the body of Adam, as it lay between Mecca and al-Ta’if, with no soul in it. He said, “This has been created for some purpose.” Then he entered through its mouth and came out through its rear, saying, “It is a creature that cannot hold itself together, because it is hollow.” He then said to the angels who were with him, “What do you think: if this one is favored over you and you are commanded to obey him, what will you do?” They replied, “We shall obey our Lord’s command.” But Iblis said to himself, “By Allah, if I am given power over him, I shall surely destroy him; and if he is given power over me, I shall surely disobey him.” Then Allah, exalted is He, said: “And I know what you reveal”—meaning the obedience that the angels displayed—“and what you have been concealing”—meaning Iblis’s intention to disobey.

“And when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam,’ they all prostrated except Iblis. He refused, acted arrogantly, and became one of the disbelievers. (34) And We said, ‘O Adam, dwell with your wife in Paradise, and eat freely from it wherever you both wish; but do not approach this tree, lest you become among the wrongdoers.’ (35) Then Satan caused them both to slip from it and brought them out of the state in which they had been. And We said, ‘Descend, as enemies to one another. On earth you shall have a dwelling-place and provision for a time.’ (36) Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, He alone is the Ever-Accepting of Repentance, the Most Merciful. (37)”

His saying, exalted is He, “And when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam’”: Abu Jaʿfar recited “to the angels: Prostrate” with a ḍammah (u-vowel) on the final letter of “angels,” owing to its proximity to the long a sound in “Prostrate.” Likewise, he recited, “Say, ‘My Lord, judge with truth’” (112—al-Anbiya) with “My Lord” in the nominative case. The grammarians deemed this reading extremely weak and ascribed it to error.

They differed as to which angels were addressed by this command. Some said: those who inhabited the earth. The sounder view is that it was addressed to all the angels, due to His saying, exalted is He: “So the angels all prostrated together” (30—al-Hijr).

His saying, “Prostrate,” has two interpretations. The sounder view is that the prostration was actually made before Adam, while entailing obedience to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, through compliance with His command. It was a prostration of veneration and greeting, not a prostration of worship—like the prostration of Joseph’s brothers before him, in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: “They fell before him in prostration” (100—Yusuf). It did not involve placing the face upon the ground; rather, it was merely bowing. When Islam came, it abolished this and replaced it with the greeting of peace.

It is also said that the meaning of His saying, “Prostrate before Adam,” is: prostrate toward Adam. Thus, Adam served as the direction toward which they faced, while the prostration was for Allah, exalted is He—just as the Kaaba was made the direction of prayer, while the prayer itself is for Allah, glorified and exalted is He.

“They prostrated”—that is, the angels—“except Iblis.” His name was Azazil in Syriac, and al-Harith in Arabic. When he disobeyed, his name and appearance were changed, and he was called Iblis because he despaired of Allah’s mercy—that is, he lost all hope.

They differed concerning him. Ibn ʿAbbas and most commentators said that Iblis was among the angels. Al-Hasan said that he was among the jinn and was not among the angels, based on His saying, exalted is He: “except Iblis: he was of the jinn and rebelled against the command of his Lord.”