Iblis

Iblis (Arabic: إِبْلِيسْ, romanized: Iblīs), alternatively known as Eblīs, is the leader of the devils (shayāṭīn) in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven after refusing to prostrate himself before Adam. He is often compared to the Christian 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 Sufi cosmology, he functions similar to the Buddhist concept of Mara. As such, Iblis embodies the cosmic veil supposedly separating the immanent aspect of God's love from the transcendent aspect of God's wrath. He entangles the unworthy in the material web hiding the underlying all-pervading spiritual reality.
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 the jinn. Quranic exegesis (tafsīr) and the Stories of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ) elaborate on Iblis' origin story in greater detail. In Islamic tradition, Iblis is identified with ash-Shayṭān ("the Devil"), often followed by the epithet ar-Rajim (Arabic: ٱلرَجِيم, lit. 'the Accursed'). Shayṭān is usually applied to Iblis in order to denote his role as the tempter, while Iblīs is his proper name.
Some Muslim scholars uphold a more ambivalent role for Iblis, considering him not simply a devil but also "the truest monotheist" (Tawḥīd-i Iblīs), because he would only bow before the Creator and not his creations, while preserving the term shayṭān exclusively for evil forces. Others have strongly rejected sympathies with Iblis, considering it a form of Iblis' deception to lead people astray. Rumi's Masnavi explores this form of deception in detail, when Iblis wakes up Mu'awiya to the morning prayer. Mu'awiya remains sceptical and figures out that even under Iblis' good actions, there is malicious intent.
The ambivalent role of Iblis is also addressed in Muslim literature. Hafez describes angels as incapable of emotional expression. Thus, Iblis attempts to mimic piety but is incapable of worshipping God with passions as humans do. According to Muhammad Iqbal, Iblis tests humans in order to teach them to overcome their selfish tendencies. Only the perfect human being would be worthy of prostration and only then Iblis will finally bow down and find salvation. In Semum, Iblis is the perhaps ruler of hell and the idolized leader of the demons. Iblis serves as an attractive alternative for those who feel abandoned by God. However, in the end of the movie, Iblis' turns out to be mere illusion while God's omnipresence is affirmed. Motifs of Iblis are also adopted in American popular culture. Lucifer, the antagonist of the 5th season of Supernatural, has the same motivations for his actions than the Quranic Iblis.
In Islamic traditions, Iblīs is known by many alternative names or titles, such as Abū Murrah (Arabic: أَبُو مُرَّة, "Father of Bitterness") as the name stems from the word "murr" – meaning "bitter", ‘aduww Allāh or ‘aduwallah (Arabic: عُدُوّ الله, "enemy or foe" of God) and Abū Al-Harith (Arabic: أَبُو الْحَارِث, "the father of the plowmen").
The designation Iblīs (Arabic: إِبْلِيس) may be an epithet referencing an attribute, deriving from the Arabic verbal root BLS ب-ل-س (with the broad meaning of "remain in grief"). According to Ibn Manzur this is the major opinion among Arab scholars, who maintain the tradition that the personal name of this being was ʿAzāzīl.
Some Muslim teachers, such as al-Jili, relate this name to talbis meaning confusion, because God's command confused him.
Another possibility is that the name is derived from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos) (which is also the source of the English word 'devil') via a Syriac intermediary. The name itself is not found in Arab literature before the Quran, suggesting it is not of pre-Islamic Arabian origin.
The Quranic story of Iblis parallels extrabiblical sources, such as Life of Adam and Eve, about Satan's fall from heaven, preponderant in Eastern Christian circles. On a conceptual perspective, Iblis' theological function as a divinely appointed tempter parallels the evil angel Mastema from the Book of Jubilees.
Iblis is mentioned 11 times in the Quran by name, nine times related to his refusal against 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. The different fragments of Iblis's story are scattered across the Quran. In the aggregate, the story can be summarised as follows:
When God created Adam, He ordered the angels to bow before the new creation. All of the angels bowed down, but Iblis refused to do so. He argued that since he was created from fire, he is superior to humans, who were made from clay-mud, and that he should not prostrate himself before Adam. As punishment for his haughtiness, God banished Iblis from heaven and condemned him to hell. Later, Iblis requested the ability to attempt to mislead Adam and his descendants, whereupon God grants the request, thus depicting God as the power behind both the angels and devils.
