Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Kahf Verse 50

Mufti Taqi Usmani

(Recall) when We said to the angels, “Prostrate yourselves before ’Ādam.” So, they prostrated themselves, all of them but Iblīs (Satan). He was of the Jinn, so he rebelled against the command of your Lord. Do you still take him and his progeny as friends instead of Me, while they are enemy to you? Evil is he as substitute (of obedience to Allah) for wrongdoers.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And ˹remember˺ when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so they all did—but not Iblîs,[[ See footnote for {2:34}.]] who was one of the jinn, but he rebelled against the command of his Lord. Would you then take him and his descendants as patrons instead of Me, although they are your enemy? What an evil alternative for the wrongdoers ˹to choose˺!

Ruwwad Translation Center

And [remember] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so they all prostrated except Iblīs, who was one of the jinn, but he disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you then take him and his progeny as protectors instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? What a terrible exchange for the wrongdoers!

A. J. Arberry

And when We said to the angels, 'Bow yourselves to Adam'; so they bowed themselves, save Iblis; he was one of the jinn, and committed ungodliness against his Lord's command. What, and do you take him and his seed to be your friends, apart from Me, and they an enemy to you? How evil is that exchange for the evildoers!

Abdul 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!

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And recall what time we said unto the angels: prostrate yourselves before Adam, and they prostrated themselves, but Iblis did not; he was of the genii; so he trespassed the commandment of his Lord. Would ye then take him and his progeny as patrons instead of Me, whereas they are unto you an enemy III is for the wrong-doers an exchange!

Abdullah 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!

Ahmed Ali

When We said to the angels: "Bow before Adam in adoration," they all bowed but Iblis. He was one of the jinni and rebelled against his Lord's command. And yet you take him and his offspring as your friends instead of Me, even though they are your enemies. How sad a substitute for the evil-doers!

Ahmed Raza Khan

And recall when We commanded the angels that, “Prostrate before Adam” – so they all prostrated, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command; “What! You choose him and his offspring as your friends instead of Me, whereas they are your enemies?” And what an evil alternative did the unjust get.

Ali Quli Qarai

When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam,’ they prostrated, but not Iblis. He was one of the jinn, so he transgressed against his Lord’s command. Will you then take him and his offspring for guardians in My stead, though they are your enemies? How evil a substitute for the wrongdoers!

Ali Ünal

And (recall) when We said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam!" and they all prostrated, but Iblis did not; he was of the jinn (created before humankind, from smokeless, scorching fire), and transgressed against his Lord’s command. Will you, then, take him and his offspring for guardians (to rely on and refer your affairs to) rather than Me, when they are an enemy to you? How evil an exchange for the wrongdoers!

Amatul Rahman Omar

And (recall the time) when We said to the angels, `Submit to Adam.´ So they all submitted (bowing), but Iblîs (did not); he was one of the jinn, he disobeyed the command of his Lord. (Mankind!) would you (then) take him and his progeny (and cohorts) for friends rather than Me while they are your enemies? How evil is the substitute (of God) the unjust have chosen!

English Literal

And when We said to the angels: "Prostrate to Adam, so they prostrated except Satan/Iblis (he) was from the Jinns/an intelligent free willing creature created before man , so he debauched from his Lord`s order/command , do you take him and his descendants (as) guardians/allies from other than Me? And they are for you an enemy, and how bad to the unjust/oppressive an exchange/replacement/substitution?

Faridul Haque

And recall when We commanded the angels that, "Prostrate before Adam" - so they all prostrated, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command; "What! You choose him and his offspring as your friends instead of Me, whereas they are your enemies?" And what an evil alternative did the unjust get.

Hamid S. Aziz

And the Book (of Deeds) shall be placed, and you shall see the sinners in fear of what is recorded therein; and they will say, "Alas, for us! What a Book is this, it leaves out neither small nor great things, without numbering them?" And they shall find present all what they have done; and your Lord will wrong no one.

Hilali & 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).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And the book is placed, and thou seest the guilty fearing for what is in it, and they say: O woe to us! what a book is this! It leaves out neither a small thing nor a great one, but numbers them (all), and they find what they did confronting them. And thy Lord wrongs not any one.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam; they made obeisance but Iblis (did it not). He was of the jinn, so he transgressed the commandment of his Lord. What! would you then take him and his offspring for friends rather than Me, and they are your enemies? Evil is (this) change for the unjust.

Mohammed Marmaduke William 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.

Muhammad Sarwar

When We told the angels to prostrate before Adam they all obeyed except Iblis. He was a jinn and he sinned against the command of his Lord. Why do you (people) obey him and his offspring instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? How terrible will be the recompense that the wrong doers will receive!

Qaribullah & Darwish

When We said to the angels: 'Prostrate yourselves before Adam' all prostrated themselves except iblis, who was one of the jinn, disobedient to the command of his Lord. Would you then take him and his descendants to be your guardians, other than Me, when they are your clear enemy? How evil is the exchange for the harmdoers!

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

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.

Wahiduddin Khan

When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam," all prostrated themselves except Satan. He was one of the jinn and he disobeyed his Lord's command. Do you then take him and his offspring as protectors instead of Me, despite their enmity towards you? This is an evil exchange for the wrongdoers!

Talal Itani

We said to the angels, “Bow down to Adam.” So they bowed down, except for Satan. He was of the jinn, and he defied the command of his Lord. Will you take him and his offspring as lords instead of Me, when they are an enemy to you? Evil is the exchange for the wrongdoers.

Tafsir jalalayn

And when (idh is dependent because it is governed by [an implicit] udhkur, `mention [when]') We said to the angels, `Prostrate before Adam', a prostration involving a bow, not placing one's forehead down [to the ground], as a greeting to him; and so they prostrated, [all] except Ibls. He was [one] of the jinn -- some say that these [creatures] are a species of angels, in which case the exceptive clause [ill Ibls, `except Ibls'] is a continuous one; but it is also said to be discontinuous, since Ibls is [considered] the progenitor of [all] the jinn, having offspring who are mentioned alongside him further below; angels, on the other hand, do not have offspring; and he transgressed against his Lord's command, that is to say, he rebelled against obedience to Him by refraining from [performing] the prostration. Will you then take him and his offspring -- this address is to Adam and his progeny (the [final pronominal suffix] h' in both words refers to Ibls) for your patrons instead of Me, obeying them, when they are an enemy to you?, in other words, [when they are your] enemies (wa-hum lakum `aduwwun is a circumstantial qualifier). How evil for the evildoers is that substitute!, of Ibls and his offspring, in obeying them instead of obeying God.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

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 لِلْمَلَإيِكَةِ

And (remember) when We said to the angels,

meaning all the angels, as was mentioned in the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah.

اسْجُدُوا لاِدَمَ

Prostrate yourselves unto Adam,

a prostration of respect and honor, as Allah says;

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـيِكَةِ 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)

فَسَجَدُوا 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 الْمَلَيِكَةُ مِنْ نُورٍ

وَخُلِقَ إِبْلِيسُ مِنْ مَارِجٍ مِنْ نَارٍ

وَخُلِقَ ادَمُ 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 أَوْلِيَاء مِن دُونِي

Will you then take him and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me!

meaning, instead of Me.

وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ

while they are enemies to you,

This is why Allah says;

بِيْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ 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;

وَامْتَازُوا الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ


(It will be said);"And O you the criminals! Get you apart this Day (from the believers). until;
أَفَلَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْقِلُونَ
(Did you not then understand). (36;59-62