The arrogance of Satan

Introduction

Allah created the angels and jinn before He created the Prophet Adam. They were glorifying Allah with praise. Then, Allah created Adam (as), the first human being, and commanded the angels to prostrate themselves to him.

With wholehearted obedience, the angels complied with Allah's command and prostrated themselves to Adam. Yet, Iblis (Diabolis), one of the jinn, rebelled against this command. That is because, he believed that he was superior to Adam (as). Out of this arrogance, he replied to the question posed to him by Allah: "Iblis, what prevented you prostrating to what I created with My own Hands? Were you overcome by arrogance or are you one of the exalted?" (Surah Sad: 75), as follows:

"I am better than him. You created me from fire but You created him from clay."(Surah Sad: 76)

Iblis, who dared such a disobedience to Allah's command, was denounced by Allah and was destined to the eternal torment of Hell.

The reason why Iblis revolted against Allah was due to his "arrogance" or to put it in other words, "vanity". What instilled these feelings of pride in Iblis was a vice he had allowed to grow within himself: "Ego"…

The equivalent term of "ego" in Arabic (enaniyet) is a derivative of the word ene. It means attributing a separate existence to one' s self, seeing one' s existence apart from and independent of Allah, and orienting one' s deeds, attitudes and outlook by it.

Arrogance, on the other hand, is merely one of the manifestations of "Ego" Once a person builds an "ego-centered attitude", eventually he will begin to boast about the qualities and means Allah had granted to him as blessings, such that, these means become the presumed justification of his flawed mindset. As the Prophet Muhammad (saas) said in a famous hadith, "Arrogance means ridiculing and rejecting the Truth and despising people.' (Muslim)

No matter the circumstances, such a person sees himself superior and greatly valuable. In the Qur' an, such a person is said to deify himself.

Consequently, arrogance and, in connection with it, vanity, equals to associating partners to Allah and disbelief. In fact, this vice of Iblis' is explained thus: "... Iblis who was arrogant and was one of the disbelievers." (Surah Sad: 74)

The arrogance of Iblis, which made itself evident when he was commanded to prostrate to Adam (as), ultimately resulted in eternal torment for him. This account indicates how great a danger arrogance is to those who harbour this evil feeling in their heart.

Arrogance is Satan's most fundamental character flaw. Consequently, "arrogance" and "vanity", which is its derivative, are the source of all evil and perversion. As it was the case with millions of people who have lived in the past, these flaws for which Satan was guilty have also seized control of the base natures of innumerable number of people living today, drag them into the same evil ways of Iblis.

An arrogant person, that is, someone who attributes an independent power to himself, and thus shows an undue arrogance towards Allah, and turns his back to His verses, is continually vulnerable to Satan' s wiles. The purpose of this book is to present all the aspects of arrogance and the character flaws of a person who is seized by this malady, and to summon all, upon whom Satan exerts his influence, to avoid him and to cleanse themselves of this evil.

With these aims in mind, throughout the book, we will consider the psychological condition of vain people, in relation to the fault of "arrogance", which is their inherent flaw.

We hope that this book serves as a strong warning to all of our readers to shun this evil vice of Iblis'.