Surah Kahf >> Currently viewing Surah Kahf Ayat 50 (18:50)

Surah Al-Kahf Ayat 50 in Arabic Text

وَإِذۡ قُلۡنَا لِلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسۡجُدُواْ لِأٓدَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنۡ أَمۡرِ رَبِّهِۦٓۗ أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُۥ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُۥٓ أَوۡلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِي وَهُمۡ لَكُمۡ عَدُوُّۢۚ بِئۡسَ لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ بَدَلٗا
Wa iz qulnaa lil malaaa’ikatis judoo li Aadama fasajadooo illaaa Ibleesa kaana minal jinni fafasaqa ‘an amri Rabbih; afatattakhizoonahoo wa zurriyatahooo awliyaaa’a min doonee wa hum lakum ‘aduww; bi’sa lizzaalimeena badalaa

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 50

Sahih International
And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Adam,” and they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was of the jinn and departed from the command of his Lord. Then will you take him and his descendants as allies other than Me while they are enemies to you? Wretched it is for the wrongdoers as an exchange.

Yusuf Ali
Behold! We said to the angels, “Bow down to Adam”: They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!

Abul Ala Maududi
And recall when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam”; all of them fell prostrate, except Iblis. He was of the jinn and so disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you, then, take him and his progeny as your guardians rather than Me although they are your open enemies? What an evil substitute are these wrong-doers taking!

Muhsin Khan
And (remember) when We said to the angels; “Prostrate to Adam.” So they prostrated except Iblis (Satan). He was one of the jinns; he disobeyed the Command of his Lord. Will you then take him (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you? What an evil is the exchange for the Zalimun (polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc).

Pickthall
And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord’s command. Will ye choose him and his seed for your protecting friends instead of Me, when they are an enemy unto you? Calamitous is the exchange for evil-doers.

Dr. Ghali
And as We said to the Angels, “Prostrate (yourselves) to Adam.” So they prostrated themselves, except Iblas. He was one of the jinn, so he (was immoral and) rebelled against his Lord’s Command. Do you then take him to yourselves and his offspring to be (your) patrons, apart from Me, and they are an enemy to you? Miserable is it (as) an exchange for the unjust (ones)!

Abdel Haleem
We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ and they all bowed down, but not Iblis: he was one of the jinn and he disobeyed his Lord’s command. Are you [people] going to take him and his offspring as your masters instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? What a bad bargain for the evildoers!

Muhammad Junagarhi
اور جب ہم نے فرشتوں کو حکم دیا کہ تم آدم کو سجده کرو تو ابلیس کے سوا سب نے سجده کیا، یہ جنوں میں سے تھا، اس نے اپنے پروردگار کی نافرمانی کی، کیا پھر بھی تم اسے اور اس کی اوﻻد کو مجھے چھوڑ کر اپنا دوست بنا رہے ہو؟ حاﻻنکہ وه تم سب کا دشمن ہے۔ ایسے ﻇالموں کا کیا ہی برا بدل ہے

Quran 18 Verse 50 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Kahf ayat 50, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(18:50) And recall when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam”; all of them fell prostrate, except Iblis.[47] He was of the jinn and so disobeyed the command of his Lord.[48] Will you, then, take him and his progeny as your guardians rather than Me although they are your open enemies? What an evil substitute are these wrong-doers taking!


47. The reference to the story of Adam and Iblis has been made here to warn the erring people of their folly. It is an obvious folly that people should discard their Prophets, who were their well wishers, and get entangled in the snare set by their eternal enemy, Iblis, who has been jealous of man ever since he refused to bow down before Adam and became accursed.

48. It was possible for Iblis to disobey Allah because he was not one of the angels but one of the jinns. It must be noted that the Quran is very explicit that the angels are inherently obedient.

(1) They do not show arrogance; they fear their Lord Who is above them, and do whatever they are bidden. (Surah An-Nahl, Ayat 50).

(2) They do not disobey the command that is given to them by their Lord and do whatever they are bidden to do. (Surah At-Tahrim, Ayat 6).

