TEN The story of Humans part 4 – Adam and Iblis “And when We told the angels, Prostrate yourselves before Adam! - they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis, who refused and gloried in his arrogance: and thus he became one of those who deny the truth.” (Qur’an 2:34) Adams intellectual superiority was about to be confirmed. As I close my eyes I imagine a whole host of activities happening around Adam. There was a conversation taking place between God and angels and Adam was at the centre of it all. Adam was the subject and object!. He was just created, equipped with intellect and placed in front of the angels. He was given an extra ordinary gift from God – intellect. He had already outsmarted them by showing his capacity to think independently and use rationale to determine right from wrong. He was able to name all things without any error, if he has made any mistakes God would have stated that in this most important introduction to Adam and in the Divine Writ that He uses to convey this epic story. He did not falter under such a challenge either. Can you imagine that you have just come to existence, you have been loaded with all the information about the universe and your brain has been fire up to function at its full capacity; you are then put to a test in public. We don’t know how many hours, days, and months or even years that must have elapsed between each of those events, as time is immaterial in the heavens. God is originator of time and He would have determined the speed at which all His businesses would have been conducted. I cannot imagine or impose my time constraint by the world in which I live, and the time that has been gifted to me for my use and benefit cannot be associated in the same way to God. However, I can only imagine how Adam must have felt. In fact, I dont know how he felt. For all that I know Adam may not have felt anything. He may not have been aware of his feelings yet. There is nothing in the text of the Quran or saying of the Prophet that describes how exactly Adam must have felt during those first conversations. It is sufficient to know God decree of sending an intelligent heir on this earth was one step closer. Adam excelled at the challenge posed by God. All the angels were ordered to bow down. The Arabic word used here refers to the gesture known as “sijda” which is demonstrated by placing ones all fingers and both palms of the hand and forehead and the tip of our nose on the ground. As human beings we have the limbs and bodily features to prostrate like that but what does prostration for the angels really mean? I have no idea what they look like nor do I know how they prostrated but I know they were commanded to lower themselves in front of Adam to indicate Adams position in the universe and in the eyes of God. This was not a simple gesture. As a believer in one God I believe I am not allowed to bow down in front of anyone to show my honour or respect and certainly not demonstrate my inferiority except in front of God. Why was God asking angels to do an act so uniquely reserved for God alone? Why did God order the angels to prostrate in the first place? Surely God could have simply stated that Adam was intellectually superior and that would have been enough for the angels to know. And what does the angel’s prostration truly mean? God asked the angels to demonstrate to Adam their unconditional obedience, their surrender and acceptance. Angels do not have any independent capacity to think for themselves, so God’s words are their orders at all times. This time it would have been the same except that God had an intelligent creation present that has the capacity to refuse to obey God. Remarkably, God himself gave such a capacity to Adam. Angel’s prostration was not to confirm their obedience, as they do not have the capacity to disobey in the first place, it was rather for Adam to know the consequences of disobedience. As Adam was given the knowledge and thinking capacity and would inherit the earth, he must also know the consequences of his choices. Thus we find God saying that all angels prostrated except Iblis! Adam gets to witness what happens when you disobey God. Who was Iblis and why did he refuse to prostrate? I understand from the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet that Iblis was from the Jinn, a creation of God that preceded human beings. He was elevated to the heavens for his devotion. He was given the honour of living and enjoying heavenly grace. He was in the company of the angels and had the privileged position of witnessing the marvels of daily heavenly functions. Yet when God ordered the angels to prostrate they simply prostrated but Iblis decided to refuse. It is clear from his refusal that he was different to the angels though he was present during that significant moment when Adam was created and he witnessed the power of knowledge of Adam; he was still not an angel. He had the capacity to think independently and he decided to not prostrate based on that thinking. Angels cannot think! Iblis did not refuse to prostrate in front of Adam because he felt such a prostration would belittle and compromise God’s absolute right to his prostration. He could have easily said to God that he was only allowed to put his head down in front of God and Adam was only a creation of God. His answer would have been logical and acceptable, perhaps, but he didn’t say that. He refused to obey God because he was full of himself, arrogant and proud. He felt better than Adam as Adam was made of organic matters such as clay and dust, and he was made out of smokeless fire. He felt superior in his makeup and thought prostrating in front of Adam would reduce his personal status. His sense of self-worth dominated his thought process. I am so shocked by what Iblis did. Remember he was in front of God and it was God who had ordered him to prostrate directly. You have to be totally blinded by your own pride and arrogance to refuse God’s direct command! Iblis’s fall from grace was so stupendous that I often wonder what could have possessed Iblis to be in the company of the angels, living in the heavens and listening God’s words directly and yet have the audacity to say no to God! I wonder what would be our fate on the Day of Judgment for we refuse to obey God everyday. If Iblis was declared a rejecter of God and avowed enemy of goodness and virtue based on one act of disobedience, what would be our fate when we are habitual in disobeying God. We disobey God openly and secretly, we refuse to acknowledge His existence, we declare war against Him and we imagine that we can get away with our daily rejections. It may appear that we are getting away with disobedience or disbelief on this earth but there is the hereafter when there will be no escape. On that day excuses or blaming Iblis for our own disobedience would come to no use! Iblis became the symbol of evil and temptation. Adam’s knowledge and capacity to determine right and wrong based on independent thinking was put on a collision course with Iblis whose expulsion from the heavenly grace made him determined to lead Adam astray. He made it his sole mission and Adam was warned by God to keep his guards up against the temptations and lure of Iblis. The battle between Adam and Iblis began in earnest. For the rest of us, human beings, the batter between good and evil continues to rage! So God told Adam and his wife, And We said: O Adam, dwell you and your wife in this garden, and eat freely thereof, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become wrongdoers. To be continued…
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:56:46 +0000
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