Surah al-Kahf states in reference to Iblis:
This led to a dispute among the mufassirūn (exegetes), who disagree on whether the term is meant to be a nisba to designate Iblis's heavenly origin (i.e. an angel) in contrast to the earthly Adam (and the jinn preceding him), or if the term is meant to set Iblis apart from the angels and that he is the progenitor of the jinn dwelling in paradise until his fall (comparable to how Adam fell when he sinned in the Garden). 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. Muslim scholars then followed one of these two interpretations.
Iblis is arguably implicitly mentioned in Surah 21:29 (al-’anbiyā), claiming divinity for himself by inviting to follow egoistic desires (nafs), a position shared by Tabari, Suyuti, al-Nasafi, and al-Māturīdī among others:
Sijjin, mentioned in Surah 83:7, is described as a prison in hell by Quranic exegetes (for example by, Tabari, Tha'labi, Nasafi). Iblis is chained at the bottom and sends his demons to the surface.
There are different opinions regarding the origin of Iblis. This dispute is closely related to doctrinal differences regarding free will. Like humans, jinn are created on earth to "worship" ('abada) God (51:56), and are capable of righteous and evil acts (11:119).
If angels can sin or not is disputed in Islam. Those who say that Iblis was not an angel, but a jinni, argue that only jinn (and humans), but not angels are capable of disobedience. This is the generally opinion among the Qadariyah and most Mu'tazilites. This view is also found to be prominent among many Salafis. The Sunni school holds on to the doctrine of predestination, al-Razi being an exception, and asserts that Iblis acts in obedience to his inner nature and God's plan, but in disobedience to God's command.
The term for celestial beings in early Islam is usually malāk (angel). Tabarsi says that if Iblis were a jinni, he could not have been one of the custodians of paradise. Many of those who say that Iblis was an angel read Surah 18:50 as a nisba for the term jannāt, thus referring to Iblis' heavenly origin (this reading is preferred by – among others – Ash'ari, Suyuti, and Al-Tha'labi). The Hanābila and Ash'arites argue that Iblis was ignorant (jahl) and did not understand God's will (irāda). However, Iblis' unbelief (kufr) would be ultimately caused by God. Al-Maghrībī states that, when the angels questioned the creation of Adam, God opened the angels' eyes for the characteristics of Adam, but closed the eyes of Iblis, so he would remain in resistance (iḥtijāj). Therefore, Iblis would have been created as a disobedient angel and function as God's tempter. Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, the eponymous founder of Māturīdī theology, argues that humans and jinn are tested on earth, but angels in heaven. If angels were not tested, the Quran would not compliment angels for obedience.
The Mu'tazilites, absolving God from all negative associations, reject the notion that Iblis' function as a tempter was initiated by God. Al-Zamakhshari blames the Ahl al-Sunnah for ascribing negative attributes to God. According to the Mu'tazilites, when Iblis blames God for leading him astray in Surah 15:39, these words belong to Iblis alone and cannot serve as a confirmation of God being the cause of Iblis' fall.
Islamist writer Sayyid Qutb denies that angels could sin and thus, rejects readings which depict Iblis as an angelic being.
Within Muslim thought, Iblis is generally not considered to be the originator of evil. However, there are a few exceptions among Muslim scholars. The Qadariyya asserted that evil was introduced by disobedience to God, and Iblis was the first who disobeyed. This view is sometimes attributed to Hasan al-Basri. An extreme position among the Qadariyya asserts that Iblis was not even created by God, but this view is generally rejected as beliefs of the Manichaeans (majūs). Al-Māturīdī argued that such dualistic worldviews are irreconcilable with the Islamic doctrine of tawḥīd. Some extreme positions went as far as to consider belief that actions are uncaused by God to be a form of širk (association), as it implies a second power independent from God.
