Is Iblis/Shaytan an angel or Jinn?

Is Iblis/Shaytan an angel or Jinn?



Mohamad Mostafa Nassar

Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

Iblis/Shaytan is an Angel.

Quran 2:34

And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.

Quran 7:11

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.

Quran 15:28-31

So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My Spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him. So, the angels fell prostrate, all of them together. Save Iblis. He refused to be among the prostrate.

Quran 20:116

And when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, they fell prostrate (all) save Iblis; he refused.

Quran 38:71-74

When thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to create a mortal out of mire, and when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down before him prostrate, the angels fell down prostrate, every one, Saving Iblis; he was scornful and became one of the disbelievers.

Iblis/Shaytan is a Jin.

Quran 7:12

He said: What hindered thee that thou didst not fall prostrate when I bade thee? (Iblis) said: I am better than him. Thou createdst me of fire while him Thou didst create of mud.

[Jinn were created from fire. Quran 15:27

Quran 18:50

And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord’s command.

Quran 38:76

Thou createdst me of fire.

In Arabic grammar there is a rule known as Tagleeb, according to which, if the majority is addressed, even the minority is included. If for example, I address a class containing 100 students of whom 99 are boys and one is a girl, and if I say in Arabic that the boys should stand up, it includes the girl as well. I need not mention her separately.

Similarly in the Qur’an, when Allah addressed the angels, even Iblis was present, but it is not required that he be mentioned separately. Therefore, according to that sentence Iblis may be an angel or may not be an angel, but we come to know from Surah Al Kahf chapter 18 verse 50 that Iblis was a Jinn. Nowhere does the Qur’an say Iblis was an angel. (Zakir Naik)


Almighty Allah is the highest and most knowledgeable, and the attribution of knowledge to him is the safest.

Right from Almighty Allah and wrong from me and Satan

Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar

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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.