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Iblis (Satan): Difference between revisions
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{{QualityScore|Lead=2|Structure=2|Content=2|Language= | {{QualityScore|Lead=2|Structure=2|Content=2|Language=4|References=2}}'''Iblis''' (إبليس), also known as '''al-Shaytan''' (الشيطان) or "The Devil" (as opposed to other, lesser [[Shaytan (Devil)|devils, or ''shayatin'']], who are not ''The'' Devil), is the Islamic equivalent of Satan who is responsible for Adam and Eve's fall from Heaven as well as for the perennial temptation of humankind to sin. Iblis is understood to be the specific name of the being who eventually becomes ''The'' Devil after disobeying [[Allah|Allah's]] order to prostrate to Adam, the first human. The classical Islamic tradition was divided as to whether Iblis is a fallen angel or merely a [[jinn]] who, after having been so devout as to ''rank'' among the angels, became jealous of Adam, arrogant, and then irredeemably evil. Today, however, Iblis is almost universally held to be a uniquely corrupt jinn.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam|publisher=E.J. Brill|volume=3 H-IRAM|editor1=B. Lewis|editor2=V.L. Menage|editor3=Ch. Pellat|editor4=J. Schacht|edition=New Edition [2nd]|location=Leiden|chapter=Iblis|pages=668-669|publication-date=1986|isbn=90 04 08118 6}}</ref> The Qur'an reads, "And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord's command."<ref>{{Quran|18|50}}</ref> | ||
Iblis is also known as "The Cursed Devil", or ''al-shaytan al-rajim'' (lit. "the [[Stoning|stoned]] Devil" - perhaps an inspiration for the relevant [[Hajj]] ritual)<ref>{{Quran|3|36}}</ref>, and "Enemy of Allah", or ''aduww Allah''<ref>{{Quran|8|60}} contains the phrase "enemy of Allah", although it is unclear in context whether this referring to Iblis in particular or some other individual or "unbelievers" in general.</ref>''.'' | Iblis is also known as "The Cursed Devil", or ''al-shaytan al-rajim'' (lit. "the [[Stoning|stoned]] Devil" - perhaps an inspiration for the relevant [[Hajj]] ritual)<ref>{{Quran|3|36}}</ref>, and "Enemy of Allah", or ''aduww Allah''<ref>{{Quran|8|60}} contains the phrase "enemy of Allah", although it is unclear in context whether this referring to Iblis in particular or some other individual or "unbelievers" in general.</ref>''.'' | ||
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To resolve the incoherence between the two interpretations on the nature of Iblis, Muslim scholarship came up with some ingenious ideas. Al-Tabari, for example, argued it is possible God created one part of his angels from light and another part from fire; Iblis possibly could belong to that group of angels who were created from the scorching winds.<ref>Ibid. pp. 46.</ref> Al-Baydawi (d. 1286), meanwhile, had a more plausible explanation. He argued Iblis, a jinni made out of fire, was carried off as a captive by the angels during one of the combats between jinn and angels that took place on Earth. Because Iblis was still a child, he grew up among angels. When God ordered the angels to bow before Adam, Iblis refused, and thus revealed his true jinni nature.<ref>Ibid.</ref> | To resolve the incoherence between the two interpretations on the nature of Iblis, Muslim scholarship came up with some ingenious ideas. Al-Tabari, for example, argued it is possible God created one part of his angels from light and another part from fire; Iblis possibly could belong to that group of angels who were created from the scorching winds.<ref>Ibid. pp. 46.</ref> Al-Baydawi (d. 1286), meanwhile, had a more plausible explanation. He argued Iblis, a jinni made out of fire, was carried off as a captive by the angels during one of the combats between jinn and angels that took place on Earth. Because Iblis was still a child, he grew up among angels. When God ordered the angels to bow before Adam, Iblis refused, and thus revealed his true jinni nature.<ref>Ibid.</ref> | ||
Sinai 2023 notes a potential reason for this repeated seemingly contradictory statement. In the Qur'an, nine out of eleven mentions of Iblīs occur in the context of the angels prostrating to Adam, with Iblīs refusing (Q 2:34, 7:11, 17:61, 18:50, 20:116, 15:30–31, 38:73–74), or in the immediate divine address to Iblīs (Q 15:32, 38:75). The other two occurrences (Q 26:95, 34:20) refer to Iblīs’s followers and those who follow Iblīs, respectively. He suggests a more satisfactory resolution to the issue is therefore the formula "fa-sajadū illā iblīsa" might have originated from pre-Qur’anic Arab traditions on this story, where the formula fa-sajadū illā iblīsa reached the Qur’anic milieu as a set phrase that had been coined in prior Arabophone narrative traditions. This idea is supported by similar pre-Qur’anic narrative phrases in the Qur'an, like God blowing His spirit into Adam or Mary (e.g. Q 15:29, 21:91).<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (pp. 453-454 & 456). Princeton University Press. </ref> | Sinai 2023 notes a potential reason for this repeated seemingly contradictory statement. In the Qur'an, nine out of eleven mentions of Iblīs occur in the context of the angels prostrating to Adam, with Iblīs refusing (Q 2:34, 7:11, 17:61, 18:50, 20:116, 15:30–31, 38:73–74), or in the immediate divine address to Iblīs (Q 15:32, 38:75). The other two occurrences (Q 26:95, 34:20) refer to Iblīs’s followers and those who follow Iblīs, respectively. He suggests a more satisfactory resolution to the issue is therefore the formula "fa-sajadū illā iblīsa" might have originated from pre-Qur’anic Arab traditions on this story, where the formula fa-sajadū illā iblīsa reached the Qur’anic milieu as a set phrase that had been coined in prior Arabophone narrative traditions. This idea is supported by similar pre-Qur’anic narrative phrases in the Qur'an, like God blowing His spirit into Adam or Mary (e.g. Q 15:29, 21:91).<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (pp. 453-454 & 456). Princeton University Press. </ref> | ||
=== In the hadith === | ====His story==== | ||
===In the hadith=== | |||
====Appearance==== | |||
====Other descriptions==== | |||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
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== Theological significance == | == Theological significance == | ||
===Sufism=== | |||
==Species of Iblis (angel/jinn)== | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||