Translation for 2:34

وَإِذۡ قُلۡنَا لِلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسۡجُدُواْ لِأٓدَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِبۡلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ ٣٤
And ˹remember˺ when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,”1 so they all did—but not Iblîs,2 who refused and acted arrogantly,3 becoming unfaithful.

Foot notes

76387

 The command to prostrate was a test of obedience. Satan arrogantly refused to comply because he believed he was superior to Adam—arguing that Adam was made of mud while Satan was made of fire (see 7:12).

76385

 Prostration in this verse does not mean worship, but an act of respect. A similar occurrence can be found in Sûrah 12, where Jacob (ﷺ), his wife, and his eleven children knelt down before Joseph (ﷺ).

76386

 Iblîs was the name of Satan before his fall from grace. Iblîs was not an angel, but one of the jinn (see 18:50). Jinn are another creation of Allah, similar to humans in that they—unlike angels—have free will, but are made of smokeless fire and live in another plane of existence.