Re: Angels in Religion
Iblis is a jinn ("he was one of the jinn" Qur'an 18:50)
Iblis and al Shaytan (along with his minions) are similarly described in the Qur'an as "outcast/accursed" (rajim, al rajim)... e.g. Iblis = "Then, get out from here, for verily you are rajim" (15:34) and the Shaytan = "So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Shaytan al rajim" (16:98)
... based even on the above one could conclude that Iblis and al Shaytan are one and the same...
but then there are the verses:
"When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves to Adam", they prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he refused.
Then We said: "O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery." (20:116-117)
among other things we learn from these two verses that it is Iblis who intends to get Adam and his wife "out of the Garden"... compare this with:
"O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got your parents out of the Garden" (7:27)
Iblis and al Shaytan are one and the same