiri sehingga berasa tiada nilai
• Merasa manusia tiada apa-apa nilai, hanyalah tanah sahaja
• Terus menerus membandingkan diri kita dengan orang lain

Segala apa yang dia telah rasakan, dia mahu kita merasakannya juga. Sebab itulah kita sentiasa bersaing dengan adik beradik kita ataupun orang lain semata-mata mahu diri berasa bernilai. Kita sebenarnya sedang meniru sikap syaitan yang tidak dapat melihat nilai dirinya sendiri. Dia sebenarnya telah berjaya, tetapi dia mahu membandingkan dirinya dengan Adam. Maka di situlah puncanya dia menjadi tidak senang dan hidup dalam gundah gulana.

Dan ya, dia mahukan kita berasa gundah sepanjang masa seperti dirinya juga. Oleh sebab itu, anda kena sedar di sini, setiap kali anda berasa gundah maka itu adalah kerja syaitan. Rasa gundah, resah, sedih berpunca daripada banyak sebab namun salah satu sebab utamanya adalah kerana bisikan syaitan.

Sambung ke bahagian 2

Bayyinah TV Story Night: Whisper. By Nouman Ali Khan

Part 3

So what is  the Devil’s mode of operation? As mentioned previously in Hijr:28, Allah made human as  creatures with their skins not naturally covered, because the word بَشَرً۬ا meaning their skins show. And previously it has already been mentioned that the Devil was being  humiliated. And thus the Devil wants to humiliate us and he will use the skins of the humans to humiliate them.

Since our skins show, then from Adam onwards, human beings  find honour with  being covered with clothes. Animals don’t need this but humans do. This is our dignity. The Devil understood this. He knows that for human beings to be humiliated, it would involve  their clothes being taken away.

So what purpose does the Devil did was-wasa to them? لِيُبۡدِىَ لَهُمَا مَا وُ ۥرِىَ عَنۡہُمَا مِن سَوۡءَٲتِهِمَا (in order to uncover that which was hidden from them of their private parts). The word سَوۡءَٲتِ means ‘ugliness’. Now, this doesn’t mean that human beings’ bodies are ugly, no. It has  already been mentioned earlier that humans are a work of art.

But when human’s clothes are removed without the permission of Allah, that is when it becomes  ugly. It’s ugly because it’s an act of disobedience to Allah. Something which is beautiful in the beginning can be spiritually ugly, right? So this is the Devil’s plan: that humans are not clothed and it’s a victory to them when this happens. His eventual goal is to put was-wasa on them, so that in the end, their clothes will be removed from them.

So what happened to Adam and Hawa? The Devil tricked them by telling a lie وَقَالَ مَا نَہَٮٰكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنۡ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَا مَلَكَيۡنِ أَوۡ تَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلۡخَـٰلِدِينَ (he said: “Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save that you should become angels or become of the immortals.”). But why did it mention being angels?

He said: God just doesn’t want you to be here in Jannah. Remember that He told you that you’re going to be put on earth? And earth is not like Jannah, let me tell you that. You’re gonna have so many problems there. Jannah is good but you’re supposed to be in here only temporarily, right? But actually….. the angels got to stay here permanently, you know? So you need to become angels to stay here. It’s like a permanent residence. And to get it, you need to eat from this particular tree.

There’s something subtle here with Satan’s word. Satan doesn’t want Adam and Eve to be happy just being human. He wants them to want to be something else. Whereas it’s already mentioned that they are so perfect that even the angels were in awe of them, remember? So it teaches us that we don’t need to be something else, since we’re already at the top already, get it? We’ve already been honoured. And who doesn’t want to be in Jannah permanently? But the way to be there permanently is by being on earth, leading your life on the straight path so that you are worthy of Jannah and can live there permanently. That’s the only way and there’s no shortcut.

So Adam and Hawwa eat from the tree, but don’t blame them for eating from the tree, and say because of that, we are put on earth. No, that’s the biblical story whereas in the Qur’an, Allah already told Adam that he was supposed to be on earth. Being on earth is not a punishment.

The Devil tricked Adam and Hawa to come closer and closer to that tree and that’s why Allah described it in A’raf:22: فَدَلَّٮٰهُمَا بِغُرُورٍ۬‌ۚ (So he misled them with deception). And one of the tricks that got them was because the Devil swore to them both in A’raf:21: وَقَاسَمَهُمَآ إِنِّى لَكُمَا لَمِنَ ٱلنَّـٰصِحِينَ (And he (Satan) swore by Allâh to them both (saying): “Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for you both.”) So the Devil’s whisper always sounds like they care for us, that they are looking out for us, for our benefits.

The word فَدَلَّ from دلو means pail or bucket. In some cultures in order to hunt animals, they will put food in a bucket and when the animal sees it and moves towards it, the human would pull the bucket closer and closer. That act of reeling closer and closer is called دَلَّ. And when you put a pail inside the well and pull it back, it’s a slow process, right? So this teaches the Devil didn’t get you right away, but slowly. He tricked you into doing something that seems innocent and at the end, you tell yourself: “how did I get to this?”. That’s how he operates. He didn’t tell you directly to do haram things. Instead, he will engage in the slowly but surely process to get you there.

Let’s get back to the story. Eventually Adam and Hawa tasted from the tree. ذَاقَا ٱلشَّجَرَةَ (they both tasted of the tree). And Satan was successful in tricking both of them. Both of them. Because if he just tricked one of them, then the other would remind the other one. So he tricked both of them together at the same time. And they knew that it was wrong but they didn’t remind each other. Because they have been tricked.

And you need to understand this war. The Devil doesn’t stop, right? For any of you, until you die. The only thing that’s going to stop you from his plan is one of you to remind the others of Allah’s word. Or, if you have the courage to say it to yourself. There’s either one of two that will be inside our heads. It’s either Allah’s word, or Devil’s was-wasa. Allah’s word is not automatically in our heads, whereas the Devil’s was-wasa will always be there because he doesn’t stop, remember? So you need to make an effort to put Allah’s word inside your mind.

So we need to counsel each other to the truth and Allah has reminded us about this in Asr:3 وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ (and enjoin upon each other the truth and enjoin upon each other steadfastness.) The Devil’s words are like darkness and Allah’s words are like light. And if you don’t take in light, then darkness will remain and will keep on increasing. It’s happening anyway whether we like it or not. The default is human is already lost إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسۡرٍ (verily man is in loss.) So if we don’t do anything, we are already lost.

And what is Allah’s words? It’s the Qur’an. The Qur’an is supposed to be in our mind, our hearts. Because the Devils constantly putting thoughts in our hearts ٱلَّذِى يُوَسۡوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ (who whispers into the breasts of mankind). An-Nas:4. And only Allah’s words would cleanse from the was-wasa of Satan.

