Sa.
Shaitan is not the only being who has been cursed until eternity. In the Quran we have the case of Firawn - A human being! Again please remind yourself of the angel Fitrus, who had been punished by Allah (swt) but then forgiven on the blessed event of the birth of Imam Hussain (a)
What material you are made of does not matter in the eyes of Allah (swt), otherwise his law for the different races of humanbeings would have been different!
The key issue is disobedience to Allah (swt) and that also has its own degrees.
In the case of Firawn, he considered himself to be GOD! his problem was pride, he crossed such a limit that he announced that he did not see anyone higher than himself , and that he was the God most high (ref.
Yet Allah (swt) out of his grace gave him numerous opportunities to refrom himself (messages through the Prophet Musa as, Other signs such as the locusts, rain of stones etc) but he rejected all those signs. At the end moment of his life, as he was drowning, he accepted Allah (swt) out that helplessness, but then allah (swt) rejected him!
The possibility is this, that even at that moment if he was saved, he would go back to his own usual ways as he had done when every calamity befall his kingdom.
In other words, he had reached a point of no return, thus he became one of those who Allah swt is forever displeased with!
This is the case of false repentance!
On the other hand, we have shaitan. He never considered himself GOD. Rather he had worshipped Allah (swt) to the extent that he had been raised to a very high level. So high that he used to teach/instruct the angels, hence he was counted as one of the angels. Thus, when Allah (swt) ordered all the angels to prostrate to Adam
, he was also included. But his pride made him disobey the command of Allah (swt).
This is a case whereby Allah swt was disobeyed inspite of having witnessed his glory and greatness, not on the earth, but in the HAVENS! where the manifestation of the wonders of Allah (swt) is greater! When such ma'refat could not make shaitan humble towards Allah (swt) then what does he deserve if not eternal damnation! Think about it, he does not only disobey, but he also defies Allah (swt) that he shall misguide the human beings! again PRIDE comes into play!
In contrast to this, we have the angel fitrus, who disobeyed Allah (swt) and was thus punished. But he did not have pride, and he sincerely repented to Allah (swt) and sought a means of Approach (Imam Hussain as) and was forgiven! Allahu Akber!
These scenarios show that Allah (swt) is certainly mercful, compassionate and oft forgiving. He does not eternally condemn any of his creatures (jinn or men) until he has shown them his signs and has warned them. It is when the creature crosses all the limits and reaches a point where there is no posibility for him to change, Allah (swt) leaves him to stray!
"live the life of this world as if it were to never end, prepare for the hereafter as if this life were to end tomorrow" Imam Ali
- By BatoolM