Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's "Allah, Adam, and the Angels" article.

The Quran has a lot to say about the relation between Allah, Adam, the angels and Satan. In fact, some of what the Quran says regarding these persons or entities raises a series of questions and comments. This is specifically the case with Surah 2:30-38 which we will shortly quote.

I first of all wonder why the polytheist trinitarian pagan lowered the "a" in "angels", and capitalized the "s" in "Satan". Does his polytheist trinity paganistic theology teach him to despise the Angels, peace be upon them?

This article is essentially an expansion of points already raised in the following papers:

We decided to take the points already discussed in the above links and post them separately from the bulk of the material which was unrelated to this specific issue.

The above passage brings up several questions. First, how did the angels know what the condition of man would be prior to his creation? Where did they get the idea that man would be a violent creature? Who told them? The text doesn’t say anything about Allah giving them this piece of information. Are angels omniscient?

"Allah is He Who Created seven firmaments and of the earth a similar number. Through the midst of them (all) descends His command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things In (His) Knowledge. (The Noble Quran, 65:12)"

"of the earth a similar number" can mean that GOD Almighty Created 7 planets that have human-life on them. Also, the number 7 is consistent with the earth's properties, since earth has 7 atmospheric layers and 7 inner layers:

2- Since Angels deal directly with GOD Almighty and speak directly to Him, it is quite possible that He had informed them about how the new human race would be like if He were to Create it; assuming that Adam, peace be upon him, was the very first human being created.

Secondly, Allah secretly teaches Adam unspecified names in order to silence the angels for complaining against man. Was it not unfair for Allah to teach Adam these names and then proceed to challenge the angels to do likewise? Does Allah have to use deception and lies in order to vindicate himself against the charges brought against Adam by the angels (charges which turned out to be correct)? Is it not obvious that Adam would have been just as ignorant as the angels were regarding these things had it not been for Allah teaching him? What kind of vindication is this seeing that Adam only knew of these names because Allah taught him, whereas the angels were ignorant because Allah hadn't taught them these things?

And how does the naming of things justify the creation of man despite all the evil and violence he will commit? After all, if there is a superior value in humans that justifies their creation, despite their violent and sinful behavior, then it should be stated in a clear way instead of using deceptive tricks that hardly show the superiority of humans. Allah could have taught those names to anyone. This act of teaching man to name all things does not provide a sufficient reason at all why humans should be created despite the fact that they will shed blood. Allah could have simply taught those names to the angels, and then somebody would know them (if that was the objective), without there being bloodshed. So what is the point of the story, really?

Let me ask you this: Was it fair that GOD Almighty created you to be so dumb that you can't understand what you read, while created many others to be much smarter than you? Was this "lies and deception" by GOD Almighty?

What the polytheist trinitarian pagan fell to see here was that GOD Almighty raised the status of humans above the Angels, peace be upon them, because the Righteous ones from Mankind are closer to GOD Almighty in love than the Angels. GOD Almighty's teaching of Adam, peace be upon him, of all of the Angels' names and many other things was GOD Almighty's way to demonstrate that Adam and his likes from the Righteous ones are high in status and are close to GOD Almighty.

Here is further proof to my points from the polytheist trinitarian pagan's Bible itself:

1- The "our likeness" and "our image" meaning:

From www.answering-christianity.com/spirit1_r1_rebuttal.htm:

1- "....after OUR likeness...."

Who is this human being that is like GOD? Adam, the first creation of Mankind and the one in Genesis 1:26-27 certainly isn't. The likeness of GOD Almighty is not the physical appearance, but rather having the knowledge of Good and evil. This is clearly stated in the Bible:

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (From the NIV Bible, Genesis 3:5)"

"and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (From the NIV Bible, Ephesians 4:24)"

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 7:1)"

"On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. (From the NIV Bible, Zechariah 12:8)"

That is why in the Noble Quran, Allah Almighty Commanded all of the Angels to bow down to Adam! The Righteous and true Believers from Mankind are even better than the Angels themselves. They are the closest to Allah Almighty:

Noble Verses 2:30-34

30. Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."
31. And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the nature of these if ye are right."
32. They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."
33. He said: "O Adam! Tell them their natures." When he had told them, God said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"
34. And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.

This clearly refutes the "original sin" lie!

Mankind are judged by GOD Almighty independently and uniquely. No mediators (Jesus and idols) are required in Islam:

"Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. (The Noble Quran, 99:7-8)"

"In whatever business thou mayest be, and whatever portion thou mayest be reciting from the Quran,- and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing,- We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record. (The Noble Quran, 10:61)"

"There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance dependeth on God: He knoweth the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: All is in a clear Record. (The Noble Quran, 11:6)"

"Knowest thou not that God knows all that is in heaven and on earth? Indeed it is all in a Record, and that is easy for God. (The Noble Quran, 22:70)"

"Nor is there aught of the unseen, in heaven or earth, but is (recorded) in a clear record. (The Noble Quran, 27:75)"

By the way, on the literal sense, no one is like GOD Almighty:

"Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God. (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 8:10)"

"There is no one holy [ Or no Holy One ] like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Samuel 2:2)"

"For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 89:6)"

"Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 113:5)"

2- "....in OUR image...."

First of all, the word image also means example or similitude. In Arabic, the two words are the same; "timthal" (image); "mathalona" (our image); which are all derived from the root word "mathal" (example), and I am sure that it is the same condition in Hebrew and Aramaic since all three languages are all sister languages. Also in Arabic similitude means "shabah". "Mutashabbihan" means to have a similitude of.

