17-61 And when We said to the angels: Be submissive to Adam; they submitted, except Iblis. He said: Shall I submit to him whom Thou hast created of dust?
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ قَالَ ءَأَسْجُدُ لِمَنْ خَلَقْتَ طِينًۭا (۶۱)
17-62 He said: Seest Thou? This is he whom Thou hast honored above me! If Thou respite me to the day of Resurrection, I will certainly cause his progeny to perish except a few.a
قَالَ أَرَءَيْتَكَ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى كَرَّمْتَ عَلَىَّ لَئِنْ أَخَّرْتَنِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ لَأَحْتَنِكَنَّ ذُرِّيَّتَهُۥٓ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا (۶۲)
17-62a: كَرَّمْتَ – For كَرَّمْ see 2-194a and اِکۡرام and تَکۡریم is to provide a benefit without any trouble or loss (R). بَلْ عِبَادٌۭ مُّكْرَمُونَ : Nay, they are honored servants (21:26) and هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٱلْمُكْرَمِينَ : Has the story of Abrahan’s honored guests reached thee? (51:24).
أَحْتَنِكَنَّ – حَنَك for humans and animals is the part of the mouth under the chin and inside it, and according to some includes the palate. احتِناك from which أَحْتَنِكَ is derived as a verb and describes an animal when it is walked with a rope around the lower jaw. اِحۡتَنَك is also the barren earth after the locusts have eaten all the greenery. So, the meaning of أَحْتَنِكَ here will be they will be to control and destroy (LA).
The last section dealt with the opponents of truth and their chastisement. This section explains how those who try to stop the spread of the Holy Prophet’s message will not be able to escape punishment. But first, Allah reveals a common law: the devil has forever been an enemy of humans, and that he always creates hurdles in the spread of righteousness and goodness. After mentioning the refusal of the devil to obey, his devious arguments are described, and it is made known that the devil is a liar in his claims with regards to what he can do, and the promises that he makes with his friends are all false. The arguments that the devil advances in inviting people to evil encapsulate the arguments of all opponents of truth and of all those who invite people to evil. See 7-12a for why the devil is proud and considers himself better than those made from dust.
17-63 He said: Begone! whoever of them follows thee surely hell is your recompense, a full recompense.a
قَالَ ٱذْهَبْ فَمَن تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ فَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ جَزَآؤُكُمْ جَزَآءًۭ مَّوْفُورًۭا (۶۳)
17-63a: مَوْفُور –وفَرۡت means to complete and perfect and derived from it is موفور meaning full or complete (R).
17-64 And incite whom thou canst of them with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and thy foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and promise them. And the devil promises them only to deceive.a
وَٱسْتَفْزِزْ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُم بِصَوْتِكَ وَأَجْلِبْ عَلَيْهِم بِخَيْلِكَ وَرَجِلِكَ وَشَارِكْهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَوْلَـٰدِ وَعِدْهُمْ ۚ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا (۶۴)
17-64a: ٱسْتَفْزِزْ – فَزّ means make frightened or panicked and اِسْتَفْزِّ has the same meaning and also the additional meanings: took him out, put him in perdition, scared him, belittled him, as in: وَإِن كَادُوا۟ لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ : And surely they purposed to unsettle thee from the land (17:76) (LA) and أَن يَسْتَفِزَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ : So he desired to scare them from the land (17:103).
صَوۡت – صَوۡت means simply a sound or voice whether it conveys a meaning or not , and any sound produced from the knocking of two bodies is called صَوۡت. اَنۡصات means to give up talking and listen to a speech attentively, as in وَإِذَا قُرِئَ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ فَٱسْتَمِعُوا۟ لَهُۥ وَأَنصِتُوا۟ : And when the Quran is recited, listen to it and remain silent (7:103) (R). In this verse the devil’s whispering, inviting, or urging are disdainfully called صَوۡت voice, as if they are meaningless (RM).
أَجْلِبْ – جلب is to herd from one place to another, and the meaning of أَجْلَبۡتُ علیه is screaming loudly at him (R) and أَجْلَبۡ علیه is taken to mean to gather against someone and to scare them with evil (LA).
بِخَيْلِكَ وَرَجِلِكَ – For خیل سوار rider on horse see 3-14a and for رَجِل one on foot in the meaning of راجل see 2-239a. Here راجل has been used in the plural form. Some have taken the devil’s horsemen and foot soldiers to mean those horsemen and foot soldiers who fight in opposition to Allah and some have taken it to mean assistants, and followers of the devil, or in other words, his helpers.
شَارِكْهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَوْلَـٰدِ – The share of the devil in wealth and children is taken by some to mean to spend wealth on sinful purposes and to earn wealth illegally, and some have taken the share of the devil in children to mean adultery, and some have taken it to mean making them follow false religions (IJ). In reality, all these meanings are included in the term.
The main message is that however the devil tempts a person and by whatever way he threatens to harm him using his aides and helpers, the fact remains that his threats and temptations are all false and he has no power to actually harm.
