38:71 When your Lord said to the angels, "I am creating a mortal of clay."
From here to this surah's end is the story of Adam and Iblis. A great deal has been said about the two, which I summarize here:
In terms of the outwardness, a slip appeared from Adam and an act of disobedience from Iblis. It was said to Adam, "Do not eat the wheat," and he ate it. It was said to Iblis, "Prostrate yourself," and he did not do so. The capital of rejection and of acceptance, however, did not arise from their acts. It arose from the flow of the Pen and the decrees of Eternity. The Pen wrote felicity for Adam as a consequence of the eternal will. A support was found for that in his makeup, and his sin was consigned to that by way of excuse: He forgot, and We found in him no resoluteness [20:115].
In the case of Iblis, the Pen had written rejection and expulsion by the decree of the eternal will, so an ambuscade was made from his own makeup and his sin was consigned to himself: He refused and claimed to be great; he was one of the unbelievers [2:34]. A collar was made for the sake of cursing and, by the decree of beginningless rejection, it was fastened to the neck of his days. Thus, whenever a gem appeared from the crucible of his deeds, it turned out to be a discard from the hand of the assayer of knowledge. His deeds were discards and his worship became the cause of the curse. His obedience became the motivation for being driven out, and concerning the reality of his work, this expression was given: "No one stands up to the decree and no one contends with the Beginningless."
Which lover of Yours do I not copy
and which night for You do I not weep?
Though the Adamite does not please You,
he has given You permission to shed his blood.
In the world of acceptance Adam was like Iblis in the world of rejection. Wherever there are greetings and felicitations, they are turned toward Adam, and wherever there are cursing and expulsion, they are turned toward Iblis. The forelock of that cursed one is fastened to the hem of the resurrection not because of any bestowal of eminence. Rather, the divine goal is that whenever a child's fingers should pick up a stone, he should throw the stone of cursing at his head: "A curse upon Iblis."
The pure ones of the empire and those given proximity to the Threshold were addressed by the All-Compelling Presence: "I have written the edict of dismissal and drawn up the proclamation of rejection for one of you." All of them turned into sorrow and burning.
Gabriel went before ʿAzāzīl, who today is called Iblis, and said, "If such a state appears, place your hand on my head." He was saying, "Write this work for me." He was giving an assurance to all of them and saying, "Let your hearts be at ease, for I will stand up for you."
Then the permit came from the Exalted Threshold: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!" [2:34]. That accursed one pulled back the reins of chieftainship, for he had the arrogance of I am better in his head: