At one of the Al-Kauthar courses I recently attended the Sheikh mentioned that Allah has given us knowledge about the lives of the Prophets and Messengers of the past for a reason. We're not meant to just read it as a bedtime story to entertain ourselves but instead need to extract possible wisdoms and lessons from it. We need to use their life experiences to enhance our own. The more you read and ponder the more you will learn. Knowledge is a bottomless pit, you can never fill it to the brim.
We all know that Allah created mankind from clay. Ibn Katheer in his book (Stories of the Prophets) says:
"Allah choose clay which has the qualities of calmness, clemency, perseverance and growth."
The possible wisdom I extract from this piece of information is pretty apparent. Allah gave us freedom of will to the extent that we can refuse Allah's command. He grants us the freedom of denial, disobedience, and even disagreement with Him. His Kindgom will not diminish if the disbelievers do not believe in Him nor will it be extended if many people believe in Him. The disbelievers will lose and the believers will gain but Allah is above all of that. By choosing to reflect the qualities of clay in our demeanor we will be able to attain success both in worldly affairs and in matters concerning our deen.
Ibn Katheer also says:
"Allah created Iblis from fire which has the qualities of heedlessness, insignificance, haste and incineration. "
Iblis is arrogant, vain, disobedient and an outcast. He has been humiliated and disgraced and yet he is cunning and shows ingratitude. He is our eternal enemy. Man is hasty. When Allah blew the soul into Adam (AS) and he felt the pangs of hunger in his abdomen, he sprinted towards the fruits of paradise even before the soul had reached his legs. This is how we have been created. But that doesn't mean we do not have the will to persevere to change this within us. By succumbing to the whispering of Iblis we become nothing but reflections of him.
The choice is ours.
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