Justifying Iblis’s Refusal to Prostrate

Question

Allah the Exalted commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam ﵇. A certain man says: “Iblis did very well not to prostrate; God made a mistake in commanding prostration.” What is the ruling for such people?

Answer

This account — of Adam ﵇, the prostration and Iblis — is mentioned in the noble Qur’an. The purpose there was not to make Adam ﵇ an object of worship, for that is shirk, and Allah the Exalted Himself has opposed shirk — how then could He command it? Iblis’s refusal was a refusal of Allah’s command, on account of which he became accursed and an inhabitant of Hell.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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