But in our life, sometimes when we want to break free from the Devil, people near us are not ready yet. They are not devils (remember that), but they are also still struggling to break free. You must bring them together lovingly by reminding each other.

Now back to the story. As soon as they tasted from the tree, their clothes were removed بَدَتۡ لَهُمَا سَوۡءَٲتُہُمَا (their shame was discovered to them). They were completely nude and they immediately covered themselves up وَطَفِقَا يَخۡصِفَانِ عَلَيۡہِمَا مِن وَرَقِ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ‌ۖ (and the twain began to cover themselves with leaves from the Garden). They desperately ran  around to pick up the leaves from the Jannah to cover themselves.

Allah never taught them to cover themselves but it’s the innate nature of human beings to cover themselves. Allah put that into our nature that we are not comfortable when we are exposed. But the Devil wants us to forget that feeling. Devils want us to feel good when we show our beautiful body to other people. He’s saying: “you have a beautiful body, right? Then show it to other people then!”

You know who has no hesitation in showing skin? The animal! And remember we talk about how the Devil wants us to feel that we are no more than animals? No more than mud? That’s his agenda because he wants our light to  disappear little by little.

Then Allah asked Adam and Hawwa: وَنَادَٮٰهُمَا رَبُّہُمَآ أَلَمۡ أَنۡہَكُمَا عَن تِلۡكُمَا ٱلشَّجَرَةِ (And their Lord called out to them (saying): “Did I not forbid you that tree?”). Remember, Allah could have stopped them when they made their way to the tree, right? But He did not. Even when they touched the fruit, Allah did not stop them. Only when they tasted from it, then Allah called out to them and asked them, وَأَقُل لَّكُمَآ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (“and tell you: Verily, Satan is an open enemy unto you?”) Did you forget that he says he will come to you from every side?

Imagine how shocked Adam and Eve were. They were already embarrassed because their clothes had  been taken, right? So this is what we humans will face in our lives, until judgement day. There will be times when we’re gonna mess up and that time, and hopefully we’re gonna hear the word of Allah at that time. Because unlike Adam and Hawwa who heard Allah speak to them directly, we are going to hear  the word of Allah from the Qur’an ourselves. We need to open and read it ourselves.

What was their response? قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمۡنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمۡ تَغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَتَرۡحَمۡنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرِينَ (They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.”) This is the famous dua that we need to remember. Lost what? Lost the truth that You have given  us.

When they both made this dua, they were still in heaven. They have made a mistake and Allah called them out and they apologised. They were not sent to earth yet. Allah teaches us that when humans genuinely ask for forgiveness, Allah will immediately forgive. So even before Adam and Eve have already been sent to earth, He has already forgiven them. That means that they were not sent to earth as a punishment, right? Because they have already been forgiven even before they were sent to the earth.

So why put them in Jannah in the first place, and later put them on earth? It was as a test for us. Because in Jannah, there are so many halal things and only one haram thing. Because a test usually is easy in the beginning, right? And even then the Devil managed to trick our father and mother. Now Allah is sending them to earth and there’s more haraam material than halal things. This world is the real test.

There’s more things that Satan can use to trick us here. So we cannot feel safe from Satan. Never feel safe. Don’t say that Satan is nothing, Satan will never trick you, that you’re so strong, because he’s here and he’s gonna do his work. Remember that our father and mother are strong themselves, and they didn’t get the advice from any speaker but from Allah Himself. But even they were tricked. They know who the angels are, who Satan is and even sees him with their own eyes. But still they got tricked, right?

Even they forgot. So forgetfulness is what Satan used to trick us. Forgetfulness and not replacing Satan’s word with Allah’s word is the way that the Devil will destroy humans. The remedy is there already and if you don’t take it, he will wreck you, he will destroy you.

So the simple test which is the tree is a training exercise only. That’s all it was. It’s to prepare Adam and his progeny on earth. Our parents were given the rehearsal to prepare them and us. And what they and we learn is how easy it is to fall  into the plan of the Devil. Was he powerful in the story so far? No, he’s not. But is  he consistent ? You bet. And you can only fight consistency with consistency. That’s what we should take from this story.

Allah then after accepting their forgiveness, said قَالَ ٱهۡبِطُواْ بَعۡضُكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ۬‌ۖ وَلَكُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُسۡتَقَرٌّ۬ وَمَتَـٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ۬ (Allâh) said: “Get down, one of you is an enemy to the other [i.e. Adam, Hawwa (Eve), and Shaitân (Satan),]. On earth will be a dwelling-place for you and an enjoyment, – for a time.” Who is addressed in this verse? We all are. There are many tafseer for this particular verse, but one of it is Adam becomes enemy to Hawwa and vice versa. Why? Because not reminding the word of Allah to each other. Sometimes the Devil trick is for you to say evil things, but sometimes his trick is so that you don’t say the right thing (keeping quiet when you should say something).

And we will live temporarily only on earth to fulfil our destiny. قَالَ فِيہَا تَحۡيَوۡنَ وَفِيهَا تَمُوتُونَ وَمِنۡہَا تُخۡرَجُونَ He said: “Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (i.e.resurrected).” 

And Adam has been sent to the earth. The story hasn’t stopped yet. And now Allah talked to us. Where? Still in Jannah. Most think that the scene is over, but it’s not because we’re still there, remember? We’re not yet sent to earth at that time. يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدۡ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡكُمۡ لِبَاسً۬ا يُوَٲرِى سَوۡءَٲتِكُمۡ وَرِيشً۬ا‌ۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقۡوَىٰ ذَٲلِكَ خَيۡرٌ۬‌ۚ O Children of Adam! We have bestowed cloth upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts) and as an adornment, and the raiment of righteousness, that is better. Here Allah reminded us about clothes. And teaching us that there are two types of clothing; one is made from materials such as cotton and silk; but there are another clothes that are supposed to cover you with Allah’s awareness, it’s taqwa and that is the word of Allah.

And He continues that reminder with ذَٲلِكَ مِنۡ ءَايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُونَ Such are among the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allâh, that they may remember. Hopefully we still remember this reminder from Allah that was delivered to us in the realm of arwaah. Because the matter of the clothing is very important, Allah told us there and then. Allah is telling us that as He sent revelation from heaven, the clothing is also sent from heaven, so take it seriously. Guard your modesty.

