“And whoever among them says, ‘Indeed, I am a god besides Him,’” verse. Qatadah said: This is specifically concerning Iblis, when he called for the worship of himself. Al-Hasan said: And whoever says that among them—if he were to say it, though none of them would say it; and he used to say: Indeed, Iblis was not one of them.
﴿وَمَنْ يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي إِلَهٌ من دونه﴾ الْآيَة، قَالَ قَتَادَةُ: هَذِهِ فِي إِبْلِيسَ خَاصَّةً لَمَّا دَعَا إِلَى عِبَادَةِ نَفْسِهِ، وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: وَمَنْ يَقُلْ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُمْ إِنْ قَالَهُ، وَلَا يَقُولُهُ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ؛ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْهُمْ.
