Jinn · The refuser · Enemy of the line of Adam
إبليس
Iblis (Shaytan)
One act of pride, one request for respite, and a war declared on every child of the one he envied.
The account
Iblis was of the jinn, worshipping among the angels, when the command came to prostrate to Adam; "he refused and was arrogant" (2:34). His argument was history's first racism of substance: "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay" (7:12). Expelled, he did not repent; he asked one thing, respite until the Day they are raised, and declared his strategy: "I will surely sit for them on Your straight path, then come at them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left" (7:16-17). Note the geometry the scholars noted: no approach from above, where du'a travels, nor from below, where sujud lands.
His methods are whisper and false promise: "he promises them nothing but delusion" (17:64), and his own closing speech on the Day is the tradition's most honest confession: "Allah promised you the promise of truth, and I promised you and betrayed you… so do not blame me; blame yourselves" (14:22). Against him the Book prescribes not fear but contempt: "the plot of shaytan is ever weak" (4:76). He bested no one by force; every victory of his is a signature the victim provided.
The facts
- OriginOf the jinn (18:50)
- SinPride before envy
- StrategyFour directions, not six
- Verdict on him“His plot is weak” (4:76)
The Qur'an on it
لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُم مِّن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ
I will surely sit for them on Your straight path, then come at them from before them and behind them…
The narrations
Shaytan flows in the son of Adam as blood flows; narrow his passages with hunger.
Bukhari 7171 · Muslim 2175 (first clause)
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The words
On the Path
- 1Kun Fayakun: Arsh over Waterكن فيكون
- 2Adam from Clay: Ruh Breathedآدم من طين
- 3Hawwa: Garden of Jannahحواء
- 4Qabil & Habil: First Burialقابيل وهابيل
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