He’s not done with us yet. يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ لَا يَفۡتِنَنَّڪُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ كَمَآ أَخۡرَجَ أَبَوَيۡكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنۡہُمَا لِبَاسَہُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوۡءَٲتِہِمَآ‌ۗ O Children of Adam! Let not Shaitân (Satan) deceive you, as he got your parents [Adam and Hawwa (Eve)] out of Paradise, stripping them of their clothes, to show them their private parts. Please be cautious with the Devil and his minions. The Devil has managed to trick our father and mother and they will try to do the same with us. And since he managed to trick our father and mother, that means that it’s the biggest threat. And the Devil will attack us using this method, every – single – day.

While we’re living on this earth, Allah gave us a lot of laws, right? About zakat, about money, ibaadah, dietary and many others. But which law that he emphasises over everything else, that the Devil will use to trick us? It’s the clothing, right? So we need to pay attention to that because the Devil wants humanity’s cloth to be off. And we now live in a society with social media, where lewdness is easily accessible in all forms of devices. The statistics of what the kids are exposed to, even in elementary school, is shocking and disturbing.

The remember that the Devil is always watching us إِنَّهُ ۥ يَرَٮٰكُمۡ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ ۥ مِنۡ حَيۡثُ لَا تَرَوۡنَہُمۡ‌ۗ Verily, he and Qabîluhu (his soldiers from the jinn or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them. They are always looking for opportunities to deceive us and whisper was-wasa in our hearts and minds. And there are those that falls to the succumbs and the deceit of the Devil إِنَّا جَعَلۡنَا ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ أَوۡلِيَآءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ Verily, We made the Shayâtin (devils) Auliyâ’ (protectors and helpers) for those who believe not. These are the people that don’t mind taking the clothes off and showing their bodies to other people.

And the Devils are easily winning this war that we are fighting with them. The only way is to replace his words with Allah’s words. To fight darkness with light. We should ask ourselves: how much of the Qur’an is part of our life?

And then Allah talks about other civilizations that have passed so that we can learn from their mistakes. وَإِذَا فَعَلُواْ فَـٰحِشَةً۬ قَالُواْ وَجَدۡنَا عَلَيۡہَآ ءَابَآءَنَا وَٱللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِہَا‌ۗ And when they commit a Fâhishah (evil deed), they say: “We found our fathers doing it, and Allâh has commanded it on us.” They claimed that what they were doing was already in their culture, that it’s normal and that’s what their ancestors have been doing all along and for a very long time. And they say that of course it’s what Allah wants, because it’s what everybody does. It’s the natural way of doing things, right?

But whose ancestors are you following? Because your ancestor is actually Adam, remember? Oh you said you’re following your culture? No, actually your culture is Adam as well. Tradition? Again, your tradition is supposed to be Adam. The verses we just studied is where Allah opens up to us our actual heritage, history, culture and tradition.

And you can’t used the name Allah to do bad things قُلۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَأۡمُرُ بِٱلۡفَحۡشَآءِ‌ۖ say: “Nay, Allah never commands what is shameful. Are you lying in the name Allah on things that you know nothing about? أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ Do you say of Allâh what you know not? No, don’t do that!

And it’s interesting when Allah later says يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمۡ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسۡجِدٍ۬ O Children of Adam! take your adornment at every worship; So we need to dress beautifully when we are praying.

When do we dress up? On special occasions like graduation, formal events, award ceremonies, right? Meaning, when you are about to be recognized, you’ll dress up. And remember that human beings were recognized by sajdah when Allah told the angels to prostrate to Adam?

So every time we do sajdah, we are supposed to dress up. Because that sajdah should remind us of the recognition that we received from Allah. It’s a special occasion and we are supposed to dress up. That sajdah to Adam happened in heaven and the subject of clothing was revealed in heaven. Now two heavenly things come together when we do sajdah. So beautiful!

The Christian and also the Jewish view of life in this world is as a punishment. But we have presented that Allah did not intend that at all. He already decided that humans will live on earth (even before we were created), and not because of the mistake of Adam and Hawwa. Allah said in the previous verses that He gave stability to us in this world.

But, do we have stability? You might say that our parents struggle, your family struggle, you and many others that you know struggle in this life. Our country does not have stability, the Islamic nations and that and that nation as well. So what stability is Allah talking about? Hasn’t chaos been the history of the world over and over again?

Remember this and this is the summary of the whole story. There are two worlds: outside of you and inside you. The world outside is the most difficult test that Allah has created for you. That’s why you can see so many instabilities all around you, all over the world. That’s why the most beloved to Allah that is the Prophets, they experienced so many instabilities and trials throughout their lives.

But the people who are on this path of Allah, Allah put something inside them ie: the ruh and also His Word which is the wahy and the light. There might be earthquakes around them, but they will have stability inside them. Everything else is shaking but there’s calmness within them. And people wonder why these kinds of people are so calm with whatever is happening around the world. This is what Allah mentions in Ahzab:22 وَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْأَحْزَابَ قَالُوا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا And [so,] when the believers saw the Con­federates [advancing against them], they said, “This is what God and His Apostle have promised us!”- and, “Truly spoke God and His Apostle!“ and all this but increased their faith and their readiness to surrender themselves unto God. Here Allah tells the story of the group of sahabas who were facing the militaries of the kuffar and they were possibilities that they will be crushed, by multitude of armies who are many times more than them, but they believed in Allah and Rasulullah and thus have the most calming effect on them.

A scholar once said that when someone decided to be on the path of Allah, the Devil and his armies got alerted. And they will try to make that person’s life be miserable and those that are closest to him. This has always been their way, the way of the Devil. And we who decided to be on this path of Allah, need to find the deep calm inside ourselves. And find the reliance of Allah. Because if you look for that calm from someone else other than Allah, you will keep falling and disappointed. Instead, you have to find solace in Allah’s word and let it speak to you.

Remember that you are not a loser. You don’t inherit the bad traits of your family. Yes you can inherit their looks, but you don’t inherit their traits. It’s not in your blood. Every ruh was created even before the blood has been created. Every ruh is a unique marvel of Allah. You are not to be judged based on the merit of someone else. The battle is between you, the Devil and the word of Allah, and that’s all. The most that we can do with each other is help each other.

But eventually we will face Allah alone وَلَقَدۡ جِئۡتُمُونَا فُرَٲدَىٰ كَمَا خَلَقۡنَـٰكُمۡ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ۬ And behold! ye come to Us bare and alone as We created you for the first time (An’am:94). So we have to walk the path on our own and no one will walk it for us.

So this is the story of Adam and the Devil, and you can see that it might be different from what you understand before and have been told. Now we know what is the game of the Devil and our relation to him. And this story gives us hope that we can have a deep relationship with the word of Allah and it will steer us to the right path. The Devil wants to put inside our mind that we are beyond hope and beyond redemption and please know that it is not true. Even the Pharaoh had his chance until he died and so do us.

