Living The Quran
From Issue: 670 [Read full issue]
Satan's Influence
Al Imran (The House of Imran) - Chapter 3: Verse 155 (partial)
"... Satan caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done ..."
"Satan's influence" on man is not the primary cause of sin but its first consequence: that is to say, a consequence of a person's own attitude of mind which in moments of moral crisis induces him to choose the easier, and seemingly more pleasant, of the alternatives open to him, and thus to become guilty of a sin, whether by commission or omission. Thus, God's "causing" a person to commit a sin is conditional upon the existence, in the individual concerned, of an attitude of mind which makes him prone to commit such a sin: which, in its turn, presupposes man's free will - that is, the ability to make, within certain limitations, a conscious choice between two or more possible courses of action.
Compiled From:
"The Message of The Quran" - Muhammad Asad, pp. 123, 124