Аль-Исра 17:62–69

Commentary

The word: لَأَحْتَنِكَنَّ (subdue) in verse 62 is from: اِحتِنَاک (ihtinak) which means to exterminate or uproot something, or to subdue and overpower it completely. (Qurtubi) The word: وَاسْتَفْزِزْ (and entice) in verse 64 is from اِستِفزَاز (istifzaz) which basically means to cut off or to tear away from and at this place it means to tear away from the path of truth. This is followed by صَوتک (with your voice). Sawt صَوت the Arabic word for voice is well known. What is the voice of Shaitan? Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says: The voices of songs, musical instruments and the hullabaloo of fun and games are the voices of Shaitan that he employs to tear people away from the path of truth. (Qurtubi) This tells us that (singing or listening to) music and (playing or listening to) musical instruments are prohibited. (Qurtubi)

While refusing to prostrate before Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) ، Iblis (the Shaitan) had said two things:

(1) That 'Adam was created from mud and he was from fire and that there was no reason why mud was given precedence over fire. This question was an effort to find out the wisdom of the order given to him before he could comply with the Divine command - something the one so commanded has no right to ask. That Allah, the Exalted, would let the commanded one have the right to demand the wisdom of His command is far out specially when we see in our everyday life that human beings themselves would not give their servant the right to say no to them. Think of a master asking his servants to do something and the servant demanding the master that he should first explain the wisdom of that assignment. Therefore, this question was considered unworthy of an answer and no answer was given. In addition to that, the answer is already obvious. Giving precedence to something over the other is the prerogative of the Being that created and nurtured everyone. Whenever and whatever He declares to be superior becomes exactly so.

(2) Secondly, he had said if he was given respite till the day of Qiyamah, he will mislead the entire progeny of 'Adam, except a few of them. That Allah Ta’ ala has elected to answer in the later verses. He said that the Shaitan will have no control over His sincere servants even if he were to rally his entire forces against them and as for the insincere who fall into his trap, they will meet the same fate as his, all consigned to Hell. When this verse (64) mentions the horsemen and footmen of the Shaitanic army, it does not necessarily mean that the Shaitan actually has combat support in that formation. In fact, this is a manner of referring to the full force and power of the Shaitan. And if the Shaitan does have horsemen and footmen actually, even that too cannot be denied. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ said: Those who come out in support of disbelief and sin, horsemen or footmen, they are nothing but the army of the Shaitan. Now remains the question as to how the Shaitan came to know that he would succeed in enticing and misleading the progeny of 'Adam (علیہ السلام) ، the basis on which he claimed that he will subdue them. There are two possibilities. Perhaps, by looking at the ingredients that went into the making of man, he had gathered that man would be desire-prone and it would not be difficult to entice him successfully. And then, it is also not far out to believe that his very claim was nothing but a bland lie.

As for the sense of: وَشَارِ‌كْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ (and share with them in their wealth and their children - 64), Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ said: Wealth and property acquired by false, impermissible and unlawful means or spent on what is haram is the sharing of the Shaitan in it. As for the sharing of the Shaitan in children, it could either be through illegitimacy, or by naming them like disbelievers and polytheists, or by indulging in polytheistic customs to ensure their security, or by taking to Haram sources of income to bring them up. (Qurtubi)