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Demonology: Demon Names: Iblis

Demons List: Iblis

(islamic devil) The leader of the Djinns. Once he was banned from Paradise. He lives in ruins and graveyards.

Iblis (Wikipedia)

IblÄ«s (Arabic إبÙÙس), is the name of the primary devil (Shaitan or Satan) in Islam.

Etymology

The word may be derived from the Arabic verbal root balasa بÙÙÙسÙ, meaning "he despaired"; therefore, the linguistic meaning of Iblis would be "he/it that causes despair". However, some maintain an etymological derivation from the Greek "Diabolos".

Origin

According to Qur'an, Iblis disobeyed an order from God to prostrate to Adam and as a result was forced out of heaven and given respite until the day of judgment from further punishment.

When God commanded all of the angels to bow down before Adam (the first Human), Iblis, full of hubris and jealously, refused to obey God's command (seeing Adam as being inferior in creation due to him being created from clay).

(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay."

It was after this that he was given the title of "Shaitan" which can be roughly translated as "Evil" or "Devil". He then claims that if the punishment for his act of disobedience is to be delayed until the day of Judgment, he will divert many of Adam's own descendants from the strait path during his period of respite. God accepts the claims of Iblis and guarantees recompense to Iblis and his followers in the form of Hellfire. In order to test mankind and jinn alike, God allowed Iblis to roam the earth to attempt to convert others away from his path. He was sent to earth along with Adam and Eve, after eventually luring them into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree.

Depiction

Iblis attempts to corrupt humans through temptation and through false suggestion. At the day of Judgment, Iblis will be sent to Jahannam (the Islamic depiction of Hell) along with the "Companions of the Fire". Muslims believe that through Islam, those who successfully follow a righteous path will be rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Paradise).

The Qur'an does not depict Iblis as the enemy of God, for God is seen as supreme over all of his creations and Iblis is just one of his creations. He is, however, the enemy of man. Islam also names the nafs, or self, as a source of disobedience.

He is more often referred to in the Qur'an as the Shaitan, a general term which is also sometimes used to refer to all of the evil spirits in alliance with Iblis. Iblis is mentioned by name 11 times, whereas Shaitan ("al-Shaitan") is mentioned 87 times.

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Notes

Hell Horror takes no responsibility for any views expressed about these spirits/gods and casts no judgement about any one's specific religion/beliefs. This page is meant strictly as reference material.