سورة البَقَرَة

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34

The Cow · Verse 34 of 286

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ

Abdul Mannan Omar

And (recall) when We said to the angels, `Make obeisance to Adam.´ So they obeyed except Iblîs, he refused stubbornly and waxed proud, and he was already one of the disbelievers.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.

Ahmed Ali

Remember, when We asked the angels to bow in homage to Adam, they all bowed but Iblis, who disdained and turned insolent, and so became a disbeliever.

12 more translations

Ali Unal

And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate before Adam!" They all prostrated, but Iblis did not; he refused, and grew arrogant, and displayed himself as an unbeliever.

Daryabadi

And recall what time We said unto the angels: prostrate yourselves before Adam, they prostrated themselves; but not Iblis he refused and was stiff - necked and became of the infidels.

Faridul Haque

And (remember) when We ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam, so they all prostrated, except Iblis (Satan - devil); he refused and was proud - and became a disbeliever.

Maulana Muhammad Ali

And when We said to the angels, Be submissive to Adam, they submitted, but Iblis (did not). He refused and was proud, and he was one of the disbelievers.

Maulvi Sher Ali

And remember the time when WE said to the angels `Submit to ADAM,' and they all submitted. But Iblis did not. He refused and deem himself too big; and he was of the disbelievers.

Muhammad Asad

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.

Muhammad Musin Khan

And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam.". And they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allah).

Muhammad Pickthall

And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.

Muhammad Sarwar

When We told the angels to prostrate before Adam, they all obeyed except Iblis (Satan) who abstained out of pride and so he became one of those who deny the truth.

Muhammed ali Shakir

And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam they did obeisance, but Iblis (did it not). He refused and he was proud, and he was one of the unbelievers.

Rashad Khalifa

When we said to the angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam," they fell prostrate, except Satan; he refused, was too arrogant, and a disbeliever.

Shabbir Ahmed

And when We said to the angels, “Humble yourselves and be subservient to Adam-mankind, they instantly complied humbling themselves. But Iblees (Satan) refused through self-glorification, and so became a rejecter of the Divine Command.

Commentary 2:34 Sajadû سَجَدُو is used here in the sense of obedience and submission, and not in the sense of prostration. Thus, the word means that the angels were…

2:34 Sajadû سَجَدُو is used here in the sense of obedience and submission, and not in the sense of prostration. Thus, the word means that the angels were ordered to assist Adam (who stands for human beings in general) in his mission. Sajadû li-Adama اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَdoes not mean fall prostrate before Adam. The Qur’ân definitely says: لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ - “Pay no homage [or prostrate] to the sun or the moon, rather pay homage only to [or fall prostrate only before] Allâh who created them” (41:37). Therefore, prostration before Adam is opposed to the Divine Will. The Qur’ânic words are not sajadu adam–prostrate before Adambut Sajadu li-Adam that is pay homage to the humankind, as the word “Adam”throughout this section (2:30-33) stands for human beings and not to a particular man. The verse implies that a human being has superiority over the angels, which are the guardians and controlling powers of the forces of nature, and that by his capacity of acquiring knowledge a human being can subsequently harness the forces of nature.

A human being has two conquests to make in its life: the conquest of the forces of nature, and the conquest of the part of his own self that incites him to evil. He may conquer the forces of nature through his intellect, but he experiences many difficulties in conquering his own evil tendencies and desires. Allâh, in His infinite wisdom, has provided a good start by giving him a good and pure nature (30:30). As the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has said, "Every child is born with a good nature" (Bukhârî). Allâh’s command to the angels was to serve humanity and inspire their hearts to virtue. Allâh raised his Prophets and sent down His Revelations through the agency of angels for the guidance of humanity. Thus, if a human, being because of his freedom of choice and lack of guidance goes astray, he may still be called back to the right path. It is because of his free will that a human being is entitled to reward for his good deeds or punished for sins.

The Divine instruction in the verses 2:32-33 and the verses that follow (2:34-37) is one way Allâh instructs His most trusted servants, His representative (- khalîfah). With these verses Allâh expounds to us so that we may learn from it the proper attitude towards Him. These verses are not a narration of a fictitious man called Adam.

Illإِلَّاmeans except, exception, to the exclusion of, or to be left out. There is an exception within the same class and species, and there is an exception because of a different class or species. The Arabic language distinguishes between two types of exceptions. For the first category of exception, the Holy Qur’ân uses the word ghairغير(cf. 6:46; 4:24; 35:3; 10:15), which is an exception within the same class. Illaإلٌا refers to an exception in which the object of exception belongs to a different class or species (2:163; 2:255; 9:10). This is the case in the verse, "We said to the angels, Make obeisance to Adam. So they all obeyed, except Iblîs”. Here, in the words fa-Sajadû illa Iblîsفَسَجَدُوا إِلَّاإِبْلِيسَ the preposition Illaإِلَّا is used, describing an being as exceptional because it does not belong to the same class, namely that of angels. It was Iblîs إبليس who was an exception, and he belonged to a different class of beings called Jinnجِن (18:5; for the discussion on Jinn see 15:27; 72:1).

Iblîsإبليس is derived from balasaبلسَ or ablasأبلَسَ, which means to be overcome with grief, desperate, struck dumb with despair, remain disheartened and gloomy, stupefied or speechless. An Iblîs symbolizes the one who despairs, a person in whom good and virtue have decreased, who is broken in spirit, mournful, perplexed and unable to see his way, who has become silent on account of grief or despair, who was cut short or silenced in argument, who is unable to continue his journey, who was prevented from attaining his wish or a person of desperate character. Metaphorically, the term Iblîs stands for those human beings who behave proudly, arrogantly, and disobey the Divine Commandments.

Iblîs has been described in 2:34 as having disobeyed a Divine Command (cf. 18:50), while the angels have been described as ever submissive and obedient (16:49; 66:6). His rebellion is repeatedly stressed in the Holy Qur’ân. Hence, Iblîs could not be an angel. Indeed, the theory of the fallen angel is contrary to the Qur’ânic teachings (Lisân; Lane; Tâj; Zamakhsharî; Râghib). The Holy Qur’ân makes it clear that, there is a difference in the meanings of Iblîs and Satan (for the discussion on Satan شيطان, see 2:36).