Iblis (), also known as Shaitan, is the progenitor of the devils () in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven after refusing to prostrate himself before Adam. In Sufi cosmology, Iblis embodies the cosmic veil supposedly separating the immanent aspect of God's love from the transcendent aspect of God's wrath. He is often compared to the Christian concept of Satan, since both figures were cast out of heaven according to their respective religious narratives. In his role as the master of cosmic illusion in Sufism, he functions in ways similar to the Buddhist concept of Mara.
Islamic theology (kalām) regards Iblis as an example of attributes and actions which God punishes with hell (Nār). Regarding the origin and nature of Iblis, there are two different viewpoints. According to one, Iblis is an angel, and according to the other, he is the father of all the jinn. Quranic exegesis (tafsīr) and the Stories of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ) elaborate on Iblis's origin story in greater detail. In Islamic tradition, Iblis is identified with ("the Devil"), often followed by the epithet (). is usually applied to Iblis in order to denote his role as the tempter, while is his proper name.
Some Muslim scholars uphold a more ambivalent role for Iblis while preserving the term exclusively for evil forces, considering Iblis to be not simply a devil but also "the truest monotheist" (Tawḥīd-i Iblīs), because he would only bow before the Creator and not his creations. Others have strongly rejected sympathies with Iblis, considering them to be deceptively instigated by Iblis. Rumi's poetic work Masnavi-e-Ma'navi explores this form of deception in detail: when Iblis wakes up Mu'awiya to the morning prayer, he appears to have benevolent intentions at first, but it turns out, Iblis is just hiding his true malevolent motivations. The ambivalent role of Iblis is also addressed in Islamic literature. Hafez, who considers Iblis to be an angel, writes that angels are incapable of emotional expression and thus that Iblis attempts to mimic piety but is incapable of worshipping God with passion. According to Muhammad Iqbal, Iblis tests humans in order to teach them to overcome their selfish tendencies.
Iblis is one of the most well-known individual supernatural entities in Islamic tradition, and has appeared extensively across Islamic and non-Islamic art, literature, and contemporary media.
Naming, etymology, and origin
In Islamic traditions, Iblīs is known by many alternative names or titles, such as (, 'Father of Bitterness'), stemming from the word – meaning 'bitter'; or (, "enemy or foe" of God); and (, 'the father of the plowmen').
The designation () may be an epithet referencing an attribute, deriving from the Arabic verbal root (, with the broad meaning of "remain in grief"). According to Ibn Manzur, this is the majority opinion among Arab scholars, who maintain the tradition that the personal name of this being was .
Another possibility is that the name was derived from Ancient Greek (; also the source of the English word devil) via a Syriac intermediary.
The Quranic story of Iblis parallels extrabiblical sources, such as Life of Adam and Eve,
Theology (Kalam)
Quran
Iblis is mentioned by name in the Quran eleven times, nine of which relate to his refusal of God's Command to prostrate himself before Adam. The term šayṭān is more prevalent; although Iblis is sometimes referred to as šayṭān, the terms are not interchangeable: Iblis is the proper name of the Quranic figure, while šayṭān refers to an unequivocal evil force. As punishment for his haughtiness, God banished Iblis from heaven and condemned him to hell. Later, Iblis requested permission to attempt to mislead Adam and his descendants, and God granted the request—thus portraying God as the power behind both angels and devils. This dispute goes back to the formative stage of Islam. These two conflicting opinions are based on the interpretations of ibn Abbas and Hasan al-Basri respectively. This debate resulted in two positions, at each gained substantial support by Muslim scholars.)
<blockquote>"And whosoever among them would say, "Truly I am a god apart from Him," such will We requite with Hell. Thus do We requite the wrongdoers."center|thumb|577x577px|[[Al-Anbiya|Quran 21:29 from a 750–1000 manuscript]]</blockquote>
Sijjin, mentioned in Surah 83:7, is described as a prison in hell by Quranic exegetes (e.g. Tabari, Tha'labi, Nasafi).
It is disputed in Islam whether angels (malāʾikah) are capable of sin. Those who hold that angels cannot sin thus assert that Iblis is merely a jinn, with only jinn and humans being capable of disobeying God. The Islamist writer Sayyid Qutb denies that angels can sin and so rejects readings which depict Iblis as an angelic being.—and assert that Iblis acts in obedience to his inner nature and God's plan, but in disobedience to God's command. Tabarsi says that if Iblis were a jinni, he could not have been one of the custodians of Paradise. Suyuti, and al-Tha'labi
The Mu'tazilites, considering it impossible for God to have any negative attributes, reject the notion that Iblis's function as a tempter was initiated by God. An extreme position among the Qadariyah asserted that Iblis was not even created by God, but this was generally rejected as a limitation on God's power, showing influence from the cosmic dualism of Zoroastrianism, as expressed by "magicians" (). Al-Māturīdī argued that such dualistic worldviews are irreconcilable with the Islamic doctrine of . The position that Iblis was predestined to fall views his creation as a means for God to demonstrate his entire spectrum of attributesincluding his wiliness ()as well as to teach the consequences of sin. As such, the example of Iblis demonstrates the necessity of avoiding transgression (), arrogance (), and comparison () between oneself and another creature of God. Hadith literature emphasizes their evil influences over humans rather than treating them as proper personalities. Muslims are advised to "seek refuge" from such influences and are recommended to recite prayers () for protection.