The End

Bayyinah TV Story Night: Whisper. By Nouman Ali Khan

Part 2

So devils were made from fire and it implied that they can cause some type of burning to others. We also fall into this, right? Like being sarcastic or talking to other people that will hurt them and their feelings. When arguing, we find the most hurtful words because at that time, you want to cause the other person the most pain, right? In normal circumstances we don’t do this, except only in anger and that is devils’ character.

In the Qur’an, anger and arrogance are married together. That’s why those who have anger problems, also have arrogance problems. It goes hand in hand. Arrogance does not only mean someone feels better than other people. Arrogance also means someone feels that they are right and cannot be seen as wrong. So we hear people say: “How dare you what to correct me?”

So arrogance has no place in heaven as Allah said in A’raf:13 قَالَ فَٱهۡبِطۡ مِنۡہَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيہَا ((Allâh) said: “(O Iblîs) get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here). It means come down from heaven. Because at that time we were (along with Iblees) in heaven. Very close proximity to jannah.

But remember that we are created for the earth. This is a different understanding of Christians who think that we were sent down to earth as a punishment. But in reality, we were already meant to live on earth from the beginning. Remember Baqarah:30. However,  initially we were high in proximity to heaven.

So Iblees was  arrogant. The facts were presented to him but he was  so stubborn and arrogant that he couldn’t  change his mind. So here we can understand how Qur’an explain arrogance تَتَكَبَّرَ. He had  already made up his mind and the truth cannot sink in.

Secondly, arrogance also means when you look at what other people got and you think that it is you who should get it. This is like jealousy and wanting what others have, and it also means insecurity. All of that culminated into the meaning of arrogance.

And thirdly, the need to compare. In the mindset of always comparing with other people. Like in social media these days. People presented their life as happy but in reality, it is not. And if we fall into this comparing mode to other people, we are in trouble. And what’s worse, something we are looking and looking but because we are waiting for others to fail. We read the comments to see what other people are saying against those that posted in social media.

This is a sickness. Remember that there are many ways to get in a higher place. One, you do good and get elevated; but if you are not capable of that, then the only way to be better or feel better  is to put somebody down.

So the devil already feels that he’s lower in rank than Adam and he cannot surpass Adam. Therefore he resorted to a second tactic which is to bring Adam down. This is the problem if we keep on comparing with other people. Since we cannot be better than them, we eventually attack them to put them down, right? That’s why Allah said in Nisa:32 وَلاَ تَتَمَنَّوْاْ مَا فَضَّلَ اللّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ (And wish not for the things in which Allâh has made some of you to excel others). So don’t compare looks, money, intellects etc. It’s a sickness and will only damage you.

Therefore Devil got thrown from heaven and Allah said in A’raf:13 فَٱخۡرُجۡ إِنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰغِرِينَ (Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced). The words مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰغِرِينَ means: amongst the small. It not only means small in size but it also means insignificant, worthless, someone who is not respected. So this explains him. And when he feels that way, guess what he wants us to feel? Exactly the same!

So here we learn that the devils are powerless. In akhirah, the Devil will say that he can only whisper, no more than that. Now  we understand  that the most powerful jinn (Iblees) himself says that he has no power over us. He can only whisper. This is told in Ibrahim:22 وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيۡكُم مِّن سُلۡطَـٰنٍ إِلَّآ أَن دَعَوۡتُكُمۡ (I had no authority over you except that I called you).

And Allah says in Isra:65 إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ. (And behold, thou shalt have no power over [such of] My servants). This is because humans have the ruh inside them. Devils can only whisper was-was to them, but can’t control them. If they can control us, then we can blame him, right? Owh, I did this and that because Satan holds the remote control. But that’s not the case, right? The choices were ours. So we can’t blame Satan in akhirah for our wrongdoings.

And since he is small, the devil wants us to believe that he’s big and powerful. So that’s why we hear some people say that the devils are so strong that they cannot break free. This is wrong. And the devil wants you to think that way. Remember that the devils are weak. When we recite istirja’ it should make him weak and they will have to leave.

And devil said: قَالَ أَنظِرۡنِىٓ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ يُبۡعَثُونَ ((Iblîs) said: “Allow me respite till the Day they are raised up (i.e. the Day of Resurrection).”) And at that time, he was pointing at us, because we were there, remember? ‘They’ in this word means us. So he knows about the day of judgement and we already know about the day of judgement. As khalifah, we can make our choice. But we must remember to make the right choice. If we make right choices continuously and if we slip, then we need to taubat. We will be graded on the day of judgement and if we passed, then we will enter jannah.

So that’s the test for the day of resurrection. And this is the biggest test Allah has ever created. And it is a huge trust because Allah trusted us to be on earth. This is amaanah. And he has given it to us after offering it to someone other than us. This Allah says in Ahzab:72

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ

(Verily, We did offer the trust [of reason and volition] to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains: but they refused to bear it because they were afraid of it. Yet man took it up.

They refused to accept it because they know that if they failed, then the consequence is Hell. But humans accepted it and we are equipped with ruuh, a light that is connected to Allah. It’s our superpower. And because of that, we are more than capable to accept the trust and the test compared to others. We have the quality and the ability to pass this test with flying colours.

But is it always those who have the capability, does? No, isn’t it? A smart student for example, may or may not study. It’s a decision he/she has to make. You might have the ability, but you may not do it. So Allah has given all the potentials to humans, but not all would live up to their standards.

Every single human being has been given the test. We might already know what is in store for us if we live in this world. We already know and we know there will be our trials but still we accepted it because we also showed the jannah and we want to pass the test to go into jannah. All of us signed up voluntarily. And that’s why you were born into this world. Otherwise, we will not be born. So don’t say that we didn’t ask to be born. Actually we did… we were given the choice and we have already accepted it, and that’s why we are here.

So Iblees said: أَنظِرۡنِىٓ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ يُبۡعَثُونَ which is intended to all human beings. So here we learn that Iblees’s problem is not with one Adam only, but with all mankind. This is because of the insatiable hatred  he has towards humans. You heard about insatiable hunger, right? So this is about Ibless’s insatiable hatred . It’s not enough that Adam must fail, but he wants every single one of us to fail and enter Hell. He targets one by one of us. He wants to steer us away from jannah. He wants to prove to Allah that we are not worthy of Jannah. And Iblees was given the time to do just that. Which is to prove that he’s right.

And this is one of the Devil’s characters. When he is being corrected, he wants to go out of his way to prove he’s right. And some humans have this problem as well, right? The need to be proven right, it’s like a victory to him. He can’t lose an argument. It’s an inability to accept criticism.

