Human Supporter (Humanist): Human beings are superior to angels.

Angel Supporter (Angelist): Really? Is it because of the free will - the freedom to choose a life of their own? But, Is that not quite dangerous? Compared with the life of the angels, guided by the Creator, the freelancing human being is more likely to wander in darkness by deviating from the light of guided path too far. Going astray is more likely a course than many would love to believe, particularly because of the free guidance his perpetual enemy, the satan, is ready to offer by luring him towards desires he craves for. The satan may argue that angels cannot enjoy their lives, while you can; the Creator has blessed you with senses that need to be satisfied, desires that must not be tamed; live life to the fullest by making every moment bring you pleasure. How logical, and convincing! The likelihood of falling into this trap is very high; after all, our father, Adam Alaihis Salam, could not resist the tempting call of the satan! Angels run no such risk, and they are bound to bag the heaven without any trial or tribulation. The angels are symbols of purity, destined for the Jannah, while we have to earn it for ourselves; and, from all that we know, it comes the hard way. So, how are we humans superior to them?

Human Supporter (Humanist): We are superior to angels in terms of knowledge – both types – that which comes straight from the Creator through prophets or transmitted through angels (original, divine knowledge), and that which we acquire through the cognitive abilities we are blessed with, or derive from the original.                                                        
And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."  They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom." [Quran, 2:31-32]
Our Creator Who is perfect in knowledge and wisdom gave us knowledge (taught us) upon which we are expected to act, and take our decisions; and if we do this, we would be acting wisely, and earning the Jannah would be easy. So, we can minimize the risk of losing Jannah by accessing the sources of perfect knowledge and wisdom which Allah has unleashed only for humans, not for angels. Equipped with this perfect knowledge and wisdom, we can easily recognize the deceit of Satan, if we want to, and can win eternal pleasure and enjoyment.
… whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. [Quran, 2:38].
Angelist: But, men misuse knowledge to do just the opposite of what is expected from them - they inflict pain on other men, indulge in bad deeds, and rebel against the Creator by disobeying His clear commandments. The enticement of this world is so attractive that it distracts men from using knowledge for their own benefits.

Humanist: Angels do not have access to the vast body of knowledge and wisdom that Allah has blessed us with. That is what makes us superior to them. Right?

Angelist: What use is knowledge that can ruin men of akhirah’s unlimited bounties? What use is the knowledge that would make them fuel of the hellfire? [Quran, 2: 24, 3: 10, 21: 98-99, 66: 6, 72: 15]

Humanist: Humans are vicegerent of Allah on earth, not the angels. Angels are merely programmed to perform orders, like machines that we humans can also make to do our work. By declaring us as His vicegerent on earth, Allah has delegated to us humans some of His powers by sharing His knowledge and wisdom so that we take the right decisions on His behalf. For this purpose, He has blessed us with intellect that angels do not possess. So, are we not superior to angels?

Angelist: Only righteous men fulfill the responsibility as vicegerent of Allah on earth. Most others pursue their own selfish desires, mislead other men, and fall into the trap of Allah’s enemies. Men become rebels by refraining from worshipping Him; they even start worshipping other beings (or, obey others in violation of Allah’s orders). Men even declare partners to the Creator, by ascribing to them powers that are unique to the Almighty. Angels never ever tire worshipping their Lord.
“But if they are too proud (to do so), then there are those who are with your Lord (angels) glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired” [Quran, 41:38].
Indeed, those (the angels) who are near your Lord are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and they exalt Him, and to Him they prostrate. [Quran, 7:206]


Humanist: Angels worship their Creator because they were programmed to do so; nothing great about it! Humans worship their Creator even when they are given a choice of not doing so. So, who is superior among the two? Angels perform duties, as ordered, while men perform good deeds by their own choice. So, who is superior among the two? When a man sees another man in pain, he comes forward to help; angels would not do this unless ordered to do so. So, who is superior among the two?

Angelist: Humans are also borne with animal desires, and find it difficult to tame them. Angels are purified beings and carry no such characteristics of the animals.

Humanist: But, we do use our intellect to win over all such base desires, thus mounting over internal challenges that we are borne with, and at the same time defeating the external challenges from another creation of Allah, the Satan. Angels don’t have to face any such challenges!

Angelist: Angels don’t die; they are blessed with an eternal life free of pain and suffering. They would not taste the torments of hellfire. All of these are reserved for humans and jinns alone.

Humanist: You are created to serve humans, and would remain a servant forever. In the heaven, angels will have to fulfill all our desires, as promised by our Creator. The life of angels is so dull; no excitement, no pleasures, no recreations, just obedience!                
Author’s note of caution: Any premise of who is better could be correct only if the ONE Who created us both confirms this, else we run the same risk as the Satan. The Satan, created out of fire, considered himself superior to Adam Alaihis Salam who was made of clay. “I am superior to the human being you have created”, he declared. That was Iblees’s derived knowledge; derived from a fact; that he was made of fire while Adam Alaihis Salam was made of clay. He faltered in defining the parameters of superiority. Allah ordered the angels (and the Jinns) to bow down before the human being He had created. Was it not to declare the superiority of humans above all of His other creations? So, if we claim that we humans are definitely superior to the angels, can it be considered a fact, or merely, knowledge derived from some fact?
And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference. [Quran, 17:70]
Satan always sleeps in peace because his vast army of foot-soldiers makes sure that truth forever remains elusive to us, and we are confused with too many enticing options. If any of his soldiers disturbed his peace with the news of one more human on Earth having found the truth, he would casually say, “Go away, this must not bother you. I have infiltrated the human race so deep that among them are more of my warriors, known as intellectuals, who will get him caught in a web of superficial scholarly thoughts wrapped in exhilarating phrases that would soon disillusion him away from the truth to the illusory frills and thrills of his present life.”
There is no need for us to get caught in such webs of words that bring only superfluous knowledge. What benefit could possibly accrue to us if we knew which was superior - humans or angels?