Surah Al A'raf Tafseer

وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّهِ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan, then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.

These three instances in the Qur'an, in Surahs Al-A`raf, Al-Mu'minun and As-Sajdah, are unique in the Qur'an. Allah encourages lenient treatment of evil doers, for this might deter them from persistence in their evil, Allah willing,

فَإِذَا الَّذِى بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِىٌّ حَمِيمٌ

(then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend). (41:34)

Allah also encourages seeking refuge with Him from the devils of the Jinns. The devil will not be deterred if one is lenient with him, because he seeks your destruction and total demise. The devil to you, O mankind, is an open enemy, just as he was for your father before you.

Ibn Jarir said, while explaining Allah's statement,

وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ

(And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan),

"If the devil lures you to get angry, thus directing you away from forgiving the ignorant and towards punishing him

فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللّهِ

(then seek refuge with Allah.) Allah commands here to seek refuge with Him from the devil's whispers,

إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

(Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower.) Allah hears the ignorance that the fools subject you to, your seeking refuge with Him from the devil's whispers, and the rest of the speech of His creation; none of it escapes His knowledge. He knows what drives the lures of the devil away from you, as well as, the rest of what His creatures do."

We mentioned the Hadiths concerning Isti`adhah (seeking refuge with Allah) in the beginning of this Tafsir, so we do not need to repeat them here