Iblis' disobedience is seen as an example and warning for the thaqalān (the two who are accountable for their deeds; i.e. humans and jinn). Those who say that Iblis was predestined to fall, say that he was created in such a way that God can demonstrate his entire spectrum of attributes (for example; jalal (majesty)) in his eternal speech (i.e. the Quran), and teaching the consequences of sin. Three things to avoid are marked by the fall of Iblis: Transgression (ma'siyah), arrogance (istikbār), and comparison (qiyās) to another creature of God.
Although not the cause of evil, Iblis is known as the progenitor of tempters, known as the "father of the devils" (Abū ash-Shayāṭīn). Ḥādīth 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 duʿāʾ (prayers) for protection.
Sufi formulations of mystical union derive from careful and sustained dedication to the conflicts arising from the intricacies of the conflicts addressed in the school of kalam. In sum, there are two distinct interpretations of the role of Iblis within the Sufi tradition.
The first interpretation holds that Iblis refused to bow before Adam because he would not prostrate himself before anyone but his creator, considering Iblis to be a "true monotheist" only bested by Muhammed, an idea known as "Satan's monotheism" (tawḥīd-i Iblīs). Oblivious to rewards and punishment, Iblis acts out of pure love and loyalty and disobeys the explicit command and obeys the hidden will of God. In a unio oppositorum, Iblis finds in his banishment proximity to God.
The second interpretation disapproves of Iblis' refusal to prostrate himself before Adam. Adam, as a reflection of God's names, is more complete than the angels. Iblis, being blind to the hidden reality of Adam, refuses to bow due to his own spiritual ignorance.
Satan's Monotheism is illustrated in a story attributed to Wahb ibn Munabbih. Accordingly, Moses met Iblis on the slopes of Sinai. When Moses asks Iblis for the reason behind his disobedience, Iblis replies that the command was a test. This story is mentioned in the Kitāb al-Tawāsīn by the Persian poet al-Hallaj, who also became known as one of Iblis' greatest defenders. The idea also inspired later famous theologians and Sufis, including Ahmad Ghazali and Attar of Nishapur.
Ahmad Ghazali depicted Iblis as a paragon of self-sacrifice and devotion, stating: "Whoever doesn't learn monotheism from Satan is a heretic (zindīq)." His student Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir asserted that Iblis' disobedience was wanted by God, or God would be powerless and a powerless being cannot be attributed to God.
Despite the positive receptions of the story, 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, 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. He invokes the analogy between Adam and Iblis to highlight the difference between a believer and an unbeliever: While both Adam and Iblis were destined to fall, Iblis and his offspring blamed God, while Adam pleaded for forgiveness, nonetheless. He advises humans to do the same. In this context, Rumi declares that love is more important than intelligence and states: "(Cunning) intelligence is from Iblis, and love from Adam." In his story of Mu'awiya, in his Masnavi (Book 2), Mu'awiya realizes that he cannot outsmart Iblis' excuses, thus seeking refuge in God's protection. Whereupon, 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 thus, there is no reason to have sympathies for him.
Within the context of Sufi cosmology, the al-Insān al-Kāmil is a manifestation of God's attributes, not in the sense of incarnation but as a mirror reflecting the divine attributes. God ordered the angels to bow down to acknowledge this special status given to Adam. Due to his defective spiritual insights, Iblis cannot comprehend the immanent aspect of God's attributes within Adam, and refuses to bow down. By his attempt to avoid idolatry, he becomes the supreme idolater, because he cannot see through idols (the exterior). Since he cannot perceive God's immanent aspect (love), he can only understand (and reflect) God's transcendent aspects (wrath).
According to ibn Arabi and Jami, those who cannot comprehend the unity of God, and separate God from his Creation, are the disciples of Iblis, caught in the labyrinth of images and unable to discern the underlying, all-pervading divine principle. 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 conceptualized a similar image of Iblis' function in the cosmos.
Iblis is part of God's universe and does not form an exterior reality independent of God. He is God's veil, the visible universe itself, which hides the Godhead from the unworthy. 'Ayn al-Quzat links the cosmic structure to the Shahada: "Lā is the circle of negation. One must place his first step within this circle, but he should not stop here nor dwell here. (...)". Those who remain at the circle of lā, they worship the nafs (carnal desires) instead of God. Only those who proceed to ʾillā 'llāh surpass Iblis, the divine chamberlain. As such, Iblis unknowingly symbolizes, suffers, and reflects the dark and wrathful aspect of God, uttering God's anger and executes God's justice.