There is no question that the root words "mathal" and "shabah" in the Noble Quran were used for "example" and/or "similitude":

"Their similitude (mathalohum) is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him, God took away their light and left them in utter darkness. So they could not see. (The Noble Quran, 2:17)"

"But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: "Why, this is what we were fed with before,"for they are given things in similitude (Mutashabbihan); and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever). (The Noble Quran, 2:25)"

"God disdains not to use the similitude (mathalan) of things, lowest as well as highest. Those who believe know that it is truth from their Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means God by this similitude?" By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the right path; but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path),- (The Noble Quran, 2:26)"

"The similitude (mathal) of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was. (The Noble Quran,3:59)"

etc....

Also as we've seen above, "our likeness" only and only means knowing Good and evil in the Bible. This makes both "our image (or example)" and "our likeness" refer to and mean the same thing.

In the next section below, we will see a comparison between our human-bodies' properties and GOD Almighty's and see how it is impossible for our physical bodies to look like GOD Almighty's, since our physical parts (lungs, hearts, penises, butts, liver, kidney etc.. were all made and design to help us survive here on earth). But first, let us first look at some of the many examples of the metaphoric speech that exists in the Bible so that the reader can appreciate and comprehend how things are sometimes written in the Bible, and what they really mean.

It is easy for the likes of Shamoun and his cult to deceive the ordinary by giving them examples of this type to prove the polytheist trinity paganism lie. You will see how these lies have no ground in the Bible and how they are soundly exposed and debunked.

From https://www.answering-christianity.com/bible_figurative_speech.htm:

GOD Almighty's figurative Temptation:

Luke 11
2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' "
5 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

YET, GOD ALMIGHTY DOESN'T TEMPT:

James 1
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full -grown, gives birth to death.

Luke 11:2-5 and James 1:13-15 above, clearly prove that GOD Almighty does allow satan to tempt, not only us but also His Prophets.

GOD Almighty's Hand:

1 Samuel 5
9 But after they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.
10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people."
11 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy upon it.

The verses obviously are not talking about GOD Almighty's physical Arm, Hand and Fingers.

They figuratively saw GOD Almighty:

"Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 24:9-11)"

"Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. (From the NIV Bible, Genesis 32:29-31)"

"But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. (From the NIV Bible, Genesis 33:9-11)"

GOD Almighty figuratively hid His Face from them:

Deuteronomy 31
16 And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'
18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

Psalm 27
8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD , I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Psalm 80
2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
4 O LORD God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?

Isaiah 59
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.

But in reality and actuality, no one has seen GOD Almighty, because they would then die:

Exodus 3
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Judges 13
21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD .
22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"
23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

1 John 4
11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Jehovah or Yahweh Almighty was the One and Only LORD! The "God" title was distorted in the Bible. Even satan was called "God":

2 Corinthians 4
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The word "hotheos" in 2 Corinthians 4:2 which means "God" or "god" was the same exact word used in John 1:1. For more details and proofs please visit: The "God" title was given to people before and after Jesus in the Bible.

Only Yahweh (Jehovah in English) is not figurative. Exactly like no one has ever seen GOD Almighty's Face exactly like Moses is also not figurative.

Can anyone really move a mountain with his eyes?

" Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.' (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 21:21)"

Can anyone really survive a poisonous snake's venom without treatment?

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (From the NIV Bible, Mark 16:17-18)"

As we saw above in "OUR likeness", the speech is all metaphoric!

Also, both "OUR image" and "OUR likeness" mean the same thing.

2- The properties of our physical bodies VS GOD Almighty's:

It is important to notice that "OUR image" could also refer to the spirit of humans and not necessarily their earthly bodies. In other words, it is not necessary that GOD Almighty has a penis, butt, 10 fingers, 10 toes, ribs, lungs, heart etc... as humans have. Also, if He is like us physically, then does He also have a vagina like women do? Does He have a big breast like women and not a flat one like men? Does he breath oxygen like us? If not, then does He have lungs like us?

Does He eat? If not, then does He have a stomach that digests and processes all of the food that it intakes like our stomachs do?

Does His Body require vitamins, minerals, calcium, proteins, etc.... to remain surviving like ours do?

Does GOD have blood and skin? Does He get nose bleeds, and skin cuts that cause bleeding like us?

If He has blood, does He also have a kidney for cleaning His blood?

And if GOD Almighty's Body doesn't process food, then why would He then need a bladder, kidney, butt and a penis or vagina? If He doesn't urine or do a "number 2" like we do after we eat and drink, then what is the purpose of Him having these parts? Or does He truly Have them??

It is clear that the image and likeness that are mentioned in Genesis 1:26-27 are nothing but metaphoric speech!

Let us now look at what Jesus said about himself that will give the ultimate knockout to the trinity lie regarding the "Us" and "Image" and "Likeness" in Genesis 1:26-27:

The Bible's New Testament records Jesus saying: ""Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good–except God alone." (From the NIV Bible, Mark 10:18)"

If Jesus doesn't consider himself as "good", then how can any sane person put him on the same level as GOD Almighty?

I have yet to see a good answer to this one by any polytheist trinitarian.

Also, another important point to notice in Mark 10:18 is the word "alone": ""Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good–except God alone." (From the NIV Bible, Mark 10:18)"

Jesus in this verse is clearly giving exclusivity to GOD Almighty when he said "alone". If Jesus was truly part of GOD Almighty and/or the trinity lie was true, then Jesus, to say the least, would not have said that.

My rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's absurdities regarding Mark 10:18 where Jesus said he was not "good".

Jesus, the alleged second part or third or person of the godhead lie, showed no signs of being GOD Almighty Himself. I have written and compiled a long and detailed section that refutes every single alleged "trinity verse" in the bible at: www.answering-christianity.com/at.htm.

As we've seen above, Jesus said that he was not "good", and "only GOD alone is good".

Jesus also ran to Egypt for his life from King Herod!

Jesus was also tempted by satan for 40 days, and he "suffered" from him.

Jesus bowed his face down to the ground before GOD Almighty and Worshiped Him.

