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Iblis

By: Dr. D.S. Merchant

"The word Iblis is derived from balasa, meaning he despaired. It occurs 11 times in the Koran as a proper name. The general consensus is that the word is derived from the Greek diabolos. Arab tradition connects the word to the verbal sense of ublisa meaning he was rendered without hope, a reference to Iblis's fate of being cursed and sentenced to punishment by God. That sense of the verbal root is itself present in 30:12: "On the day when the hour will arrive the guilty will be in despair" and also 6:44, 23:77 and 43:75 with the same sense of the punishment of the evil doers; in 30:49, people are in despair over the difficulties of life. In none of those cases, however, does the figure of Iblis actually enter into picture.

The name Iblis figures mainly in the stories of the creation of Adam and the subsequent fall of the devil. When the angels were ordered to bow before the first man Adam, Iblis refused (2:34, 7:11, 15:31, 17:61, 18:50, 20:116, 38:74-5), citing the human's creation from clay as the reason (15:33): "I am not going to bow to man whom You have created from clay of moulded mud." God then curses Iblis, calling him "accursed" (rajim) (15:34, 38:77), literally stoned. God orders Iblis "out" of paradise (15:34, 38:77), but the punishment promised to him is delayed until the judgment day as a result of Iblis's plea. Iblis is given the power to lead astray those who are not followers of the true God (15:39-40, 34:20-1). The name Shaitan is used in speaking of Iblis' first act of temptation, when he tempts Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of immortality (20:120-3).

There is a popular misconception, into which many writers have fallen that Iblis or the devil is one of the angels. Iblis was not one of the angels, as is shown by Koran (18:50), which says that he was "of the jinn, so he transgressed." Of the angels it is said in 66:6 that "they do not disobey God in what He commands them, and do as they are commanded." Thus, Iblis represents the powers of evil as distinguished from the powers of goodness. It should further be borne in mind that Iblis and Satan refer to one and same being. The Koran uses the word Iblis when the Evil one's evil is limited to himself, but Satan when his evil affects others beside himself, or Iblis is the proud one, and Satan the deceiver.

"The word Iblis is derived from balasa, meaning he despaired. It occurs 11 times in the Koran as a proper name. The general consensus is that the word is derived from the Greek diabolos. Arab tradition connects the word to the verbal sense of ublisa meaning he was rendered without hope, a reference to Iblis's fate of being cursed and sentenced to punishment by God. That sense of the verbal root is itself present in 30:12: "On the day when the hour will arrive the guilty will be in despair" and also 6:44, 23:77 and 43:75 with the same sense of the punishment of the evil doers; in 30:49, people are in despair over the difficulties of life. In none of those cases, however, does the figure of Iblis actually enter into picture.

Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali is an popular Ismaili Scholar, He has written many articles on Ismaili Imam, Ismailism, and Iblis in Encyclopedia of Ismailsm, must Visit Update.Pk.

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