And he blamed Allah for that in A’raf:16 قَالَ فَبِمَآ أَغۡوَيۡتَنِى ((Iblîs) said: “Because You have sent me astray,…) He blamed Allah because to him, it was Allah that made him slip. And that was his mistake, blaming Allah. As many people put the blame on others except themselves.

And what will he do to prove  he’s right? He will sit on the straight path لَأَقۡعُدَنَّ لَهُمۡ صِرَٲطَكَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ (surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path). This means that Allah already told everyone about the straight path. It’s the path to jannah. Iblees will sit right on it waiting for the human to cross it and mess with them. And not only that he will sit there, he said: ثُمَّ لَأَتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ وَعَنۡ أَيۡمَـٰنِہِمۡ وَعَن شَمَآٮِٕلِهِمۡ‌ۖ (Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left). What does these directions even mean?

When he said ثُمَّ لَأَتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيۡنِ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ Then I will come to them from before them, it means in front of them. It means that he will stop people from taking the step towards the straight path. You… shall… not… pass….! For example, he will put fear on the human walking towards the straight path. He will put was-wasa: “What’s your family gonna say?”, “Oh, you gonna pray now?”, “You know how crazy you’re going to look?”, “You’re still young!”, “Why you’re looking like that?”, “Who’s gonna hire you?”, “You’re gonna be left alone….”, “You don’t have to take the step now.. you got time……” etc.

So the Devil doesn’t want you to take the step to the straight path and will stop you; or he will stand there and instead of allowing you on the straight path, he will show you all the many options other than the straight path. For every halal, there’s many other haram options, right? And so he will point them at you with all the glitters of the wrong paths.

And he will be pulling you from the behind وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِمۡ. Because usually when people take the step towards the straight path, they are leaving something bad behind them, right? They were doing something bad and they don’t want to do that anymore and start moving toward the straight path. But the devil will pull you back and start reminding you of the bad stuff that you used to do: “isn’t that fun?”, “I wonder what my friends from the past are doing? I’ll just give them a message (for da’wah)”. The emotional attachment is still there, right? So the Devil pulls you back. Or he will remind you of the bad things that you have done and he will say: “who do you think you are? You think Allah will accept you for all the things that you did?”.

On the right وَعَنۡ أَيۡمَـٰنِہِمۡ means when he lets you do good things (he also allows you to do good things, you know) and make you feel better and in a higher position to judge others. You do this and that, doing religious things, start giving classes and you feel a little higher and you find yourself better than other people. This is the scariest thing and the worst test. Self-righteousness is the scariest one.

And the devil picked one good thing about you and made you already saved. Example: “you don’t pray, but you give to charity, right?”, “Yes what you did was wrong, but you do good things too, right? So what’s the big deal? You should be saved, don’t worry about it, you’re still good…”.

And the left وَعَن شَمَآٮِٕلِهِمۡ‌ means when you take bad things and makes is feel that it’s not that bad. He would say: “you’re just human…”, “Everyone makes mistakes… don’t be too hard on yourself…”, it’s not Haram-HARAM, just a little bit, at least you didn’t kill anybody..”, “At least you’re not Hitler…” Here’s something you should know: if you want to compare with somebody worse than you, you’ll find it because they will always be someone worse than you.

And what’s scary is that, the It’s-not-that-bad, it’s-not-that-bad later will turn into: “what’s so bad about it? Why is it bad? I don’t understand it! Can’t I have a life?”

And after all these, he will make a claim: وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ شَـٰكِرِينَ (and You will not find most of them as thankful ones). Now why is this? You’d think that he would say: “O Allah, you’ll know that they are not obedient.” or: “you’ll find most of them will forget.” But why does he want to prove that humans are not grateful? Grateful of what that human did not do?

• • Grateful for the position of the highest honour that Allah gave. They will not honour it.
  • That Allah gave them the greatest test to allow them to enter the greatest reward (Jannah).
  • Grateful that Allah speaks directly to them.

When you’re not grateful, then you will think of yourself as worthless. And if you think that you’re worthless, then whatever that you’ve been given also seems worthless. You can’t see the value of it. For example, if you meet a depressed person and you bring them to a nice dinner, they can’t seem to appreciate and see the value of that gesture. Because they don’t have value for themselves.

Nothing will make them happy. That’s why the Devil puts you down so that you’ll not appreciate yourself and eventually, everything. They will complain and complain about everything. Have you met anyone like this?

And to these, Allah said in A’raf: 18: قَالَ ٱخۡرُجۡ مِنۡہَا مَذۡءُومً۬ا مَّدۡحُورً۬ا‌. ((Allâh) said (to Iblîs) “Get out from this (Paradise) disgraced and expelled.) Get out of here, you have been humiliated. مَّدۡحُورً۬ا‌ means you’re crushed on your own. Like a ball of paper, crushed and crushed. This is about the Devil who has the bad thoughts inside of him and his own thoughts are crushing him constantly. Nobody is doing that to him but he’s doing that to himself.

Now what happened to the devil taubah? You get asked of this sometimes (“what if the Devil repented, ustadz?”) Like he’s gonna do that. He won’t but if, let’s say for the sake of argument, he repented, Allah would accept. But he won’t because Allah already said that he’s مَّدۡحُورً۬ا‌. The hate crushed and keep crushing him till  the day of judgement. So it doesn’t matter that the Qur’an is being read to him, it will not change him at all. Owh he heard the Qur’an alright, that’s why we need to say istirja’ when we read the Qur’an. He listens to it but he’s in his world and no words will change him.

Allah then said something real scary: لَّمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنۡہُمۡ لَأَمۡلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنكُمۡ أَجۡمَعِينَ. (Whoever of them (mankind) will follow you, then surely I will fill Hell with you all.) Allah is talking to the Devil and us now. If we follow the Devil, we’ll all be in hell. Together. So Allah has reminded us about hell from the beginning.

Now Allah turned His attention to Adam. يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسۡكُنۡ أَنتَ وَزَوۡجُكَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ. (O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in Paradise). Temporarily. When you read the Qur’an, a sukun is a pause, right? So we know that Adam is not meant to stay forever in jannah. Humans were meant to be on  earth. To be in Jannah is just for a short time. But why so? Like giving that opportunity and later to be taken? Why? It’s because Allah wanted the first human being to experience Jannah and to encourage his children to strive to enter jannah. Because he’s been there and knows what it’s like.

And enter it with your spouse because heaven is not a heaven without marriage. Because we humans don’t want to be alone. Even beautiful things would not look so beautiful without a partner, right? Joy isn’t joy if you’re alone. You want someone to share your pleasure with. Here Allah is teaching us that the first taste of heaven is a wholesome companionship. It’s the first glimpse of heaven.

