Connected or Disconnected Exception?

Although the exception made in this verse with “except” (illā) appears to be connected, since Iblīs was seemingly among the angels and lived in their company—as suggested by the phrase “what you were concealing” which was attributed to all angels due to his presence—it is, in reality, a disconnected exception. This is because it is explicitly stated elsewhere that Iblīs was from the jinn: “So they prostrated, except for Iblīs; he was of the jinn” (18:50). This disconnected exception resembles the exception made in the verse “They have no knowledge of it except the following of conjecture” (4:157), where conjecture is not truly part of knowledge.

If the rule of predominance applies, where the title of “angel” is used for Iblīs due to his apparent membership among them, the exception could be considered connected. However, questions arise about how Iblīs, a jinn, came to reside among the infallible angels, especially since jinn are not infallible.

The answer lies in understanding that angels have various ranks: “And there is none of us except that he has a known position” (37:164). Some angels dwell in the realm of complete abstraction, others in the world of similitudes, and still others dominate the material world. The angels in the material realm do not disobey as those in purely abstract realms do, but their environment allows the potential entry of beings like Iblīs, much like infallibles among humans who live in a world where disobedience exists. Thus, it is possible that Iblīs was among a specific group of angels, distinct from those brought near to the Divine Throne.

Note: The coexistence of entities from the natural world with higher levels of abstraction, such as intellectual or imaginal ranks, is not exclusive to humans and jinn. There is no evidence limiting this coexistence to only these beings.