The story of Adam (علیہ الصلوۃ والسلام) and Satan is described in Quran [as well as in the Old Testament.] According to the details described in different parts of Quran, God appointed Adam His viceroy on the earth. He ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam. All angels did so, but a jinn present at that occasion, refused to accept the commandment of Allah. His name was “Iblees” and later he became famous by the name of “Satan”.

When the Almighty asked Satan about why he refused to obey Allah’s command. He presented a beautiful justification. He argued that he had been created with fire and Adam was created with soil, his refusal to prostrate before Adam was justifiable as fire was superior to soil in his opinion and hence the commandment to bow before Adam was wrong. Thus the problem was in the commandment as it was an unreasonable one.

Seemingly, the arguments presented by the Satan were very strong. But since these arguments had been presented in front of God, the all-knowing and all-seeing, and Who knows the hidden secrets of minds, Satan was told by the Almighty Allah that he was a victim of “arrogance”. And this arrogance had made him blind enough to revolt against the will of the Almighty God.

قرآن اور بائبل کے دیس میں۔ ایک ایسا سفرنامہ جو کہ ان مقامات کے سفر اور تاریخ پر مشتمل ہے جن کا تعلق اللہ تعالی کے انبیاء علیہم الصلوۃ والسلام سے ہے۔ ان میں مکہ، مدینہ، طائف، تبوک، مدائن صالح، پیٹرا، بحیرہ مردار، کوہ طور اور قاہرہ شامل ہیں۔ پڑھنے کے لئے کلک کیجیے۔

The Satan put the blame of his transgression on the Almighty. He said, “As you have rejected me, I will divert Adam and his progeny from Your path in order to prove that they do not deserve this status. Please give me time till the day of judgment to do so.” Allah was angry with the Satan. He gave him permission him to try and divert Adam and his progeny. The objective was to prove the evil of his inside.

On the other side, Adam (علیہ الصلوۃ والسلام) was asked to stay in a garden with his wife, Eve. They were asked to avoid a specific tree. They were told that the Iblees was their enemy, so they had to be careful. Adam and Eve followed this instruction. After some time, the Satan started diverting them. He tried to persuade them by swearing God that the tree, which was forbidden for them to approach, will provide them the great benefit of eternal life. They accepted his inspiration and tasted that tree. As a result of that, many blessings provided by the Almighty were taken back from them.

The Satan seemed to be successful in his challenge that he will prove that the human being does not deserve the status given to him. But the case of Adam and Eve was different from that of the Satan. They provided the evidence of this difference by immediately repenting for their mistake. The Almighty asked them, “Had I not forbid you from this?” And here they proved, for a second time, that they were different from Satan by not providing any excuse or justification. They acknowledged that they have made a mistake.

It was possible for them to say that we were deceived by the Satan, but they did not provide any justification and accepted their fault in a single-sided manner. Therefore, the Almighty Allah accepted their repentance and forgave them.

If you have a question in your mind. Don’t keep it in your head. Ask it. It may help others to resolve their confusions.

Even today, there is only one basic difference between the followers of the Adam and those of Satan. The psychology of Adam’s followers is that they confess their mistakes whereas followers of the Satan live with the mentality of justification and making excuses. The former accept their mistake whereas the later try to find the justification of their faults. The former ones hesitate to use even reasonable justifications of their mistakes whereas the later ones become satisfied by putting the blame of their fault on others.

If the attitude of both of these groups is like their leaders i.e. Adam & Eve or Satan, the behavior of Almighty Allah is the same as it was before. All mistakes and sins of Adam’s followers are forgiven whereas those of Satan’s followers result in invoking the anger of God. The former ones will be provided with a high rank in the Kingdom of Heaven i.e. the paradise. The later ones will be made the fuel of hellfire.

(Author: Rehan Ahmed Yousfi, Translation: Mubashir Nazir, Review: Muhammed Umar Khan)

Note: Unlike various other religions, it is not acceptable in Islam for a person to confess his / her sins in front of a religious leader. In Islam, confession is to be made only and only in front of the Almighty God. If a sin is related to a violation of God’s rights, it should be confessed in front of God and forgiveness will be requested from Him. If a sin is in violation of human/animal rights, it will also have to be confessed in front of God. In addition to that, the violator will have to compensate the offended creature. The offender has to seek forgiveness from Allah as well as the offended person. Mubashir Nazir

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Think about it!

· Why some people do not accept their faults and try to justify it?

· Suppose a person had taken other’s money in past. Now he wants to repent. What will be your advice for him?

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Unit 1: Relation with God & His Prophets

Unit 2: Elimination of our Negative Personality

Unit 3: Development of our Positive Personality

Unit 4: Relationship with Human Beings

Backbiting | Suspicion | Defamation | Examining Others with Suspicion | Are you killing your family?

Unit 5: Our Responsibility, Vision & Mission

The Love of Prophet Muhammad with Knowledge | Traditional Mentality | Strange Similarities between Christian & Muslim Histories | The Relationship of Revelation & Intellect (Part I) | The Relationship of Revelation & Intellect (Part II) | The Problem of Aurengzeb Alamgir