If Shaytan did not have any Authority over the Prophets then why did Allah Order them to Seek Refuge with Him
Brief description of the doubt
Some verses of the Quran such as Surah al-Hijr, verse 42 refutes Shaytan having any type of authority over Allah’s special servants. However, there are other verses of the Quran which order the Prophet to seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan. There appears to be a contradiction here because Allah commands the Prophet to seek refuge in Him, yet elsewhere it says that Shaytan does not have any authority over the Prophet since he is a special servant of Allah. If Allah knew that Shaytan has no authority over the Prophet, then why did He tell him to seek refuge with Him?
Detailed description of the doubt
Contradictory Verses
Verses which refute Shaytan having authority over the special servants of Allah
In Surah al-Isra, verse 65 Allah says: “‘As for My servants, you shall have no authority over them.’ And your Lord suffices as a Trustee.” In this verse, any type of authority that Shaytan could have over the servants of Allah has been negated. Similarly in Surah al-Hijr, verse 42 Allah says: “Indeed as for My servants you do not have any authority over them, except the perverse who follow you.” This verse also clearly negates the authority of Shaytan over the servants of Allah, and it states that Shaytan only has authority over those who have gone astray and who follow him, and the Prophet was definitely not amongst such people for Shaytan to have authority over him.
Verses which order the Prophet to seek refuge with Allah from the temptations of Shaytan
In Surah al-Mominoon, verse 97 Allah commands the Prophet: “And say, ‘My Lord! I seek Your protection from the promptings of the devils.” Here the Prophet has been ordered to seek refuge with Him from the temptations of Shaytan. It is a command which shows the danger that threatens the Prophet, and how it is understood that even he was at risk of temptations from the devils, and it was for this reason that Allah ordered the Prophet to seek refuge with Him from these evils.
In addition to this, in Surah al-Naas, Allah commands the Prophet to seek refuge with Him from the evil temptations of Shaytan. The 6 verses of the entire Surah are as follows: “Say, ‘I seek the protection of the Lord of humans, Sovereign of humans, God of humans, from the evil of the sneaky tempter who puts temptations into the chests of humans, from among the jinn and humans.’”
Other verses also exist with the same theme. In Surah Fussilat, verse 36 we read: “Should a temptation from Shaytan disturb you, seek the protection of Allah. Indeed He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” Finally in Surah al-Nahl, verse 98 Allah commands that: “When you recite the Quran, seek the protection of Allah against the outcast Shaytan.”
Summary
Therefore, some verses of the Quran mention that the special servants of Allah are protected from any type of authority by Shaytan; however other verses tell the Prophet that he has to seek refuge with Allah from the temptations of the devils. Such a command originating from Allah means that Shaytan has authority over the Prophet, but this appears to contradict the verses which mention that Shaytan has no authority over the Prophet.
A summarized response
Shaytan having no authority does not contradict him being able to tempt. That which has been negated in Surah al-Isra, verse 65 is that Shaytan has no authority over the servants of Allah. Tempting (which has been mentioned in Surah al-Mominoon, verse 97 and other similar verses which were mentioned) does not mean that he has authority, in other words, although Shaytan has no authority over the servants of Allah and he cannot overpower them, he still attempts to cause them to go astray and tries to tempt them. These two issues are separate from one another and do not contradict each other. It is correct to say that the Prophet has been commanded to seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan, even though Shaytan has no authority over him.
A detailed response
Pre-requisite Introduction
Analyzing the meaning of “Authority”
Linguistically, authority means to overpower someone. This is why the one who rules over a society and has power is called “Sultan” because in relation to society he is dominant and his word is followed. [1] [2] Overpowering thus takes place when the power of one who has authority is to the extent that he defeats the opposing side.
Analyzing the meaning of verse 65 in Surah al-Isra
This verse will be analyzed taking into consideration what was mentioned regarding the meaning of authority. The verse says: “‘As for My servants, you shall have no authority over them.’ And your Lord suffices as a Trustee.” This verse only mentions that Allah has not allowed Shaytan to overpower and win, except over those who are astray. In reality, this verse makes it clear that in the battles between Shaytan and human beings, Shaytan does not automatically won, rather the servants can decide to not follow him by using their own free will and choice. Only those who follow the path of ungratefulness and unbelief through their bad choices are the ones who lose when battling Shaytan, and they will do whatever Shaytan wants of them as he has authority over them.
Shaytan not having authority over the Prophets does not mean that he cannot whisper temptations to them
Based on the definition of authority which was mentioned, the meaning of the verses become clear that Shaytan not having authority over the Prophets, and him being able to whisper temptations to them can be reconciled and there is no contradiction. The explanation is that the verse in Surah al-Isra only mentions that when Shaytan battled the Prophets he had no authority over them, and based on their choice of choosing the straight path, they were able to defeat him. Thus, this verse does not indicate that Shaytan did not attempt to mislead the Prophets or battle them by whispering temptations and showing sins as being beautiful, rather based on the fact that this verse is saying “Shaytan will not overpower the servants in battles” makes it clear that Shaytan tries to battle them and his weapon is none other than giving temptations and making sins appear to be beautiful. This point is hidden in the heart of this verse that Shaytan tried to tempt and misguide the Prophets, however what happened in the end is that the Prophets always won. Shaytan did not have any authority over them, but not being able to defeat them does not mean that he did not try, rather he endeavoured to tempt them, however they did not accept his evil invitations.
Common Example
A father tells his son who has just reached adolescence: “My child, no one has authority over you and no one can force you to do anything. The person who has the final choice in all of the decisions is you. Your destiny lies in the decisions that you yourself will make.” Sometime later on, one of his mischievous friends persuades him to smoke a cigarette by speaking about it eloquently. The youth accepts the invitation and smokes. When the father finds out about this later on, he rebukes his son due to his action and because he did not seek any help against the temptations of that friend of his. In such a scenario, the son cannot say to his father that his friend forced him to perform that deed, nor can he complain to his father and say: “You had said that no one has authority over me, however my friend enticed me!” Even in this example it is clear that tempting someone is different from forcing and having authority over them, and those pieces of advice from the father do not mean that no one will ever try to misguide his son.
Similar is the case of the verses and situation that we discussed, that it was not that Shaytan did not try to lure the Prophets away from the right path, rather they did not allow him to have any authority over them.