فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَىٰهَا
Al-Qur`an 91:8
Then inspired it to understand what was right and wrong for it
The world we live in, comes with things in contrasting pairs, a dichotomy . There is up and down, big and small, black and white, light and dark, right and wrong, good and evil, happy and sad, rich and poor, hero and villain, win and loss, chaos and peace, life and death, beginning and end, east and west, north and south, peanut butter and jelly… alright, the last one may not belong in this list, but we get the point. Imagine one without its counterpart, it wouldn’t make much sense. If darkness did not exist we wouldn’t know what light is, similarly if light didn’t exist, it would be hard to define darkness. Evil helps us understand the qualities of good, and good helps in defining the characteristics of evil. If there was no east, there would be no point for west.
This is Allahﷻs blessing on us, this is what makes human being the noblest form of His creation
Our world is based on this foundational concept of dichotomy. This is to allow for a choice to be made between the two, although not everything on the list is open to a choice, like life and death for instance. In case of others, we make these choices throughout our lives at every step. This is Allahﷻs blessing on us, this is what makes human the noblest form of His creation. Angels for instance, were not given the blessing of choice. They do as commanded by Allahﷻ and have no capability to disobey Him. Satan had the highest of positions among angels and was given a choice by Allahﷻ to bow down to the first human being and prophet, Adam(AS), but he disobeyed. Satan became the first being to disobey our Lord. He didn’t want to be the outcast of the entire creation, so he took it upon himself to mislead human beings onto a path against Allahﷻ. Of course, without Allahﷻs permission he wouldn’t be able to do any of this. It is the mercy of our Lord that He lets satan do what he wants, until judgement day arrives. Our Lord informed satan that he will not be able to mislead His true believers.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ ١١ قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ ۖ قَالَ أَنَا۠ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِى مِن نَّارٍۢ وَخَلَقْتَهُۥ مِن طِينٍۢ ١٢ قَالَ فَٱهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَٱخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰغِرِينَ ١٣ قَالَ أَنظِرْنِىٓ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ ١٤ قَالَ إِنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلْمُنظَرِينَ ١٥ قَالَ فَبِمَآ أَغْوَيْتَنِى لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَٰطَكَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ ١٦ ثُمَّ لَـَٔاتِيَنَّهُم مِّنۢ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ وَعَن شَمَآئِلِهِمْ ۖ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَـٰكِرِينَ
Al-Qur’an 7:11-17
We created you, then We shaped you and then We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ and they all prostrated themselves, except Satan. He was not among those who prostrated themselves. Allah asked, “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?” Satan replied, “I am better than he is: You created me from fire and him from clay.” Allah said, “Then get down from Paradise! It is not for you to be arrogant here. So get out! You are truly one of the disgraced.” Satan appealed, “Then delay my end until the Day of their resurrection.” Allah said, “You are delayed until the appointed Day.” Satan said, “For leaving me to stray I will lie in ambush for them on Your Straight Path. I will approach them from their front, their back, their right, their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.”
When we choose good over evil, a human being in that state, attains highest of the ranks in front of Allahﷻ
The first of Satan’s whisperings was to deceive Adam(AS) to eat from the tree Allahﷻ forbid him from. Adam(AS) asked for forgiveness and with Allahﷻs mercy, the roots were laid for the start of our world. This is a condensed form of the beginning of our world, made easy enough for our understanding as a creation. This is a common occurrence in Qur’an and hadeeth. We are spared the technicalities, as the message is for all of creation and not just the highly intelligent subset of the human race. If Our Lord wanted to convey to us all the details of his creation, there wouldn’t be enough ink or paper left to save the knowledge. For instance –
According to the human genome project, genomic data will require about 40 exabytes of storage space by 2025. For comparison, 5 exabytes of storage space could store all of the words ever spoken by human beings
وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَـٰمٌۭ وَٱلْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍۢ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَـٰتُ ٱللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌۭ
Al-Qur’an 31:27
If all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean were ink, refilled by seven other oceans, the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
Allahﷻ sent us His prophets since the beginning of time to warn us of the evil whisperings. Of course, Satan does not have the power to force us into wickedness and we cannot blame him for our faults. We have been give the choice, the control to act upon an evil thought or ignore it like a leaf floating away in a river. It is a blessing, a test, to do what’s right despite the urge.
It’s not about being mistake-free in life. That would be unsustainable. It is about freeing our life from mistakes
إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّۭ فَٱتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا ۚ إِنَّمَا يَدْعُوا۟ حِزْبَهُۥ لِيَكُونُوا۟ مِنْ أَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلسَّعِيرِ
Al-Qur’an 35:6
Surely Satan is your enemy: so treat him as an enemy: he calls on his followers only so that they should become inmates of the burning Fire
The blessing of free will, brings with it a great responsibility to make the right choice in a given situation. It is the highest responsibility in all of creation with much at stake. When we choose good over evil, a human being in that state, attains highest of the ranks in front of Allahﷻ. He made this choice due to his belief in the unseen, from the words of his Creator. He believed in his Lord against the temptations and whispers of the devil. Against the non-believers, worldly intellectuals who discouraged him. Even angels are in awe of this status. On the other hand, when we make an evil choice, we take the place of the lowest form of creation. And so goes the cycle of our existence. Do not be mistaken, this is a great position to be in. One moment we are up and in great spirits, another moment we are down feeling the guilt of our misdeeds. It’s not about being mistake-free in life. That would be unsustainable. It is about freeing our life from mistakes. With that we also have to remember that we do not have a free pass to follow the devil as we please.
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ فِىٓ أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍۢ ٤ ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَـٰهُ أَسْفَلَ سَـٰفِلِينَ ٥ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍۢ
Al-Qur`an 95:4-6
Indeed, We created human being in the best form. then We cast him down as the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do good deeds—theirs shall be an unending reward
When the stakes are this high, one needs to pay attention to their actions. For instance, when a word from a countrys’ president can cause a war, he has to be that much more vigilant in everything he says and does. What happens if he starts to act like a thug just because he has the free will to do? Chaos is the result, so many lives are impacted. It also means that he was not fit to take on the responsibility. To be a good president, he has to learn patience, acquire knowledge, surround himself with wise and honest people who can guide him to make the right choices. Similarly, Allahﷻ made each and every one of us the president of our own lives by giving us free will. We can make a good or an evil choice in each situation. What we think, say and do, can result in either peace or chaos in our own lives and the lives of the ones around us.
Allahﷻ does not like a human being who loses hope in Him. No matter how many times we have to ask for His forgiveness
Allahﷻ has created a framework for us with His Prophets as guides to follow. Prophet Adam(AS) asked for His forgiveness, this is a sign for us to go to our Lord when we have wronged ourselves. This invites humility into our demeanor, an ingredient of our happiness. An endearing act in front of Allahﷻ as He likes to see His creation on a path to true success. Repentance is a very powerful tool we have, along with asking for His guidance regularly. It is for us to not lose hope as we journey through life’s ups and downs. Allahﷻ does not like a human being who loses hope in Him. No matter how many times we have to ask for His forgiveness. He is the most merciful and none can match it. We have to have sincerity in our hearts and complete faith in our Lord. Try our best each time to be our better selves. It is through this cycle that we can purify our inner self gradually.
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا
Al-Qur’an 91:9
Successful indeed is the one who purifies their soul
