Al-Hijr: (28–35) And [mention] when your Lord said...

Know that when the Almighty mentioned the creation of the first human being and used it as proof for the existence of the choosing, capable God, He subsequently mentioned the incident concerning him: that God commanded the angels to prostrate to him, and they obeyed, except for Iblis, who refused and rebelled.

In this verse, there are several issues:

The meaning of being bashar is that he was a dense body that could be touched and encountered, whereas angels and jinn do not interact physically due to the subtlety of their forms compared to human bodies. Basharah (skin) is the visible covering of every living thing.

As for His statement, "formed from sounding clay," this has been previously discussed.

Regarding His statement, "So when I have fashioned him," there are two opinions:

1. It means when I have perfected his shape into the human form and structure.
2. It means when I have balanced his bodily parts according to the moderation of temperaments and the proportion of mixed elements, as He said: {Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixed} (Al-Insan: 2).

There are several points here:

1. Breathing (nafkh) literally means passing air into the cavities of another body. This word suggests that the Spirit (Ruh) is air, otherwise, it would not be appropriate to describe it with the term nafkh. However, a complete discussion on the reality of the Spirit will come later in His saying: {Say, "The Spirit is of the affair of my Lord"} (Al-Isra: 85).
2. God attributed the Spirit of Adam to Himself as an honor and veneration for him.

Regarding His statement, "So fall down to him in prostration," there are several discussions:

1. Whether that prostration was truly directed to Adam or whether Adam was merely the Qibla (direction) for that prostration. This discussion has already been covered in Surah Al-Baqarah.
2. Whether those commanded to prostrate to Adam (peace be upon him) were all the angels of the heavens, some of them, or the angels of the earth. Some scholars argue that the greatest angels were not commanded to prostrate to Adam, citing the end of Surah Al-A'raf regarding the description of the angels: {Indeed, those who are with your Lord are not too proud to worship Him, and they exalt Him and prostrate to Him} (Al-A'raf: 20). The phrase "and they prostrate to Him" implies exclusivity, meaning they only prostrate to God, which contradicts the idea of them prostrating to Adam or anyone other than God. At most, one could argue that "So fall down to him in prostration" implies generality, but the specific (text) takes precedence over the general.
3. The apparent meaning of the verse suggests that immediately after God breathed the Spirit into Adam, the angels were commanded to prostrate, because the sequence {So when I have fashioned him, and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down to him in prostration} uses the particle fa (then), which indicates immediate succession, preventing delay.

Regarding His statement, "So the angels prostrated, all of them entirely," Al-Khalil and Sibawayh said that "all of them entirely" (kulluhum ajma'un) is emphasis following emphasis. Al-Mubarrad was asked about this verse and said: If He had only said, "So the angels prostrated," it could be argued that some of them prostrated. When He said "all of them," that possibility was removed, showing they all prostrated. Another possibility remained: whether they prostrated simultaneously or one after another. When He said "entirely" (ajma'un), it became clear that they all prostrated at once. When Al-Zajjaj narrated this view from Al-Mubarrad, he said that the view of Al-Khalil and Sibawayh is better, because ajma'un is definite (ma'rifa), so it cannot function as a circumstantial adverb (hal).

Regarding "except Iblis," there is consensus that Iblis was commanded to prostrate to Adam. They differed on whether he was one of the angels or not, a matter fully discussed in Surah Al-Baqarah.

His statement, "he refused and was arrogant," is a new clause, meaning someone asked why he did not prostrate, and the answer was that he refused and was too proud to do so.

Regarding His statement, "He said, 'O Adam, [inform them of] their names.' Then when He informed them of their names, He said, 'Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you conceal?'" (This part seems to be a slight misquote/misplacement in the source text structure, as the following section addresses the command to Iblis directly).

Regarding His statement: "He said, 'O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands?'" (The actual verse is: "He said, 'O Iblis, what has kept you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands?'").

Know that they all agree that the meaning of "He said, 'O Iblis'" is that God Almighty addressed him. This implies that God spoke to him. Some theologians suggested that God conveyed this address to Iblis through one of His messengers. However, this is weak because Iblis replied: "I will not prostrate to a human whom You created from clay." His statement "You created him" is a direct address to the present party, not an indirect reference. This suggests that God spoke to Iblis without an intermediary, and Iblis spoke to God without an intermediary. How can this be conceived when direct conversation with God is one of the highest ranks and noblest stations? How can this be conceived for the chief of the disbelievers? Perhaps the answer is that direct conversation with God is an honor only when it is a means of veneration and exaltation, but not when it is a means of humiliation and degradation.

Regarding his statement: "I will not prostrate to a human whom You created from sounding clay," there are two points of inquiry:

Inquiry 1: The lam (in la-asjudu) is for emphasizing the negation. It means: It is not appropriate for me to prostrate to a human.

Inquiry 2: The meaning of this statement is that Adam's being bashar implies he is a dense body, whereas Iblis was spiritual and subtle. Thus, there is a difference in their current state based on this. It is as if he is saying: The human is corporeal and dense, possessing skin, while I am spiritual and subtle. The corporeal and dense is of a lower status than the spiritual and subtle. How can the lower be commanded to prostrate to the higher? Furthermore, Adam was created from sounding clay originating from dark, molded clay—an origin of utmost baseness. Iblis's origin is fire, which is the noblest of elements. Therefore, Iblis's origin was nobler than Adam's origin, so Iblis must be nobler than Adam. It is improper for the nobler one to be commanded to prostrate to the lower one. The first point refers to the difference arising from humanity versus spirituality (a difference in current state), and the second point refers to the difference based on element and origin. This is the sum of Iblis's suspicion.

Regarding God's statement: "He said, 'Then get out of it, for indeed, you are accursed,'" this is not a direct answer to his suspicion, but rather an answer by way of indication. The reasoning is that what God said was a definitive text (nass), while what Iblis said was based on analogy (qiyas). Whoever opposes a definitive text with analogy deserves to be accursed and rejected. The full discussion on this meaning has been detailed in Surah Al-A'raf.

Regarding "Then get out of it," it is said that it means leaving the Garden of Eden, or the heavens, or the company of the angels. The full discussion on this, along with the interpretation of rajim (accursed/stoned), has preceded in Surah Al-A'raf.

Regarding His statement: "And indeed, upon you is the curse until the Day of Recompense," Ibn Abbas meant the Day of Judgment, when people are recompensed for their deeds, similar to His saying: {Master of the Day of Recompense} (Al-Fatiha: 4).

If one asks: The word ila (until) implies the termination of a limit. This suggests that the curse only lasts until the Day of Resurrection, and when the Resurrection occurs, the curse is lifted.

They answered this in several ways:

1. It means perpetuity. Mentioning the Resurrection is the farthest limit people mention in their speech, like saying: {as long as the heavens and the earth endure} (Hud: 107), which implies perpetuity.
2. It means that you are blameworthy and cursed in the heavens and the earth until the Day of Recompense without being physically punished. When that Day comes, he will suffer a punishment so severe that the curse will be forgotten in comparison, making the curse seem as if it has ceased because the intensity of the torment distracts from it.

(Note: The provided excerpt ends with the beginning of verse 36, which is translated here based on the context provided by the final line of the source text.)