Iblis (who is iblis)

Iblīs (alternatively Eblis^[1] or Ibris)^[2] is a figure frequently occurring in the Quran, commonly in relation to the creation of Adam and the command to prostrate himself before him. After he refused, he was cast out of heaven. For many classical scholars, he was an angel,^[3][4]:73[5] but is regarded as a jinn in most contemporary scholarship.^[4]:69 Due to his fall from God's grace, he is often compared to Satan in Christian traditions. In Islamic tradition, Iblis is often identified with ash-Shaitan ("the Devil"), often followed by the epithet ar-Rajīm (Arabic: ٱلرَّجِيْم‎, lit. 'the Accursed').^[6] However, while Shaitan is used exclusively for an evil force, Iblis himself holds a more ambivalent role in Islamic traditions.

Name

The term Iblīs (Arabic: إِبْلِيس‎) may have been derived from the Arabic verbal root bls ب-ل-س(with the broad meaning of "remain in grief")^[8]or بَلَسَ (balasa, "he despaired").^[9] Furthermore, the name is related to talbis meaning confusion.^[10] Another possibility is that it is derived from Ancient Greek διάβολος(diábolos), via a Syriac intermediary,^[11] which is also the source of the English word 'devil'.^[12] Yet another possibility relates this name back to the bene Elohim (Sons of God), who had been identified with fallen angels in the early centuries, but had been singularised under the name of their leader. However, there is no general agreement on the root of the term. The name itself could not be found before the Quran in Arab literature,^[13] but can be found in Kitab al Magall, a Christian apocryphic work written in Arabic.^[14]

In Islamic traditions, Iblīs is known by many alternative names or titles, such as Abū Murrah (Arabic: أَبُو مُرَّة, "Father of Bitterness") as the name stems from the word "murr" - meaning "bitter", ‘aduww Allāh or ‘aduwallah(Arabic: عُدُوّ الله, "enemy or foe" of God)^[15] and Abū Al-Harith (Arabic: أَبُو الْحَارِث, "the father of the plowmen").^[16] He is also known by the nickname "Abū Kardūs" (Arabic: أَبُو كَرْدُوس), which may mean "Father who piles up, crams or crowds together".