Due to the similarities in function between Iblis's web and the Hindu concept of māyā, the seventeenth-century Mughal prince Dara Shikoh sought to reconcile the Upanishads with Sufi cosmology.
Qiṣaṣ is a form of exegesis by Muslim scholars focusing on establishing a coherent story from material of Islamic scripture (Quran, ḥadīṯ). 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. These angels were created from nār as-samūm, while the rest of the angels from light, and the genus of jinn from mārijin min nār (smokeless fire).
In reference to the interpretation of the events in Surah 2:30-34, when the angels complain over mankinds' potential to shed blood and cause injustice, Islamic hagiographic narratives relate this to the previous story. Tabari and al-Thaʿlabi explain that the angels feared that humanity will become as corrupt as the jinn.
Some later traditions place Iblis among the genus of the jinn instead. In one narration of the Tarikh Khamis, among the masses of infidel jinn only Iblis dedicated his life to worship of God, withdrawing to a high mountain. The angels soon notice him and elevate him to the heavens, where he becomes one like them in worship.
With reference to Surah 76:1, Islamic narrative tradition considers Adam to be created step by step, beginning as an inanimate body. The story is mentioned by various scholars of the Sunni tradition, including Muqatil, Tabari, Mas'udi, Kisa'i, and Tha'labi. The angels passing by him were scared. Most afraid was Iblis. To overcome his anxiety, he enters Adam and moves through the body. He concludes that "this is hollow clay", whereas Iblis is "fire". Since fire overcomes clay, he vows to destroy Adam like fire destroys clay:
Some scholars (among them Thala'bi, Tabarsi, Diyarbakri) explain, with slightly variations, Iblis' 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.
Iblis 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' 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.
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.
The complexity of Iblis' character from the Quranic story had lasting influence on Islamic literature. It elaborates on the necessity of evil and Iblis' disobedience in creative retelling of the exegetical tradition.
Iblis and the angels feature in Hafez's poetry (1325–1390), collected in The Divān of Hafez. Hafez iterates that angels are incapable of love. They can merely praise the creator but without the passion of a human-being. When Iblis protests, either because he considers Adam's offspring unworthy or himself devoted to God alone, he is described as an imposter (mudda'ī). He claims to act for the sake of God's love, but is actually envious of mankind's exalted position. Hafez advises his audience not to reveal the secrets of love towards God to the imposter.
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. Only when man eventually resists and overcomes Iblis, he can finally prostrate himself and find salvation.
Egyptian novelist Tawfiq al-Hakim's ash-Shahid (1953) describes the necessity of Iblis' evil for the world. One day, Iblis regrets his rebellion and consults religious authorities (the Pope, a Rabbi, and the head of the al-Azhar) in order to seek forgiveness. After Iblis' requests were rejected by all of them, he turns to the angel Gabriel, but is rejected again. Then Iblis realizes the necessity of his nature in order for good to exist and exclaims: "I am a martyr!".
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. Referring to the Quranic cycle of God creating and then destroying his creatures, the "Semum" argues that humanity will be eventually abandoned by God, and should worship Iblis instead.
Iblis himself does not appear, but his presence is implied throughout the movie. Described by his devilish followers, he is the master of the "World of Fire". On the other hand, the exorcist (representing God) describes Iblis imprisoned in the lowest pit of hell. The movie implies Sufistic metaphysics by asserting that "God is everywhere". The demon denies God's omnipresence by asserting that hell belongs to Iblis. His dualistic beliefs are disproven when God intervenes on behalf of the exorcist in hell. Iblis creates merely the illusion of God's absence.
The fifth season of the American TV show Supernatural features Lucifer as the main antagonist. Despite its Christian roots, the antagonist of the season bears resemblance to the Quranic Iblis. Lucifer reveals his backstory in the fourth episode, declaring: