Iblees

Iblīs (Arabic إبليس), is the name of the primary devil (Shaytaan or Satan) in Islam.

Etymology

The word may be derived from the Arabic verbal root "balasa" بَلَسَ, meaning "he despaired"; therefore, the linguistic meaning of Iblees would be "he/it that causes despair". [ [http://www.themystica.org/mystica/articles/i/iblis.html Iblis ] ] However, some maintain an etymological derivation from the Greek "Diabolos". [ [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Eblis Online Etymology Dictionary ] ]

Origin

According to the Qur'an, Iblees 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 and jinn to bow down before Adam (the first Prophet), Iblees (chief jinn), full of hubris and jealousy, refused to obey God's command, seeing Adam as being inferior in creation due to his being created from clay. [quran-usc|17|61; quran-usc|2|34]

:It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblees; He refused to be of those who prostrate.:(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."::Qur'an 7:11-12

It was after this that he was given the title of "Shaytaan" 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 straight path during his period of respite. [quran-usc|17|62] God accepts the claims of Iblees and guarantees recompense to Iblees and his followers in the form of Hellfire. In order to test mankind and jinn alike, God allowed Iblees to roam the earth to attempt to convert others away from his path. [quran-usc|17|63-64] He was sent to earth along with Adam and Eve, after eventually luring them into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. [quran-usc|7|20-22]

Depiction

Iblees attempts to corrupt humans through tempting them to enjoy the pleasures God allowed their minds and bodies to enjoy without praising God Himself and through false suggestions. [quran-usc|38|82, quran-usc|114|4] On the Day of Judgment, Iblees 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 and focus their lives on Allah (God) will be rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Paradise). The Qur'an does not depict "Iblees" as the enemy of God, for God is seen as Supreme over all of His creations and Iblees is just one of His creations.Fact|date=December 2007 He is, however, the enemy of man. [quran-usc|35|6] Islam also names the "nafs", or self, as a source of disobedience. According to Islam, man is his own source of disobedience, Iblees is an entity that, in Freudian terms, empowers man's God-given Desire, instead of praising God by embracing nil but Faith. Iblees motivates emotional power over man; a power that can only be overcome with Faith.

Iblees cannot succeed if the person's Faith(Imaan in Islamic terms) is strong which would require worshiping no one other than Allah and following His commands conveyed to the world through the Prophet Muhammed and also having a strong well grounded sincere Faith. These things will help man's heart harden to Iblees's influence. One may have this amount of Faith since birth, others find it later in life and consider themselves as having Allah's mercy bestowed upon them. Regardless, it is a state of mind required for any person to have to save oneself from Iblees,the rejected.

The Qur'an portrays Iblees as an entity of huge arrogance, deceptions and ruthlessness. It is outlined clearly in the Holy Qur'an that Iblees is in truth luring and deceiving man into fulfilling his selfish lusts and desires and thus become one of the inhabitants of Hell.

Iblees is more often referred to in the Qur'an as the "Shaytan", a general term which is also sometimes used to refer to all of the evil spirits in alliance with Iblees(both Jinn and Men). Iblees is mentioned by name 11 times, whereas Shaytaan ("al-Shaytaan") is mentioned 87 times. The plural form,Shayateen, exists in both Christianity and Islam; the Lieutenants of Hell, List of demons which spread and/or represent individual types of sins and ungodly mischief. Their counterparts on the side of Allah are the angels led by "Jibrail" Gabriel .

ee also

*Lucifer
*Qiyamah
*Devil in Christianity
*Azazel

References

External links

* [http://web.uvic.ca/~rpn/files/iblis.html Prophets and Spirits of Islam: Iblis]