PORTRAYAL OF SATAN THROUGH

QURANIC VERSES(*)

 

!Al-Baqarah, 2: 168!

“O mankind, eat
from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the
footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy. He only orders you to
evil and immorality and to say about Allah what you do not know.”

 

!Al-Baqarah, 2: 208!

“O you who have believed, enter into Islam
completely [and perfectly] (1)
and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear
enemy.”

!Al-Baqarah, 2: 268!

“Satan threatens you with poverty and orders
you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty.
And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.”

 

!Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 175!

“That is only Satan who frightens [you] of his
supporters. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers.”

                                        
!An-Nisâ’, 4: 38-39!

“And [also]
those who spend of their wealth to be seen by the people and believe not in
Allah nor in the Last Day. And he to whom Satan is a companion – then evil is
he as a companion. And what [harm would come] upon them if they believed in Allah
and the Last Day and spent out of what Allah provided for them? And Allah is
ever, about them, Knowing.”

!An-Nisâ’, 4: 76!

“Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah,

and those who disbelieve fight in the cause of Tâghût (Satan, etc.). So
fight against the allies of Satan. Indeed, the plot of Satan has ever been
weak.”

!An-Nisâ’, 4:118-120!

“They call upon instead of Him none but female
[deities], and they [actually] call upon none but a rebellious Satan. Whom
Allah has cursed. For he had said, ‘I will surely take from among Your servants
a specific portion. And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful]
desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle(2), and I will command them so they will
change the creation of Allah.’ And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of
Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss. Satan promises them and arouses
desire in them. But Satan does not promise them except delusion.”

!Al-Mâ’idah, 5: 90-91!

 

“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants(3), gambling, [sacrificing on] stone
alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the
work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. Satan only wants to
cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to
avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not
desist?”

!Al-An‘âm, 6: 43!
“But their hearts became hardened, and Satan
made attractive to them that which they were doing.”

!Al-An‘âm, 6: 71!

“Say, ‘Shall we
invoke instead of Allah that which neither benefits us nor harms us and be
turned back on our heels after Allah has guided us? [We would then be] like one
whom the devils enticed [to wander] upon the earth confused, [while] he has
companions inviting him to guidance, [calling], 'Come to us.' Say, ‘Indeed, the
guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance; and we have been commanded to submit
to the Lord of the worlds.’”

!Al-An‘âm, 6: 112!

“And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy
- devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in
delusion. But if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it, so leave
them and that which they invent.”

!Al-An‘âm, 6: 121!

 “And
do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for
indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies
[among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you
would be associators [of others with Him].”

!Al-An‘âm, 6: 142!

 “And do not
follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.”

!Al-A‘râf, 7: 11-30!

 “And We have certainly created you, [O
Mankind], and given you [human] form. Then We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate to
Adam’; so they prostrated, except for Iblees (Satan). He was not of those who
prostrated.

[Allah] said,
‘What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?’

 

[Satan] said,
‘I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.’

[Allah] said, ‘Descend from it, for it is not
for you to be arrogant therein. So get out; indeed, you are of the debased.

[Satan] said, ‘Reprieve me until the Day they
are resurrected.’

[Allah] said, ‘Indeed, you are of those
reprieved.’

[Satan] said, ‘Because You have put me in error,
I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path.

Then I will come to them from before them and
from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find
most of them grateful [to You].’

[Allah] said, ‘Get out of it, reproached and
expelled. Whoever follows you among them – I will surely fill Hell with you,
all together.’

And ‘O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in
paradise and eat from wherever you will but do not approach this tree, lest you
be among the wrongdoers.’

But Satan whispered to them to make apparent
to them that which was concealed from them of their private parts. He said,
‘Your Lord did not forbid you this tree except that you become angels or become
of the immortal.’

And he swore [by Allah] to them, ‘Indeed, I
am to you from among the sincere advisors.’

So he made them fall, through deception. And
when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and
they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of paradise. And
their Lord called to them, ‘Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you
that Satan is to you a clear enemy?’

They said, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged
ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely
be among the losers.’

[Allah] said: ‘Get down, some of you an enemy
to some others. And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment
for a time.’

He said, ‘Therein you will live, and therein
you will die, and from it you will be brought forth.’