These are just few examples. The list is of refutations is long, and you can view all of them, again, at: www.answering-christianity.com/at.htm

3- The "We" people in the Bible:

From www.answering-christianity.com/spirit1_r1_rebuttal.htm:

As I clearly proved above, the "Image" and "Likeness" of GOD Almighty are only metaphoric. I also clearly proved that they knowing the difference between Good and evil.

As to the "We" above for the kings, Sam Shamoun can play his old blasphemous word-game and try to falsely prove that "We" was never used by a single person and referring only to a single person.

"And king Rehoboam took counsel with THE OLD MEN, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: 'What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?' And they spoke unto him, saying: 'If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.' But he forsook the counsel of THE OLD MEN which they had given him, and took counsel with THE YOUNG MEN that were grown up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them: 'What counsel give YE, that WE may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?'" 2 Chronicles 10:6-9

I don't know if Shamoun is acting dumb or he just doesn't know history very well. In the Old days, only the "man in charge" would speak and would decide! The rest kept silent. So it is only normal and natural for the king to refer to himself and only himself as "we".

The "We" people in the Bible:

1- The priests and ministers are perfect, sinless and infallible!

"The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Corinthians 2:15)"

No ordinary man can judge a homosexual priest or money-worshiping and money-begging fraud minister in church. They are higher than him or her.

2- The magnification of certain select people is true even in the laws of inheritance in the Bible:

(a)- If the man dies and has one son and several daughters, then the son inherits everything:

Numbers 27
8 "Say to the Israelites, 'If a man dies and leaves no son, turn his inheritance over to his daughter.
9 If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers.
10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father's brothers.
11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to be a legal requirement for the Israelites, as the LORD commanded Moses.' "

(b)- If there is more than one son, then the oldest gets the double of what each has!

(bold and color emphasis below are mine)

From http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-2ki.htm:

2Ki 1:18 - cm: CHRONICLES: chronicles
2Ki 2:9 - double portion
- The Hebrew text and virtually all English translations describe Elisha asking for 'a double portion' of his master's spirit. The footnote in The HarperCollins Study Bible (edited by Wayne Meeks and the Society of Biblical Literature, NY: HarperCollins, 1993, page 561) explains:
  
  2.9 Elisha's request for a double share of your spirit refers to the legal provision that a firstborn son must receive a double portion of the inheritance (Deut 21:15-17). Elisha thus asks to have the status of Elijah's firstborn and to inherit more of his spirit than any other prophetic heirs. Elisha is not requesting more of the spirit than Elijah had but only a fraction of it.
  
  If a Jewish father had two sons, the older son would inherit twice as much property as the younger son, which would provide the older son with two-thirds of the father's property. Professor Rofe's statement that Elisha asked to inherit "two thirds of his master's spirit" would apparently assume that a second son or the other children would inherit the other third of his master's spirit; however, there is no biblical mention of Elijah having been married or having any children. So the assumption may be made that Elijah was making his request in the context of the prophets, meaning in a literal sense that Elisha was requesting two-thirds of Elijah's spirit and requesting the other prophets divide up the other third of Elijah's spirit.
  
  Norman H. Snaith, in his exegesis of 2 Kings in The Interpreter's Bible (edited by George Arthus Buttrick, Nashville: Abingdon, 1954, Volume 3, page 194), writes:
  
  9. The double share is the portion of the heir, the first-born. Elisha desires to succeed to the leadership of the prophetic guilds ("the sons of the prophets"), and so to have the authority and power which belonged to his master. The meaning is not that he should be two thirds as great as Elijah (so Ewald [H.G.A. von Ewald, Commentary on the Prophets of the Old Testament, 5 Volumes, Edinburgh: ET, 1875-1881]), nor on the other hand that he should be twice as great as Elijah (so Ecclus. 48:13, Vulg.), but that he should he should be his successor. The word ruah (spirit) is not used here of phophetic inspiration so much as in the sense of more-than-human power.
2Ki 3:9 - cm: FETCH(ED) A COMPASS: make (made) a circuit
2Ki 4:1-7 - Elisha Helps a Poor Widow
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary (edited by Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968) comments are below. See also the BibleTexts.com book review on the outstanding updated (1990) commentary, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary [book review].
  
