What is the meaning of this verse

[Anjum]

Salam All...

Hope you are all fine...as i was reading translated Quran..i came across this verse..."As for one who turns away from the remembrance of the Gracious God, we appoint for him a devil, who will become his intimate companion. Devils divert men from the right way, while they think that they are rightly guided."

What does this verse mean?...is it meant for the disbelievers or us the believers...who sometimes are not able to pray on time...?...can you guys please clear it..m not able to understand this...

Thanks and regards,
Anjum

[Sword]

As-salamu alaykum.

I think this is one of those verses which can be understood in different ways by different people. Here the Arabic word used for devil is 'shaytan'.

43:36
As for one who turns away from the remembrance of the Gracious God, We appoint for him a devil (shaytanan), who will become his intimate companion.

It is important to note that a shaytan can be a jinn as well as a human:

6:112
In like manner We have assigned for every prophet an opponent, Satans (shayateena) from among men and jinn, who make evil suggestions to each other by means of specious words in order to deceivehad it been your Lords will, they would not have done so; so leave them alone to their fabrication.

I think the appointment of a devil by Allah can apply even to Muslims who do not remember Allah regularly or who is very careless / less concerned about Allah in his / her daily life.


I hope it helps in some way.

[Duster]

Shalom./ peace. ..>>>

There is a good related article by bro Joseph which talks about the 'Qarin' below

http://quransmessage.com/articles/creature%20FM3.htm

Also>>>> a search on Qarin on this forum using the search engine may help. ...

[Anjum]

Salam Sword...

I thank you very much for your answer......but..m not clear here brother..."As for one who turns away from the remembrance of the Gracious God, We appoint for him a devil (shaytanan), who will become his intimate companion."...doesnt this mean to those who left religion and disbeliever?...and do not pray anymore?...look...for example...if m not well...and am not able to pray and missed the prayers...will this verse imply on me?...will God appoint a shaitan for me too?...that is what m asking...does this mean to those who are disbelievers or to the believers?...i hope you can clear it...

Thanks and regards,
Anjum

[Anjum]

Salam Brother Duster...

Thank you very much for your reply...but i have already read this article brother...but i m still confused...can you please clear as per the questions posted to brother sword?..hope you could help...

THanks and regards,
ANjum

[Sstikstof]

Salam All...

Hope you are all fine...as i was reading translated Quran..i came across this verse..."As for one who turns away from the remembrance of the Gracious God, we appoint for him a devil, who will become his intimate companion. Devils divert men from the right way, while they think that they are rightly guided."

What does this verse mean?...is it meant for the disbelievers or us the believers...who sometimes are not able to pray on time...?...can you guys please clear it..m not able to understand this...

Thanks and regards,
Anjum

Salamun Alaikum,

It is nothing that serious as you are thinking. It is an idom. "As for one who turns away from the remembrance of the Gracious God, we appoint for him a devil, who will become his intimate companion. Devils divert men from the right way, while they think that they are rightly guided." It is indicated to those nonreligious prople who think that their blind justification is 100 percent correct. FOr example, you wont be able to win a debate easily with an athiest just because of their  hardcore baseless logic which made them think that they are in the right path. Same result goes for the ignorant people (who dont follow religion much) who dont care for religion. Remember Turns away from remembrance means to leave religion. It has nothing to do with missing salah. As for missing salah Quran tells that, do your duty to GOD as best as you can. If you missed a salah, I recommend to join that one to the next waqt/period of salat.

[Sword]

Hi Anjum,

When I said that the appointment of a devil can apply even to 'Muslims', I made that statement based on the premise that not all Muslims are following God the way He is supposed to be followed. It is not about merely being a believer or a non-believer, but it is also about following the right guidance in the right way. Many Muslims today believe in God and in His Quran, but are they free from associating partners with God? The answer is arguably no. Idolatry from a Quranic perspective is not restricted to just statue-worshiping, but it can take other forms as well. Brother Joseph has an article regarding this matter. The link of the article is provided below [1]. Hence, it is these people who are believers only on the surface and are not pure believers, to whom surely devils can be appointed. They don't necessarily have to leave Islam altogether and / or abandon the salat.

But as for those who are following the guidance in the right way without associating partners with God in any way or in any form and who are true worshipers of God alone, satans won't have power over them:

38:82-83
(Iblis) said: "Then, by Thy power, I will put them all in the wrong, except Thy Servants amongst them, sincere and purified (by Thy Grace)."

15:41-42
God said, This is the path which leads straight to Me. Surely, you shall have no power over My true servants, except those misguided ones who choose to follow you.

16:99-100
Surely, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord; he has power only over those who are willing to follow him and associate others with God.

On the strength of the above verses, it can be argued that God's true worshipers can't be overpowered by satan as long as they hold on to God's true guidance. I don't think merely missing a prayer because of not being well would cause a devil to be appointed to you. You can still "remember" God when you are unwell, can't you? So according to my humble opinion, my answer is 'no' if you are a real believer who do not associate partners with God in any way or in any form.


Reference:

[1] http://quransmessage.com/articles/idolatry%20according%20to%20the%20quran%20FM3.htm

[Sword]

Hi Anjum,

I am making this post to summarize everything that I have written.


1) Does 43:36 apply to those who have left Islam and became non-believers?

The answer is yes.

2) Does 43:36 apply to believers?

There are two groups of believers. One whose members are within the religion of Islam but at the same time are associating partners with God (Group A), and the second whose members are following Islam without associating partners with God (Group B). In my humble opinion, 43:36 would apply to Group A and not to Group B, because when you ask Group A to follow X from the Quran, they will say they want to follow Y because it's in the books of hadith. Therefore they are indirectly turning away from the remembrance of Allah. This is my understanding.

3) If I am not well and I miss prayer, will 43:36 apply to me?

The answer is 'no' in my opinion if you are a believer who is not associating partners with God in any way or in any form.


And Allah knows best.

[Anjum]

Salam Sstikstof...

I thank you very much for your explanation..tat helps a lot...i feared tat..it meant for us or me...as i cldnt pray coz of my ill health....now it makes sense..thanks a lot......i m happy..thank you very much..

With best regards,
Anjum

[Anjum]

Salam Sword...

I thank you very much for your verses and explanation......u have quoted everything well and explained things in details...thank you very much...I m really thankful to both of you...Thanks a lot......May God Bless us all...

With best regards,
Anjum