The Exalted Ones & The Better Group

 

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The Exalted Ones

قَالَ يَا إِبْلِيسُ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَن تَسْجُدَ لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ ۖ أَسْتَكْبَرْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ الْعَالِينَ

He said, "O Iblis! What prevented you that you (should) prostrate to (one) whom I created with My Hands? Are you arrogant or are you of the exalted ones."

[Al-Quran 38:75]

إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ

When they said, "Surely Yusuf and his brother (are) more beloved to our father than we, while we (are) a group. Indeed, our father (is) surely in an error clear.
[Al-Quran 12:8]

Surah Saad focuses on the rich and powerful people, believers and non-believers. So, its no wonder that الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ (The High Chiefs) are mentioned in this surah (Q38:69) before commencing the narrative about Adam. In Q38:75, the question implies that الْعَالِينَ (The Exalted Ones), the High Chiefs were exempt from this command of prostration to Adam. Iblis was not a high chief, and thus not exempt. 

Q38:69 also implies that there is a back story, but we have not been given knowledge about it. There is always great purpose in all that Allah does, and so there must be a very good reason why He created Adam, and commanded the angels to prostrate to him.   

According to the Biblical account on Wikipedia, Jacob had twelve sons from four women. Joseph and his younger brother were sons of the same mother, while the ten elder brothers were from three different women. Joseph's elder half-brothers considered themselves as a group superior to Joseph and his younger full-brother!  

A screenshot from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel taken on March 9, 2021

The Better Group? 

قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ

He said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and You created him from clay."
[Al-Quran 38:76]

إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ

When they said, "Surely Yusuf and his brother (are) more beloved to our father than we, while we (are) a group. Indeed, our father (is) surely in an error clear.
[Al-Quran 12:8]

Iblis, a jinn, a snake, created from fire, ... putting all of the clues together, I believe that the comparison is between Ectotherms and Endotherms, as discussed in detail in: جَانٌّ (Snake || Jinn)and The Creation & Emergence of Species. 

Why the elder half-brothers considered themselves a superior group to Joseph and his full-brother is unclear. 

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The above excerpts are from: Q38 71-88 || Q12