O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you
clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of
righteousness – that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they
will remember.

O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you
as he removed your parents from paradise, stripping them of their clothing to
show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from
where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who
do not believe.

And when they commit an immorality, they say,
‘We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has ordered us to do it.’ Say,
‘Indeed, Allah does not order immorality. Do you say about Allah that which you
do not know?’

Say, [O Muhammad], ‘My Lord has ordered
justice and that you maintain yourselves [in worship of Him] at every place [or
time] of prostration, and invoke Him, sincere to Him in religion.’ Just as He
originated you, you will return [to life] -

A group [of you] He guided, and a group
deserved [to be in] error. Indeed, they had taken the devils as allies instead
of Allah while they thought that they were guided.”

!Al-A‘râf, 7: 175-176!

“And recite to
them, [O Muhammad], the news of him to whom we gave [knowledge of] Our signs,
but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the
deviators. And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he
adhered [instead] to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is
like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he
[still] pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So
relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.”

                                          !Al-Anfâl, 8: 48!

“And [remember]
when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and said, ‘No one can overcome you
today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector.’ But when the two
armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, ‘Indeed, I am
disassociated from you.  Indeed, I
see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allah. And Allah is severe in penalty.’”

!Ibrahîm, 14: 22!

“And Satan will say when the matter has been
concluded, ‘Indeed, Allah had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised
you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited
you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I
cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny
your association of me [with Allah] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a
painful punishment.’”

!An-Nahl, 16: 63!

“By Allah, We did certainly send [messengers]
to nations before you, but Satan made their deeds attractive to them. And he
(Satan)  is the disbelievers’ ally
today [as well], and they will have a painful punishment.”

!An-Nahl, 16: 98-100!

“So when you recite the Qur’an, [first] seek
refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy]. Indeed, there is for
him no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord. His
authority is only over those who take him as an ally and those who through him
associate others with Allah.”

!Al-Isrâ’, 17: 27!

 

“Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the
devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.”

!Al-Isrâ’, 17: 61-65!

“And [mention] when We said to the angles,
‘Prostrate to Adam,’ and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He said, ‘Should I
prostrate to one You created from clay?’ [Iblees] said, ‘Do You see this one
whom You have honored above me? If You delay me until the Day of Resurrection,
I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few.’ [Allah] said, ‘Go,
for whoever of them follows you, indeed Hell will be the recompense of you – an
ample recompense. And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with
your voice(4) and assault them with your horses and
foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children(5) and promise them. But Satan does not
promise them except delusion. Indeed, over My [believing] servants there is for
you no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs.’”

!Al-Kahf, 18: 50!

“And [mention] when We said to the angels,
‘Prostrate to Adam,’ and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was of the jinn
and departed from the command of his Lord. Then will you take him and his
descendants as allies other than Me while they are enemies to you? Wretched it
is for the wrongdoers as an exchange.”

!Maryam, 19: 83!

 

“Do you not see that We have sent the devils
upon the disbelievers, inciting them to [evil] with [constant] incitement? So
be not impatient over them. We only count out to them a [limited] number(6).”

!Al-Mu’minûn, 23: 96-98!

“Repel, by [means of] what is best, [their]
evil. We are most knowing of what they describe. And say, ‘My Lord, I seek
refuge in You from the incitements of the devils, And I seek refuge in You, my
Lord , lest they be present with me.’”

!An-Naml, 24: 24-25!

“I
found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has
made their deeds pleasing to them and averted them from [His] way, so they are
not guided, [And] so they do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is
hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you
declare -”

!Al-Furqân, 25: 27-29!

“And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his
hands [in regret] he will say, “Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger
(Muhammad) a way.  Oh, woe to
me!  I wish I had not taken that
one as a friend. He led me away from the remembrance after it had come to me. And ever is Satan, to man, a deserter.”

!Ash-Shu‘arâ’, 26: 91-104!

And Hellfire will be brought forth for the
deviators,

And it will be said to them, ‘Where are those
you used to worship

Other than Allah? Can they help you or help
themselves?’

So they will be overturned into Hellfire,
they and the deviators

And the soldiers of Iblees, all together.

They will say while they dispute therein,

‘By Allah, we were indeed in manifest error

When we equated you with the Lord of the
worlds.