In contrast to the angels, the jinns have been, like human beings, given the option to obey or not to obey. Therefore they have been given the power to believe or disbelieve, to obey or not to obey. This thing has been made explicit here by saying that Iblis was one of the jinns, so he deliberately chose the way of disobedience. Incidentally, this verse removes all those misunderstandings that are generally found among the common people that Iblis was one of the angels and not an ordinary angel but the instructor of the angels. As regards to the difficulty that arises because of this statement of the Quran: When We said to the angels, bow down before Adam. They bowed down but Iblis did not, it should be noted that the command to the angels was meant for all those on the earth who were under the administration of the angels so that they should also be made submissive to man. Accordingly all these creatures bowed along with the angels but Iblis refused to bow down along with them.

Ibn-Kathir

50. And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves unto Adam.” So they prostrated themselves, except Iblis. He was one of the Jinn; he disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you then take him and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you What an evil is the exchange for the wrongdoers.


The Story of Adam and Iblis

Allah points out to the Children of Adam the enmity of Iblis towards them and their father before them, and rebukes those who follow him and go against their Creator and Master. It is He who created them from nothing and sustains and nourishes them by His kindness, yet they still took Iblis as their friend and declared their enmity towards Allah. So Allah says:

﴿وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ﴾

(And (remember) when We said to the angels), meaning all the angels, as was mentioned in the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah.

﴿اسْجُدُواْ لاًّدَمَ﴾

(Prostrate yourselves unto Adam) a prostration of respect and honour, as Allah says:

﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـئِكَةِ إِنِّى خَـلِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَـلٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ – فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى فَقَعُواْ لَهُ سَـجِدِينَ ﴾

(And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to create a human (Adam) from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud. So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him the soul which I created for him, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him.) ﴿15:28-29﴾

﴿فَسَجَدُواْ إِلاَّ إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ﴾

(So they prostrated themselves except Iblis. He was one of the Jinn;) meaning, his original nature betrayed him. He had been created from smokeless fire, whereas the angels had been created from light, as is stated in Sahih Muslim where it is reported that `A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

«خُلِقَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ نُورٍ، وَخُلِقَ إِبْلِيسُ مِنْ مَارِجٍ مِنْ نَارٍ، وَخُلِقَ آدَمُ مِمَّا وُصِفَ لَكُم»

(The angels were created from light, Iblis was created from smokeless fire, and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.) When matters are crucial, every vessel leaks that which it contains and is betrayed by its true nature. Iblis used to do what the angels did and resembled them in their devotion and worship, so he was included when they were addressed, but he disobeyed and went against what he was told to do. So Allah points out here that he was one of the Jinn, i.e., he was created from fire, as He says elsewhere:

﴿أَنَاْ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ﴾

(I am better than he. You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.)﴿38:76﴾ Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “Iblis was not one of the angels, not even for a second. He was the origin of the Jinn just as Adam, upon him be peace, was the origin of mankind.” This was narrated by Ibn Jarir with a Sahih chain.

﴿فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ﴾

(he disobeyed the command of his Lord. ) meaning by stepping beyond the bounds of obedience to Allah. Fisq (disobeying) implies going out or stepping beyond. When the date emerges from its flower, the verb used in Arabic is Fasaqat; the same verb is used to describe a mouse coming out of its hole when it comes out to do damage. Then Allah says, rebuking those who follow and obey Iblis:

﴿أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِى﴾

(Will you then take him and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me) meaning, instead of Me. This is why Allah says:

﴿بِئْسَ لِلظَّـلِمِينَ بَدَلاً﴾

(What an evil is the exchange for the wrongdoers.) This is like the Ayah in Surah Ya Sin where, after mentioning the Resurrection and its terrors, and the ultimate end of the blessed and the doomed, Allah then says:

﴿وَامْتَازُواْ الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ﴾

((It will be said): “And O you the criminals! Get you apart this Day (from the believers).) until;

﴿أَفَلَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْقِلُونَ﴾

(Did you not then understand) ﴿36:59-62﴾

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surah al-kahf ayat 50
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