وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَّاكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا مَعَايِشَ قَلِيلًا مَا تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿۱۰﴾ وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ ﴿۱۱﴾ قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ ﴿۱۲﴾ قَالَ فَاهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَنْ تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَاخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ ﴿۱۳﴾

﴾10﴿ Wa laqad makkannaakum fil ardi wa ja'alnaa lakum feehaa ma'aayish; qaleelam maa tashkuroon
﴾11﴿ Wa laqad khalaqnaakum summa sawwarnaakum summa qulnaa lilmalaaa'ikatis judoo li Aadama fa-sajadooo illaaa Ibleesa lam yakum minas saajideen
﴾12﴿ Qaala maa mana'aka allaa tasjuda iz amartuka qaala ana khairum minhu khalaqtanee min naarinw wa khalaqtahoo min teen
﴾13﴿ Qaala fahbit minhaa famaa yakoonu laka an tatakabbara feehaa fakhruj innaka minas saaghireen

﴾10﴿ And indeed We placed you on the earth and created for you the means of life there, you are a little grateful
﴾11﴿ And indeed, We created you and made you (also listen to this) as We told the angels to lower their heads, to bow down to Adam, peace be upon him, then prostrated to him (in that way) but Iblis was not one of the prostrated ones
﴾12﴿ He said Allah the Exalted, What did call you for not prostrating when I commanded you He said, I am better than him (because) you created me from fire and you created him from mud
﴾13﴿ Allah Almighty said, so get down from here, it is not suitable for you to be arrogant here, so get out, surely you are one of the humiliated

[10] This is an encouragement to act upon the commands of Allah the Exalted.
In the final sentence, there is a warning, and it serves as evidence that no other place besides the earth can be a place of residence.
[11] From here begins the second section (up to verse 36), which contains the story of Ādam (peace be upon him) and Iblīs, aimed at refuting practical shirk (such as the polytheists forbidding clothing upon themselves during Ṭawāf).
This is the fourth time the address “O children of Ādam” appears:
The first was to remind them of Allah’s blessings.
The second was for salvation from Satan’s whisperings and as a rebuttal to the reasoning of the polytheists.
The third was to refute practical shirk and to mention the prohibitions of Allah.
The fourth was to highlight the blessing of prophethood.
In this explanation, the opening “laqad makkannākum” implies that “tamkīn” (establishment) carries the meaning of honor and dignity, which is evident through the story of the prostration to Ādam.
(خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ) – The first part refers to the creation of the matter of Ādam (peace be upon him), and the second to giving shape to his form. So, what is meant here is your father Ādam.
(اسْجُدُوا) – The prostration here refers to sujūd of respect, done to honor Ādam (peace be upon him) by bowing the head. However, in our Ummah, even this form of prostration is forbidden.
Further details on this are mentioned earlier in Surah al-Baqarah.
[12] From this verse, it becomes clear that placing one’s own reasoning (qiyās) above the clear command of Allah the Exalted and His Messenger is a deed first committed by Iblīs.
Likewise, every polytheist and innovator (mubtadi‘) presents their personal reasoning in the face of divine texts. This is what Qurṭubī has mentioned.
This argument is presented in this Surah to indicate that those who commit practical shirk also bring such false reasoning.
This verse also makes it clear that Iblīs was also commanded to prostrate.
(أَنَا خَيْرٌ) – “I am better”: This is self-praise and arrogance, and in it is an implicit objection to Allah’s command.
(خَلَقْتَنِي) – “You created me”: This is his reason for claiming superiority, but it is false, because in earth and clay there are many virtues superior to fire.
(مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلَّا تَسْجُدَ) – Regarding this, one opinion is that the “lā” is extra (zā’idah), as in verse 75 of Surah Ṣād, where the phrase appears without “lā”.
[13] This verse is proof that arrogance leads to humiliation. In this verse, Iblīs's humiliation is mentioned in three ways:
1. (فَاهْبِطْ) – "Then descend": This descent is expressed in a manner of disgrace, similar to the phrase "mā yakūnu laka" ("it is not for you"). In contrast, the descent of Ādam (peace be upon him) did not include this condition, so it was not for disgrace.
2. (اخْرُجْ) – "Get out": This word comes after "descend" for emphasis on his humiliation.
3. (الصَّاغِرِينَ) – "Of the disgraced": This points out that humiliation (ṣighār) is the result of arrogance (takabbur).