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wa-ʾidh qulnā li-l-malāʾikati sjudū li-ʾādama fa-sajadū ʾillā ʾiblīsa kāna mina l-jinni fa-fasaqa ʿan ʾamri rabbihī ʾa-fa-tattakhidhūnahū wa-dhurriyyatahū ʾawliyāʾa min dūnī wa-hum lakum ʿaduwwun biʾsa li-ẓ-ẓālimīna badalan
When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam,’ they prostrated, but not Iblis. He was one of the jinn, so he transgressed against his Lord’s command. Will you then take him and his offspring for guardians in My stead, though they are your enemies? How evil a substitute for the wrongdoers!
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Kahf – Verse 50
50. “And (remember) when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate to Adam,’ So they (all) prostrated except Iblis; he was of the jinn, and he rebelled against his Lord’s command. Will you then choose him and his seed as your protecting friends instead of Me, when they are enemies to you? Evil would be the exchange for the unjust!”
Prostration is of three definite categories. The first is the prostration of worship which is only for Allah (s.w.t.), like the prostration in prayer. The second is the prostration of obedience like the prostration of angels to Adam which was for the sake of the obedience of the command of Allah. The third is the prostration of honouring and grandeur, like Jacob’s prostration to Yusuf. Of course, the story of the creation of Adam and the angels’ prostration to him and disobedience of Satan has repeatedly been stated in the different verses of the Qur’an, but, as we have formerly pointed out, these repetitions contain some different points, so that each of which refers to a particular matter.
And in view of the fact that in the former explanations, the circumstance of the tyrant haughty rich people before the poor, the oppressed, and their end, had been illustrated, here, in this verse, the words are upon the Satan’s disobedience from prostrating to Adam in order that we know the fact that, from very beginning, pride has been the cause of infidelity and insolence. In addition to that subject, this story defines that aberrations usually originate from satanic temptations.
At first, the Qur’an says:
This exception may bring this misconception into being that Iblis was among the kind of angels, while the angels are immaculate, and then how did Iblis pave the path of disobedience and infidelity? That is why, immediately after that, the Qur’an adds:
Satan was not of the kind of the angles, but because of servitude, submission and proximity to Allah, he was placed in the row of angels, so respectfully that, perhaps, he was even as a teacher of them. But, as a result of haughtiness and pride, he became the most accursed and hatred creature of divine portal. Then, the verse continues saying:
They are your harsh enemies who have made an oath to be against you, and have decided to lead all of you astray and make you miserable. Obeying Satan and his progeny, instead of obeying Allah, is an evil exchange for the wrong doers. The verse says:
How a wise person may choose an enemy, who has taken a decision to destroy him and has sworn upon this enmity, as his guardian, leader, and support?