Why God command the angels to bow down to Adam, a creature, when it is absolutely forbidden to do so in Islam?

Question

If it is argued that the prostration signified respect and not worship, then why is it forbidden to do so now?

God does not change and must remain consistent, right?

Answer 1

As-Salaamu Aliakum Sister It is my understanding that we,are to prostate only to Allah Subahanah wa TaAlla.The Angels are different.Prophet Muhammad did not Prostate to Jibril. It was Iblis who alone among the Angels refused to prostrate,to Adam,and who said that Adam was created from dirt,while he was created from smokeless fire. It was for this that he was cast from Jannah.The angels had said that Adam would stir up Fitnah on Earth,And Allah Said"I KNOW WHAT YOU DO NOT".yes,you can read Genesis like the Christian suggested and find such outrages as prophet Nuh drunken,and Jacob wrestling with Allah.SubahannahAllah! May Allah protect us from the excess of The people of the book,and Allah knows best.

Answer 2

Humans are unique in God's creation and have a rank potentially above that of angels. God created mankind in His image, ie with his qualities potentially - God has 99 attributes (names). By imbuing the attributes of God on a human level mankind can attain His nearness in a unique way above that of the angels. God gave Adam something unique of himself which angels don't have, which signifies that angels are not advanced as humans are (potentially) so when the angels bowed they were in fact bowing to God.

~~add~~:
"When thy Lord said unto the angels: lo! I am about to create a mortal out of mire, And when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of MY SPIRIT, then fall down before him prostrate." (Qur'an 38:71-72)

Answer 3

In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate and Merciful

I hope this message finds you in the best of health and spirits.

It seems this question is fairly common in this forum, so I will post a previous answer of mine to the same question below. As described towards the end of it, in relation to what you're driving at, we see that the upshot is that the tenets of faith, which address the mind's belief in God, don't change from Adam until the Day of Judgment. What changes from the era of one prophet to the next is the Sacred Law, which addresses the body's submission to God. And God Most High knows best.

In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate and Merciful

All praise is due to God, who created messengers -- the very best of all of creation -- as a mercy to human beings, delivering guidance so that felicity may be realized. The first of these messengers being Adam (peace and blessings be upon him), who was made from clay (earth). God commanded prostration to this man who was of the greatest of created things, being one of the messengers.

This command revealed the sin of Iblis, the sin of pride, something we should all ask God to protect us from. Understand that no person or jinn obeys or disobeys God, except that Allah knows, wills, and powers the obedience or disobedience. Iblis was one of the jinn, and was thus not divinely protected from disobedience, unlike the angels.

Understand also that shirk is taking something else as a god besides God Most Mighty and Majestic. The act of prostration (better word to use than bow, in this context, as we're translating sujud as opposed to ruku') is an act of the body, while shirk is an act of the mind. The messengers came with the same tenets of faith -- i.e. the same message -- one after another. What differed amongst them was the Sacred Law, which God sent to different nations that existed in different times. While prophet Yusuf (Joseph) (peace and blessings be upon him) received the prostration of his family members as an accepted greeting, this act is unlawful as a greeting in our times, as our Sacred Law is the final one, made clear to us on the tongue of Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace). The point here being that acts of the body differ in the era of one messenger to the next. For the children of prophet Adam, sexual relations between siblings was permissible. (How else should we get the human race?) In our times this is a crime termed "incest."

Understand also that God does not command to anything but what is best for the human being. Shirk is the biggest sin one can commit, and it is not possible for God to lie, by nature of His attributes.

And God Most High knows best. And all praise is due to God, Lord of all the worlds.

Answer 4

First off I don't think 90% of the people would believe who he is or was, and would not care for what he had to say. That is if he came in human form. The last God, could not get all the people to listen to him. For most of them did not care what he had to say. Sorry. take care dave

Answer 5

You in the divine proximity there are different rules to be followed than other place, even though God knows what we are doing all the time and he even knows whats in our hearts.

Its like if you are outside the kings palace you would act differently then you would when you are in the kings court.

Answer 6

Wasn't the whole angels kneeling thing in Milton's Paradise lost?

Answer 7

Qur'an is made up story by the self claimed prophet. God would never command such a thing, not God of Abraham.

Answer 8

Where did you ever get that false information from?
God commanding the angels to bow to Adam -- you better re-read Genesis one more time!

Answer 9

I guess Islam wasn't invented then, it's a really new religion in it's infancy compared to Hindu religion.

Answer 10

Because it was ordered by ALLAH, so how anyone but SATAN deny it?
http://www.answering-christianity.com/let_us.htm
www.answering-christianity.com/my_muslim_holy_bible_project.htm
www.answering-christianity.com/spirit1_rebuttal.htm
May Allah help & guide us all, Amen’.