Is the Devil Jinn or An Angel? Was the Devil of the Jinn or angels? If he was an angel, how did he rebel against God? Answer: And recall when We commanded the angels that, Prostrate before Adam - so they all prostrated, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command; What! You choose him and his offspring as your friends instead of Me, whereas they are your enemies? And what an evil alternative did the unjust get. [Surah Al Kahf 18:50] There is a consensus among Muslim scholars that Iblis was not an angel. This issue can be explained as the following: Allah Almighty states clearly in the Qur’an that the Iblis (Devil) is a Jinni The following ayahs state quite obviously that Devil is of the jinn, not of the angels: “except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command (Surah al-Kahf, 50) And on the day when He will raise them all, and then say to the angels, “Did they worship you?” [Surah Saba 34:40] They will say, “Purity is to you – only you are our Supporter, not they; in fact they worshipped the jinns; most of them believed only in them.” [Surah Saba 34:41] Scholars say: “If it is definite that the devil is of the jinn, he can’t be of the angels; because jinn is a different kind from angels” Iblis which was created from fire is a different kind from angels Iblis, was created from fire but angels were not. Quran states that; “… (Iblis) said: Answered Iblis, I am better than him; You created me from fire whereas You created him from clay. [Surah Aa`raf 7:12] “except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command ”(Surah al-Kahf 50) Jinns was also created of fire, Because Allah Almighty states: Indeed We created man from sounding clay made out of black smelly mud. [Surah Hijr 15:26] And created the jinn before him, from smokeless fire. [Surah Hijr 15:27] He created man from clay like that of earthenware. [Surah Rahman 55:14] And created jinn from the flame of fire. [Rahman 55:15] Angels were created from noor (light), not from fire. Zuhri narrated from Urve and Urve narrated from Hadrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with them) that Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) says; “Angels (Malaika) were created from noor; However “Jinn” was created of smokeless fire.” Iblis’s having progeny demonstrates that he cannot be of angels “Iblis has progeny but angels do not. The following verse obviously demonstrates that Iblis has progeny: And recall when We commanded the angels that, Prostrate before Adam - so they all prostrated, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command; What! You choose him and his offspring as your friends instead of Me, whereas they are your enemies? And what an evil alternative did the unjust get. [Surah Al Kahf 18:50] Hasan Basri (May Allah be pleased with him) statement about this issue is narrated as following: “Iblis has never been of the angels. As Adam (May Allah be pleased with him) , is the origin of mankind, iblis is the origin of the jinn. Besides, like humans, the jinn reproduce through birth. And they appoint the angels, who are the bondmen of the Most Gracious, as females; were they present at the time of the angels’ creation? Their declaration will be now recorded and they will be questioned. [Surah Zukhruf 43:19] As stated in the ayah, angels have no gender. Since reproduction occurs through male and female, angels do not reproduce; therefore they have no progeny. (Fahraddin Razi, Tafsirul Kabir) Since Iblis was in the heaven together with the angels and was commanded to prostrate to Adam with them, he was supposed to have been of angels; however his rebellion against the commandment demonstrates that he is not of angels Before Adam was created, Iblis, through his worship, had raised to the seventh level of heaven as the gatekeeper of Paradise (jannah). It was supposed that Iblis was of the angels due to his being in Heaven (Jannah) together with angels and receiving the order “prostrate before Adam” from Allah Almighty. Thereafter, due to the arrogance he kept inside, he was tested through the commandment of prostration before Adam. When he refused to prostrate, he was expelled from the holy mercy and became the sworn enemy of mankind. Iblis has nafs and he chose to rebel against Allah Almighty; however angels don’t have nafs and they never disobey. This proves that iblis can’t be of angels. And recall when We commanded the angels that, Prostrate before Adam - so they all prostrated, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, he therefore rebelled against his Lord’s command (Surah al-Kahf, 50) As stated above, angels are innocent (creatures) and they do whatever Allah Almighty commands them; however Iblis is not like that. Therefore he can’t be of the angels. If he was of the angels he would not have rebelled against Allah Almighty. Because Allah Almighty says about angels that; O People who Believe! Save yourselves and your families from the fire, the fuel of which is men and stones – appointed over it are the extremely strict angels, who do not refuse the command of Allah and carry out whatever they are commanded. [Surah Tehreem 66:6] Angels are the reliable messengers of Allah Almighty, Iblis is not Angels are the messengers; because Allah Almighty stated: All praise is to Allah, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, Who assigns angels as messengers – who have pairs of two, three, four wings; He increases in creation whatever He wills; indeed Allah is Able to do all things.[Surah Fatir 35:1] Allah’s messengers are innocent as the following ayah indicates: Allah knows best where to place His message [Surah Ana`am 6:124] Since Iblis does not have these characteristics, he can’t be of angels.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 19:39:33 +0000
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