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ʾinna ʿibādī laysa laka ʿalayhim sulṭānun ʾillā mani ttabaʿaka mina l-ghāwīna
Indeed, as for My servants you do not have any authority over them, except the perverse who follow you,
— Ali Quli Qarai
15Al-ḤijrالحجرVerse 42 of 99
The Rocky Tract15. Al-Ḥijrالحجر
Al Ḥijr
The Rocky Tract
MeccanVerse 42 of 99
Surah Al-Hijr – Verses 41 - 42
41. “Said He: ‘This is for Me a straight path (which I have undertaken)’.”
42. “Verily, (as regards) My (devoted) servants, there is not for you over them any authority, except those who follow you of the deviators.”
In the previous verse, ’Iblis announced that he would mislead all except the selected devotee individuals. In this verse, Allah remarks: The reason as to why ’Iblis does not have the power to dominate His servants is because of His Straight Path and His way of treatment. That is, Allah’s way of treatment is such that He Himself guarantees their protection, and this does not imply that ’Iblis would have nothing to do with them. On the contrary, he might not be in a position to exercise any power over them.
The verse says:
“Said He: ‘This is for Me a straight path (which I have undertaken)’.”
Thus, the Satan has got no power over those who are devoted to Allah and are submissive to Him. If we can enter the circle of Allah’s servants through our worshipping and virtue, we may be insured and can be rest assure. The verse says:
“Verily, (as regards) My (devoted) servants, there is not for you over them any authority, except those who follow you of the deviators.”
Incidentally, the Satan’s job is engaging man in mischief and not exercising or exerting his domination:
“…there is not for you over them any authority…”.
In the resurrection day, the Satan, answering the people’s protests, will say:
“I only invited you; I did not put you under any obligation or domination.”
Anyway, in order to despise the Satan and to reinforce the position of the truth-seeking individuals and those who are the followers of the path of monotheism, He said that the straight path which He has undertaken is His usual way of treatment and that Satan will have no authority or domination over His servants except on those misled ones who may voluntarily follow his footsteps. That is, it is not indeed Satan who is able to seduce people. Rather, it is the deviants who willingly accept Satan’s call and follow his footsteps.