Even more astonishing is his statement:

“There is no disagreement among the scholars that Iblīs was the most devout worshipper among the angels.”

In response, it may be said: Which scholar among the Companions, the Followers, or any other Muslim scholars ever said this—let alone that it should be a matter of scholarly consensus? No Muslim scholar whose word carries weight has ever said such a thing. This is a matter that can be known only through transmitted reports, yet no one has transmitted it from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—through [either] (1) an authentic chain of transmission or a weak one. If some preacher, an author of works intended to soften hearts, or someone who includes in Quranic commentary Israelite reports having no chain of transmission (2) has said it, a claim of this kind could not be cited as evidence over so much as a bundle of greens (3). How, then, could it be cited to establish that Iblīs is better (* than every descendant of Adam who has disobeyed Allah, thereby placing the Companions among those whom Iblīs is better than *) (4)?

Neither Allah nor His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ever described Iblīs as possessing any goodness whatsoever, or as having performed any worship (5), whether formerly or otherwise (5 although, had he performed any worship, it would have been rendered void by his disbelief and apostasy 5) (6).

Even more astonishing is his statement:

“There is no disagreement among the scholars that he bore the Throne