  (i) The poor widow (4:1-7). 1. wife: The story indirectly shows that members of the prophetic guilds married despite the fact that they sometimes lived in community (cf. 4:38-41). slaves: The law did not permit one Israelite to enslave another permanently (Lv 25:46). Israelites could, however, be sold into slavery for a limited time to satisfy debts (Ex 21:7; Is 50:1), and in many cases Israelites were probably reduced to permanent slavery despite the law and the strong sentiment against it (cf. Neh 5:1-13; Jer 34:14; Ex 21:16; Dt 24:7; see De Vaux, AI 82-83).
2Ki 4:38 - cm: SEETHE: boil
2Ki 4:41 - a/r: HARM, Hebrew: evil thing
2Ki 4:42 - cm: CORN: grain
2Ki 4:42-44 - Elisha feeding the 100
- Exo 16:1-18
- Mat 14:13-21
- Mat 15:32-39
- Mat 16:5-12
- Mar 6:30-44
- Mar 8:1-10,14-21
- Luk 9:10-17
- Joh 6:1-13
- S&H 89:32-5
- S&H 206:15-18
- S&H 273:24-28
- My 123:21-26
2Ki 5:14
- Lev 14:7-9
- Luk 4:27
2Ki 6:1 - cm: STRAIT: narrow
2Ki 6:8 - KJV & TEV wording: Syria - NASB, NIV, NRSV wording: Aram
- For an explanation of what is really meant here by "Syria", browse "ARAM or SYRIA" at http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/syria.htm
2Ki 6:8 - a/r: TOOK COUNSEL WITH or: consulted with
2Ki 6:8 - a/r: SERVANTS or: high officials
2Ki 6:9 - a/r: SENT or: sent word
2Ki 6:9 - a/r: THITHER THE SYRIANS ARE COME DOWN or: the Arameans are coming down there
2Ki 6:10 - a/r: SENT or: sent word
2Ki 6:10 - a/r: AND THE KING OF ISRAEL SENT TO THE PLACE WHICH THE MAN OF GOD TOLD HIM AND WARNED HIM OF, AND SAVED HIMSELF THERE, NOT ONCE NOR TWICE or: So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. {TrV}
2Ki 6:11 - KJV & TEV wording: Syria - NASB, NIV, NRSV wording: Aram
- For an explanation of what is really meant here by "Syria", browse "ARAM or SYRIA" at http://www.bibletexts.com/terms/syria.htm
2Ki 6:11 - a/r: SERVANTS or: high officials
2Ki 6:12 - a/r: SERVANTS or: high officials
2Ki 6:13 - a/r: BEDCHAMBER or: bedroom
2Ki 6:13 - a/r: SPY or: find out {Hebrew literally: see}
2Ki 6:13 - a/r: FETCH or: capture
2Ki 6:13 - a/r: AND IT WAS TOLD HIM, SAYING or: And he was told
2Ki 6:14 - a/r: THITHER or: there
2Ki 6:14 - a/r: GREAT HOST or: large army
2Ki 6:14 - a/r: COMPASSED or: surrounded
2Ki 6:15 - a/r: HOST or: army
2Ki 6:15 - a/r: COMPASSED or: surrounded
2Ki 6:15 - a/r: HOW SHALL WE DO or: what shall we do
2Ki 6:17
- Jos 5:13

The point is that the magnification of people and the majestic speech of "We" by people did exist in the Bible both in quotes and in practice
(by for instance putting the older son above all of his brothers and sisters, and putting the daughters behind all sons.)

Thirdly, after using deception to silence the angels Allah then proceeds to command the angels to worship the man. This command to worship was obviously the result of the man having bested them by naming the things which Allah had personally taught him. We therefore need to ask, why make angels worship Adam for being able to name things that they couldn't when the man only knew these names as a result of Allah having taught them to him? And why is Allah commanding them to bow down to Adam, a creature, when it is absolutely forbidden to do so in Islam? If it is argued that the prostration signified respect and not worship then why are such acts of respect forbidden in Islam today? It is obvious that Allah, unlike the true God of the Holy Bible, is always changing his mind and commands as time goes by.

We already saw above how and why GOD Almighty raised the status of the Righteous ones from Mankind to be above the Angels'.

As for worship, GOD Almighty never commanded the Angels to worship any except Him:

"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him. (The Noble Quran, 112:1-4)"

"Then Praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth- Lord and Cherisher of all the worlds! To Him be Glory throughout the heavens and the earth: and He is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom!. (The Noble Quran, 45:36-37)"

"Say: 'O People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians)! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship (na'bodu (derived from Ibada "worship")) none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.' If then they turn back, say ye: 'Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).' (The Noble Quran, 3:64)"

The bowing down (sojood, not Ibada "worship") was to bring them below the feet of Adam. It wasn't to cause them to Pray to him. There is a difference when you pray to GOD Almighty and bring your face down to the ground before Him in Worship, and GOD Almighty's Command to the Angels to come down from their high status and go under the feet of Adam. Even in your Bible, we see prostration to kings by ordinary men:

1 Samuel 24
7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
9 He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, 'David is bent on harming you'?

2 Samuel 14:4
4 When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, "Help me, O king!"

2 Samuel 14:22
22 Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, "Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant's request."

Ironically, even in this polytheist trinitarian pagan's Bible, we see Jesus himself, peace be upon him, praying to his GOD Almighty the Muslims' way, but only during his desperate time, which made him a hypocrite:

"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed....(From the NIV Bible, Matthew 16:39)"

"So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 26:44)"

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (From the NIV Bible, Luke 6:12)"

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be HEARD FOR THEIR MUCH SPEAKING. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. (From the KJV Bible, Matthew 6:5-8)"

36. Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
37. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
38. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
41. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42. He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
44. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, SAYING THE SAME THING.

Jesus said "no vain repetitions" in Prayers. But how many times did Jesus pray over the same thing in such a small period of time? 3 times in Matthew 26:36-44, and endlessly in Luke 6:12. Let us again look at the following verse:

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (From the NIV Bible, Luke 6:12)"

When Jesus prayed ENDLESSLY all night long in Luke 6:12, did he not repeat his prayers? His main focus was on GOD Almighty saving him from the crucifixion. Jesus' prayers all night long, which obviously were far more than just 3 times, were repetition after repetition after repetition, compromising his very own commands about not doing "vain repetitions."

It is really interesting that Jesus decided to bow down to Allah Almighty. This rare and not so usual practice in Christianity is something we Muslims do 5 times every single day. What Jesus did during his most desperate times in trying to glorify GOD Almighty in the best possible way he can to grab GOD Almighty's attention and to show Him that he (Jesus) is giving Him (GOD) everything he can and is bringing himself in the lowest possible humility before Him, we Muslims simply do it 5 times every day without being desperate to glorify GOD Almighty.

Very Important Note: Practicing Muslims do ask GOD Almighty in Prayer when their faces are on the ground during the 5-daily prayers. I was taught that this is the best position to ask Allah Almighty in. My point is that what Jesus did during his most desperate times, we Muslims do it every single day! It seems to me that any practicing Muslim glorifies GOD far better than what Jesus in the Bible did and will ever do.

