Surah Ibrahim (14) — Ayah 22

(Ayah22) ➊ The meaning of {بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ: ’’ صُرَاخٌ ‘‘} is to cry out or shout, which is a plea for help to be saved from distress. In {’’اَصْرَخَ يُصْرِخُ‘‘}, the hamzah in the form of "af‘ala" is for the removal of the root cause, meaning to remove the distress that causes the crying out, just as in {’’شَكَانِيْ فَأَشْكَيْتُهُ ‘‘} that he complained to me, so I removed his complaint. That is why generally {’’صُرَاخٌ‘‘} means plea and {’’اِصْرَاخٌ‘‘} means to respond to a plea. {’’ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ ‘‘} was originally {’’بِمُصْرِخِيْنَ‘‘} in the sound masculine plural, but when it was annexed to the first person singular ya, the noon of inflection dropped and with the assimilation of ya into ya, it became {’’ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ ‘‘}.

➋ After the judgment, when the people of Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will enter Hell, and from all sides there will be a shower of blame upon Satan, then in response Satan will say that the promise Allah made to you was true, because He was the owner of all those things He promised, such as resurrecting after death, Paradise, Hell, acceptance of supplication, etc., so He fulfilled that promise. And the promise I made to you was false, that if you do this, this will happen; if you call upon the benefactor, this will happen; if you call upon the helper, this will happen—because none of them owned anything, and the desires I aroused in your hearts, such as by giving an offering in the name of so-and-so, the beloved will fall at your feet, or by sacrificing a goat in the name of so-and-so, the enemy will be destroyed—none of these had any reality. Allah said: «{ يَعِدُهُمْ وَ يُمَنِّيْهِمْ وَ مَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطٰنُ اِلَّا غُرُوْرًا }» [ النساء : ۱۲۰ ] "He promises them and arouses desires in them, and Satan does not promise them except delusion." Therefore, Allah teaches us that whenever you make a promise, make it only for something you can do, and still say "insha’Allah" (if Allah wills), because your authority is subject to Allah. He said: « وَ لَا تَقُوْلَنَّ لِشَايْءٍ اِنِّيْ فَاعِلٌ ذٰلِكَ غَدًا (23) اِلَّاۤ اَنْ يَّشَآءَ اللّٰهُ » [ الکہف : ۲۳، ۲۴ ] "And never say of anything, 'Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,' except [when adding], 'If Allah wills.'"

➌ The meaning of {وَ مَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّنْ سُلْطٰنٍ … : ’’ سُلْطَةٌ ‘‘} and {’’ سُلْطٰنٍ ‘‘} is to forcibly gain dominance over someone, to impose oneself. This dominance is of two types: one is through government, and it is clear that Satan had no government over them, that he could have brought an army against them; and the other is the dominance and authority of a sound argument, because an argument takes control of the heart and a person is compelled to act accordingly, and it is clear that Satan had neither a stick nor any reasonable argument. Thus, he will say, I only invited you to some actions, which matched your weaknesses, such as greed, lust, anger, cowardice, etc., and in them your desires were aroused, and you immediately accepted it (keep in mind the difference between {أَجَبْتُمْ } and {اِسْتَجَبْتُمْ}). Therefore, do not blame me, but blame yourselves, because you sinned by your own will; I did not force you. Now neither can you help me nor can I help you. See the explanation of Satan's authority in Surah An-Nahl, Ayah (100).

➍ { اِنِّيْ كَفَرْتُ بِمَاۤ اَشْرَكْتُمُوْنِ مِنْ قَبْلُ :} Before this, you made me a partner with Allah, I deny this, because worship was only Allah's right, likewise obeying commands was only Allah's right, and that too was included in His worship. Instead, you obeyed me, worshipped me, made me His partner; now I openly disassociate myself from this. You did not follow me but followed your own desires, and instead of Allah, you did not call upon me but upon your imagined helpers and benefactors, as Allah said: «{ اِنْ يَّتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَ مَا تَهْوَى الْاَنْفُسُ }» [ النجم : ۲۳ ] "These people (the polytheists) follow nothing but assumption and what their souls desire."

➎ { اِنَّ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ اَلِيْمٌ:} This could be the last part of Satan's statement as an admission, before which he has already disavowed them by stating the following: (1) My promise was false. (2) I had no dominance over you. (3) You accepted an invitation devoid of argument. (4) Instead of blaming me, blame yourselves. (5) I cannot help you. (6) I reject the partnership you ascribed to me. (7) This is the last thing: for the wrongdoers (polytheists) there is a painful punishment. (Summary from Shawkani) And this sentence could also be the statement of Allah, which is an expression of reality.