version of it can be found in pre-Islamic writings
that circulated among Middle Eastern Jews and
Christians after the first century c.e. In the second
story (Q 7:19–25), Satan seduces Adam and his
wife into disobeying God and eating fruit from
the Tree of Immortality in paradise. They follow
his advice and realize that they have disobeyed
their creator. God punishes them by expelling
them from paradise. At the end of the story, the
Quran warns people, “Do not let Satan seduce
you as he did when he caused your parents to be
expelled from paradise, stripping their garments
so as to expose their private parts. Indeed, he and
his tribe (of demons) will watch you where you
cannot see them. We have made demons (literally
satans) the intimate companions of those who do
not believe” (Q 7:27). The quranic story of the
fall of Adam does not mention the serpent of the
ancient biblical one. Nonetheless other versions
of the story in Islamic literature tell how a female
serpent helps Satan sneak into paradise by letting
him hide in her mouth.
When Islam appeared in the seventh cen-
tury, stories and doctrines about the devil within
monotheistic belief systems had spread to many
parts of the Middle East and they had become
more elaborate. It is not surprising, therefore, to
find that Satan is mentioned in the Quran and
that Islamic understandings of him have drawn
upon biblical and post-biblical traditions, com-
bined with ancient Arabian beliefs in demons and
spirits. Satan’s Islamic name, Iblis, was derived
from diabolos, the term used in the Septuagint.
The word devil in English is likewise based on
this Greek word. Although no longer an accuser
in God’s heavenly court, the quranic Satan is a
tempter, a deceiver, and an enemy of humans. He
sneaks around and lies in wait to attack people on
God’s “straight path” (Q 7:16–17). Satan is also
associated with defilement caused by pork, wine,
gambling, and divination, which make people
become violent, forget God, and neglect prayer
(Q 5:91–92). The Quran suggests that he is an
angel, but it also clearly states that he was one of
the Jinn (Q 18:50), lesser spirits capable of both
good and evil known to Arabs before the Islamic
era. Muslim commentators affirm that he is the
chief of the jinn, pointing to the verse in which he
declares that he is made of fire like them, not of
clay like humans (Q 7:11). Some commentators,
seeking to harmonize the two different quranic
understandings, say that he was once an angel
named Azazil who became Iblis after being cursed
for his disobedience. Others speculate that he was
originally a youthful Jinni who was captured in a
battle with the angels and raised by them.
In Islamic religious thought Satan only has the
power that God allows him to have. God alone
has power over all things. What agency Satan is
allowed is limited to the earthly sphere of human
affairs, and humans have the capacity to reject
him. This means, for example, that when modern
Iranian leaders refer to the United States as the
Great Satan in sermons, speeches, and political
demonstrations, they are using a trope that iden-
tifies the United States with disbelief, deception,
and diversion from God’s path, while recognizing
that the U.S. government is still under God’s power
and capable of being opposed by righteous people.
Sufis, those pursuing a mystical experience of
God, have generally regarded Satan in the same
light as other Muslims, and they have identified
him with the lower self (nafs) that hinders seekers
from finding God or the Truth. A few, however,
have taught that even Satan could be seen in a
positive light. mansUr al-hallaJ (d. 922), Ahmad
al-Ghazali (d. 1226), and Farid al-Din Attar (d. ca.
1220) saw Satan as the perfect monotheist, for he
alone refused to bow to Adam, which he saw as an
act of idolatry. The Ulama rejected such views. The
famous Sufi master Jalal al-din rUmi (d. 1273)
supported the view of the ulama, pointing out that
Satan’s disobedience was the result of his failure
to recognize that Adam had been brought to life
with God’s breath and was formed according to
his image. Therefore bowing down to him when
he was created would not be idolatry, but a way
of worshipping God.
Muslims are cognizant of Satan’s existence in
their ritual life. A Quran recital usually beginsK 604 Satan