The incident of Jesus bowing to GOD Almighty in worship is often ignored by Trinitarian Christians. I am surprised that Trinitarian Christians don't even have any problem with the seriousness of this incident. Let us look at few points here:

1- When Jesus bowed down to GOD Almighty only during his desperate times and not in any other time, this tells us that Jesus did not worship GOD Almighty properly during his normal times, because he immediately compromised the normal way that he taught his followers:

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (From the KJV Bible, Matthew 6:5-8)"

2- Jesus did not pray in secret to GOD Almighty. He prayed in a totally different and better way. Jesus contradicted his very own commands.

3- Jesus' incident was simply telling GOD: GOD, I will not sit in my room and pray to you in secret as I commanded my followers. I will do even more to you. I will bow down to you and worship you in the maximum humility, and I pray that you save me from the pain that I am about to go through. This is my extra bonus prayer to you GOD! Please save me!!

Of course this unclassy and hypocritical standard that lacks dignity and respect to GOD Almighty by all means by the Jesus of the man-altered and corrupted bible is not accepted in Islam. You either pray to GOD Almighty consistently or you don't. But to treat GOD Almighty like this is frankly in my opinion blasphemous, because you're attempting to act smart with GOD Almighty and not be a true Servant.

In other words, once you get your thing out of Him, then you won't "degrade yourself" and bow down to Him again?

Again, please visit: Jesus had no Divine Will according to the New Testament. How could he be our Creator?
Ten detailed sections in this article:
1- Jesus said he had no Divine Will.
2- Jesus' repetitive Prayers contradicted his very own teachings.
3- Jesus begged GOD Almighty for Mercy.
4- Jesus prostrated to GOD Almighty only once during his most desperate times! This is hypocrisy by the way.
5- GOD Almighty Created pain and death, and yet, Jesus feared them.
6- The GOD of the O.T. Punishes to death those who cursed HIS HOLY NAME. How could Jesus escape to Egypt from King Herod.
7- In original Hebrew, "son of GOD" literally means "SERVANT OF GOD". See proofs.
8- What about the authority in Heaven and Earth that was given to Jesus?
9- None of Jesus' Miracles were unique in the Bible.
10- Conclusion.

Fourth, Iblis or Satan is blamed for not worshiping Adam even though the command was given to angels. According to the Quran, Iblis isn't an angel, but rather he is said to be a jinn:

Why then does Allah blame Iblis for not obeying a command directed to angels, not to the jinn? The following Muslim thinks he has the answer:

To show why this ad hoc explanation is rather forced and very weak, let us take his same analogy and change it a bit. If for example, I address the same class containing 100 students of whom 99 are boys and one is a girl, and it so happens that there are parents also present with their children, and I say in Arabic that all the boys should stand up and yet none of the parents stand, I cannot legitimately hold them liable since I wasn't addressing them directly. Let us also assume that at this class, both the principal and the vice-principal were present and didn't stand up after having told the boys to rise from their seats. Could I legitimately hold them accountable for failing to comply with my orders? Of course not, since they do not fall under the category of boys, nor do they come under the category of classmates. If I wanted both the parents and school officials to stand up I would need to mention them specifically.

The only way Naik’s example could serve as a valid analogy is if we took for granted that Iblis belongs to the same category of being as that of angels. It is obvious that the girl in Naik's analogy falls under the same general category of classmates and children, so a reference to boys can include her since the term boys wouldn't be gender specific in this case. (But even that would have to be gleaned from the context in which the word is being used since you may have a class which is made up of entirely boys). The mention of boys in this context would be a general statement referring to a group consisting of young children and schoolmates. The term would therefore include all the persons which would fall under that category, irrespective of gender.

But there is nothing within the Quran indicating that jinn are of the same category of creatures like angels, or that they share the same nature. The Quran actually implies that they are different in their design since we are told that angels never disobey whereas jinn do:

{Note: To see the problem with the claim that angels do not disobey please consult the following papers: [1], [2], [3], [4].}

Other references speak of the jinn being created from fire, but say nothing about what the angels were created from:

Also, there are situations where only part of the class is supposed to stand up. Just imagine there are 30 boys and ten girls in a class. The teacher says that all the boys should stand up. Does he mean all the pupils then? Or could it be that he meant really only the boys and not the girls? E.g. because the boys should then leave the room to attend auto mechanic class to learn how to repair cars while the girls remain in the room for learning knitting, or something of that nature. Thus, it isn’t the rule, really, but the context that determines the meaning.

First of all, I already demonstrated above that GOD Almighty never commanded the Angels to worship Adam. The polytheist trinitarian pagan is confusing the two Arabic key words Sojood (bowing down) and Ibada (Worship). Allah Almighty NEVER used the word Ibada and/or any of its root words to refer to any other than Him!

Now as for satan, he was a Jinn who lived among the Angels, and Jinns are a lower class of the Angels. This is similar to the humans and animals. We are both called "animals". We are both created from dust. Yet, we are different. Even in the Noble Quran, Allah Almighty did refer to humans as "animals":

"For the worst of beasts in the sight of God are the deaf and the dumb,- those who understand not. (The Noble Quran, 8:22)"

"For the worst of beasts in the sight of God are those who reject Him: They will not believe. (The Noble Quran, 8:55)"

"He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs. (The Noble Quran, 31:10)"

Even the Bible supports the Noble Quran's claim very well about Jinns and Angels being the same, with the Angels being closer to GOD Almighty and higher in status. Here is the proof:

The Bible's "Fallen Angels" are the Noble Quran's "Jinns". Jinns are Angels in the Noble Quran:

In the Bible, we're taught that satan deceived some of the "Angels" and caused them go against GOD Almighty's Ways, Will and Commands:

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; (From the NIV Bible, 2 Peter 2:4)"

"And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. (From the NIV Bible, Jude 1:6)"

"In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. (From the NIV Bible, Isaiah 24:21-22)"

We are also taught in the Bible that some Angels might be created from fire, perhaps smokeless flames of fire:

Can Angels Disobey? - The case of Iblis

By Ansar Al-'Adl (www.islamicboard.com)

Concerning Can Angels Disobey? - The case of Iblis contradiction:

How do we receive the record on Judgment Day? On Judgement day the lost people are given the Record (of their bad deeds): Behind their back [84:10], or in their left hand [69:25].

