Ramadan 2022 – Juz 14

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى خَـٰلِقٌۢ بَشَرًۭا مِّن صَلْصَـٰلٍۢ مِّنْ حَمَإٍۢ مَّسْنُونٍۢ ٢٨

فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُۥ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى فَقَعُوا۟ لَهُۥ سَـٰجِدِينَ ٢٩

فَسَجَدَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ كُلُّهُمْ أَجْمَعُونَ ٣٠

إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ مَعَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ ٣١

قَالَ يَـٰٓإِبْلِيسُ مَا لَكَ أَلَّا تَكُونَ مَعَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ ٣٢

قَالَ لَمْ أَكُن لِّأَسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُۥ مِن صَلْصَـٰلٍۢ مِّنْ حَمَإٍۢ مَّسْنُونٍۢ ٣٣

قَالَ فَٱخْرُجْ مِنْهَا فَإِنَّكَ رَجِيمٌۭ ٣٤

“˹Remember, O  Prophet˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to create a human being from sounding clay moulded from black mud. So when I have fashioned him and had a spirit of My Own ˹creation˺ breathed into him, fall down in prostration to him.”

So the angels prostrated all together— but not Iblîs, who refused to prostrate with the others.

Allah asked, “O Iblîs! What is the matter with you that you did not join others in prostration?”

He replied, “It is not for me to prostrate to a human You created from sounding clay moulded from black mud.”

Allah commanded, “Then get out of Paradise, for you are truly cursed.”

— Quran 15:28-34

In this chapter about the creation of Adam, the first of mankind, Shaytan (satan) is thrown out of Heaven and cursed by Allah.

The interesting thing about this exchange is that Shaytan is in the presence of Allah. Shaytan doesn’t deny or disbelieve in Allah, he isn’t an “atheist”, in fact he is fully cognisant of Allah and he is even having an exchange with Him.

Shaytan fully accepts that God exists and believes in him without doubt.

Shaytan is cast out of heaven however for his defiance. His refusal to prostrate. It’s not disbelief in Allah that gets him thrown out of heaven — but rather his disobedience.

Similarly for us on Earth, belief in God is the first step, the crucial next step however is that belief entails good actions.

It is not enough for us to simply believe in Allah and then assume that everything is settled. Rather belief in Allah also entails belief in his books, his Messenger and the commandments he sends.

In Hadith jibreel (one of the foundational Hadith) we see that:

A man comes to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and asks him:“O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam.”

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should perform salah, pay the Zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House (Mecca), if you are able to do so.”

The man then asks “Inform me about iman.”

The Messenger of Allah answered, “It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in qadar (fate), both in its good and in its evil aspects.”

Then the man said, “Inform me about Ihsan.”

The Messenger of Allah answered, “It is that you should worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him (then know that) surely He sees you.”

From this we take that we start our journey to Allah with our actions; the five pillars: (1) testifying our faith, (2) prayer, (3) zakat-charity, (4) fasting during ramadan, (5) Hajj.

We build on them with our belief in Allah, His angels, the Qur’an, the prophets, the coming day of judgement as well as trust and belief in the fate that is written for us.

Finally we seek ihsan (excellence): to attain consciousness and taqwa (mindfulness) of Allah at all times. Not just when praying, but throughout our days.

Aiming to be the best possible version of ourselves and live in a way that is pleasing to Allah and aligned with his commandments.