Was Iblis Expelled from Paradise or did He Stay There?
Brief description of the dubiety
According to some verses of the Holy Quran such as Surah al-Araaf, verses 13 and 18, Allah expelled Iblis from paradise; however according to other verses such as Surah al-Araaf, verse 20, and Surah Taha, verse 120, Iblis tempted Prophet Adam and Lady Hawwa in paradise. How is it possible for Iblis to have tempted Prophet Adam if he was expelled from paradise?
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
Verses in which it is mentioned that Allah expelled Iblis from paradise
In verses 11 to 13 of Surah al-Araaf, it is mentioned: “Certainly We created you, then We formed you, then We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam.’ So they all prostrated, but not Iblis: he was not among those who prostrated. He said: ‘What prevented you from prostrating, when I commanded you? ’‘I am better than him,’ he replied. ‘You created me from fire and You created him from clay.’ ‘Get down from it!’ He said. ‘It is not for you to be arrogant therein. Be gone! You are indeed among the degraded ones.’” In the translation, there are four places where the pronoun «ها» exists, such as where it says «فاهبط منها», and it could refer to paradise, the skies, from among the angels, or from his current position and status; however, in order to clarify the dubiety from the viewpoint of someone who is doubtful, it is only referring to one thing which is paradise. According to this verse, Allah expelled Iblis from paradise.
Other verses also exist in this regards, such as Surah al-Araaf, verse 18 which says: “Said He, ‘Be gone hence, blameful and banished! Whoever of them follows you, I will surely fill hell with you all.’” Allah also says in Surah Saad, verse 77 and Surah al-Hijr, verse 34: “He said, ‘Be gone hence, for you are indeed an outcast.”
Verses in which it is mentioned that Iblis reappeared in paradise and tempted Adam and Hawwa
In verses 19 and 20 of Surah al-Araaf, it is mentioned, “Then He said to Adam, ‘O Adam, dwell with your mate in paradise, and eat thereof where you wish; but do not approach this tree, lest you should be among the wrongdoers.’ Then Shaytan tempted them, to expose to them what was hidden from them of their nakedness, and he said, ‘Your Lord has only forbidden you from this tree lest you should become angels, or lest you become immortal.’” In the translation, there are three possible contexts for the word ‘paradise’ which include:
1. A garden on earth in which Adam and Hawwa were created;
2. Paradise in purgatory;
3. Paradise in the afterlife which people will enter after the accounting on the Day of Resurrection.
In this verse, it says how Iblis tempted Adam and Hawwa and deceived them. This means that Iblis was alongside them in paradise in order to have deceived them there. What confirms this is the words «هذه الشجره». The word «هذه» is used to refer to close objects. Iblis told Adam and Hawwa in order to deceive them that - “This tree will make you immortal.” Therefore, Iblis was close to the tree as he used the word «هذه». One can also understand this from verse 120 of Surah Taha where it says: “Then Shaytan tempted him. He said, ‘O Adam! Shall I show you the tree of immortality, and an imperishable kingdom?’”
Summary
In verse 13 of Surah al-Araaf, it says that Iblis was expelled from paradise due to him disobeying Allah and was driven out; but in verse 20 of the same surah, it mentions that Iblis tempted Adam and Hawwa. This was at a time when they were in paradise according to the previous verses; and Iblis was also in paradise. With due attention to these points, the contents of verses 13 and 20 appear to be contradictory. If Iblis was expelled from paradise, then he would not have been there to tempt Adam and Hawwa.
A summarized response
With due attention to verses 14 and 16 of Surah al-Araaf, it becomes clear that Shaytan’s descent - which is referred to in verse 12 of this Surah - is definitely not the descent from the paradise that Adam and Hawwa were in. As a result, this verse is not contradictory with the verses which mention that Shaytan tempted Prophet Adam and his wife because in verse 12 of Surah al-Araaf, he was expelled from a different paradise.
A detailed response
Assessment and definition of the phrase « فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا» in verse 13 of Surah al-Araaf
The source of this dubiety and the apparent contradiction between the verses was because of the phrase «فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا» in verse 13 of Surah al-Araaf. It is understood from this verse that after disobeying the order to prostrate to Prophet Adam, Shaytan was expelled from the paradise in which the Prophet was living. This verse is used as proof that Shaytan was expelled from paradise because the pronoun «ها» in the phrase «فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا» (Get down from it!) refers to «الجنه». If this pronoun referred to «الجنه», then this dubiety would be valid; however in the previous verses, it does not talk about paradise or «الجنه» for the pronoun to refer back to it.
In order to clarify the definition of the pronoun in this verse, one must use the contexts of its definition. With due attention to the following verses, namely 14 and 16 of Surah al-Araaf, it is clear that Shaytan was in a garden with Prophet Adam and Hawwa, and as a result the pronoun «ها» would definitely not refer to «الجنه». Shaytan then requests respite from Allah in verses 14-16of this Surah and Allah granted him his request. Shaytan then says that he will lie in wait for mankind and misguide them, quoting this conversation between Allah and Shaytan: “He said, ‘Respite me until the day they will be resurrected.’ Said He, ‘You are indeed among the reprieved.’ ‘As You have consigned me to perversity,’ he said, ‘I will surely lie in wait for them on Your straight path.’”
Prophet Adam and Hawwa were included in those people whom Shaytan requested respite from Allah to misguide them. In fact, the only human beings who were present at the time when Shaytan made his request were these two people. In addition, the verse clearly states that Allah gave Shaytan respite so that he could tempt mankind. Therefore, Shaytan would have to be in the same place that they were in order to misguide them. In reality, these verses clearly explain that Shaytan still had not been expelled from the garden in which Prophet Adam and Hawwa were residing in and thus he was able to tempt them. In conclusion, with due attention to verses 14 to 16, we discover that Shaytan’s descent in verse 12 of the same chapter is certainly not descent from paradise or the garden. Therefore, this verse is not contradictory to verses 19 and 20 of Surah al-Araaf which refers to the temptation of Adam and Hawwa from Shaytan.
In conclusion, we have clarified that with due attention to the context, the verse does not refer to the descent of Shaytan from paradise, but where he was sent down from is a place of disagreement. It is possible that Shaytan had a great position in paradise with Allah, and thus he was not expelled from that paradise. There are also other possibilities mentioned regarding this and there are contexts mentioned for each one. (For further information, one can refer to the Quranic exegeses.) However, the aim of this article was to rebuff the dubiety. Thus, it is satisfactory to say that with due attention to the above verses, verse 13 of Surah al-Araaf was not talking about the descent from paradise. In other words, the answer to the dubiety in this article is that the pronoun does not refer to «الجنه», and this is enough to clarify the dubiety.