prostrated to Adam were only angels on earth, not the angels of the heavens.

Others say they were the angels of the heavens, excluding the cherubim. A later writer adopted this view and found it inconceivable that the most exalted angels should prostrate to Adam, given that they pay no heed to anything other than Allah. They related in support of this:

“Among Allah’s creatures are beings who do not know whether Adam was created or not.”

He also appealed to Allah’s words:

“Were you arrogant, or were you among the exalted?”

He took “the exalted” to mean the angels of heaven, maintaining that the angels of heaven were not commanded to prostrate to Adam.

Know, then, that this claim has, in the first place, no support warranting its acceptance, whether from transmitted evidence or rational argument. It rests on nothing but passing thoughts, fleeting notions, and insinuations whose source is the throne of Iblīs. He incites them with his voice to deprive them of the blessing he strove to withhold from their father long ago. Or else it is a statement made by someone who speaks both truth and falsehood. We, however, have grounds for rejecting it on several counts.

First, it contradicts the position held by the general body of scholars versed in the Book and the Sunnah. If one must follow others on their authority, these scholars are more deserving of being followed.

Second, it contradicts both the apparent meaning of the Noble Book and its explicit wording. A plural noun made definite by the definite article encompasses the entire class it denotes. Allah the Exalted says:

“And when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate to Adam.’”

Thus, the angels’ prostration includes all the angels. This is what the language in which the Quran was revealed entails. Departing from the scope of a general statement by restricting it to particular members requires adequate evidence, and no such evidence exists.