According to Nouman Ali Khan, Iblis is a highly strategic and intelligent being who is neither delusional nor psychotic. He possesses free will, a sense of right and wrong, and full moral responsibility, which makes his choice to disobey far more significant than that of someone who simply does not believe in God. Unlike humans who receive divine commands through books or messengers, Iblis heard the command to bow directly from Allah. This direct interaction makes his refusal remarkable because even the fear of Allah, which he certainly possessed, was outweighed by something deeper within his personality.
That internal obstacle was his rigid self-image. Iblis had built a concept of himself as a "VIP" because he was the only jinn amongst the angels, leading him to believe he was more special than anyone else. When Allah commanded the angels and Iblis to bow to Adam, Iblis felt his status as "number one" was under threat. He was faced with a choice: break Allah’s rule or break his own prideful image of himself. He chose to protect his ego, fearing that if he let go of that special status, he would be equal to everyone else.
Following this fall, Iblis used his intellect to shift the blame, targeting both Adam and Allah for his situation. He viewed Adam as the reason he was no longer special and committed himself to a life of revenge and sabotage against humanity. Khan suggests that Iblis now attempts to infect humans with this same value system, where a person's worth is derived from their rank, possessions, or how others perceive them rather than their actual conduct or character. In this mindset, one's value is tied to being "number one" or even being the "biggest problem" just to remain relevant and visible. Ultimately, Iblis prioritises "his truth"—the story he created in his head to justify his actions—over the actual truth, and he encourages humans to do the same by clinging to their own narratives even when they are destructive.
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