Quran Universe
15:33

قَالَ لَمۡ أَكُن لِّأَسۡجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقۡتَهُۥ مِن صَلۡصَٰلٖ مِّنۡ حَمَإٖ مَّسۡنُونٖ

Qala lam akun liasjuda libasharin khalaqtahu min salsalin min hamain masnoonin

He said, "Never would I prostrate to a human whom You created out of clay from an altered black mud."

Word by word
  1. قَالَHe said
  2. لَمۡI am not
  3. أَكُنI am not
  4. لِّأَسۡجُدَ(one) to prostrate
  5. لِبَشَرٍto a human
  6. خَلَقۡتَهُۥwhom You created
  7. مِن(out) of
  8. صَلۡصَٰلٖclay
  9. مِّنۡfrom
  10. حَمَإٖblack mud
  11. مَّسۡنُونٖaltered
Al-Hijr · 15:33Makkah

He looked at the mud and missed the spirit.

The first argument from origin

His argument
Iblismade from fire
looks down on
the humanclay from black mud
What he left out
I am betterfire beats clay
the spirit and the honorAllah's choice, not material

Iblis answers with the human's material. Ibn Kathir links it to 7:12, where he says I am better than him; You created me from fire and him from clay, and to 17:62, do you see this one You honored above me. He judged by the stuff, and ignored that Allah had breathed the spirit in.

Someone at work did not go to the right university. A relative married into a family you think is beneath yours. You look at where they came from and stop listening. That was the first sin's logic.

Where someone comes from tells me what they are worth.

Judging people by their origin is the oldest argument, and it was Iblis who made it.

Try this

Notice one time today you size someone up by background, and drop the thought.

Related7:1217:62
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 15:28)

And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: "I am going to create a man (Adam) from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud. (28)"So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him (Adam) of My spirit (the soul which I created for him,) then fall down, prostrating yourselves before him. (29)So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together (30)Except Iblis (Shaytan) - he refused to be among the prostrate (31)(Allah) said: "O Iblis! What is your reason for not being among the prostrate? (32)[Iblis] said: "I am not one to prostrate myself to a human, whom You created from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud. (33)

The creation of Adam, the Command to the Angels to prostrate to Him, and the Rebellion of Iblis

Allah informs us of how He mentioned Adam to His angels before He created him, and how He honored him by commanding the angels to prostrate to him. He mentions how His enemy Iblis, amidst all the angels, refused to prostrate to him out of envy, disbelief, stubbornness, arrogance, and false pride. This is why Iblis said:

لَمْ أَكُن لِّأَسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُ مِن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ

(I am not one to prostrate myself to a human, whom You created from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud.) this is like when he said,

قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ

(I am better than him (Adam), You created me from Fire and him You created from clay.)(7:12) and

أَرَأَيْتَكَ هَٰذَا الَّذِي كَرَّمْتَ عَلَيَّ

("Do you see this one whom You have honored above me...")[17:62]