Overview (Verses 117 - 122)

Legends and Superstitions
 
The sūrah now describes some of the superstitions of Arabian ignorance and the legends that the Arabs spread about God taking to Himself daughters, i.e. the angels, and the Arabs’ worship of Satan, the angels and their idols. It describes some of their rituals, such as slitting the ears of some cattle as offerings to their deities, as well as their corrupting of God’s creation, and their belief in other deities beside God. All this is contrary to the upright nature God has placed in man:
 
In His stead, they invoke only lifeless symbols — thus invoking none but a rebellious Satan, whom God has rejected, for he had said: “Of Your servants I shall indeed take my due share, and shall certainly lead them astray, and fill them with vain desires; and I shall command them — and they will slit the ears of cattle [in idolatrous sacrifice]; and I shall command them — and they will corrupt God’s creation. But all who take Satan rather than God for their master do incur a manifest loss. He [i.e. Satan] holds out promises to them, and fills them with vain desires, but whatever Satan promises is meant only to deceive them.” (Verses 117-120)
 
In their days of ignorance, the Arabs alleged that the angels were God’s daughters. They made statues representing these angels and gave them feminine names, such as Al-Lāt, Al-`Uzza, Manāt, etc. Then, they worshipped these statues or idols, allegedly representing God’s daughters, in order to be closer to God. This was the case at least in the beginning, but then they forgot the original legend and worshipped the statues themselves. Indeed some of them worshipped the very stone from which the statues were made. Some of them also worshipped Satan himself. Al-Kalbī mentions that the clan of Mulaiĥ, which belonged to the Khuzā`ah tribe, worshipped the jinn.
 
The statement here is of wider implication. The fact that they associated partners with God means that they actually invoked Satan and derived their beliefs from him. It is the same Satan who figures in the story of their original father, Adam, and whom God rejected for his disobedience and for his hostility to mankind. When he was so accursed, Satan nurtured an unabating hatred towards mankind which motivated him to seek permission to lead astray any human who does not seek refuge with God.
 
In His stead, they invoke only lifeless symbols — thus invoking none but a rebellious Satan, whom God has rejected, for he had said: “Of Your servants I shall indeed take my due share, and shall certainly lead them astray, and fill them with vain desires; and I shall command them — and they will slit the ears of cattle [in idolatrous sacrifice]; and I shall command them — and they will corrupt God’s creation. (Verses 117-119)
 
They invoke their old enemy, Satan, and receive from him all that leads them into manifest error. He has already declared his intention to divert a section of mankind away from Divine guidance, holding for them the prospect of satisfying their vain desires, whether it be some fleeting pleasure, false happiness, or of escaping ultimate punishment. He has also declared that he will persuade them to commit evil actions and perform stupid and legendary rituals, such as the slitting of the ears of cattle so that they become forbidden to ride or eat, although God has not prohibited them. He will also persuade them to change or corrupt God’s creation by cutting off or altering some parts of the body of humans or animals, such as castrating slaves or tattooing a person and similarly altering God’s creation. All this God has strictly forbidden.
 
When a human being feels that Satan, his old enemy, is actually the one who advocates such pagan rituals and practices, he is bound to feel that he must be cautious lest he should be tricked by his enemy. Islam makes the battle between man and Satan the main battle, and directs all the resources of a believer into combating Satan and the evil he spreads on earth. Thus, a believer joins God’s party and fights under God’s banner against Satan and his cronies. This is an ever-raging battle; it will never end. This because Satan will not stop waging it. A believer, on the other hand, will not ignore or withdraw from it. He knows that the choices available to him are either to join God’s party or Satan’s lot. There is no middle ground to hold. In this battle Satan is represented by all the vain desires he arouses, and by his followers who include all non-believers and all advocates of evil. A Muslim fights Satan himself and his followers in a long battle which lasts as long as life itself continues.
 
Whoever takes God for his patron will achieve success, and whoever takes Satan for his patron will end up in ruin: “But all who take Satan rather than God for their master do incur a manifest loss.” (Verse 119) The Qur’ān describes what Satan does with those who do his bidding in pursuing their vain desires: “He [i.e. Satan] holds out promises to them, and fills them with vain desires, but whatever Satan promises is meant only to deceive them.” (Verse 120)
 
This is an example of raising the prospect of fulfilling desires which divert human nature away from faith into disbelief and associating partners with God. Had it not been for this temptation, human nature would have remained pure and responded to the guidance of faith. It is Satan’s temptation which adorns the had deeds of a human being so that he sees them as fair. He promises man much gain and complete happiness when he follows the path of disobeying God. Thus, man joins him along that road. Satan then promises man that he will escape punishment in the hereafter, but this leads only to man’s inevitable ruin: “but whatever Satan promises is meant only to deceive them.” (Verse 120)
 
When the whole scene is portrayed in this form, with the old enemy setting the traps and tempting his victims, only those who are unwilling to see continue to remain oblivious to what is being plotted for them. They do not even try to see the destination to which they are being driven, and into what precipice they are being pushed.
 
This most touching of descriptions puts people on the alert, paints the battle in its true colours, and then follows the comment which shows the end result of those who succumb to Satan’s temptation. They are the ones with whom he accomplishes his declared evil intentions. It also shows the end of those who escape from his wicked schemes because they truly believe in God. True believers are immune from Satan’s wicked designs because, when he sought permission to try to seduce mankind, he received no permission to come near true believers. As they hold tight to God’s guidance, Satan is shown to be very weak by comparison: “He [i.e. Satan] holds out promises to them, and fills them with vain desires, but whatever Satan promises is meant only to deceive them. Such as these shall have Hell as their dwelling place. They shall find no way to escape from it. Yet those who believe and do righteous deeds We shall bring into gardens through which running waters flow, wherein they will abide beyond the count of time. This is, in truth, God’s promise. Whose word could be truer than Gods?” (Verses 120-122)
 
The two far apart destinations, then, are hell as an inevitable dwelling place for those who patronise Satan and paradise, for ever, for those who are true believers. That is God’s promise, and “whose word could be truer than God’s?” (Verse 122)
 
The absolute truth of God’s word is shown in marked contrast to all of Satan’s deceptions and false temptations. The gulf is great indeed between one who believes in God’s promise and one who is deluded by Satan.