Verses in question:

16:49-50 And to All�h prostate all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, of the live moving creatures and the angels, and they are not proud [i.e. they worship their Lord (All�h) with humility]. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.

2:34 And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam.". And they prostrated but not Ibl�s (Satan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to All�h)

1. The confusion stems from the misconception that Iblis (satan) was an angel. In fact, he was not an angel but another species known as the Jinn, as clarified in the Qur'an:

18:50 Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down but not Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!

There is no doubt about this point, as it is something which has been unanimously affirmed by the Muslim scholars. The Jinn are a seperate creation from the Angels.

Imaam Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqi (d. 1372CE) distinguishes Iblis from the angels in his tafsir of verse 18:50:

[Iblis] had been created from smokeless fire, whereas the angels had been created from light, as is stated in Sahih Muslim where it is reported that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Messenger of Allah said:
(The angels were created from light, Iblis was created from smokeless fire, and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.) When matters are crucial, every vessel leaks that which it contains and is betrayed by its true nature. Iblis used to do what the angels did and resembled them in their devotion and worship, so he was included when they were addressed, but he disobeyed and went against what he was told to do. So Allah points out here that he was one of the Jinn, i.e., he was created from fire... (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, 2000, vol. 6, p.171 )

Shaykh Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips explains the Islamic belief on Jinns and why they cannot be held to be angels:

[The Jinn] are created from fire according to Allaah's statement in the Qur'aan; "The Jinns were created from the fire of a scorching wind." (Soorah Al-Hijr 15:27). They are not "fallen angels", as angels are made from light according to the following statement of Prophet Muhammad saws narrated by his wife 'Aa'eshah: "The angels were created from light and the Jinn from a fiery wind" (Sahih Muslim [English Trans.], vol. 4, p. 1540, no. 7134) and angels can not disobey God according to Allaah's statement in the Qur'aan, "...angels stern and severe, who do not disobey Allaah in what He orders them, but do whatever they are commanded." (Soorah at-Tahreem 66:6) (Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (Ed.), Ibn Taymeeyah's Essays On The Jinn, 1996, 3rd Edition, International Islamic Publishing House, pp. 1-2, See footnote 1.)

The same thing is mentioned by Shaykh Abdul Majid Daryabadi (d.1977CE) in his commentary on verse 2:34:

Iblis, literally, being the disappointed one. He was not an angel but a jinn, as expressly mentioned in the Qur'an (Surah Al-Kahf, verse 50). (Daryabadi, The Glorious Qur'an: Text, Translation & Commentary, The Islamic Foundation 2001, p.13)

Abul 'Ala Maududi (d. 1979CE) makes the same point as well, in his commentary:

Moreover, one should not make the mistake of considering Satan an angel. Elsewhere the Qur'an itself clearly states that he was a jinn and jinn, as we know, are an independent species, distinct from angels. (see Qur'an 18:50) (Maududi, Towards Understanding the Qur'an, THe Islamic Foundation 1995, vol. 1, p.63 ftn. 46)

Shaykh Umar Sulayman Al-Ashqar, Professor at the University of Jordan, explains the background behind Satan/Iblis's presence in paradise:

Satan, which Allah mentions to us many times in the Qur'an, is from the world of the Jinn. He used to worship Allah at the beginning of his creation. He lived among the angels in the heavens. He entered paradise, but then he disobeyed Allah when he refused to prostrate to Adam, out of pride, arrogance and envy. Therefore Allah cast him out from His mercy. (Al-Ashqar, The World of the Jinn and Devils, Al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations 1998, p.13)

From the above statements it becomes clear that the scholars are agreed that, based on the Qur'an and authentic narrations, Iblis was a Jinn who was living amongst the angels in paradise. He had within him arrogance which became manifest in his refusal to bow down to Adam when Allah gave the command.

2. We now come to the heart of the issue being discussed, which is the reason Iblis is misunderstood to be an Angel when, in reality, he is a Jinn. The source of the confusion is the fact that verse 2:34 states that all the angels bowed down except Iblis which seems to imply that Iblis was an angel. However, this is not the case as the Qur'anic commentators and Islamic scholars have explained. Hasan Al-Banna (d. 1949CE) clarifies some points on this issue:

The context reveals that Iblis was not one of the angels though he was with them. If he had been one of them, he would not have rebelled. Their primary quality is that "they do not rebel against Allah in what He commands them and they do as they are commanded." The word "except" here does not show that he was one of them. The fact that he was with them allows this exception to be used. Iblis was one of the Jinn according to the text of the Qur'an. Allah created the jinn from smokeless fire. This is a clear statement that he was not one of the angels.(Quoted by M. Ashour in The Jinn in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, Dar Al Taqwa Ltd. 1989, pp. 11-12)

Similarly, Syed Qutb (d.1966CE) comments in his prominent commentary, Fi Dhilalil Qur'an:

The general drift of the narration suggests that Iblis was not of angelic species but merely associated with the angels. For, had he been of similar kind, he would not have disobeyed God, since the angels' foremost characteristic is that they "never disobey whatever God commands them and do as they are bidden" (al-Tahrim 66:6). The fact that Iblis had been singled out does not mean that he is, or was, one of their number. The exception is justified on the basis that he was with the angels, as well as by Arabic syntax, which allows the construction "the whole clan arrived but not Ahmad" without implying that Ahmad is a member of the clan.
Furthermore, the Qur'an specifically identifies Iblis as belonging to another type of extra-terrestrial creatures, the jinn, who are created out of fire, eliminating the idea that he was angelic (al-Hijr 15:27, al-Kahf 18:50, al-Rahman 55:15). (Qutb, In The Shade Of The Qur'an, The Islamic Foundation 1999, p.49)

Thus, the scholars mention that although the verse states that the angels bowed down 'except' (Ar., Ilaa) Iblis, this does not necessitate that Iblis was amongst the angels according to the arabic language. The specific arabic syntax referred to by Syed Qutb is explained by Dr. Zakir Naik, a famous orator on Islam, who states:

The English translation of the first part of the verse ‘We said to the angels bow down to Adam: they bowed down except Iblis’, gives us the impression that Iblis was an angel. The Qur’an was revealed in Arabic. 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 seperately.

