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 == The way things are... == 

 salaaM, 

 thank you for supporting my rights and freedoms, GOD loves the just and eequitable. may He bless and guide you. 

 i don't think for one second that i can persuade you of anything, believe and submission to GOD comes from within; from a sincere desire to return to our Creator. but, that won't stop me from answering your questions, insha'Allah ) 

 first i would like to say that if you name is Yahya, you are truly blessed, it is one of my favorite names and i may someday name one of my sons as such. 

 the following is something worth reading, even if you've already read it from Dr. Khalifa's work. the end is my answer to your questions about Satan and the *initial* creation. please read it, happy holidays! 

 (2 weeks off is nice no matter what you think about the pagan christmas) 

 *** 

 Before Genesis 

 It all began a few billion years ago when one of God's high-ranking creatures, Satan (Iblees, Iblis, Lucifer, Shaitan, Shaytan), developed a supercilious idea that he could run a dominion as an independent god besides God. This challenge to God's absolute authority was not only blasphemous, it was also erroneous. Satan was ignorant of the fact that God alone possesses the ability to be a god, and that there is much more to godhood than he realized. It was the ego - arrogance augmented by ignorance - that led Satan to believe that he could take care of a dominion, as a god, and run it without disease, misery, war, accidents, and chaos. The vast majority of God's creatures disagreed with Satan. Yet, the minute egoistic minority that agreed with him in various extents were in the billions. Thus, a profound dispute erupted within the Heavenly Community (38:69) [I had no knowledge previously, about the feud in the High Society.]. The rebels' unjustifiable challenge to God's absolute authority was met and resolved in the most efficient manner. After giving the rebels sufficient chances to denounce their crime and submit to Him, God decided to exile the hard core rebels on a space ship called Earth, and give them yet another chance to redeem themselves. 

 If you claim that you can fly a plane, the best way to test your claim is to give you a plane and ask you to fly it. This is precisely what God decided to do in response to Satan's claim that he could be a god; God appointed him a temporary god on the tiny speck Earth (2:30, 36:60). [Recall that your Lord said to the angels, ""I am placing a representative on Earth."" They said, ""Will You place therein one who will spread evil therein and shed blood, while we sing Your praises, glorify You, and uphold Your absolute authority?"" He said, ""I know what you do not know."" & Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the devil? That he is your most ardent enemy?] As for those who agreed with Satan, they were given a chance to kill their egos and submit to God's absolute authority. While the vast majority of the guilty creatures took advantage of this opportunity, a miniscule minority of creatures failed to take advantage of this offer (33:72). [We have offered the responsibility (freedom of choice) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant.] 

 The dispute in the Heavenly Community led to the classification of  God's creatures into different categories: 

 (1) The Angels 

 Creatures who never questioned God's absolute authority were classified as angels; they knew that God alone possesses the ability and qualifications to be a god. The vast majority of God's creatures - countless numbers - belong in this category. The number of angels is so enormous, even the angels do not know how many of them there are; only God knows their number (74:31). [None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. This is a reminder for the people.] 

 (2) The Animals 

 Although the angels suggested that the rebels and their leader should be exiled from God's kingdom (2:30) [Recall that your Lord said to the angels, ""I am placing a representative on Earth."" They said, ""Will You place therein one who will spread evil therein and shed blood, while we sing Your praises, glorify You, and uphold Your absolute authority?"" He said, ""I know what you do not know.""], the Most Merciful willed to give the rebels a chance to denounce their crime, repent, and submit to His absolute authority (33:72). [We have offered the responsibility (freedom of choice) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it, and were afraid of it. But the human being accepted it; he was transgressing, ignorant.] The vast majority of the rebels took advantage of God's gracious offer to re-enter His kingdom. They agreed to kill t