Chapter 7 of Quran (12) the Angels prostrated before man

It is very interesting to think about the Angels who prostrated before Adam. Then think about we are Adam’ sons. As if, the Angels prostrated before us represented by our father Adam. Adam and humankind are synonymous. What an honor!
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The verse 7:11 of the Noble Quran declares:
Allah created you O humankind, then He formed you, then He said to the Angels, “Fall you Prostrate before Adam.”
Allah, the Almighty Creator, is reminding the children of Adam of His favors.
He is teaching them about His good Godhood and His holding to the Covenant.
He is saying, “I created you, and I sculpted your beautiful faces. I drew your tall statures and gave you two seeing eyes, two listening ears, and a speaking tongue.
I am the Lord who:
• Makes being from nonbeing,
• Brings forth what is from what was not, and
• Makes things newly from the outset.
• The painter of faces is I,
• The adorner of beauties is I,
• The one who pairs everything with its companion is I,
• The maker of every being in a fitting way is I.
I created heaven, earth, and the inanimate things to manifest power.
I created the Angels, Satans, and jinn to manifest awe.
I created Adam and his sons to manifest forgiveness and mercy.
It is Allah who created you and gave you shape;
Shape or form must be interpreted not only to refer to the physical form, which changes day by day, but also the various forms or shapes which our ideal and spiritual existence may take from time to time according to our inner experience.
It was after Adam (as standing for all humankind) had been so taught that the Angels were asked to prostrate to him, for, by Allah’s grace, his status had actually been raised higher.
Note the transition from “you” (plural) in the first clause to “Adam” in the second clause: Adam and humankind are synonymous.
Then Allah bade the Angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis, he refused to be of those who bow down.
Iblis not only refused to bow down: he refused to be of those who prostrated.
In other words, he arrogantly despised the Angels who prostrated as well as man to whom they prostrated and he was in rebellion against Allah for not obeying His order.
Arrogance, jealousy, and rebellion were his triple crime.
This was the Start of Human Life on Earth
It begins with an announcement of the forthcoming birth of humankind.
The announcement is made in a majestic celebration attended by the Supreme Society, a Quranic term that refers to the Angels.
As a further evidence of honor, no one other than Allah Almighty makes the announcement when the Angels are gathered, and Iblis is present, though he is not one of the Angels.
It is indeed a great event in the history of the universe:
This is the first scene, which is both exciting and very serious indeed.
We have indeed created you, and then formed you. We then said to the Angels: “Prostrate yourselves before Adam!” They all prostrated themselves, except for Iblis: he was not one of those who prostrated themselves. (Verse 11)
The Angels are a different type of Allah’s creation who have their distinctive characteristics and special tasks.
We do not know anything about them except what Allah has told us, which we have stated earlier.
Iblis belongs to yet another type of creation, different from the Angels. Allah states in the Quran, in reference to Iblis: “He belonged to the jinn and acted contrary to his Lord’s command.” (The verse 18: 50)
The jinn are also a type of creation different from the Angels; he was created out of fire.
Hence, most certainly he never was an Angel, although he was commanded to prostrate himself to Adam together with the Angels in that great event when the Almighty announced the forthcoming appearance of man, the unique creature.
As for the Angels, who never disobey Allah in whatever He may order them and simply do what they are bid, they all prostrated themselves in total obedience to Allah. None hesitated; none showed any indication of arrogance, because none contemplated disobedience of Allah for any reason. Such is their nature and such are their characteristics. Here we see clear evidence of the honour Allah has given to man, and of the total obedience that is always shown by the type of Allah’s servants to whom we refer as the Angels.
As for Iblis, he wilfully disobeyed Allah, defying His orders. Later, you will learn what thoughts were in his mind and what caused him to take this stance although he was perfectly aware that the One who was giving the orders was his Lord who had created him and who had control of his destiny as also of the destiny of the whole universe. Iblis never entertained any doubt about all this. Nevertheless, he still disobeyed Allah.
Three Different Natures
Herein, we have three different types of Allah’s creation:
1. The first is that given to absolute obedience and complete self-surrender. In this scene, its role is completed with the submission it makes which manifested itself in the Angels prostrating themselves, one and all, to Adam as commanded by their Lord.
2. The second type is that of absolute disobedience and spiteful arrogance, while
3. The third is that of human nature, the humankind.
It is very interesting to think about the Angels who prostrated before Adam. Then think about we are Adam’ sons. As if, the Angels prostrated before us represented by our father Adam. Adam and humankind are synonymous. What an honor!
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The verse 7:11 in different translations:
QARIB:
We created you then we shaped you, then we said to the Angels: ‘prostrate yourselves before Adam. ‘They all prostrated themselves except Iblis he was not among the prostrated.
SHAKIR:
And certainly we created you, then we fashioned you, then we said to the Angels: prostrate to Adam. So they did prostrate except Iblis; he was not of those who prostrated
PICKTHAL:
And we created you, then fashioned you, then told the Angels: fall ye prostrate before Adam! And they fell prostrate, all save Iblis, who was not of those who make prostration.
YUSUFALI:
It is we who created you and gave you shape; then we bade the Angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis; he refused to be of those who prostrate.
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