Living The Quran
From Issue: 1046 [Read full issue]
Search for Immortality
Al-Araf (The Heights) Sura 7: Verse 20 (partial)
"And he (satan) said, 'Your Lord has but prohibited you from this tree lest you become angels, or lest you become immortals."
In the above verse, satan tries to point out to the first couple of human beings that the nature of angels in their spirituality and immortality is superior to the human nature. If they had kept in mind that God's command to the angels to prostrate themselves to Adam simply proves the opposite, satan's temptations would have failed to bring about any effect. However, the human being has been created with such an eager search for superiority and immortality, however illusory and deceptive it may be, and such an attitude was exploited by satan.
The above verse also underlines that the human being is not created to be an angel. The attitude of developing the human spirituality while ignoring the legitimate physical and intellectual development, or of keeping oneself permanently isolated from other human beings, is against the human nature as well as the Islamic balanced model. Such an attitude would crush the human being and would never create an angel.
Compiled From:
"Concepts of the Quran" - Fathi Osman, p. 136