Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 34 of 286
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِءَادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ
Translation
When We told the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed. But not Iblis, who refused and was arrogant: he was one of the disobedient.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And when We said to the angels: Prostrate to Adam, they prostrated, except Iblis. He refused and was arrogant, and became one of the disbelievers.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the anatomy of the first sin, Iblis did not lack knowledge; he knew the command and refused it out of 'istakbara', arrogance ('I am better than him'). Knowledge without humility became rebellion. Ask yourself: Iblis is the terrifying proof that knowing the truth is not enough, he knew God, knew the command, and fell anyway, because pride overrode obedience. My own worst failures are rarely from ignorance; I usually know the right thing and refuse it because submission wounds my ego. Iblis's ruin was one word, 'refused', driven by one attitude, 'I'm better'. Where am I refusing something I know God asks, not because I don't understand it, but because obeying would humble a pride I'd rather protect?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34 is discussed in 17 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
- Satan (Shaytan) (key verse)
- Prophet Adam
- Envy (Hasad)
- Prostration (Sujud)
- Mankind (Nas)
- Arrogance (Istikbar)
- Man (Insan)
- Paradise (Jannah)
- Freedom (Hurriyyah)
- Creation (Khalq)
- Delusion (Ghurur)
- Disbelief (Kufr)
- Angels (Mala'ikah)
- Prophethood (Nubuwwah)
- Divine Revelation (Wahy)
- Attributes of Allah (Sifat Allah)
- Racism (Unsariyyah)
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.