thumb|The ifrit Arghan's eyes are slightly crossed and his orange skin spotted all over; he carries a chest over the waters on behalf of Hamza, from an illustration in the [[Hamzanama]]
Ifrit, also spelled as efreet, afrit, and afreet ( ), plural ), is a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture. The ʿafārīt are often associated with the underworld and identified with the spirits of the dead, and have been compared to evil genii locorum in European culture. In Quran, hadith, and Mi'raj narrations the term functions as an epithet, always followed by the phrase "among the jinn". Due to the ambiguous meaning of the term jinn, their relation to other spirits is often unclear.
In Arabic dialects, the term is a substantive referring to independent entities, powerful chthonic demons or ghosts of the dead who sometimes inhabit desolate places such as ruins and temples.
Etymology
The word ifrit appears in Surah an-Naml: 39 of the Quran, but only as an epithet and not to designate a specific type of demon. The term itself is not found in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, although variants such as ifriya and ifr are recorded prior to the Quran.
Some Western philologists suggest a foreign origin of the word and attribute it to Middle Persian āfrītan, which corresponds to New Persian "to create", but this is regarded as unlikely by others.
In folklore, the term is used as a substantive, referring to a specific class of demon, though most Islamic scholarly traditions regard the term as an adjective.
Islamic scriptures
thumb|right|upright|The ifrit Al-Malik al-Aswad (The Black King) sitting on the right listening to the complaints of jinn; from an Arabic manuscript in the late 14th century [[Book of Wonders]]
In Islamic scriptures the term ifrit is always followed by the expression of the jinn. Due to the ambiguous meaning of the term jinn, which is applied to a wide range of different spirits, their relation towards the genus of jinn remains vague. and in a narrative of Muhammad's night journey recorded in the eighth century by Malik ibn Anas. In the latter account, the "ifrit among the jinn" threatens Muhammad with a fiery presence, after which the Archangel Gabriel taught Muhammad a prayer to defeat it.
Tafsīr of Surah al-Anbiya, on the story of the prophet Job, mentions Job being tested by the torment of three ifrits. After Iblis gains permission to test Job, he descends to earth and summons his most powerful devils (shaytan) and ifrits. In order to torment the prophet, they turn into storms and whirlwinds of fire to destroy Job's properties.
Islamic folklore
In Islamic folklore, the afarit became a class of chthonic spirits, inhabiting the layers of the seven earths, generally ruthless and wicked, formed out of smoke and fire. Consequently, for the ifrit's wickedness, Ali chained the ifrit and left him alone. When the prophets arrived on earth, he appeared to all of them, beginning with Adam, and begged them for his release, but no prophet was able to break the chains. When Muhammad met the ifrit, he brought him to Ali for release. Ali was merciful to the ifrit, and decided to release him under the condition that he surrenders to the will of God.
Mahan and the Ifrit
thumb|upright|Māhān embraced by an ifrit. [[Persian miniature|Illustration to Nizami Ganjavi's poem Hamsa. Bukhara, 1648.]]
Nizami Ganjavi (c. 1141–1209) narrates in his Haft Peykar the story of the Egyptian wayfarer Māhān (the "moonlike one") and his travels to a demon-infested desert. Māhān's horse, presented to him by a demon in human disguise, gallops his rider into the desert, where it turns into a seven-headed monster. In the desert, Māhān finds shelter in a mysterious oasis owned by an old man. After Māhān and the old man know each other better, the old man decides to bequeath his legacy and marry him to a beautiful woman. He leaves to prepare for the wedding and warns Māhān that he must not descend from the perch until the old man is back. After that, the house, garden, and wife will belong to him.
When a beautiful girl with the face of a parī (fairy) enters the room, Māhān is overwhelmed by his lust and passion and ignores the order of the old man. While the beauty of his desire embraces Māhān, the girl suddenly turns into an ifrit, formed from God's wrath. In later works, the afarit are mentioned among the narratives collected in One Thousand and One Nights. In one tale called "The Porter and the Young Girls", a prince is attacked by pirates and takes refuge with a woodcutter. The prince finds an underground chamber in the forest leading to a beautiful woman who has been kidnapped by an ifrit. The prince sleeps with the woman and both are attacked by the jealous ifrit, who changes the prince into an ape. Later a princess restores the prince and fights a pitched battle with the ifrit, who changes shape into various animals, fruit, and fire until being reduced to cinders. The latter ifrit, however, might be substituted by a marid, another type of powerful demon The latter portrayal of an ifrit, as a wish-granting spirit released from a jar, became characteristic of Western depictions of jinn. The Ifrit is also name dropped in Nuclear Option, being a plane called "KR-67 Ifrit." In the fifth season of True Blood (2012), an ifrit seeks vengeance for murder of Iraqi civilians by U.S. soldiers. In both the novel American Gods (2001) and the television adaptation by Neil Gaiman an ifrit disguised as a taxi-driver appears, trying to get used to his new role, seeking intimacy in a lonely world.
See also
- Archdemon
- Dybbuk
- dīv
- Genie in popular culture
- Imp
- Oni
- Rakshasa
- Zabaniyya