Can Satan See Everything from Where He Is?
Question:
salaam,
there is an ayah in surah a3raf which says that satan and qabeeluhu see believers from where they dont see him. does this mean that with seeing he can hear also? does the arabic in any way support the idea that satan and shayaateen , cannot see simultaneously but have to derive information and SEE from te knowledge they get about the believers? some have argued that they can see everything before them , making them omniscient
Answer:
Salam,
The verse is as follows, with my explanations in brackets:
يا بَني آدَمَ لا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطانُ كَما أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ يَنْزِعُ عَنْهُما لِباسَهُما لِيُرِيَهُما سَوْآتِهِما إِنَّهُ يَراكُمْ هُوَ وَ قَبيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لا تَرَوْنَهُمْ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا الشَّياطينَ أَوْلِياءَ لِلَّذينَ لا يُؤْمِنُون
"O children of Adam! let not the Shaitan cause you to fall into affliction as he expelled your parents from the garden, pulling off from them their dress (of piety) that he might show them their private parts (and evil inclinations) He surely sees you, he as well as his tribe, from where you cannot see them (so they can deceive you in ways that you do not expect) Surely We have made the Shaitans to be the guardians of those who do not believe" (7:27)
The above verse in my understanding is using a symbolic language. I have tried to explain this with those explanations in the brackets. As it is clear from the above, the verse does not even remotely suggest that Shaitan and his tribes are omniscient. Even with the literal meaning of the verse (without the explanations) the verse does not say that.
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June 2013
salaam,
there is an ayah in surah a3raf which says that satan and qabeeluhu see believers from where they dont see him. does this mean that with seeing he can hear also? does the arabic in any way support the idea that satan and shayaateen , cannot see simultaneously but have to derive information and SEE from te knowledge they get about the believers? some have argued that they can see everything before them , making them omniscient
Answer:
Salam,
The verse is as follows, with my explanations in brackets:
يا بَني آدَمَ لا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطانُ كَما أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ يَنْزِعُ عَنْهُما لِباسَهُما لِيُرِيَهُما سَوْآتِهِما إِنَّهُ يَراكُمْ هُوَ وَ قَبيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لا تَرَوْنَهُمْ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا الشَّياطينَ أَوْلِياءَ لِلَّذينَ لا يُؤْمِنُون
"O children of Adam! let not the Shaitan cause you to fall into affliction as he expelled your parents from the garden, pulling off from them their dress (of piety) that he might show them their private parts (and evil inclinations) He surely sees you, he as well as his tribe, from where you cannot see them (so they can deceive you in ways that you do not expect) Surely We have made the Shaitans to be the guardians of those who do not believe" (7:27)
The above verse in my understanding is using a symbolic language. I have tried to explain this with those explanations in the brackets. As it is clear from the above, the verse does not even remotely suggest that Shaitan and his tribes are omniscient. Even with the literal meaning of the verse (without the explanations) the verse does not say that.
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June 2013
