Bowing before the Truth
Surrendering before the truth amounts to surrendering before God. And one who does not surrender before the truth is as if following Satan.
Chapter 20 of the Quran states: “We made a covenant with Adam before you, but he forgot, and We found him lacking in constancy. When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ they all prostrated themselves, except for Satan, who refused. We said, ‘Adam, [Satan] is an enemy to you and to your wife. Let him not turn you both out of Paradise and thus make you come to grief.’” (20:115-117)
To adhere steadfastly to God’s commandments, unwavering determination is essential. If a person is influenced by irrelevant factors, he will undoubtedly deviate from the path of God. In order to remain steadfastly on the path of God, it is not enough to know what His commandments are; it is also absolutely necessary to have the will to resist all that goes against His commandment, and not to let oneself be influenced by it.
When God ordered that all should kneel down before Adam, the angels immediately dropped to their knees. But Satan did not do so. The reason for this difference in behaviour was that the angels treated this matter as pertaining to God, whereas Satan, on the contrary, saw it as the affair of a mere mortal. When an issue concerns God, a person has no option but to bow to His wishes. But when it is treated as relating to a human being, the person in question will appraise the human being before him. If the latter is comparatively stronger, he will kneel down; otherwise he will refuse to kneel down, even if such an action be the demand of truth and justice.
This story of Adam and Satan is being enacted in the life of every person. Everyone is confronted with this situation: in life’s activities or dealings he is often faced with such a person to whom he owes something, whether it be in the form of some action or in the form of some good word. On all such occasions a person is again being tested; it is just the same kind of test as the first man was given. On all such occasions a person must surrender before the truth. One who surrenders before the truth is as if surrendering before God. And one who does not surrender before the truth is as if following Satan.
