First among the Ungrateful is Iblis, Their Guide (Imam), Their Leader, and Their ChiefMay God Curse Him!
To note, Islam does not consider the Jinn nor Iblis (the devil) to be Angels, they are different creations, my guess is this is a translation choice of words.
Fortunately, the next segment clears it up more as to what the Jinn are, personally, I’m not sure if inserting the word angelic in here helps, again be it from the translators, I’m not sure. Nonetheless, this makes their differences clear:
So, perhaps Angels (proper) and Jinn were created on different days, further, this shows that the Jinn have free will. Whereas Angels (proper) should/do not. This is key versus the “fallen Angel” theory from Christians and perhaps Jewish traditions.
This was always interesting to me, and the verse is known in the Quran. What was interesting to me is that, as the Angels say, they they praise and sanctify God, yet they pose this question to God. It occurred to me, as an opinion (did I mention I’m not a scholar?) that perhaps the Angels are allowed to have the capacity to think, ask questions, and even make a “judgement call” if it might more please God. So they have some limited range of choice? But just not one that would cause disobedience to God. Now. . .
So this discussed Gabriel and Michael returning from their mission because the Earth sought refuge with God, however, interestingly, God then sends the Angel of Death, and he carries out the command, which is an interesting happening, because of his duty, perhaps he is strengthened for this type of task?
That “it” was Adam as he was in some sort of beginning clay format, when you understand this, it makes you realize how much more cursed Iblis should be, this is a creating of God going on, and he is kicking it!
Iblis is a strange individual. Without even knowing, he had decided he disliked this creation.
God taught Adam, including “farts”
I don’t say that jokingly, in fact, given that in Islam breaking wind would invalidate wudu (cleanliness for prayer), it actually makes sense there is some common language for this natural human condition. But note, the words taught to Adam also included sheep and cows, and more.
This part is interesting because Adam is teaching the Angels. It’s clear, to me, why Adam is a Messenger of God, and not only just the first human. Anyone communicating with Angels, Jinn, God, etc. directly, and even being in Heaven briefly, must be.
Do not eat from this tree. . .
How the devil came to the snake. . .
So the snake was not the devil, it was another creature that the Devil used to bypass the keepers of Paradise. Obviously, God was aware of this and what would happen.
Iblis is a terrible liar, may Iblis have the routine curses from all creation upon him for his lies. That being said, I would note https://islamqa.info/en/answers/111596/he-is-asking-about-the-way-in-which-iblees-whispered-to-our-father-adam and it mentions, “…So the Muslim should not let himself be distracted by that which is less important from that which is more important, or by minor details from the fundamentals…” which I think to be a sound warning. So it’s worth pausing to remember that this deep dive by al-Tabari is not a core item of faith, and the stories he transmits are varied too. As a matter of learning what the people of his time understood, it’s interesting, but the core of concern for faith, as they mention is sticking to the Sunnah.
If you’re unsure what Sunnah is, then brush up here: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/145520/difference-between-hadith-and-sunnah
To give an example, before moving back to interesting highlights, does this matter?
“Some camels were originally jinn…” No, but Tabari is a historian who collected everything he could, so it’s going to be found in his works. To me again, it’s only benefit is understanding what people of his time understood, and the people of his time were much closer to the time of the Prophet (200 ish years) than us in 2025, so, that historical perspective of the different cultures and times help step back into their shoes and take their viewpoints from what they knew basically.
Iblis is a persistant enemy. . . a lesson we must remember.
That the tree caused them to “use the restroom” reminds me of the following: https://hadith.one/riyadus-salihin:1879
Later al-Tabari discusses how Adam might have believed the statement of Iblis, may Iblis be cursed by God:
Whatever happened to the snake?
Adam started large and became smaller.
And what is 30 meters?
30, 45, and up to 60 meters, different reports stating Adam’s height, although some reports mention his size being reduced at least once too.
The text goes on to mention Moses was 5 meters tall:
We are all responsible for our own sins, just like Adam.
This is a remarkable statement, one that Prophets seem to know: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/309/duas-prayers-at-times-of-distress regarding Prophet Jonah (peace be upon him), “The Prophet (Peace & Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said to his companions: “Shall I not tell you some words which, if distress or grief befalls any of you and he offers this prayer (supplication), it will bring him joy? It is the du`a of Dhoo’l-Noon (i.e. Yunus or Jonah): ‘There is no god but You, Glory to You; verily I was one of the wrongdoers.’” (Saheeh al-Jaami‘, no. 2605).”
The running trend is to state you are wrong, that God is great, and without his mercy we are among the losers. This has to do with the story of the whale.
All The People
I have seen some variants of this, but the running theme is that, somehow, at some point. God has asked everyone, “am I your Lord?” to which everyone affirms. There is an article on it here: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/248517/the-covenant-taken-from-the-sons-of-adam-is-the-fitrah; I find that to be interesting and ultimately fair even, before your test of life begins, you are asked of the truth, thus when you are called for account, you cannot – nor would attempt having remembered at that time – say that you didn’t know, or that you didn’t understand, etc. God knows best.
