Taha · Makki · ayah 116 of 135

Taha 20:116

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ

“And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except Iblees;[864] he refused.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Adam forgot and Iblis refused: one failure a slip that could be mended, the other a stance that would not bend.

A reflection

Forgot, and refused: two kinds of failure

Read this ayah straight after the one before it and a contrast leaps out. Of Adam the Quran said: he forgot, and We found no resolve in him. Of Iblis it says one word: abā. He refused.

One classical scholar, discussing the grammar, makes the point sharply. The exception, 'except Iblis', already tells us he did not prostrate. So why add abā? Because it gives the cause. His not prostrating came from refusal. It was something he actively was, from which the sin grew. It was not inability, not forgetfulness, not a moment's inattention. It was refusal and arrogance.

So the two ayat set two failures side by side. One is weakness: a charge let slip, a resolve that did not hold. The other is will: a command heard, understood, and declined.

Picture two people in an office who both fail to finish the same report. The first forgot; she had three crises that week and it slid off her list. When reminded, she apologises and stays late. The second did not forget at all. He decided that the report was beneath someone of his experience, and let it sit. When reminded, he explains why he should not have been asked.

The outcomes look the same on the spreadsheet. They are not remotely the same thing. The first can be helped. The second has to be undone first, and only he can undo it.

The story bears this out. Adam's failure ended in his Lord choosing him and turning to him (20:122). Iblis's ended in enmity, which the very next ayah announces.

That is a merciful diagnosis for most of us. Our failures are usually Adam's kind. But it is also a warning. Watch for the moment a slip hardens into a stance, when 'I forgot' turns into 'I shouldn't have to'.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.