Iblis

Lore & Background

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. When God created Adam, He ordered the angels to bow before the new creation. All of the angels obeyed, but Iblis refused, arguing that having been created from fire, he was superior to humans made from clay-mud. As punishment, 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—portraying God as the power behind both angels and devils. 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: one holds that Iblis is an angel, the other that 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. The designation Iblīs may derive from the Arabic verbal root bls (meaning 'remain in grief'), and some Muslim teachers relate this name to talbis meaning confusion, because God's command confused him. Some Muslim scholars uphold a more ambivalent role for Iblis while preserving the term shayṭān 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.

Reader's Guide

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. His story in the Quran parallels extrabiblical sources such as the Life of Adam and Eve about Satan's fall from heaven, preponderant in Eastern Christian circles. The dispute over whether Iblis is an angel or a jinn is closely related to doctrinal differences regarding free will. Those who hold that angels cannot sin assert that Iblis is merely a jinn, with only jinn and humans being capable of disobeying God—this is the general opinion among the Qadariyah and most Mu'tazilites. Sunni Muslims generally adhere to the doctrine of predestination and assert that Iblis acts in obedience to his inner nature and God's plan, but in disobedience to God's command. The Mu'tazilites reject the notion that Iblis's function as a tempter was initiated by God. In Muslim thought, Iblis is generally not considered to be the originator of evil. 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.

Did You Know?

• Iblis is mentioned by name in the Quran eleven times, nine of which relate to his refusal to prostrate before Adam.
• The name Iblis may derive from the Arabic root bls, meaning 'remain in grief', or from Ancient Greek diábolos via Syriac.
• Some Muslim scholars consider Iblis 'the truest monotheist' because he would only bow before the Creator, not his creations.
• Sijjin, mentioned in Surah 83:7, is described as a prison in hell where Iblis is chained at the bottom and sends his demons to the surface.