Story of Iblis and Adam: The First Test in the Quran

The creation of Adam and the refusal of Iblis are mentioned in Quran 2:30-39, 7:11-27, 15:26-44, 17:61-65, 18:50 and 38:71-85. Each passage adds a different detail, so reading them together gives the full picture.

In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah tells the angels that He will place a successive authority on the earth. The angels ask about one who would cause corruption and shed blood, and Allah answers that He knows what they do not know. He then teaches Adam the names of all things (Quran 2:30-33).

According to the meaning of the verses, Allah created the human being from clay, shaped him, and breathed into him of His created spirit. Then He told the angels to fall down in prostration to him. The angels all obeyed, except Iblis, who refused to be with those who prostrated (Quran 15:28-31, 38:71-74).

Quran 18:50 says that Iblis was of the jinn and that he departed from the command of his Lord. The Prophet ﷺ said that the angels were created from light, the jinn from smokeless fire, and Adam from what has been described to you (Sahih Muslim 2996). Scholars understand this prostration as an act of honour that Allah commanded. Worship belongs to Allah alone, and the angels obeyed because He told them to.

Allah asked Iblis what prevented him from prostrating when he was commanded. He answered that he was better than Adam, because he was created from fire and Adam from clay (Quran 7:12). In Surah Sad, Allah asks whether he was arrogant or among the haughty (Quran 38:75).

His fault was not only disobedience. It was pride that set his own opinion against a clear command of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ explained arrogance as rejecting the truth and looking down on people (Sahih Muslim 91).

Allah told him to go down from Paradise, for it was not for him to be arrogant there, and said that the curse would be upon him until the Day of Recompense (Quran 7:13, 15:34-35).

Iblis asked Allah to delay him until the day people are raised, and Allah gave him respite until the day of the time well-known (Quran 15:36-38). Iblis then said that, because he had been put in error, he would sit in wait for people on Allah's straight path and come to them from in front, from behind, from their right and from their left, and that most of them would not be grateful (Quran 7:16-17). He said he would mislead them all, except Allah's chosen servants (Quran 15:39-40, 38:82-83).

Allah's answer was clear. Iblis has no authority over His servants, except over those who choose to follow him, and Hell is the promised place for him and his followers (Quran 15:42-43, 17:63-65).

The Prophet ﷺ also said that when a person recites a verse of prostration and prostrates, Satan withdraws weeping and says that the son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and did, so Paradise is for him, while he himself was commanded and refused, so the Fire is for him (Sahih Muslim 81).

Allah told Adam to live in Paradise with his wife and eat freely from wherever they wished, but not to approach one tree (Quran 2:35, 7:19). Satan whispered to them and swore that he was a sincere adviser, saying that the tree was forbidden only so that they would not become angels or immortals (Quran 7:20-21). They ate from it and realised their mistake (Quran 7:22).

They then said, in the meaning of the verse, that they had wronged themselves and that without Allah's forgiveness and mercy they would be among the losers (Quran 7:23). Adam received words from his Lord, and Allah accepted his repentance, for He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful (Quran 2:37). Allah told them to go down to the earth, and promised that whoever follows His guidance will have no fear and no grief (Quran 2:36-38).

The Quran does not name the tree or say what kind of tree it was. It does not say how long Adam stayed in Paradise, when these events happened, or how the prostration was performed. Commentators have given opinions about these details, but they are not stated in the Quran, so it is safer to stay with the text.

• Pride can ruin a person who knows the truth. Iblis knew his Lord, yet he let his own sense of being better stop him from obeying.
• A command of Allah is followed because it is His command. We do not need to understand every reason first.
• Adam and Iblis both fell short, but Adam admitted his fault and asked for forgiveness, while Iblis argued and held on to his pride.
• Satan whispers and makes things look attractive, but the Quran says he has no authority over those who hold to Allah. Do not think that he can force anyone.
• The door of repentance is open. Adam received words from his Lord and was forgiven, and Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.