Surah Al-Hijr 15:44

The Threat of Iblis to tempt Mankind, and Allah's Promise of Hell for him

Allah informed about the rebellion and arrogance of Iblis, in that he said to the Lord:

(Because You misled me,) i.e., because You misled me and misguided me.

(I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them) meaning, for the progeny of Adam.

(on the earth,) meaning - I will make sin dear to them, and will encourage, provoke and harass them to commit sin.

(and I shall mislead them all.) meaning - just as You have misled me and have ordained that for me.

(Except Your chosen, (guided) servants among them.) This is like the Ayah:

("Do you see this one whom You have honored above me, if You give me respite until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely seize and mislead his offspring, all but a few!") (17:62).

((Allah) said), i.e., threatening and warning Iblis.

(This is the way which will lead straight to Me.) means, `all of you will return to Me, and I will reward or punish you according to your deeds: if they are good then I will reward you, and if they are bad then I will punish you.' This is like the Ayah:

(Verily, your Lord is ever watchful.) (89:14) and

(And it is up to Allah to show the right way.) (16:9)

(Certainly, you shall have no authority over My servants) meaning, `you will have no way to reach those for whom I have decreed guidance.'

(except those of the astray who follow you.) Ibn Jarir mentioned that Yazid bin Qusayt said: "The Prophets used to have Masjids outside their cities, and if a Prophet wanted to consult with his Lord about something, he would go out to his place of worship and pray as Allah decreed. Then he would ask Him about whatever was concerning him. Once while a Prophet was in his place of worship, the enemy of Allah - meaning Iblis - came and sat between him and the Qiblah (direction of prayer). The Prophet said, `I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan.' The enemy of Allah said, `Do you know who you are seeking refuge from Here he is!' The Prophet said, `I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan', and he repeated that three times. Then the enemy of Allah said, `Tell me about anything in which you will be saved from me.' The Prophet twice said, `No, you tell me about something in which you can overpower the son of Adam' Each of them was insisting that the other answer first, then the Prophet said, Allah says,

(Certainly, you shall have no authority over My servants, except those of the astray who follow you.) The enemy of Allah said, `I heard this before you were even born.' The Prophet said, `And Allah says,

(And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing) (7: 200). By Allah, I never sense that you are near but I seek refuge with Allah from you.' The enemy of Allah said, `You have spoken the truth. In this way you will be saved from me.' The Prophet said, `Tell me in what ways you overpower the son of Adam.' He said, `I seize him at times of anger and times of desire.'

(And surely, Hell is the place promised for them all.) meaning, Hell is the abode designated for all those who follow Iblis, as Allah says in the Qur'an:

(but those of the sects (Jews, Christians and all the other non-Muslim nations) that reject it (the Qur'an), the Fire will be their promised meeting place.)(11:17)

The Gates of Hell are Seven

Then Allah tells us that Hell has seven gates:

(for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) assigned.) means, for each gate a portion of the followers of Iblis have been decreed, and they will have no choice in the matter. May Allah save us from that. Each one will enter a gate according to his deeds, and will settle in a level of Hell according to his deeds. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Samurah bin Jundub reported from the Prophet about,

(for each of those gates is a class assigned.) He said,

(Among the people of Hell are those whom the Fire will swallow up to the ankles, and those whom it will swallow up to the waist, and those whom it will swallow up to the collarbone.) The degree of which will depend upon their deeds. This is like the Ayah;

(for each of those gates is a class assigned.)

Allah swt mengecam Iblis dengan ayat ini bahwa apa yang dinyatakan Iblis itu tidak semuanya benar karena ia tidak dapat memperdaya hamba-hamba-Nya yang saleh. Ini dikatakan Allah sebagai jalan yang lurus. Dia memberi pahala semua amal baik seorang hamba dan membalas dengan siksa semua amal buruk seseorang.

Untuk menghilangkan keragu-raguan yang mungkin dipahami pada ayat-ayat yang lalu maka Allah swt menegaskan dalam ayat ini, bahwa hamba-hamba Allah yang ikhlas beriman tidak seorang pun yang dapat dikuasai setan. Semuanya telah diberi taufik untuk beriman, melaksanakan perintah-perintah Allah, dan menghentikan semua larangan-Nya. Godaan apapun tidak akan mempengaruhi iman mereka. Hal ini ditegaskan oleh Allah dalam firman-Nya yang lain:

Dan setan berkata ketika perkara (hisab) telah diselesaikan, "Sesungguhnya Allah telah menjanjikan kepadamu janji yang benar, dan aku pun telah menjanjikan kepadamu tetapi aku menyalahinya. Tidak ada kekuasaan bagiku terhadapmu, melainkan (sekedar) aku menyeru kamu lalu kamu mematuhi seruanku, oleh sebab itu janganlah kamu mencerca aku, tetapi cercalah dirimu sendiri. Aku tidak dapat menolongmu, dan kamu pun tidak dapat menolongku. Sesungguhnya aku tidak membenarkan perbuatanmu mempersekutukan aku (dengan Allah) sejak dahulu." Sungguh, orang yang zalim akan mendapat siksaan yang pedih. (Ibrahim/14: 22)

Firman Allah swt:

Sungguh, setan itu tidak akan berpengaruh terhadap orang yang beriman dan bertawakal kepada Tuhan. Pengaruhnya hanyalah terhadap orang yang menjadikannya pemimpin dan terhadap orang yang mempersekutukannya dengan Allah. (an-Nahl/16: 99-100)

Kemudian Allah swt mengancam setan dan pengikut-pengikutnya dengan neraka Jahanam sebagai pembalasan bagi segala macam kejahatan yang pernah mereka perbuat.

Allah swt menerangkan keadaan neraka yang akan didiami oleh orang-orang yang sesat, yaitu terdiri atas tujuh tingkat. Tiap-tiap tingkat didiami oleh orang-orang yang dosa dan hukumannya sesuai dengan tingkat kejahatan yang telah mereka perbuat.

Menurut Ibnu Juraij, neraka itu tujuh tingkat, pertama Jahannam; kedua Ladha; ketiga Huthamah; keempat: Sair; kelima Saqar; keenam Jahim; dan ketujuh Hawiyah. Masing-masing tingkat ditempati sesuai dengan kadar dosa mereka.

Dari ayat-ayat ini dapat dipahami bahwa manusia mempunyai dua macam sifat yang menonjol, yaitu pertama, mempunyai sifat yang suka mengikuti hawa nafsu dan terpengaruh oleh kehidupan dunia dengan segala macam kenikmatan hidup yang memesona dirinya. Mereka inilah orang-orang musyrik yang mudah dipengaruhi setan. Kedua, manusia yang mempunyai sifat percaya kepada Allah dan rasul, jiwanya bersih dan mulia, hubungannya dengan Allah sangat dekat, dan suka kepada kebaikan. Golongan ini tidak dapat dipengaruhi oleh setan karena hati mereka telah cenderung kepada Allah swt.