Iblis: Arrogant, Doomed, or Madly in Love?
An examination of Satan in Islam.
There was a world before Adam, the first prophet of Islam. Allah ruled over creation, which, at present, consisted of Angels (who were made of pure light) and Jinn (who were made of fire). Angels only knew what Allah had taught them and were incapable of disobeying Him (Qur’an 2:32).
Jinn possessed free will, able to obey or disobey. The most famous jinn is Iblis, who would become Satan, the tempter of humanity, and attributed by many to bring evil into the world. An interesting wrinkle appears, however, when one considers the nature of predestination and the all-encompassing nature of Allah.
This article will examine the character of Iblis in the Qur’an, exploring various interpretations of Iblis’ existence, including ones related to arrogance, fatalism, and his love for Allah.
In the Qur’an, Iblis makes his first appearance in Surah 2, The Cow. Starting in ayah 30, the story of the creation of Adam unfolds. When Allah tells his Angels that He is “putting a successor on earth”, they push back (2:30). Somehow they foresee that the addition of a being with God’s life-breath will only result in “damage and bloodshed”, which is contrasted with the Angel’s holy celebration (2:30). Allah gives their critique little credence and asks them to bow…