Sufism
Sufi formulations about the mystical union with God, although fundamentally mystical in nature, derive from the theological debates undertaken within the school of kalam. In sum, there are two distinct interpretations of the role of Iblis within the Sufi tradition. This story is mentioned in the Kitāb al-Tawāsīn by the Persian poet al-Hallaj, who also became known as one of Iblis's greatest defenders.
Ahmad Ghazali depicted Iblis as a paragon of self-sacrifice and devotion, stating: "Whoever doesn't learn monotheism from Satan is a heretic (zindīq)."
Other theologians and Sufis disapproved of Satan's Monotheism. Ibn Ghanim argues that Iblis is referring to God's predetermined judgement as an excuse to cover his unbelief. Furthermore, similar to Ruzbihan Baqli, he argues that Satan's Monotheism is a subtle deception by Iblis, made in order to evoke sympathies and doubt about God's message.
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207–1273) argues that God's determinism can not be an excuse for one's own demise and failure. In his story of Mu'awiya, in his Masnavi (Book 2), Mu'awiya realizes that he cannot outsmart Iblis's excuses, thus seeking refuge in God's protection. At this, Iblis confesses that he only attempts to trick people. Rumi reminds the reader that the Quran emphasizes that Iblis is the enemy of humanity and that there is thus no reason to have sympathies for him. In this interpretation, Iblis cannot comprehend the immanent aspect of God's attributes within Adam due to Iblis's own defective spiritual insight, and thus he refuses to bow down. In his attempt to avoid idolatrous treatment of Adam, he becomes the supreme idolater, because he cannot see the immanent aspects of reality through idols (the exterior reality). In his ignorance and damnation, Iblis hovers over the mere surface of visible things, and those he leads astray suffer the same fate. Other Sufi authors, including Sana'i, 'Ayn al-Quzat, Ruzbihan, Attar, and Rumi, independently conceived a similar image of Iblis's function in the cosmos. As such, Iblis unknowingly symbolizes, suffers, and reflects the dark and wrathful aspect of God, uttering God's anger and executes God's justice. According to many of them, before Adam was created, the jinn, offspring of al-Jānn (الجان), lived on earth. First they were obedient, but over time immorality increased and, when they became infidels, God sent an army of angels, headed by Iblis, called "al-Jinn" (named after paradise, not the genus) to defeat them. Tabari and al-Thaʿlabi explain that the angels feared that humanity will become as corrupt as the jinn. The story is mentioned by various scholars of the Sunni tradition, including Muqatil, Tabari, Mas'udi, Kisa'i, and Tha'labi. Diyarbakri) explain, with slight variations, Iblis's entry to the Garden of Eden by the aid of a serpent and a peacock. Some traditions have the Garden of Eden being warded by an angelic guardian. Thus, Iblis persuades a peacock to get help, by promising him that, if he enters the Garden, the beauty of the peacock will never decay thanks to the fruit of immortality. The peacock, unable to carry Iblis, persuades the serpent, who decides to slip Iblis by carrying him in his mouth. From the mouth of the serpent, Iblis speaks to Adam and Ḥawwāʾ.
In culture
In arts
left|thumb|Another miniature of angels prostrating before Adam with Iblis refusing, here depicted with a head coverIblis is perhaps one of the most well-known individual supernatural entities in Islamic tradition and was depicted in multiple visual representations like the Quran and Manuscripts of Bal‘ami's ‘Tarjamah-i Tarikh-i Tabari. Iblis was a unique individual, described as both a pious jinni and an angel before he fell from God's grace when he refused to bow before the prophet Adam. After this incident, Iblis turned into a shaytan. In visual appearance, Iblis's depiction was described in On the Monstrous in the Islamic Visual Tradition by Francesca Leoni as a being with a human-like body with flaming eyes, a tail, claws, and large horns on a grossly disproportionate large head.
Illustrations of Iblis in Islamic paintings often depict him black-faced, a feature which would later symbolize any satanic figure or heretic, and with a black body, to symbolize his corrupted nature. Another common depiction of Iblis shows him in human form wearing a special head covering, clearly different from the traditional Islamic turban and long sleeves, signifying long lasting devotion to God. Only in one, he wears traditional Islamic head covering.thumb|Portrayal of Islamic devils in the form of wild monsters. Siyah Qalem - Hazine 2153, s.31b
Most pictures show and describe Iblis at the moment, when the angels prostrate themselves before Adam. In the manuscripts of Bal‘ami's ‘Tarjamah-i Tarikh-i Tabari he is usually seen beyond the outcrop, his face transformed with his wings burned, to the envious countenance of a devil. In his demonic form, Iblis is portrayed similar to his cohorts (shayāṭīn) in Turko-Persian art as Asian demons (Dīv). They are bangled creatures with flaming eyes, only covered by a short skirt. Similar to European arts depicting devils by traits of pagan deities, Islamic arts portray the devils with features often similar to that of Hindu deities.
In literature and film
The complexity of Iblis's character from the Quranic story had lasting influence on Islamic literature. It elaborates on the necessity of evil and Iblis's disobedience in creative retelling of the exegetical tradition.
Muhammad Iqbal's Javid Nama deal in length with the question of Good and Evil. As such, it is little surprising that Iblis plays a significant role in his works. Similar to Goethe's Mephistopheles, Iblis is a necessary obstacle for man to overcome.
A demon called "Semum", from the eponymous 2008 Turkish horror movie Semum, embodies qualities attributed to both Iblis and his offspring. Alluding to the Quran, Semum blames God for abandoning demon-kind after creating humanity and vows to destroy God's newest creatures. Lucifer reveals his backstory in the fourth episode,