Q: "How could Iblis, in the very presence of Allah, be so bold and defiant?"

 Bayyinah

 

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Q: "How could Iblis, in the very presence of Allah, be so bold and defiant?"

A: The key to understanding this is a psychological diagnosis of Iblis. He carried a certain image of himself and the value of that image did not come from anything intrinsic, from a worth that Allah had placed in him. It came from his position relative to others, so his entire ego was built on comparison. That single detail explains everything that follows.

When Adam was acknowledged and honored, notice what actually happened to Iblis. He lost nothing. Allah did not degrade him, did not remove him, did not reject him. None of that took place. The only thing that changed was that someone else was now being honored too and for a person whose whole identity is comparison, that felt like everything. He could no longer see himself outside of the comparison to Adam. He felt he was no longer unique, no longer in a category by himself, no longer number one.

His desire to hold on to that image of himself became so powerful that even Allah, in his mind, was not enough of a reason to comply. His obsession with his own self-perception exceeded his recognition of his Creator. That is the frightening part and it is the part meant for us. The ego, the insecurity of a created being, can grow so loud that it blinds you to everything, including the Creator Himself standing right in front of you. Whenever your sense of worth is quietly tied to being ahead of the people around you, this same crack is already there and the work is to root your worth in Allah rather than in the ranking.

This is from the Live Bayyinah TV Q&A with Ustadh Nouman. Have a question about an ayah like this one? Ask it directly in our new Revealed app: https://byna.tv/revealed6

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