Surah 18:50
"(Remember) when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ and they prostrated themselves, except Iblīs. He was one of the jinn, and acted wickedly (against) the command of his Lord. Do you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me, when they are your enemy? Evil is the exchange for the evildoers!"
Nature of Iblis: Angel or Jinn
Opposing Verses
Surah 15:30 → "So the angels prostrated themselves – all of them together"
Surah 15:31 → "– except Iblīs. He refused to be with the ones who prostrated themselves."
Surah 20:116 → "(Remember) when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ and they prostrated themselves, except Iblīs. He refused."
Surah 2:34 → "(Remember) when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ and they prostrated themselves, except Iblīs. He refused and became arrogant, and was one of the disbelievers."
Surah 38:73 → "So the angels prostrated themselves – all of them together"
Surah 38:74 → "– except Iblīs. He became arrogant, and was one of the disbelievers."
There is a perceived textual discrepancy in the Quran regarding the nature of Iblis. Certain verses describe the angels prostrating to Adam except for Iblis, which linguistically groups him with the angels. Conversely, another verse explicitly identifies Iblis as being one of the jinn.