قال انا خير منه خلقتني من نار وخلقته من طين

قَالَ أَنَا۠ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ خَلَقْتَنِى مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُۥ مِن طِينٍ

There is a deeper, more subtle sickness behind Iblees's words: "I am better than him: You created me from fire and him from clay." 

This sickness becomes clearer when he blames Allah for his own misguidance and corruption. It is a sickness that stems from delusion, arrogance, and self-conceit. To understand it, let's analyze a simple example:

Imagine a billionaire attends an event you're invited to, and in an Oprah Winfrey fashion, he declares that everyone gets a check from him. Human justice demands that, in all fairness, he gives an equal amount to everyone. But, ultimately, the billionaire reserves the right to spend his money as he sees fit. He might decide to give one a check of $50,000, another a check of $500, and another a check of $1,000,000. 

Now, it would be absurd, ungrateful, and completely disrespectful for the one who got the $500 check to question the billionaire as to why he got the least amount. It is a total failure on the part of that receiver not to realize the blessing he just received, no matter the quantity, because not only did he NOT have it to begin with, but also the wealth is NOT his to distribute. 

To Allah belongs the highest example. He is مالك الملك, the owner of sovereignty. He distributes His wealth as He sees fit, based on His wisdom and His justice. The sense of justice and mercy that we have is only an insignificant fraction of His mercy and justice. It is completely absurd, illogical, and downright stupid to question His Justice and Mercy, given that what we have is not only borrowed from Him but ultimately incomparable to His. 

Which brings me to the delusion of Iblees. He wrongfully assumed that because he, in his mind, was better than Adam, he deserved more favor and honor. Failing to acknowledge that Allah is the owner of all favor and honor, and as such, He distributes as He wishes and wills. This simple understanding breeds gratitude. The appreciation that whatever comes from Allah is a gift and thus demands gratitude. Something Iblees failed to see, and therefore, he arrogantly declares: "You will find most of them ungrateful." 

In his mind, if he is better, and he is ultimately ungrateful, then how can we who are lesser than him be grateful? 

I take this as a personal challenge to prove that I will try my best to show gratitude. To acknowledge that despite my limitations and weaknesses as a human, I will declare the perfection of my Rabb and negate all unbecoming attributes that do not befit His majesty and praise Him for His perfect attributes. And ultimately, humble myself before His greatness. May Allah make us from the grateful. Ameen 
#iblees ​ ​#gratitude ​ ​#tasbeeh ​ ​

Safiya B​ wa iyyakum bikhair! I'm glad it resonated with you 🙂

The main purpose of the stories in the Qur’an is to teach us lessons that can be applied in our daily lives. 

For example: the story of Adam (peace be upon him) and Satan/Iblis teaches us that we should never ever harbor the feeling that we are better than someone else. Harboring such feelings of superiority will lead us to become totally distant from our Creator (as was the case with Satan/Iblis). 

This lesson can be applied in our daily lives; we should always be very careful that such feelings/thoughts of superiority do not creep into our hearts/minds. 

#lessons #apply #dailylives #application #quran #satan #adam

The next time you try  logically get yourself out  of obeying Allahs command using logic,  qiyas (analogy), or other forms of reason,  then remember the first one who tried to reason himself out of follwing the clear cut command of Allah swt  was satan. 

Al-Khaafidh (the Abaser) comes from the root kh-f-dh. It was used to refer to the camel when he lowers his head. When referring to God Almighty (exalted is He), Ibn Atheer said, 'It is He who lowers the oppressors and humiliates them.' At times we see tyrants with so much power, but slowly they are toppled down. And this is not just for rulers who are oppressive. When Iblees said: 'I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.' [Qur’an, 38:76] God Almighty expelled him from Paradise. When Pharoah said, 'I am your most exalted lord.' [Qur’an, 79:24] He was drowned.

Learn more: http://www.the99names.com/names/23.html

The 99 Names of Allah

Trying to justify your decision to disobey Allah SW will always be illogical and not in line with the truth.

His justification, though Iblees is very informed of the world and the creation, was completley wrong as his arrogance blinded him from the truth. Is fire better then mud?

1. Fire is high and haughty as mud is humbled and low
2. Fire destroys life, while mud creates life (trees, vegetation, etc)
3. Fire harms while mud can actually be used for treatment for diseases such as  psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea.
4. Fire needs to destroy to survive by burning its source of fuel, while mud can survive without doing that and remains fertile while providing life to other creation.

So any justification to not obey Allah SW will make the most intelligent individual sound outright ignorant.  #humility #obedience #submission