And Allah gives this to us too in the world. Companionship gives you peace and tranquillity and the devil does not want any of this. He wants misery for you. So the first thing that he’s going to attack is the marriage institution. He’s gonna make something that’s supposed to be a piece of heaven, become a piece of hell.

First he would push us to have a relationship outside of marriage. And if they do get married, he’ll make sure that it’s gonna be hellish. But Allah has already given a formula for a beautiful marriage. It’s a 3 step formula: Allah said in Rum: 21

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً

And among His wonders is this: He creates for you mates out of your own kind. So that you might incline towards them, and He engenders love and tenderness between you. 

So the steps are: لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا, then مَّوَدَّةً, then رَحْمَةً. Peace – love – care. Unfortunately in many relationships, love comes first and from love, there’s care. When you love, you care. But peace is missing. And over time, one of them will say something that takes away the peace. Fighting ensued and the peace cracked bit by bit. Later it broke into  sarcasm, harsh words, and insults. Something that takes away the peace and the love, and care would shake. Then you don’t feel the love anymore and care will be gone.

Life is chaotic. And your spouse is supposed to be your peace. You can’t wait to talk to them, be with them, see them, comfort them. I mean, you love your kids, but your kids are not your peace. Let’s be honest. When the peace is maintained, the love stays and when the love stays, the care stays. The main purpose of marriage is actually peace, not love. Love and care are emotions and it comes and goes. But peace is a state of being and when you have that lifestyle, then the other two remain stable.

So we are seeing the same root word here from س ك ن for uskun (stay) and sakinah (peace). And He says: فَكُلَا مِنۡ حَيۡثُ شِئۡتُمَا (and eat thereof as you both wish.) Enjoy yourself free reign. But it comes with reminder: وَلَا تَقۡرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ. (but approach not this tree otherwise you both will be of the Dzolimoon (unjust and wrong-doers)).

So this is their only syariah in Jannah. No elaborate reminder yet to them. Just these two words (eat whatever you want; don’t come near this tree). In our world, haram options are many and halal options are few; but in this story, it’s the opposite (all halal things available except just this one). Just don’t go near the tree. Easy isn’t it? Yes, except there’s Satan lurking around.

The devil started to create was-wasa to them. فَوَسۡوَسَ لَهُمَا ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ. (Then Satan whispered suggestions to them both.) Meaning he whispered  then gone, whispered  then  gone. How did  he do that, some may ask? Because Allah gives the ability to the Devil to whisper to them. And thus Allah gives the devils access to people. They can infiltrate our minds. He doesn’t have to be sitting next to you because he can have access to a human’s mind. Exactly how, we don’t know. It’s like a wi-fi signal that can reach us even though  it’s far away. Or the radio signal from the radio tower.

What does he whisper to them? To eat from the tree. Allah already told not to come near. Allah did not say: don’t eat from it. Though that’s the main thing both of them can’t do. Allah directly said, ‘Don’t even come near it’. Because the Devil will whisper to come near and nearer. And so the Devil does not tell you directly to do haram. You will go against it. But he will push you to come nearer to it. Not yet doing it, but to take the small steps leading to it. So people say: “I didn’t do anything wrong, I just want to look at it a little, nothing wrong in that, right?”. And with that, Satan brings you closer to destruction.

That’s why it’s hard to answer some questions and give fatwas to certain acts. Because it’s not yet clearly haram. But it’s already moving towards haraam. The devils teach the steps to humans. Devils are experts in this matter. And so humans become immune to his whispers. Because people are usually unaware of how the Devil is playing  games on us and tricking us into doing haraam things. It’s the small steps that matter and remember that.

Was-wasa does not only means ‘whisper’. Because if it’s just whispering, then it’s hamasa. But was-wasa means to whisper and then disappear. And he comes again to whisper and disappear. Why is this important? Because if he disappears, you don’t think that the whisper is from syaitan, but it’s from you. Because you look around and there’s nobody there, right? So it must be from our own mind, isn’t it? No, it’s from the whisper from the Devil. He’s just not around anymore for you to blame them.

Continue to Part 3

Bayyinah TV Story Night: Whisper. By Nouman Ali Khan

Part 1

This story is difficult to understand because it has many parts and some we need to understand indirectly.

As a start, please remember that there 4 stories that are the most important: the story of Prophet Adam, Ibrahim, Musa & Muhammad. And you need to learn it in this order. If you know these four, then you understand islam. Yes there are other prophets but all other prophets’ stories are connected to them. For example, the story of Noah is a continuation to the story of Adam, and Prophet Isa’s story is a continuation of Musa.

Even the stories of Adam, Ibrahim and Musa, the jews believed in. It’s in the bible as well. But the Qur’an tells the stories differently. That’s what we are looking at here. And the stories of Adam are the most confusing. Because it is hard to differentiate with what other people believed. We already have a set of understanding of the story of Adam, that we need to unlearn to understand the story from Qur’an better.

Adam stories are told in detail twice in the Qur’an. They are all told 7 times in the Qur’an but it is more detailed in Baqarah and A’raf. Basically, it’s the same story but looked from a different angle. In Surah Baqarah, it is told from the point of view of the angels. Whereas in Surah A’raf it is told from the point of view of the devil. So today we are looking mostly at Surah A’raf. In a way, we are now learning the origin of the Devil.

The scene: it’s the world where humans were not in existence yet. There’s only the angels and jinns. As we know, the Jinns were made from fire. They also have the choice to do the right and wrong things, just like the humans. This is unlike the angels who only obey Allah without choice. But please know that the angels are not robots. They also think, fear, love, analyse, and ask questions. The only difference is that if there are any choices to be made, they will do what Allah is happy with.

One amongst the jinns was so obedient to Allah, never disobey Allah even though he wasn’t an angel. He constantly obeyed Allah throughout his life. And his status was raised by Allah. This is normal for Allah to elevate those who obey him. This particular jinn keeps on rising because he keeps on obeying Allah for years and years. His rank was so high that he was included in the company of the angels in heaven. He’s allowed to be in meetings with angels. So there’s this meeting between Allah and the angels, where we humans have not been created yet. But the subject of the meeting was us.

Who is that particular jinn? He has two names which are familiar to us: Iblees and Syaitan (Satan). Iblees is originally from the word ‘diabolos’ (Greek) and later included into Hebrew, and we might be familiar with the word: ‘diablo’ (Spanish). ‘Diabolos’ means someone who has no hope. And it also means someone who accuses and slanders.

Another name for him is Satan. It means enemy, or someone who has a lot of hatred. In Arabic it means someone who is consumed with anger.