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. No where does the Qur’an say Iblis was an angel. Therefore there is no contradiction in the Qur’an. (SOURCE)

This issue is also dealt with by Shaykh Umar Sulayman Al-Ashqar in his book on the Jinns, in which he writes:

[Some writers quote] verses in which Allah makes an exception from the angels of Iblis. And they argue that if he is being excepted from this group, it must have been that he was a member if that group as this is the customary mode of speech.
...Concerning their proof that Allah excepted Iblis from the angels, it is not a definitive proof. Such statements may be disjunctive. (Al-Ashqar, The World of the Jinn and Devils, Al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations 1998, p.16)

In his translation of Shaykh Al-Ashqar's book, Shaykh Jamal Al-Din Zarabozo adds the following explanation of the above quote in a footnote:

Al-istithnaa al-munqata is a case where someone states, for example, "Everyone except so and so," while in reality "so and so" was no a member of the original group. Such a form of speech is acceptable and not uncommon in Arabic. However, such would probably be objectionable if stated in english. (Al-Ashqar, The World of the Jinn and Devils, Al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations 1998, p.16)

For this reason, we can understand that any translation of verse 2:34 (and similar verses) into english should use the phrase "not so Iblis" or "but not Iblis" as oppose to "except Iblis", in order to retain the correct meaning of the verse.

The reason why Iblis was expected to bow down, even though the command was given to the angels, is explained by many scholars. Moiz Amjad writes about why Iblis was expected to prostrate:

In my opinion, the answer to this question is that according to the Qur'an, although it was primarily the angels who were directed to prostrate before Adam, it was, nevertheless, expected of the jinn who were in the court at that time to follow suit. In other words, by directing the angels to bow down before Adam, God had directed a higher cadre of His creation to submit to a command, the lower cadre creations like jinn and any others that may have been present at the time, were expected to do the same. This style of speech is used in almost all human languages. For instance, when someone says: "When the Chief Justice enters the hall all the parliamentarians shall pay their respects by standing up for him", he generally implies that all those present in the hall (personnel of the press, the foreign diplomats, the media personnel and guests of the members) should stand to pay their respects to the Chief Justice. The word 'parliamentarians' in such a sentence is not to signify that the directive is given only to those who are members of the parliament, but is a generalization in which a higher cadre of personnel is given a directive with the implication that others are also expected to follow suit. (SOURCE)

Mufti Muhammad Shafi, the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan, writes a similar explanation in his monumental commentary:

If we go by the words of the Holy Qur'an, the command was given to the angels alone, but, in excepting Iblis from those who obeyed, the text also suggests that the command was given to all the created beings that existed at that time and possessed understanding, including the Jinn as well as the angels. But the Holy Qur'an mentions the angels alone, because when superior beings like the angels were required to show their respect for Adam (peace be upon him), inferior creatures like the Jinns must, it goes without saying, have been ordered to do the same. (Shafi, Ma'ariful Qur'an, Maktaba-e-Darul-Uloom, Karachi 2003, vol. 1, p. 171)

And Mohammed Fareeduddin Siddique offers some more analogies:

Satan is not an angel; rather he is of the Jinn as stated in Al-Kahf (18):50. Why then did he need to obey the command which was directed to the angels [specially when men and Jinns have the right to choose]? This is because; he was raised with them and required to obey the laws applied to them while in their [Angels] company. This is similar to requiring that a foster son obey the rules of his foster father while living within his house. It is not necessary for the foster father, whenever he commands his sons to do something, to follow up with an explicit "and my foster son too must do this," rather, it is implicitly understood that so long as the foster son lives in this house he shall follow the same rules and commands as apply to the other sons.

If a politician declares that "any American who drinks and drives shall be thrown in jail," then does this mean that any non-American who is visiting the USA then drinks and drives shall be immune to this law? No. The law includes him by default; however, they are the minority so the command is issued to the majority with the implication being that anyone in their company is implicitly included. (SOURCE)

From the above discussion we have established the following points:
a) Iblis was a Jinn, distinct from angels
b) Iblis was expected to bow down as well, when the command was given to the angels
c) The phrase "they (the angels) bowed down, except Iblis" should be properly translated as "they (the angels) bowed down, but not Iblis" because according to the arabic syntax, the phrase does not necessitate that Iblis is an angel, and indeed we know that he is not from other verses in the Qur'an, ahadith, and authentic explanations of the early muslims.

