Page 47 - The Arrogance of Satan

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Examples Of Arrogance In The Qur' an

Am I to prostrate to one You have created out of clay?"
(Surat al-Isra' : 61)

The last statement of Iblis in the verse above makes
known the extent of his pride. Man' s exaltation by Allah and
Iblis' demotion and furthermore, Allah' s demand from him-
that he prostrate himself to man-revealed his overbearing
pride, which had until then been concealed. The lack of
conscientiousness fostered in him because of such a mindset
led him to a failure in measuring Allah justly. As a result of
this psychology of his, he behaved immorally and
disrespectfully towards Allah (Surely Allah is beyond all
that). In response to this behaviour, Allah says the following:
He (Allah) said, "Iblis, what prevented you prostrating
to what I created with My own Hands? Were you
overcome by arrogance or are you one of the exalted?"
(Surah Sâd: 75)
Satan' s defiance and his attempt to exalt himself
backfired. Allah degraded him and-as a lesson to those who
follow his immoral path-drove him away from Paradise:

He (Allah) said, "Get out of it, reviled and driven out.
As for those of them who follow you, I will fill up Hell
with every one of you." (Surat al-A' raf: 18)
As these verses make clear, Satan' s greatest mistake was
to arrive at erroneous conclusions and putting them into
practice. This faulty reasoning is one of the fundamental
characteristics of all who follow in the footsteps of Satan and
become "devilishly arrogant." The detrimental effects of
pride on a person are clearly demonstrated in the defiance of
Satan, and those who followed him, to his Creator, the
Almighty Allah. Maintaining a narrow outlook on things,