So he’s in the meeting where Allah said He’s going to create humans with skin shown (Hijr:28). وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى خَـٰلِقُۢ بَشَرً۬ا مِّن صَلۡصَـٰلٍ۬ مِّنۡ حَمَإٍ۬ مَّسۡنُونٍ۬ (And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: “I am going to create a man (Adam) from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud.) As we know, humans were created from mud. By this time, Allah has already created many creatures from mud. Such as birds, whales, squirrels etc. All were made from mud. But this time, Allah is going to create something unique from mud. It’s from the same material, but unique nonetheless.

But human’s creation did not stop there. Later Allah will balance him out (Hijr:29) فَإِذَا سَوَّيۡتُهُ (So, when I have balanced him completely). There are many opinions regarding what ‘balanced’ means. Some mufassirs said: we humans can balance on our two feet. Unlike most animals who walk on four legs. Yes, some animals can stand on two legs but they have to lean over. But humans are perfectly balanced, able to stand upright.

Other meaning: We can balance our anger with our patience; we can balance long term goals and short term; we can choose between something we want to say and be silent. Meaning that not the time we are going to say what’s on our mind; we can balance influences that come to us. Animals can’t do this because animals are impulsive and they just do it and can’t stop; apart from that, we also have a sense of justice. That’s why if we say justice in the world, the image is scale. We humans have a sense of fairness.

And then Allah said He will blow into him His own roh (Hijr:29) وَنَفَخۡتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى (and breathed into him (Adam) the soul which I created for him). The word ‘ruh’ has to do with something comforting, bringing ease, peace, tranquillity (it is one of Allah’s names). So it means that Allah gives special calmness inside humans. Other creatures do not have this.

And then Allah said: when He’s done, the angels will have to sujud to him فَقَعُواْ لَهُ ۥ سَـٰجِدِينَ (then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him). Why? Because he is amazing. Because usually, when Allah does something amazing, people have to do sajdah. Like the stories of the magicians with Musa, and you can see how muslims in sports when they win a match, they do sujood. So the idea is, when Allah does something amazing and we witness it, we fall into sajdah. So Allah has already told the angels what they should do. And at that time, Adam had not even been created yet.

In other verse (7:11), Allah adds وَلَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَـٰڪُمۡ ثُمَّ صَوَّرۡنَـٰكُمۡ (And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape). It means that Allah said He moulded and crafted us. And thus we are a thing of beauty.

So we humans are the highest of creatures. Each one of us is worthy of the sajdah of the angels. Because we have been created from mud, balanced and received the roh from Allah and being beautified. We are not worthless. So we need to understand what self-worth is. Some people have this problem when we bring other people down. But when we study the Qur’an, we find out that we are in the highest  rank. Even the angels are in awe of us.

So far, it’s just an announcement. Iblees heard this but he said nothing. But the angels were not quiet. They questioned Allah, right? Because Allah said that we are bound to be Khalifah on earth (Baqarah:30) وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ خَلِيفَةً۬‌ۖ (And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: (Verily, I am going to place (mankind) as khalifah on earth.)

From the word خلف which means ‘behind’. What does it mean? Here’s an analogy to understand what it means: When we leave our kids behind for 30 mins, we actually make them ‘khalif’. But if we leave them for 9 months, we actually make them ‘khalifah’. Because it’s for a long time and with a big responsibility. We leave them in charge of their own affairs. Yes we gave them instructions, but they are the ones that are making the decisions day in and day out. Nobody is watching over them. And this is what Allah decided for us.

But angels were confused because jinns were given that responsibility before and look what happened? This is what happened when creatures were made and left them on their own, chaos would ensue. Let’s say the police are not around, what would happen to humans in the city? They would not observe the law anymore, right?

So the angels were in shock. They already knew  (from experience) that there would be all kinds of trouble. Baqarah:30 قَالُوٓاْ أَتَجۡعَلُ فِيہَا مَن يُفۡسِدُ فِيہَا وَيَسۡفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآ (They said: “Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood.) And say that they will do tasbeeh and will always obey Him نَحۡنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ‌ۖ (while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You.) In a way, they are saying: Human beings seem like a bad choice and the angels are presenting a better choice (which is they, the angels). So why You need to create another creature, since we’re available?

Who was listening at the time? Iblees was listening but he did not say anything. Sure he was  feeling something, but he did  not say anything. He just kept it in his mind. And something was brewing inside of him.

So we are learning about the devil now. Anything that he feels, he wants us to feel and do as well. And the first thing we are learning here: he felt something inside him, but instead of talking about it to Allah and clarifying it, he kept it to himself. The angels on the other hand, said what they felt right away. And this is important.

We humans would have problems when we keep our feelings inside. Say for example we met someone and he did not respond to what we say … .we said hi, but he did not respond. Immediately we would think about many things in our mind. We didn’t say anything, but we just assumed. We created another reality in our heads because we didn’t say anything and clarify it. Once clarified, usually it’s something else entirely. Probably he didn’t hear us because he’s busy. It does not necessarily mean he’s mad at us. But he imagined that’s the case, right?

Iblees obeyed Allah all his life and when Allah said He’s creating a new creation, of course he felt something. But he did not say anything. But he’s thinking about it, right? So this is what Iblees had done and when we also do this, we are actually copying him. And eventually the infection in our mind would get worse. So this is the first problem.

The second problem: he was thinking: “how come You did not pick me? Why him and not me?” Iblees was given a high rank, right? Yes. And by giving Adam a responsibility on earth, does Allah take anything from him? No…. he still has a high rank. That means he loses nothing. But he feels that what he has is not worth much when he sees someone else is having something. Do you get these familiar feelings? He feels that he should get everything his way and if someone else gets that acknowledgement, he feels bad.

Iblees wants you to feel this way as well. Let’s say someone didn’t thank us, we feel bad, right? Other people are being recognized, but not us… so we feel bad because we are not acknowledged. When mom hugged someone else, our eyes burned. When one child is being shown love and the other doesn’t, something inside will take place. But in fact, it’s not that parents don’t love their child. It’s just that sometimes a child deserves more than another because he has done something good. But the devils would take this opportunity to stir something inside that kid’s feelings. This is what happened to the siblings of Yusuf a.s.

Now back to the scene at hand. Allah created us and we were all created at the same time. We didn’t spend time in the spiritual ICU, we were actually awake (in the form of ruh). We used to have direct conversation with Allah. Our body is our shell, a temporary home on earth. But we were all actually already created when Allah made the announcement with the angels. Just that it’s without our bodies yet.

