Iblis - leader of Shayateen

Surah 7 Verse 11-18

This is the account of how Iblis became cursed.
He was amongst the angels although he was Jinn. He achieved this status because of his extreme piety.

However he did not bow to Adam:
- because he was made of clay, Iblis was of fire, Iblis thought it beneath him, pride
- Iblis was around before Adam, why should a senior bow to a junior

In his pride, he disobeyed Allah. He did not see that the issue was not who he was bowing to, but who gave the order.
Even in his wrong, he blames Allah for 'misguiding' him (Verse 16).

A few lessons from this:
- even if we do not understand a command, this is not a reason not to do it. Many people say that they need to 'understand the logic' behind before practising. But this is not obedience, submission. As long we are sure of the authenticity of the command, then that is all that matters.
- we obey the command, in the meantime we can research the wisdom/logic behind it. Even if we do not find it, this does not mean there is none.
- no matter how pious one can be, it does not mean one cannot make mistakes. True piety embodies true humility. There is no room for feeling that one is so pious rather one should be thankful to Allah all the time and always think of others as better than oneself in matters of Deen.

Allah mentions in Verse 13, that it is not a place for pride here. Again the importance of guarding against any traces of pride in one's heart.