Response to the contradiction of the Qur’an regarding Satan’s control over man

 Content of the doubt:

Some delusional people claim that there is a contradiction between the words of Allah the Almighty: “ And he had no authority over them ” ( Saba’: 21), and His words - the Almighty - on the tongue of Satan: “ And I had no authority over you ” (Ibrahim: 22), and His words the Almighty : “ This is from the work of Satan ” ( Al-Qasas: 15), His words the Almighty: “ His authority is only over those who take him as a friend and those who associate others with him” (100) ( An-Nahl), and His words the Almighty: “ Indeed, My servants - you have no authority over them, except those who follow you of the deviators” (42) ( Al-Hijr). They ask: How can the Qur’an state in one place that Satan has authority over the servants, then deny what it states in another place? Their aim behind this is to say that the Qur’an is not infallible as long as there is such a contradiction in it.

The face of invalidating the doubt:

The verses that these people used as evidence for their claim speak of two types of Satan’s authority:

• A proven authority: it is the authority of misguidance, seduction, and the embellishment of falsehood.
• Sultan of exile: He is the Sultan of argument, proof, strength and coercion with weak faith.

Details:

The verses that the proponents of this doubt have used as evidence for their claim do not speak of any type of Satan’s authority over people, but rather speak of two types of authority:

1. 1. Fixed Sultan:

The authority that God has given to Satan is the authority of misguidance, seduction, beautifying falsehood, and whispering evil[1]. He has nothing more than whispering and deception, and despite the enormity of his material powers, he is prevented from using them against the children of Adam! He comes to the hesitant and tempts him with cowardice, and to the impudent and tempts him with arrogance, and to the one who is rushing towards lusts and tempts him with immorality... and so on.

If a person deviates, he is responsible for himself, and no one has the power to force him to do wrong. Even if he used his talents, no one would be able to laugh at him.

Our story on earth may be the story of our father Adam during the days of Paradise. If he had remained mindful and not forgotten, capable and not weak, Satan’s arrow would have rebounded to his throat, but he forgot. Those who slip in this world have a defect that makes them respond to Satan’s plot and are deceived by his lies. Satan’s joy is to see a person fallen, humiliated and angry with his Lord. Therefore, God Almighty says to the children of Adam, rebuking them: “ Then will you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me while they are enemies to you? An evil exchange for the wrongdoers!” (50) ( Al-Kahf) [2].

1. 2. Sultan exiled:

The authority that God - Glory be to Him - denied to Satan is the authority of argument and proof. He has no argument for his false claim to the truth, and he has no proof for his false call and false promises. He has no power over the servants that would compel them to answer him. Rather, they are the ones who obeyed him and followed him in his falsehood by their own will and choice, simply because he whispered to them. [3]

Ibn Ashour said in his interpretation of the words of God Almighty: “ Indeed, My servants - you have no authority over them, except for those who follow you of the deviators” (42) ( Al-Hijr): God has established a law in the souls of mankind, which is that Satan does not have authority except over those who are deviating, that is: inclined to deviance and acquired it, rather than those who restrain themselves from evil. If the wise person is attached to Satan’s whispers, he knows what is in him of misguidance, and he knows that guidance is in opposition to it. If he succeeds and forces himself to choose guidance and directs his resolve to it, he becomes stronger than Satan, so he has no authority over him. If he inclines toward misguidance and approves of it and chooses to satisfy his desires, he becomes prepared for misguidance, so Satan deceives him and he goes astray. [4]

God Almighty did not say that Satan has authority over the servants at all, but rather they are the ones who gave him authority over themselves by obeying him, entering into his party, and disobeying God Almighty. He did not have authority over them by force or argument, but rather he had authority over them by the weakness of their faith, the baseness of their souls, and their departure from the obedience of their Lord. That is because God Almighty says , “ Indeed, the plot of Satan has ever been weak ” (76) ( An-Nisa’).

Conclusion:

The contradiction that some of these skeptics imagine regarding Satan’s authority over man is rejected, because Satan has two types of authority:

• The Sultan of the Established: It is the Sultan of misguidance and temptation, and the beautification of falsehood. Only the weak in faith and the lowly in souls are swept away by this current - the current of Satan.
• Sultan Manfi: It is the authority of arguments, proofs, power and coercion. Satan does not control a person with proof or argument, or with coercion or power. Rather, it is the person who follows Satan by his own will and choice, due to the weakness of his faith.

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[1] . Al-Bayan fi df al-ta’r al-muthuthu bayn verses of the Qur’an, Dr. Muhammad Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi, Maktabat al-Amanah, Cairo, 1401 AH/1981 AD, p. 174.
[2] . One Hundred Questions about Islam, Muhammad al-Ghazali, Nahdet Misr, Cairo, 2nd ed., 2004 AD, pp. 299, 300, with modifications.
[3] . Al-Bayan fi df al-ta’r al-muthuthu bayn verses of the Qur’an, Dr. Muhammad Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi, Maktabat al-Amanah, Cairo, 1401 AH/1981 AD, pp. 173, 174.
[4] . Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir, Muhammad al-Tahir ibn Ashur, Dar Sahnun for Publishing and Distribution, Tunis, n.d., Vol. 7, Part 14, p. 52.