وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ
“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.” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Taberî, Iblis's refusal to prostrate to Adam stemmed from his arrogance toward Allah and the envy he harbored toward Adam. Through this conduct, he became one of those whose disbelief was known beforehand in Allah's knowledge, he denied His lordship, and he rejected submission when he should have complied. The angels' prostration, however, was not worship of Adam but rather obedience to Allah and honoring Adam.
فإنه لم يسجد له استكبارا على الله، وحسدا لآدم
Zemahşerî12. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, the expression 'wa-idh' is subordinate to an implied verb, and it reminds us of Iblis's enmity toward Adam, his tempting him, his making the eating from the tree seem good, and his being obeyed despite the advice, eloquent admonition, and warnings to beware of his scheming directed at him. This situation demonstrates that Iblis was not among those possessed of firmness and constancy. Furthermore, there is debate as to whether 'kan' in the expression 'kana min al-kafirun' refers to the existence of his disbelief at that moment or to his having been a disbeliever in Allah's eternal knowledge in past times.
منصوب بمضمر ، أي : واذكر وقت ما جرى عليه من معاداة إبليس ووسوسته إليه وتزيينه له الأكل من الشجرة ، وطاعته له بعد ما تقدمت معه النصيحة والموعظة البليغة والتحذير من كيده ، حتى يتبين لك أنه لم يكن من أولي العزم والثبات
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this exegete, the verse contains five fundamental matters concerning the command given to the angels to prostrate to Adam: whether all angels or only some were commanded, the meaning of prostration, whether Iblis was from among the angels and how the exception is valid, whether this event indicates that Adam was superior to Muhammad, and how disbelief necessarily follows from Iblis's 'aba' (refusal) action. It is noted that these matters were previously dealt with in detail in Surat al-Baqara. Furthermore, there is discussion that the general principle cannot be specified by analogy, and that Iblis's opposition to the command through the analogy that fire is superior to earth from dust is evidence of this.
فثبت أن إبليس ما عمل في هذه الواقعة شيئا إلا أنه خصص عموم قوله تعالى
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Kurtubî conveys the disagreement concerning whether Iblis was an angel or not; according to the view of the majority (Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, Qatada and others), Iblis was from among the angels and the exception in the verse is a connected exception. In contrast, some scholars (Shahr b. Hawshab and some legal theorists) said that he was from among the jinn and was captured with them and grew up among them, and therefore the exception was disconnected. Additionally, reports are narrated regarding fire being the cause of Iblis's arrogance as the reason he was created from fire, and the view that Allah's expression 'kana min al-kafirun' means knowledge in His knowledge that he would be a disbeliever.
وغايته نصب على الاستثناء المتصل لأنه كان من الملائكة على قول الجمهور : أبن عباس وأبن مسعود وأبن جريج وأبن المسيب وقتادة وغيرهم وهو أختيار الشيخ أبي الحسن ورجحه الطبري وهو ظاهر الآية
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
Ibn Kathir conveys that the prostration commanded to the angels was in the nature of obedience to Allah, and that this prostration directed toward Adam was a prostration of honor, dignity, and exaltation for the purpose of Allah's ennobling Adam. The reason for Iblis's refusal of this prostration is mentioned as arrogance; the arrogance, disbelief, and obstinacy in his heart necessitated his expulsion from Allah's mercy. Furthermore, it is noted that the story of Harut and Marut is lighter than the sin committed by Iblis.
وقد ثبت في الصحيح لا يدخل الجنة من كان في قلبه مثقال حبة من خردل من كبر وقد كان في قلب إبليس من الكبر والكفر والعناد ما اقتضى طرده وإبعاده عن جناب الرحمة وحضرة القدس
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Baydawi, the command to the angels to prostrate to Adam was given after Adam taught them things they did not know and informed them of the names, for the purpose of acknowledging his superiority and fulfilling his due. The prostration is either worship performed in reality to Allah with Adam as the direction of prayer, or it is a linguistic prostration meaning humility and exaltation toward Adam. Iblis opposed this command and became arrogant, considered himself superior to Adam, and therefore became one of the disbelievers; moreover, the verse indicates that Adam was superior to the angels in at least one respect and that Iblis was (in a sense) from among the angels.
والآية تدل على أن آدم عليه السلام أفضل من الملائكة المأمورين بالسجود له، ولو من وجه، وأن إبليس كان من الملائكة وإلا لم يتناوله أمرهم ولا يصح استثناؤه منهم
Comparison
Common ground
All exegetes agree that the angels' prostration to Adam was not worship of Adam but rather obedience to Allah and honoring Adam. Additionally, arrogance and pride are emphasized as the fundamental reason for Iblis's refusal to prostrate, and the interpretation of the expression 'kana min al-kafirun' as meaning knowledge in Allah's eternal knowledge that he would be a disbeliever (found in Taberî, Zamakhshari, Kurtubî, and Ibn Kathir) emerges as a shared tendency. While exegetes such as Râzî and Kurtubî address the matter of whether Iblis was among the angels separately, Baydawi also contributes to this discussion with reports.
Differences
While Taberî presents a simpler explanation based more on reports (Abu al-Aliyah, Qatada) and linguistic analysis, Zamakhshari shifts the matter to the axis of eloquence and grammar (the temporal scope of the verb 'kan', the estimated meaning of 'wa-idh'). Râzî addresses the subject within a theological and legal theoretical framework, dividing it into five fundamental matters, and adds the legal theory dimension by including the specification of the general principle through analogy and discussion of Jabrite views. Kurtubî elaborates on report-based disagreements such as whether Iblis was an angel or a jinn and whether the exception was connected or disconnected, distinguishing between majority and minority views with hadith support. Ibn Kathir provides a report-heavy presentation and adds comparison with the story of Harut and Marut. Baydawi, on the other hand, emphasizes the linguistic and legal meanings of the word prostration and makes contextual comparison with Surat al-Sad. These differences stem from methodological and school differences such as Taberî's early period report-based exegesis method, Zamakhshari's Mu'tazilite eloquence-focused approach, Râzî's theological-philosophical systematic method, Kurtubî's legal-report synthetic style, Ibn Kathir's Salafi report preference, and Baydawi's summarizing language-report combination.
Historical context
From the earliest exegete Taberî (3rd/9th century) to the latest Baydawi (7th/13th century), the basic meaning framework (the nature of prostration, Iblis's arrogance) has largely remained constant, but the method has become increasingly diverse and deeper. While report narration dominated in the early period (Taberî), linguistic and eloquence analysis (Zamakhshari, Baydawi) and theological-legal theoretical discussions (Râzî) came to the fore in later periods, and later exegetes such as Kurtubî and Ibn Kathir displayed a synthetic approach that brought together all previous accumulation (report, language, theology, law). This shows that the exegetical tradition evolved over time from a report-heavy reading toward a multi-layered interdisciplinary (language, theology, law, report) method.