Is Satan the Author of the Qur'an?




A friend of mine shared an article with me from the Internet. It was entitled "The Qur'an Iis Written by Satan." This made me laugh, for, indeed, every time a Muslim recites the Qur'an, he is recommended by the Qur'an itself to say, "I seek refuge in Allah from the cursed Devil." Also, the last chapter of the Qur'an teaches Muslims how to protect themselves from the Devil-Satan who is described as the "sneaking whisperer." Since that is the case, how can Satan be the author of the Qur'an?
On the other hand, Satan is mentioned several times in the Qur'an. One may ask: What is the image of Satan in that book? First of all, it is an image of scandal, humiliation, arrogance, banishment, and an eternal curse. The Qur'an tells the story of Satan with Adam and Eve, but with important differences from the biblical version.

The Bible puts the blame of instigating the act of disobedience on the Devil or Satan in the guise of a snake. It also makes Eve the one who encouraged Adam to eat from the tree, and the result in the Bible is the Original Sin, that is, an eternal curse on Adam and his progeny. So the Bible puts all the blame on Adam and Eve, but particularly on Eve.
In the Qur'an the story is concluded differently. It was Satan who persuaded Adam to eat from the tree. There is no snake in the Qur'anic version. Adam fell due to his weakness and Eve followed him; but both discovered their mistake and repented to Allah, Who accepted their repentance and forgave them. So in the Qur'anic version, Adam and Eve were the winners while Satan was the loser.
This is one aspect of the image of Satan in the Qur'an. After this, can anybody claim that Satan is the author? It is ignorance and prejudice that make some people uphold this baseless claim.

Moreover, Satan is described in the Qur'an as the deadliest enemy of man. He refused to prostrate himself to Adam and rejected this command of Allah, Who banished and cursed Satan but gave him respite until the Day of Resurrection. Due to his arrogance and envy, he declared that he would do his best to bring about the fall and doom of Adam and all humanity. Thus in the Qur'an, Satan is the source of all the evil in human life. Man is warned against his greatest foe, Satan. This is another aspect of the personality of Satan in the Qur'an. It also refutes the claim that Satan is the author of this Divine Book.

Let us now review some of the verses that refer to Satan, who is also called Shaytan, that is, the Devil, in the Qur'an so that we can have a clear image of him. Satan is given two names in the Qur'an: one is Iblis (Lucifer), which occurs eleven times in the Qur'an. The other name is Shaytan, meaning the one who rebelled and thus is cursed and banished. It means the Devil. The word shaytan occurs 138 times in the Qur'an. Thus the two titles occur 149 times. They are all references of warning, condemnation, and cursing. Here are some Qur'anic quotations that show the role of the Devil:

[And Satan, indeed, proved true his thought about them so they followed him all except a group of true believers. And he had no authority over them.] (Saba': 20-21)

[Then they will be hurled therein, they and the seducers and the hosts of Satan together.] (Ash-Shu`araa' : 94-95)

[The angels fell down prostrate, everyone except Iblis (Satan) he was arrogant and became one of the disbelievers.] (Saad: 74-75)

[And if the Devil should cause you to forget, sit not after the remembrance, with the congregation of wrong doers.] (Al-An`am : 68)

[O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of the Devil, for those who follow the footsteps of the Devil, he commands lewdness and evil.] (An-Nur: 21)

[The devil promises you poverty and enjoins on you lewdness, but Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and bounty.] (Al-Baqarah : 268)

About the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus Christ the Qur'an says:

[And I crave your protection for her and for her offspring from the outcast devil.] (Aal `Imran : 36)

[Those of you who turned back on the day when the two hosts met, the devil alone was the one who caused them to backslide, because of some of that which they have earned.] (Aal `Imran : 155)

[It is only the devil who would make his partisans fear (men). Fear them not, but fear Me if you are believers.] (Aal `Imran : 175)

[Those who are pious when a glamour from the Devil troubles them, they do but remember. Thus they become seers.] (Al-A`raf : 201)

[Those who believe do fight for the cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight for the cause of idols. So fight the partisans of the devil. Lo! The devil's strategy is ever weak.] (An-Nisaa' : 76)

[They pray to none else than a rebellious devil, whom Allah cursed and he said: "Surely I will take of your bondmen an appointed portion and surely I will lead them astray, and surely I will arouse desires in them, and surely I will command them and they will cut the cattle' ears, and surely I will command them and they will change Allah's creation." and who chooses the Devil for a patron instead of Allah is truly a loser and his loss is manifest.] (An-Nisaa' : 117-119)

[O you who believe! Intoxicants, games of chance, idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of the Devil's handiwork. Avoid it so that you may succeed. The devil seeks only to cast among you enmity and hatred by means of intoxicants and games of chance and to turn you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you then not desist?" (Al-Ma'idah : 90-91)

[The Devil was ever man's deserter.] (Al-Furqan : 29)

[And the Devil made their actions fair seeming to them so he debarred them from the way (of truth) so they did not go aright.] (An-Naml : 24)

[Even though the Devil was inviting them to the doom of flame?] (Luqman : 21)

Finally, we have the following Qur'anic image of Satan, the Devil on the Day of Judgment:

[And the Devil said when the matter has been decided: "Lo! Allah promised you the promise of truth, and I promised you and failed you! And I had no power over you save that I called unto you and you obeyed me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves! I cannot help you, nor can you help me. Lo! I disbelieve in that which you before ascribed to me. Lo! For wrong doers is a painful doom.] (Ibrahim : 22)

To conclude, the Qur'an is the divine revelation to man, but this is not the first time that Allah spoke to man. Many scriptures reflected this before the Qur'an; however, they were either lost or changed. It is not strange that Allah says in the Qur'an:

[It is We, only We, who have sent down the Remembrance (the Qur'an), and it is We who will protect it.] (Al-Hijr : 9)