Surah Saad: Verse 75 - قال يا إبليس ما منعك... - English

Tafsir of Verse 75, Surah Saad

قَالَ يَٰٓإِبْلِيسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَن تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَىَّ ۖ أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْعَالِينَ

English Translation

[Allah] said, "O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?"

English Transliteration

Qala ya ibleesu ma manaAAaka an tasjuda lima khalaqtu biyadayya astakbarta am kunta mina alAAaleena

Tafsir of Verse 75

Said He, 'Iblis, what prevented thee to bow thyself before that I created with My own hands? Hast thou waxed proud, or art thou of the lofty ones?'

(Allah) said: "O Iblis! What prevents thee from prostrating thyself to one whom I have created with my hands? Art thou haughty? Or art thou one of the high (and mighty) ones?"

In verse 75, it was said: لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ (what I created with My hands...):

Here, it is about Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) that Allah Ta’ ala has said that it is He who had created him with His hands. There is a consensus among the majority of the Muslim Ummah that "hands" do not mean that Allah Ta’ ala has hands as human being do. The reason is that Allah Ta’ ala is absolutely pure and free from the need of body or its active limbs. Therefore, it means the power and control of Allah Ta’ ala and that the word: یَد (yad: hand) is commonly used in the Arabic language in the sense of power - for example, it was said: بِيَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّكَاحِ (in whose hand lies the marriage tie - 2:237). Therefore, the verse means: 'I created 'Adam with My power.' For that matter, everything in this universe owes its creation to nothing but Divine power. But, when Allah Ta’ ala intends to manifest the particular sublimity of something, He would specially attribute it to Himself, for instance, by such attribution the Ka'bah becomes Baytullah, the House of Allah; the she-camel of Sayyidna Salih نَاقۃُ اللہ 'nagatullah', the She-Camel of Allah; and Sayyidna ` Isa ' (علیہ السلام) - 'kalimatullah,' 'the Word of Allah' or 'ruhullah,' 'the Spirit of Allah.' Here too, this attribution has been introduced there to enhance the grace of Sayyidna 'Adam (Qurtubi)l

1. This interpretation is based on the line adopted by some theologians. The others are of the view that the word 'yad' (hand) used for Allah does not refer to a limb like the hand of human beings. It is rather an attribute of Allah Ta ala, the exact nature of which is unknown. The third view is of some other elders who abstain from indulging in the interpretation of such expressions and prefer to keep silent about them, and leave their exact meaning to Allah Ta ala. Muhammad Taqi Usmani.

Verse 75 - Surah Saad: (قال يا إبليس ما منعك أن تسجد لما خلقت بيدي ۖ أستكبرت أم كنت من العالين...) - English