A new Analysis of the Strategy of Deception in Iblis&#039;s Analogy: Concealing the Aspiration f Analysis of the Strategy of Deception in Iblis&#039;s Analogy:Concealing the Aspiration for the Station of the ‘Ālīn under the Pretext of Comparison with Adam (AS)

Fazel Bakhshayesh, Mohsen; Mansouri, Mohammad Hadi

doi:10.30512/kq.2025.22952.4061

A new Analysis of the Strategy of Deception in Iblis's Analogy: Concealing the Aspiration f Analysis of the Strategy of Deception in Iblis's Analogy:Concealing the Aspiration for the Station of the ‘Ālīn under the Pretext of Comparison with Adam (AS)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohsen Fazel Bakhshayesh ¹

mohammad hadi mansouri ²

¹ Ph.D. student of the Qur&#039;an and Hadith faculty of Ma&#039;arif University

² Assistant Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith, Islamic Studies University

10.30512/kq.2025.22952.4061

Abstract

The Qur’anic account of Iblis’s refusal to prostrate before Adam (AS) has been a focal point of exegetical attention, often interpreted through Iblis’s own justification—his analogy between fire and clay—seen as a cognitive or epistemic error. This study critically re-evaluates the sincerity of Iblis’s claim, arguing instead for a deeper Qur’anic perspective rooted in divine evaluation, especially as presented in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf and Sūrat Ṣād.

Adopting a tafsīr al-Qur’ān bi-l-Qur’ān methodology alongside supporting narrations, the research contends that Iblis’s words were deceptive, masking the true motives behind his disobedience. The Qur’an, it argues, offers a twofold critique: psychologically, it attributes Iblis’s act to inner arrogance (istikbār), and ontologically, to his transgression of divine boundaries through envy of beings elevated by God.

Contrary to the common view, Iblis’s rebellion was not directed at Adam (AS) per se, but at the exalted Ālīn—those possessing a higher metaphysical status, notably the Ahl al-Bayt. His defiance thus reflects not a simple prideful refusal, but an existential opposition to God’s decree in elevating select beings to spiritual authority.

Keywords

The cause of Iblis’s refusal to prostrate

Iblis’s deceit in analogy

Iblis’s ontological scope

Arrogance

al-‘Ālīn

Subjects