3. Muslims have also raised another important point in response to this allegation. If Iblis truly believed that that the command to bow down was solely directed towards the angels, he should have said so when God asked him "why did you not bow down?". Instead, we find that he made claims that he was superior to Adam because of the nature of his creation. (Cf. Al-Hijr 15: 30 - 33, Al-A`raaf: 7: 11 - 12, Sa'd 39: 73 - 76)

4. Critics intend to confuse readers by quoting narrations of the early Muslims, especially those from the collection known as Tarikh At-Tabari which states that the Jinn were from amongst the angels. There are several errors with this method.

a) First of all, At-Tabari is a collection that contains many narrations that were not authenticated, intended to be recorded for future investigation. It contains many weak and fabricated narrations in addition to some authentic ones. Imaam Ibn Jarir At-Tabari (d. 923CE), himself, mentioned this in his work:

Let him who examines this book of mine know that I have relied, as regards everything I mention therein which I stipulate to be described by me, solely upon what has been transmitted to me by way of reports which I cite therein and traditions which I ascribe to their narrators, to the exclusion of what may be apprehended by rational argument or deduced by the human mind, except in very few cases. This is because knowledge of the reports of men of the past and of contemporaneous views of men of the present do not reach the one who has not witnessed them nor lived in their times except through the accounts of reporters and the transmission of transmitters, to the exclusion of rational deduction and mental inference. Hence, if I mention in this book a report about some men of the past, which the reader of listener finds objectionable or worthy of censure because he can see no aspect of truth nor any factual substance therein, let him know that this is not to be attributed to us but to those who transmitted it to us and we have merely passed this on as it has been passed on to us. (b� Jacfar Muhammad bin Jar�r al-Tabar�, T�r�kh al-Tabar�: T�r�kh al-Umam wal-Mul�k, 1997, Volume I, D�r al-Kutub al-cIlmiyyah, Beirut (Lebanon), pp. 13.)

And Dr. M.S.M. Saifullah comments by stating:

Thus, al-Tabar� faithfully displayed the accounts in the exact manner through which he received them. Can he then be held liable or attributed if any objectionable accounts should arise? To translate this into laymen's terms, al-Tabar� has simply refused accountability by avoiding the task of historical as well as had�th criticism. Therefore, any spurious/objectional accounts are not to be attributed to him. He only faithfully transmitted what he received, whether authentic or spurious. To say that al-Tabar� said such-and-such about "fallen angels" and Ibl�s (and claiming it to be authentic!) simply shows one inability to grasp the fundamentals of al-Tabar�'s book Tar�kh al-Tabar�: Tar�kh al-Umam wal-Mul�k. (SOURCE)

It is amazing to note that these critics simply cite the narrations and then immediately accept them as valid without any thought to authenticity. As Shahid bin Waheed mentions:

In brief, readers must know that narrations of all sorts, sound and weak have found a place in his commentary, because of this not every narration presented by al-Tabar� can be relied upon. In reality, Al-Tabar� was aiming through his commentary to collect and compile all narrations that could become available to him, so that this collected material could be put to use later on. Conceded is the fact that he has given the chain of reporters along with each narration so that whoever wished to investigate into the chain of narrators could do so and decide for himself if the narrations are true of false. (SOURCE)

We challenge such critics to provide evidence that scholars of hadith have accepted the narrations, which they have quoted from At-Tabari, as authentic. It should be noted that the only collections of narrations that Muslims accept as fully authentic are Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

b) The same critics attempt to defend their use of narrations from At-Tabari by citing evidence which demonstrates that Imaam At-Tabari could distinguish between weak and authentic narrations. Of course, their evidence only demonstrates that Imaam At-Tabari authenticated and examined some specific narrations, not that he authenticated his entire collection! No Muslim scholar would accept such a claim. Moreover, there is a narration mentioned in Ibn Kathir that completely falsifies the view that Imaam At-Tabari believed the Jinn (or Iblis) to be from the Angels. Ibn Kathir cites a narration from a renowned scholar amongst the early Muslims (tabi'een), Imaam Hasan Al-Basri:

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "Iblis was not one of the angels, not even for a second. He was the origin of the Jinn just as Adam, upon him be peace, was the origin of mankind.'' This was narrated by Ibn Jarir with a Sahih chain. (ftn. At-Tabari 18:506) (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, 2000, vol. 6, p. 171)

Thus, not only do we have an authentic narration from one of the early Muslims stating that Iblis was a Jinn, distinguished from the angels, but we also have Imaam Ibn Jarir At-Tabari affirming this narration in his collection! Therefore, since Imaam At-Tabari narrates one authentic narration stating that Iblis was not an angel, and he also narrates some unauthentic narrations stating that Iblis was an angel, it is obvious which narration takes precedence. The narrations cited by critics have never been labeled as authentic by scholars, whereas the above narration clearly has. It is safe to conclude that this authentic narration properly describes the Islamic belief that Iblis was a Jinn, not an angel.

c) One last point should be made about the usage of narrations from At-Tabari. It is obviously fallacious to use such narrations to prove a contradiction in the Qur'an since the Qur'an supercedes all narrations in any case.

Shaykh Mustafa Ashour, an Egyptian Islamic scholar, also explains the origin of the view that Iblis was an angel:

...the books of Qur'anic commentary and history have transmitted to us statements from a group of scholars who mention that Iblis was one of the angels. These scholars say that he was a guardian of the Garden or the lower heaven and that he was one of the noblest tribe among them, etc.
Ibn Kathir, however, points out that the early scholars related many traditions about this point. Most of them came from Jewish sources which were quoted so that they could be investigated. (Ashour, The Jinn in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, Dar Al Taqwa Ltd. 1989, p. 12)

He then goes on to cite the evidence quotes earlier which demonstrates that Iblis was a Jinn and not an Angel.
The narrations of Judaic influence found in commentaries are classifed as Israeliyyat. Mufti Muhammad Shafi describes the Israeliyyat as follows:

Judaica or Isra'iliyyat are narratives which have reached us through Jews and Christians. It may be noted that the early commentators used to write down all sorts of narrations which reached them from an identified source. Many of these narrations were straight from Judaica. (Shafi, Ma'ariful Qur'an, Maktaba-e-Darul-Uloom, Karachi 2003, vol. 1, p. 411)

The above explanation should clarify that narrations claiming that Iblis was an angel have no solid origin in Islam, while those that state that he was a Jinn are confirmed through many authentic channels.