Page 114 - World Religions I - Islam

eventually let it go.35
 In the above mentioned tradition, Muhammad claimed that the jinn was a strong demon who
had come to spoil his prayers.

Satan
• Satan is known throughout the Qur'an and the Hadith as Iblis, but also is commonly referred to as Shaytan.
• The figure of Satan is somewhat controversial in the Qur'an.
o Was he a jinn from the beginning or a fallen angel who became a jinn later?
 Iblis is included in a command directed towards angels and is portrayed as an angel.
• "And behold, We said to the angels: 'Bow down to Adam' and they bowed down. Not so
Iblis; he refused and was haughty. He was of those who reject Faith." - Al-Baqara (The Cow)
2:34
• "Behold! We said to the angels: 'Bow down unto Adam'. They bowed down except Iblis. He
said, 'Shall I bow down to one whom Thou didst create from clay?'" - Al-Isra' (The Night
Journey) 17:61 See also the following Surahs: 7:11; 15:28-30; 20:116; 38:71-74.
 Iblis is blamed and punished for not worshipping Adam when the angels were commanded to
do so, and yet is called a jinn.
• "Behold! We said to the angels, 'Bow down to Adam'. They bowed down except Iblis. He
was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and
his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be
the exchange for the wrong-doers!" - Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18:50
• He (Allah) said: What hindered you so that you did not prostrate when I commanded
you? [Then] He (Allah) said: Then go down hence! It is not for thee to show pride here,
so go forth! Lo! thou art of those degraded." - Al-Araf (The Heights) 7:12a, 13 This verse
makes it clear that the command to bow down to Adam was directed towards him.
How did Satan get back into Paradise after being previously being expelled?
 Iblis was in Heaven (the Garden) in order to tempt Adam and Eve.
• "But Satan caused them to deflect therefrom and expelled them from the (happy) state
in which they were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe unto the other! There shall
be for you on earth a habitation and provision for a time." - Al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:36
 Iblis is said to have been created from fire, which is generally attributed to jinn. The Hadith
claims that angels are created from light (Muslim 42:7134), but the Qur'an is silent on this matter.
See also Surah 38:76. See also Surah 55:15.
• "(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.'" -Al-Araf (The
Heights) 7:12
• "And the Jinn race, We had created before [mankind], from the fire of a scorching
wind." - Al-Hijr (The Stoneland) 15:27
 According to The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Satan "considered to be a jinn who was originally an
Angel, forfeited his Angelic nature by disobeying God."36 The Qur'an narrates a story of two
angels, Harut and Marut, who came down to Earth and fell into sin (Surah 2:102), which would
refute the idea that angels are incapable of sin.
 Muslims conclude that Iblis must have been a jinn since the Qur'an implies that angels do not
have a free will, nor are they disobedient to God.
• "And to Allah doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and on earth, whether moving
(living) creatures or the angels: for none are arrogant (before their Lord). They all revere
their Lord, high above them, and they do all that they are commanded." - An-Nahl (The
Bee) 16:50 See also Surah 21:19-20.
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