And no one misguided us except the criminals.

So now we have no intercessors

And not a devoted friend.

Then if we only had a return [to the world]
and could be of the believers…’

Indeed in that is a sign, but most of them
were not to be believers.

And indeed, your Lord – He is the Exalted in
Might, the Merciful.

  !Ash-Shu‘arâ’, 26: 221-223!

“Shall I inform you upon whom the devils
descend? They descend upon every sinful liar. They pass on what is heard, and
most of them are liars.”

!Al-‘Ankabūt, 29: 38!

“And [We destroyed] ‘Aad and Thamūd, and it
has become clear to you from their [ruined] dwellings. And Satan had made
pleasing to them their deeds and averted them from the path, and they were
endowed with perception.”

!Luqmân, 31: 21!

“And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what
Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Rather, we will follow that upon which we found
our fathers.’ Even if Satan was inviting them to the punishment of the Blaze?”

!Saba’, 34: 20-21!

“And Iblees had already confirmed through
them his assumption, so they followed him, except for a party of believers. And
he had over them no authority except [it was decreed] that We might make
evident who believes in the Hereafter from who is thereof in doubt. And your
Lord, over all things, is Guardian.”

!Fatîr, 35: 6!

“Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you; so take
him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the
Blaze.”

!Yâ­-Sîn, 36: 60-64!

“Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of
Adam, that you worship not Satan – [for] indeed, he is to you a clear enemy –
And that you worship [only] Me? 
This is a straight path. And he had already led astray from among you
much of creation, so did you not use reason? This is the Hellfire which you
were promised. [Enter to] burn therein today for what you used to deny.”

]!Sâd, 38: 71-85!

 [So mention] when your Lord said to the
angels, ‘Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay.

So when I have
proportioned him and breathed into him (his) soul created by Me, then fall down
to him in prostration.’

So the angels
prostrated – all of them entirely.

Except Iblees;
he was arrogant and became among the disbelievers.

[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?’

He said, ‘I am
better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.’

[Allah] said,
‘Then get out of Paradise, for indeed, you are expelled.

And indeed,
upon you is My curse until the Day of Recompense.’

He said, ‘My
Lord, then reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected.’

[Allah] said,
‘So indeed, you are of those reprieved

Until the Day
of the time well-known.’

[Iblees] said,
‘By your might, I will surely mislead them all

Except, among
them, Your chosen servants.’

[Allah] said,
‘The truth [is My oath], and the truth I say –

[That] I will
surely fill Hell with you and those of them that follow you all together.’

!Az-Zukhruf, 43: 36-37!

“And whoever is
blinded from remembrance of the Most Merciful – We appoint for him a devil, and
he is to him a companion. And indeed, the devils avert them from the way [of
guidance] while they think that they are [rightly] guided.”

!Az-Zukhruf, 43: 62!

“And never let
Satan avert you. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.”

!Muhammad, 47: 24-25!

“Then do they
not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts? Indeed,
those who reverted back [to disbelief] after guidance had become clear to them –
Satan enticed them and prolonged hope for them.”

!Al-Mujâdilah, 58: 19!

“Satan has
overcome them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Those are the
party of Satan. Unquestionably, the party of Satan – they will be the losers.”

!Al-Mujâdilah, 58: 9-10!

“O you who have believed, when you converse
privately, do not converse about sin and aggression and disobedience to the
Messenger but converse about righteousness and piety. And fear Allah, to whom
you will be gathered. Private conversation is only from Satan that he may
grieve those who have believed, but he will not harm them at all except by
permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely.”

!Al-Hashr, 59: 16-17!

“Like the
example of Satan when he says to man, ‘Disbelieve.’ But when he disbelieves, he
says, ‘Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the
worlds.’ So the outcome for both of them is that they will be in the Fire,
abiding eternally therein. And that is the recompense of the wrong-doers.”

!Al-Falaq, 113: 1-5!

Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak

From the evil of that which He created

And from the evil of darkness when it settles

And from the evil of the blowers in knots

And from the evil of an envier when he envies.’

 

!An-Nās, 114: 1-6!

Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,

The Sovereign of mankind.

The God of mankind,

From the evil of the retreating whisperer(7) –

Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind –

From among the jinn and mankind.’