Of Angels and Satan

I first heard of the fallen angels from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, in my English class at Northern Illinois University. In this essay I would like to give the Muslim version of the fallen angel. First let me say something about God's creation in which angels are a part. Generally God's creation can be put under two broad categories - The Seen and the Unseen. The Seen comprises of men and animals. The former is endowed with free choice. So men are either good or bad depending on the choice they make. Animals, however, are not endowed with free choice. They are created good with no option of becoming bad. Its true that there is a lot of killing in the animal world which we human perceive as bad, but its not so. Its all part of the food chain that has been programed by God. It should also be noted that man and animals are created from the same elements found on earth

The Unseen comprises of the angels and the jin. The former are created from light and the later from fire. Angels are not endowed with free choice so they are the most obedient of God's creatures. They are not capable going against God - not rebellious. As for jin, they are endowed with free choice. So there are good jin and bad jin. The bad jin are the ones that rebelled against God - not the fallen angels but the fallen jin. These bad characters are known as "Iblis" in Arabic and "Satan" in English. We feel bad when Christians talk bad about the angels. Lets not accuse the angels for the rebellion.

Muslims believe that both angels and jin or satan are right here on earth. The angels are the one that urge us to do good and the satan urge us to do bad

Ever wonder why the late Saddam Husin called George Bush "The Big Satan"