When Iblees defied God’s command to prostrate before Adam, he requested a respite until the Day of Judgment. God, in His infinite wisdom, granted this request and allowed Iblees to carry out his mission: to lead astray all who are not absolutely devoted to God alone. This allowed Iblees the ability to lurk along the straight path, exploiting humanity’s vulnerabilities to divert them from worshiping God alone and to set up other entities as gods beside God.
[7:14] He said, “Grant me a respite, until the Day of Resurrection.”
[7:15] He said, “You are granted a respite.”
[7:16] He said, “Since You have willed that I go astray, I will skulk for them on Your straight path.
[7:17] “I will come to them from before them, and from behind them, and from their right, and from their left, and You will find that most of them are unappreciative.”
[7:18] He said, “Get out therefrom, despised and defeated. Those among them who follow you, I will fill Hell with you all.
We see this narrative also repeated in the following verses:
[17:62] He (Satan) said, “Since You have honored him over me, if You respite me till the Day of Resurrection, I will possess all his descendants, except a few.”
[17:63] He (God) said, “Then go; you and those who follow you will end up in Hell as your requital; an equitable requital.
[17:64] “You may entice them with your voice, and mobilize all your forces and all your men against them, and share in their money and children, and promise them. Anything the devil promises is no more than an illusion.
[17:65] “As for My servants, you have no power over them.” Your Lord suffices as an advocate.
Freedom of Choice: God or Satan
Based on the above, we see that this world is a proving ground where humanity has been granted the freedom to choose between serving God or serving Satan. This freedom of choice is a unique responsibility entrusted to humans, as outlined in the Quran:
[33:72] We have offered the responsibility (freedom of choice) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant.
With this freedom, every individual decides who to serve. If one chooses to worship and obey God, they affirm God as their only Lord. However, if one follows Satan’s whispers, they effectively make Satan their god by prioritizing his commands over God’s.
[36:60] Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil? That he is your most ardent enemy?
Fitrah vs. Whispers
To help guide humanity to the right path, God placed within every human an innate predisposition to monotheism, the fitrah. This natural inclination aligns the soul toward the truth of worshiping God alone.
[30:30] Therefore, you shall devote yourself to the religion of strict monotheism. Such is the natural instinct (fitrah) placed into the people by GOD. Such creation of GOD will never change. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know.
However, Satan works tirelessly to obscure this truth. Through manipulation and deceit, he entices people to set up other gods beside God, distorting their perception of truth and leading them into idolatry. This makes humanity’s test not theoretical but practical, manifesting in everyday choices. Obeying Satan’s influence, whether through explicit idol worship or implicit allegiance to false ideologies, constitutes setting up other gods beside God.
[4:118] GOD has condemned him, and he said, “I will surely recruit a definite share of Your worshipers.
[4:119] “I will mislead them, I will entice them, I will command them to (forbid the eating of certain meats by) marking the ears of livestock, and I will command them to distort the creation of GOD.” Anyone who accepts the devil as a lord, instead of GOD, has incurred a profound loss.
The Objective: Reject Satan as a god
As part of Satan’s respite, God permitted him to try to convince people in this world to accept another god besides God. As the taking of any other god beside God is following the devil’s command over God’s, then the setting up of another god beside god ultimately constitutes the serving and worshiping of Satan.
This makes our life’s ultimate test to remain steadfast in worshiping God alone while rejecting all false gods presented by Satan. This principle extends beyond explicit acts of worship and encompasses obedience to any authority or ideology that contradicts God’s commands. If one is to take the command from another over God’s commands, then they will be setting up that other entity as a god and ultimately making Satan their god.
[6:121] Do not eat from that upon which the name of GOD has not been mentioned, for it is an abomination. The devils inspire their allies to argue with you; if you obey them, you will be idol worshipers.
Therefore, the objective of this world is to renounce all these false gods that Satan presents and be devoted to God alone. This is what one declares when they are a true monotheist.
[3:18] GOD bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully and equitably, He is the absolute god; there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise.
The Example of the Calf
The story of the Children of Israel and the golden calf serves as a poignant example of humanity’s susceptibility to false gods. Despite witnessing God’s miracles, the Children of Israel were duped by the devil into taking a sculpted calf as god. God informed Moses of this when Moses rushed ahead of the Children of Israel to speak with God.
[20:83] “Why did you rush away from your people, O Moses?”
[20:84] He said, “They are close behind me. I have rushed to You my Lord, that You may be pleased.”
