Why does Iblees and shaytaans disobey Allah?

Question

We humans go astray, commit sins, disbelieve and disobey Allah mainly because we do not believe in Allah, or do not believe in Allah enough. Imagine if one knows Allah exists and have experienced the unseen, he won't disobey Allah because he knows fire will be his fate if he does so.

Iblees was in heaven living with the angels, He was commanded by Allah to bow and defied Allah and took an oath to Allah that he will misguide every human. But why would he do that, knowing that Allah exists and he will be sent to the fire at Day of Judgement for these? Isn't it obviously stupid to do such a thing when he knows clearly his fate?

Same applies to the shaytaans, they are the jinns and they see us humans. They know the unseen and they can confirm the Quran way better than us. They probably should know that Allah exists, rather than us humans who believe Allah exists. Taking that knowledge into consideration, why would a jinn still defy his lord when it is clear to him his fate for doing so?

Answer 1

Sura 7:179 states that

And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.

This tells us that the jinn are prone to the same fallacies of reasoning as mankind, that they do not naturally have an awareness that submission to Allah swt is the best course of action.

Sura 72:1 states

Say, [O Muhammad], "It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, 'Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur'an.

Not all of the jinn are aware of the Qur'an. Among those who are aware, they see the error of the nonbelievers.

Sura 72:14 states

And among us are Muslims [in submission to Allah ], and among us are the unjust. And whoever has become Muslim - those have sought out the right course.

On this page, shaytan are listed as jinn who have chosen a malicious path. This page, also from islamawareness.net, concurs. They are clearly jinn who have not heard the Qur'an, and thus are prey to the same fallacy of reasoning as any human.

Iblis likely did not know about the fate that awaited him when he chose not to bow (the Qur'an was revealed long after the creation of Adam), or if he did, his excessive pride was his downfall.

Sura 7:12 states

[ Allah ] said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" [Satan] said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay."

Finally, it is possible (though I cannot find any clear evidence for this) that prior to hearing the Qur'an, the jinn did not recognize a difference between the fire they are made of and the fire of Hell.

Answer 2

I don’t have enough knowledge to answer your question, but this is just an attempt to put some light in your quest to find your answer. From Iblis or Shaitan’s point of view his thinking is based on logic. Iblis may be right that Adam is not worth to bow for because of what he is made of. And Allah (swt) asked Iblis why (and Allah already knows, but it’s for us to understand), Iblis responded that he’s better because of what he is made of. It seems that Iblis makes decision based on logic using comparisons of physical elements. Logic is imo a very important element of what makes Ibliss and Adam different. For example, if we want to save a child from water, we don’t calculate the chance to save him, but we sacrifice our live to save the child, which is beyond logic. That is what Ibliss or Shaytan doesn’t understand, that makes us as children of Adam (as) so special. So Shaytan is needed to test us by seducing us to do the logic stuff. For example, if I don’t believe in Allah (swt) and the afterlife, I’d do anything that makes me feel good even at cost of other’s lives. Who cares, I won’t exist after that anyway. That sounds quiet logic to me. If I was born as a poor child in Africa, why should I struggle to survive? I’d jump from a cliff to commit suicide. Why would I struggle and experience a lot of pain for years and nobody cares about me? It’s quite reasonable and logic to commit suicide. But since we know we just don’t exist like that and we received guidance from Allah (swt) in the form of a book called Quran that informs us about the hereafter and guides us on how to live this life in this dunya. We can be better than Shaytan and be the righteous to live in Paradise inshallah.