18-50 And when We said to the angels: Make submission to Adam, they submitted except Iblis. He was of the jinn, so he transgressed the commandment of his Lord. Will you then take him and his offspring for friends rather than Me, and they are your enemies? Evil is the exchange for the unjust.a
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِۦٓ ۗ أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُۥ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُۥٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِى وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّۢ ۚ بِئْسَ لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ بَدَلًۭا (۵۰)
18-50a: After discussing the love of this world and human accountability for deeds in the last section, this section informs us that a person who follows the devil, treads on the wrong path that will end in destruction. For the disobedience of the devil see 2-34a. It is clearly stated here that Iblis is not from the angels but from the jinn. Despite this clarity, strange stories have been fabricated to include him in the category of angels. Some declare jinn to be a tribe of angels although it is clearly stated about jinn that they are created from fire, while the creation of angels is from light as proven from Hadith. Some call jinn to be from the elite angels. Some have said that the jinn and angels used to battle each other, and Iblis was captured in one of these battles when very young and was taken to be with the angels, hence he started worshipping like them and hence came to be regarded as an angel. These are all baseless stories. Hassan states: قاتل اللّٰہ اقوامًا زعموا ان ابلیس من الملائکة و اللّٰہ تعالیٰ یقول کان من الجن There are some people who claimed that Iblis was one of the angels, and God Almighty says he was one of the jinn.
Another noteworthy point is that in this verse the devil or Iblis is stated to have offspring as well. Qatadah narrates: ھم یتوالدون کما تتوالد بنو اٰدم They reproduce like the sons of Adam reproduce. An even clearer statement is made by Ibn Zaid: قال اللّٰہ لِابلیس انی لا اذر أُلِاٰدم ذریةً الَّا ذرأت لك مثلھا Allah said to Iblis: I will not cause any person to be born in the offspring of Adam, but I will cause a like offspring to be born to you. This goes to show that every person has his own personal devil. In reality the being that has a connection with a person’s animal desires is the person’s devil. However, to interpret these narrations as meaning that there is marriage among the jinn, and birth and death like in the humans is not correct. The offspring of the devil are called thus as they do the same work as he does. Accordingly, by offspring some have taken to mean those who follow the devil.
18-51 I made them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation. Nor could I take those who mislead for aiders.
مَّآ أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا خَلْقَ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا كُنتُ مُتَّخِذَ ٱلْمُضِلِّينَ عَضُدًۭا (۵۱)
18-51a: عَضُد – It is the part of the arm between the elbow and the shoulder, or upper arm and is metaphorically used for a helper (R).
No partners in creation: What is meant by مَّآ أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ : I made them not to witness the creation of the heavens? The literal meaning of شاھد or شھید is simply a witness. So, some have taken it to mean that they were not consulted, while some others have taken it to mean that they were not born according to their wish, or they were not born perfect (RM). However, the purpose of calling someone at the time of important work is to get assistance, and it is on this basis that the meaning of شھداء in وَٱدْعُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ : and call on your helpers besides Allah (2:23) is taken as helper. Ibn Jarir has taken the meaning to be:
ما احضر تہم ذٰلك فاستعین بہم . The ending words of the verse, that Allah could not take those who mislead as aiders, supports this meaning. Since they are not partners or helpers in the creation, they should not be obeyed because the right to be worshipped belongs only to the One who creates. Who are being referred to in مَّآ أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ I made them not to witness? Some say the reference is to the devils, some say to the disbelievers, and some say to the angels, but the verse refers to those who are taken by people following the devil, as partners of Allah. The next verse further clarifies this نَادُوا۟ شُرَكَآءِىَ : Call on those whom you considered to be My partners (18:52). It is these made-up partners that are meant here, and they are called مُضِلِّينَ because people go astray because of them, as stated in: رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًۭا : My Lord, surely they have led many men astray (14:36).
18-52 And one day He will say: Call on those whom you considered to be My partners. So they will call on them, but they will not answer them, and We shall cause a separation between them.a
وَيَوْمَ يَقُولُ نَادُوا۟ شُرَكَآءِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُم مَّوْبِقًۭا (۵۲)
18-52a: بَيْنَهُم – بَيْنَ means between but also has another meaning وَصۡل connection, joining, uniting. In another verse, it is stated: لَقَد تَّقَطَّعَ بَيْنَكُمْ : Certainly the ties between you are now cut off (6:94) where بَيْنَ means connection (R). This is the meaning in this verse.
مَوْبِق – وَبَق means he stayed away from an affair and so perished, as in أَوْ يُوبِقْهُنَّ Or He causes them to perish (42:34). So, مَوْبِق means to perish.
18-53 And the guilty will see the Fire, and know that they are about to fall into it, and they will find no escape from it.
وَرَءَا ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ ٱلنَّارَ فَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُم مُّوَاقِعُوهَا وَلَمْ يَجِدُوا۟ عَنْهَا مَصْرِفًۭا (۵۳)
Bayan-ul-Quran 