Surah Al-Isra Ayat 61 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 61
And [mention] when We said to the angles, “Prostrate to Adam,” and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He said, “Should I prostrate to one You created from clay?”
Behold! We said to the angels: “Bow down unto Adam”: They bowed down except Iblis: He said, “Shall I bow down to one whom Thou didst create from clay?”
And recall when We asked the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam; all prostrated themselves except Iblis, who said: “Shall I prostrate myself before him whom You created of clay?”
And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate unto Adam.” They prostrated except Iblis (Satan). He said: “Shall I prostrate to one whom You created from clay?”
And when We said unto the angels: Fall down prostrate before Adam and they fell prostrate all save Iblis, he said: Shall I fall prostrate before that which Thou hast created of clay?
And as We said to the Angels, “Prostrate (yourselves) to ةهdam.” So they prostrated themselves, except Iblîs. He said, “Shall I prostrate myself to (one) whom You created of clay?”
When We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed down, but not Iblis. He retorted, ‘Why should I bow down to someone You have created out of clay?’
جب ہم نے فرشتوں کو حکم دیا کہ آدم کو سجده کرو تو ابلیس کے سوا سب نے کیا، اس نے کہا کہ کیا میں اسے سجده کروں جسے تو نے مٹی سے پیدا کیا ہے
Quran 17 Verse 61 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-Isra ayat 61, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(17:61) And recall when We asked the angels[73] to prostrate themselves before Adam; all prostrated themselves except Iblis,[74] who said: Shall I prostrate myself before him whom You created of clay?
73. That is, We showed you such things during the Miraj so that they should have the first hand knowledge of the reality from a truthful and honest man like you and be warned by it to the right way. They, however, began to make fun of you, though We had already warned them through you that their evil ways would force them to eat of the Az-zaqqum. Instead of this they began to scoff at you, saying, just consider the logic of this man. On the one hand, he says that there is an awful fire burning in Hell and, on the other, he says that trees are growing in it.
74. Please also refer to (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 30-39); (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 117-122); (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 11-25); (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 22); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayat 26-43). This story has been cited here to impress upon the disbelievers that their attitude of arrogance and indifference towards Allah is exactly the same as was adopted by Satan. As a matter of fact, they were following Satan who is the avowed enemy of man, and were being entangled in the snare spread by him who had challenged the progeny of Adam at the very beginning of human history that he would allure and ruin them.
Ibn-Kathir
61. And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves unto Adam.” They prostrated themselves except Iblis. He said: “Shall I prostrate myself to one whom You created from clay” 62. He said: “See this one whom You have honored above me, if You give me respite to the Day of Resurrection, I will surely, seize and mislead his offspring, all but a few!”
Allah mentions here the enmity of Iblis, may the curse of Allah be upon him and his progeny. This is an ancient hatred, dating from the time that Allah created Adam, when He commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam, and all of them prostrated except Iblis, who was too arrogant and he haughtily refused to prostrate to him. He said in a tone indicating contempt:
(He said: “Shall I prostrate myself to one whom You created from clay”) According to another Ayah, he said:
(I am better than he. You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.) ﴿7:12﴾ He also said, speaking to the Lord with disbelief and insolence, but the Lord bore it patiently:
(He said: “See this one whom You have honored above me…”) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, “He is saying, `I am going to dominate his offspring, all but a few.”’ Mujahid said (it means), “I am going to surround them.” Ibn Zayd said (it means), “I am going to lead them astray.” All of them are close in meaning, and the meaning of the Ayah is, “Do You see this one whom You have honored and made greater than me If You give me time, I will lead his descendants astray, all but a few of them.”
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