17-65 My servants — thou hast surely no authority over them. And thy Lord suffices as having charge of affairs.a
إِنَّ عِبَادِى لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَـٰنٌۭ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ وَكِيلًۭا (۶۵)
17-65a: The simple answer given to all the devious methods of the devil mentioned in the previous verses is that he has no authority and no power over Allah’s servants. The word عِبَادِى can mean all humans and also عباد اللّٰہ المخلصین the sincere servants of Allah. It is a fact that the devil has no authority over any human being, since the he cannot force a person to commit sin. The devil admits this in another place in the Quran: إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ ۖ وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن سُلْطَـٰنٍ إِلَّآ أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِى : Surely Allah promised you a promise of truth, and I promised you and failed you. And I had no authority over you except that I called you and you obeyed me (14:22). The people that the devil is addressing here are those who followed him. However, the devil cannot influence the sincere servants of Allah and his striving against them ultimately results in failure.
17-66 Your Lord is He Who speeds the ships for you in the sea that you may seek of His grace. Surely He is ever Merciful to you.a
رَّبُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى يُزْجِى لَكُمُ ٱلْفُلْكَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ لِتَبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًۭا (۶۶)
17-66a: This verse addresses the polytheists who follow the devil to abandon God and set up partners with Him. They are reminded of Allah’s blessings and that the Creator of the resources they benefit from, is Allah and not those whom they set up as partners with Him. Despite this, they abandon Allah in favor of their false deities.
17-67 And when distress afflicts you in the sea, away go those whom you call on except He; but when He brings you safe to the land, you turn away. And man is ever ungrateful.
وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ ٱلضُّرُّ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَجَّىٰكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ كَفُورًا (۶۷)
17-68 Do you then feel secure that He will not bring you low on a tract of land, or send on you a violent wind? Then you will not find a protector for yourselves;
أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ ٱلْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًۭا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا۟ لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا (۶۸)
17-68a: حَاصِب – حَصَبَة is gravel, pebbles, small stones, and حَاصِب is a wind so intense it picks up dust and small stones and carries them with it. This word is also used for clouds that cause hail, and for Divine punishment, an example of which is a statement of Caliph Ali to the Khawarij: اصابکم حَصِبَ you were punished (LA).
Punishment by humiliation and wind: The Quran has repeatedly painted the picture of how people abandon false deities and call upon One God when faced with difficulties such as a storm at sea, but when Allah removes the difficulties, they return to their old ways and forget Allah. Allah states in this verse that if He so desires, He can destroy or humiliate them even on land, which they consider a place of safety, as He did at Badr, or destroy their power by blowing a strong wind as He did at the Battle of the Allies. For the meaning of خسف see 16-45a.
17-69 Or, do you feel secure that He will not take you back into it another time, then send on you a fierce gale and thus overwhelm you for your ungratefulness? Then you will not find any aider against Us in the matter.a
أَمْ أَمِنتُمْ أَن يُعِيدَكُمْ فِيهِ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًۭا مِّنَ ٱلرِّيحِ فَيُغْرِقَكُم بِمَا كَفَرْتُمْ ۙ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا۟ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِۦ تَبِيعًۭا (۶۹)
17-69a: قَاصِف – It is a hurricane or tornado force wind that uproots trees and destroys buildings. Dangerous thunder is called رَعۡد قاصفٌ .
تَبِيع – تَبِعَ means following, devotion, obedience and تَبِيع is used in many senses. In the hadith on zakat, it is used for a baby bull older than one year, and it is so called because the baby follows the mother. In the hadith of Hudaibiyah تَبِيع is used to mean a devotee or attendant. تَبِيع is also someone who pursues another for a right that he demands (a helper or one seeking revenge) and this is the meaning here. Some others have taken the meaning of تَبِيع in this verse as a pursuer who denies, or can avert the chastisement that has descended upon a party (LA). Perhaps a nation that prided itself on its nautical power is taught that even if a boat escapes once, it can drown a second time around, or more generally that even if Allah gives respite from trials and tribulations, metaphorically likened to the darkness of the sea, a person should not feel invincible. This is addressed to a nation that is bent on opposing the truth.
17-70 And surely We have honoured the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We provide them with good things, and We have made them to excel highly most of those whom We have created.a
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَـٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا (۷۰)
17-70a: This verse tells us that all the children of Prophet Adam are given honor and eminence from the perspective of being more evolved as a creation than others. The word كَثِيرٍۢ or most in “excel most of those whom We have created” does not mean that humans excel over some of the creation and not over others. The word most is not used in a comparative sense, since we know that the children of Adam have been given excellence over not one or two types of creation, but over many kinds. In another verse, Allah clearly states وَهُوَ فَضَّلَكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ :while He has made you excel (all) created things (7:140). Moreover, this honoring is with respect to the refusal of the devil to honor humans: هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى كَرَّمْتَ عَلَىَّ : This is he whom Thou hast honored above me! (17:62) because the devil was given a command to honor, just as the angels were given a similar command. Since the excellence of humans is proven over the devil, the excellence of humans over the angels is also established by the same argument. This excellence is by virtue of the unlimited progress that humans can make. The inference in the mention of the excellence of the children of Prophet Adam is that since Allah has given humans excellence over all His creation, why don’t they strive to achieve the perfection of their soul, instead of disgracing it by misdeeds.
Bayan-ul-Quran 