The Story of Adam and the Angels
The Almighty says:
"When your Lord said to the angels, 'I am placing a khalif on the earth. They said, "Why place on it one who will corrupt it and shed blood, when we glorify Your praise and call You holy?" He said, 'I know what You do not know. He taught Adam all the names. Then He dis played them to the angels and said, 'Tell me the names of these if you are telling the truth. They said, 'Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are the Knowing, the Wise. He said, 'Adam, tell them their names. When he had told them their names He said, 'Did I not tell you that I know the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, and I know all that you make known and all you conceal? When We said to the angels, Prostrate yourselves to Adam! They prostrated, all except Iblis. He disdained to and grew arrogant and was one of the rejectors." (2:30-34)
The angels existed before Adam and his descendants for a long period which is known only to Allah glory be to Him. When Allah wished to make Adam and his descendants His representa- tives on earth, He informed the angels about it. It may be that the wisdom. in telling them lay in the fact that after Adam was created, the angels would then be linked to this creature and his descen- dants. Then they were commanded to show him honour and esteem by prostrating to him as a test of their obedience.
Allah had decreed that some of the angels would be guardians and scribes and others angels of revelation, rain and plant-growth, punishment and death. All of them are linked to the life of human beings and what is decreed for them and their final destiny. The
answer which the angels gave to this divine news about the cre- ation of Adam was not in any way an objection. The wisdom of this new creation was hidden from them and they wanted to leam what it was. They described man as corrupting the earth and shed- ding blood before he existed because they grasped that, since this creature would be made of clay and would live on the earth, he must have a nature which would entail both good and evil. There- fore there would inevitably be dispute and strife between his descendants and thus corruption and bloodshed.
When the angels perceived the special properties possessed by this new creature and recognised his predisposition for gnosis and the great quantity of knowledge with which Allah had provided him, they prostrated with a prostration of greeting and honour in obedience to the command of Allah Almighty:
"When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves to Adam! They prostrated, all except Iblis. He disdained to and grew arrogant and was one of the rejectors."
Thus Shaytan is the accursed one who made an analogy using his defective intellect and said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and You created him from clay." (38:76) He did not obey the divine command as the angels had done and so he deserved to fall into error and to be driven away from mercy. Iblis was not one of the angels. He was one of the jinn as the Qur'an makes clear:
"When We said to the angels, 'Prostrate yourselves to Adam, They prostrated except for Iblis. He was one of the jinn and wantonly deviated from his Lord's command."
(18:50)
Adam's Greeting to the Angels
When Allah created Adam, He said to him, "Go and greet that group." referring to a group of angels who were sitting there. "Lis-ten to the greeting they give you in return. It is your greeting and the greeting of your descendants." So he went and said, "Peace be upon you," and they said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah." The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "They added, 'and the mercy of Allah." Muslim relates the hadith.