DEVIL

The. The devil is believed to be descended from Jānn, the progenitor of the evil genii. He is said to have been named ʿAzazīl , and to have po e ed authority over the animal and spirit kingdom. But when God created Adam, the devil refused to prostrate before him, and he was therefore expelled from Eden. The sentence of death was then pronounced upon Satan; but upon seeking a respite, he obtained it until the Day of Judgment, when he will be destroyed. ( Vide Qurʾān, Sūrah vii. 13 .) According to the Qurʾān, the devil was created of fire, whilst Adam was created of clay. There are two words used in the Qurʾān to denote this great spirit of evil: (1) Shait̤ān ( شيطان‎ , ‏שָׂטָן‎ ), an Arabic word derived from shat̤n , “opposition,” i.e . “one who opposes; ” (2) Iblīs ( ابليس‎ , διάβολος ), “devil,” from balas , “a wicked or profligate person,” i.e . “the wicked one.” The former expre ion occurs in the Qurʾān fifty-two times, and the latter only nine, whilst in some verses ( e.g . Sūrah ii. 32–34 ) the two words Shait̤ān and Iblīs occur for the same personality. According to the Majmaʿu ʾl-Biḥār , sha it̤ān denotes one who is far from the truth, and iblīs one who is without hope. The following is the teaching of Muḥammad in the Traditions concerning the machinations of the devil ( Mishkāt , book i. c. iii.):— “ ‘Verily, the devil enters into man as the blood into his body. “ ‘There is not one amongst you but has an angel and a devil appointed over him.’ The Companions said, ‘Do you include yourself in this?’ He said, ‘Yes, for me also; but God has given me victory over the devil, and he does not direct me except in what is good.’ “There is not one of the children of Adam, except Mary and her son (Jesus), but is touched by the devil at the time of its birth, hence the child makes a loud noise from the touch. “Devil rests his throne upon the waters, and sends his armies to excite contention and strife amongst mankind; and those in his armies who are nearest to him in power and rank, are those who do the most mischief. One of them returns to the devil and says, ‘I have done so and so,’ and he says, ‘You have done nothing’; after that another comes, and says , ‘I did not quit him till I made a division between him and his wife’; then the devil appoints him a place near himself, and says, ‘You are a good a istant.’ “The devil sticks close to the sons of Adam, and an angel also; the busine of the devil is to do evil, and that of the angel to teach him the truth; and he who meets with truth and goodne in his mind, let him know it proceeds from God, and let him praise God; and he who finds the other, let him seek for an asylum from the devil in God. “Then the Prophet read this verse of the Qurʾān: ‘The devil threatens you with poverty if ye bestow in charity; and orders you to pursue avarice; but God promises you grace and abundance from charity.’ “ʿUs̤mān said, ‘O Prophet of God! indeed the devil intrudes himself between me and my prayers, and my reading perplexes me.’ Then the Prophet said, ‘This is a demon called K͟hanzab, who casts doubt into prayer: when you are aware of it, take protection with God, and spit over your left arm three times.’ ʿUs̤mān said, ‘Be it so’; and all doubt and perplexity was dispelled.”