[20:85] He (God) said, “We have put your people to the test after you left, but the Samarian misled them.”
After hearing this news, Moses returned to investigate the matter.
[20:86] Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, saying, “O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Could you not wait? Did you want to incur wrath from your Lord? Is this why you broke your agreement with me?”
[20:87] They said, “We did not break our agreement with you on purpose. But we were loaded down with jewelry, and decided to throw our loads in. This is what the Samarian suggested.”
[20:88] He (the Samiran) produced for them a sculpted calf, complete with a calf’s sound. They said, “This is your god, and the god of Moses.” Thus, he forgot.
In response to this atrocity, Moses destroyed their god, demonstrating the essential duty of a true worshiper: to renounce all gods beside God and reaffirm that there is no other god beside God worthy of serving or worship. This narrative underscores the recurring human challenge: to resist the devil’s deceptions and remain unwavering in devotion to God alone.
[20:97] He said, “Then go, and, throughout your life, do not even come close. You have an appointed time (for your final judgment) that you can never evade. Look at your god that you used to worship; we will burn it and throw it into the sea, to stay down there forever.“
False gods & True Monotheism
It is worth pointing out that Moses calls the calf “your god,” acknowledging that the Children of Isreal for the time considered this inanimate object their god. If Moses acknowledges another god, does this then contradict the statement that there is no god beside God? The answer is no because people can set up whatever they want as a god in this world, yet this does not make their god legitimate.
The declaration “La ilaha illallah” (“There is no god beside God”) is the cornerstone of monotheism. However, this statement does not imply that people will not set up false gods beside God. Rather, it affirms that all these other so-called gods are illegitimate and unworthy of worship.
The Quran acknowledges that people set up all kinds of things as gods, including statues (6:74, 7:138), messengers (21:29), their ego (25:43, 45:23), humans (26:29, 5116), or anything else other than God (38:5, 50:26). This shows that proclaiming that there is no god beside God does not mean that others can not set up gods beside God. It only means all these other gods that people set up beside god are false gods, and it is our duty to renounce these false deities and proclaim that there is no other god except God.
[7:172] Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: “Am I not your Lord?” They all said, “Yes. We bear witness.” Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, “We were not aware of this.”
[7:173] Nor can you say, “It was our parents who practiced idolatry, and we simply followed in their footsteps. Will You punish us because of what others have innovated?”
Party of God or Party of Satan
In the end, every soul will fall into one of two camps, either the party of God or the party of Satan. On the Day of Resurrection, our choice will be laid bare, and those who followed Satan will realize the depth of their error, but their regret will come too late.
[58:18] The Day will come when GOD resurrects them all. They will swear to Him then, just as they swear to you now, thinking that they really are right! Indeed, they are the real liars.
[58:19] The devil has possessed them, and has caused them to disregard GOD’s message. These are the party of the devil. Absolutely, the party of the devil are the losers.
[58:20] Surely, those who oppose GOD and His messenger will be with the lowliest.
In contrast, the party of God will consists of those who believed and upheld God’s words and did not set up other gods beside God.
[58:21] GOD has decreed: “I and My messengers will most assuredly win.” GOD is Powerful, Almighty.
[58:22] You will not find people who believe in GOD and the Last Day befriending those who oppose GOD and His messenger, even if they were their parents, or their children, or their siblings, or their tribe. For these, He decrees faith into their hearts, and supports them with inspiration from Him, and admits them into gardens with flowing streams wherein they abide forever. GOD is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. These are the party of GOD. Most assuredly, GOD’s party are the winners.
Final Thoughts
The declaration “There is no god beside God” is not a passive statement but an active commitment. It requires recognizing the false gods that humanity sets up and rejecting them in favor of exclusive devotion to God. Whether these false gods take the form of idols, desires, or societal pressures, they represent the whispers of Satan. True monotheism demands the courage to renounce them and affirm God’s oneness.
The story of Iblees, humanity, and the divine test reminds us that the struggle between good and evil is an intrinsic part of life. God’s guidance, embodied in the fitrah and the Quran, lights the way for those who choose to worship Him alone. But the devil’s whispers, persistent and alluring, seek to undermine this clarity. To succeed in this test, one must reject all false gods, hold steadfast to the truth of God’s oneness, and fulfill the covenant made with Him. Only through unwavering devotion to God can one attain eternal success and avoid the ultimate loss.
This is the essence of the divine test: to choose God as our only Lord and reject Satan’s deceptions. In doing so, we align ourselves with the party of God, securing eternal success and fulfilling our covenant with Him.
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