Satan is not an angel, rather he is of the Jinn as stated in Al-Kahf(18):50. Why then did he need to obey the command which was directed to the angels? Because he was raised with them from childhood and required to obey the laws applied to them while in their company. This is similar to requiring that a foster son obey the rules of his foster father while living within his house. It is not necessary for the foster father, whenever he commands his sons to do something, to follow up with an explicit "and my foster son too must do this," rather, it is implicitly understood that so long as the foster son lives in this house he shall follow the same rules and commands as apply to the other sons.
If a politician declares that "any American who drinks and drives shall be thrown in jail," then does this mean that any non-American who is visiting the USA then drinks and drives shall be immune to this law? No. The law includes him by default, however, they are the minority so the command is issued to the majority with the implication being that anyone in their company is implicitly included.
For example, in the Bible we are told that prophet Abraham was given a
covenant of "circumcision" for himself and his family, however, fulfillment of
circumcision was required not only of all of his family but also of all those who happened
to be in his house at the time, even if they were slaves purchased with his money. This is
how all laws work. They are required of all those who abide within the confines of a given
nation even if they are not officially considered one of them. A diplomat from the
republic of Georgia recently got drunk in Maryland and ran down a young girl. His home
government did not invoke 'diplomatic immunity' for him, rather, he was allowed to be held
accountable under US law even though he was not one of them. This is basic justice and
common sense. If you live in someone's house you follow their rules.
Back to Responses to the so called "Contradictions" in the Noble Quran.