| Answer:
A reflection on the various verses which mention this directive
shows that the angels were asked to bow down before Adam for a specific
purpose. I’ll try to explain this purpose: You see one of the great sins is
arrogance. It often leads to many other sins and may even take a person to
committing polytheism. To educate Adam about the future that he and his
progeny will have to overcome the obstacle of arrogance if they want to
enter Paradise in the Hereafter, the angels and jinn were given this
directive. Being superior in qualities, their real test was to surrender to
the command of the Almighty before a much inferior being. All except one
passed this test. A jinn called Iblīs disobeyed Allah because of arrogance,
as is specified by the Qur’ān. This doomed him forever but he was given
respite till the Day of Judgement. The lesson of the whole episode being
that arrogance and haughtiness before the Lord of the worlds is the gravest
of sins. Mankind and their progenitor must remain aware of this evil habit
at the very start of their lives. In other words, Adam and his progeny are
urged to always follow the dazzling example of the other angels by
submitting to the word of Allah and to never follow the arrogant attitude of
Iblīs for this would leave them to encounter the severest of punishments in
the Hereafter: Hell.
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