At that time, we were bunched together in alam arwah. That’s why sometimes we feel attached to someone else. Because we were put near each other in that realm. We already have a bond with that person. And it’s not necessarily that we were together with our families. This explains why sometimes we feel a deep connection with another person and not with others. We don’t know why we are close to this guy. The answer is that: you were near him in the realm of ruh.

When the angels questioned Allah, Allah said that He knows what angels did not know قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعۡلَمُ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ (He (Allah) said: “I know that which you do not know.”). The angels just speculated but Allah knew what He was doing. Later Allah will show why humans are special.

So when all the bodies and ruh were ready , Allah chose Adam and put inside a body. That’s what it means when Allah says He chose Adam. It was from all the roh that was already available. Choosing means there were already choices. It’s not that only the ruh of Adam was created, get it?

Then he was shown all his children. Allah says in Baqarah:31 وَعَلَّمَ ءَادَمَ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءَ كُلَّهَا (And He taught Adam all the names (of everything)). Every single one of us was shown to Adam. And then Allah taught Adam every one of our names and also our qualities. Because ‘ism’ means name and qualities. This is what people don’t understand.

Adam saw all the potential good in us (and also the bad ones). Then we are shown to the angels. ثُمَّ عَرَضَہُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنۢبِـُٔونِى بِأَسۡمَآءِ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ (then He showed them to the angels and said, “Tell Me the names of these). They saw our ruh and Allah asked them to describe us. قَالُواْ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلۡمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمۡتَنَآ‌ۖ (They (angels) said: “Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us.) They didn’t know anything about us, so Allah told Adam to describe us to them قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئۡهُم بِأَسۡمَآٮِٕہِمۡ‌ۖ (He said: “O Adam! Inform them of their names,”). And at that time, we were introduced to the Angels, one by one. So the angels already knew you and me and our qualities.

And Iblees was looking at the whole process. Always remember this to understand what had happened to him. At the time, we have light because we are in the form of ruh. Even Pharoah has light because all ruh is made of light. So Adam told the angels about our goodness to the angels. And in the end they praised Allah. Now the angels understood why they had to do sujood to humans. Still iblees did not say anything. But can you understand his envy now?

Now’s the time to do sajdah. All angels sujood except Iblees. وَإِذۡ قُلۡنَا لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ ٱسۡجُدُواْ لِأَدَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ (And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam.”. And they prostrated except Iblîs (Satan)). Who’s watching that time? We are! We were there, remember? We have been created and we’ve been introduced to Adam, remember? It’s in the same occasion.

And we were there when all the angels prostrate to Adam. But Iblees is in defiance without saying anything. Allah had to ask him what prevented him? A’raf:12 قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسۡجُدَ إِذۡ أَمَرۡتُكَ‌ۖ ((Allâh) said: “What prevented you (O Iblîs) that you did not prostrate yourself, when I commanded you?”). Remember that Allah has told them that they will have to sujood even before He created Adam. So this is not new order, but it has already been issued before.

Remember that angels raised their concern about humans? When they raised it, then Allah addressed their concerns until they were satisfied. Allah showed them our light and our qualities to them. But iblees didn’t say anything, right? So Allah did not address his concerns. He took his feeling and turned it into a fact. This is what happens when you don’t verbalise your feelings. It starts to turn into a fact and you believe in your mind that it’s true, a fact. And that fact is not living on evidence, but it exists inside your head, and people cannot break it.

Parents do this a lot. Their children said something or did something and they made their own conclusions that we don’t love them anymore. Unfortunately, when that happens, you can’t reason with them. You can’t win with them!

This is what happened to Iblees. He already made up his mind. And nothing will ever change that to this day, until the end of time.

But why did Allah go out of His way to show to the angels the magnificence of the human? They would have obeyed anyway, right? The reason is so that Iblees can see. Because he was the one who needed to make a choice since angels don’t have a choice. Iblees had time to think about this, so it was not something impulsive. He already had time to think about it. When angels did sajdah, it was because they recognized what an amazing creation Allah had done. So when Iblees did not perform sajdah, it was not only because he thought  that he was better, but it also showed he was  not impressed with what Allah did. He was already blinded to that fact.

When asked, Iblees answered: قَالَ أَنَا۟ خَيۡرٌ۬ مِّنۡهُ (Iblîs said: “I am better than him (Adam)). And he added: خَلَقۡتَنِى مِن نَّارٍ۬ وَخَلَقۡتَهُ ۥ مِن طِينٍ۬ (You created me from fire, and him You created from clay). He reasoned: Because humans were made from mud. And this is true, because Allah said this as well. But that’s only stage one, remember? Humans are not only creatures of mud, like animals. Allah has perfected us and even put His ruh to humans.

And Iblees knew  that Adam is not only an animal because he saw that. But when he answered, he did not acknowledge all that. He only just mentioned ‘mud’. So he was  saying that we are no better than animals. This is like the philosophy that says that we are no more than organic matter. They disregard the ruh of the humans. They only see the superficiality of humans.

And if Iblees can convince humans that they are no more than animals, then they can act like animals. Animals only live once. Animals are of lesser worth and iblees want us to think this way. That human can be sacrificed, easier to spill blood of each other. And humans should be able to do anything they want, without impunity (no issue of halal and haram).

Fire is usually for hot temper and impulsiveness. He’s also saying that it’s Allah that made him this way and it’s not his fault. But not all jinns like that, right? He just wants to blame Allah for his problem. So this is the problem with some people who say that it’s not their fault that they are doing what they did because Allah was the one that made them like that. They blame Allah. It’s not my fault that I’m  like this, they say.

So humans are made from mud while  jinn are made from fire. But when you put mud to fire, it will only harden the mud into clay and can become something useful. It’s not going to damage the mud because the mud cannot be turned  into fire. So when Iblees attack humans, it will only make them stronger. It’s remarkable imagery for us to think about, subhanallah!

So this is what Iblees wants us to feel and do. It’s to compare between us and saying you’re better because of this and this. And thus we see a lot of these: I’ve studied here, my son’s wedding here, his masjid just like that and that, why he is the first speaker, why their organisation is more successful, and on and on. This happened in life, in masjid and even in islamic organisation as well. Devils come in every corner of our life. So here we learn that the devils wants us to:

• • Think less about ourselves
  • We are no more than mud
  • To live in a life of comparison

Everything he feels he wants us to feel. That’s why we keep competing with our siblings and all other people to feel our worth. We are replicating the devil who cannot see his own value on his own. He’s already successful, right? But he had to compare to Adam. And that’s why he’s not happy and miserable.

And yes, he wants us to be miserable all the time, like him. So if you’re miserable, then you know that Satan has a hand in it. Misery comes from a lot of places but one of the reasons is the devil.

Continue to Part 2