In This Biography

Various Religious Beliefs About Satan

In Christianity: Lucifer(Devil) is the incarnation of evil and author of sin who rebelled against God in an attempt to become equal to God, he is depicted as the fallen angel and expelled from hell

The devil is identified with several figures in the Bible including the serpent in the garden of Eden, Lucifer, Satan

Since the early reformation period, the devil was imagined as an increasingly powerful entity, with not only a lack of goodness but also a conscious will against God, his word, and his creation. Simultaneously, some reformists interpreted the devil as a mere metaphor for human’s inclination to sin and so downgraded the importance of the devil.

Christianity is undecided whether the devil fell immediately into hell or if he is given respite until the Day of Judgment.

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If the devil is bound in hell, the question arises of how he can still appear to people on earth?

Islamic belief on Satan, Jinn, or the devil: The word of Iblis(devil) according to most linguists comes from Ablasa which means desperation from Allah’s mercy, or stems from the word Balasa which means no benefits. They called Iblis due to their despair of mercy and compassion of Allah.

The devil is the head of Satan, who incited mankind to do wickedly, fighting and disobeying Allah and always endeavored to lead them astray from His guidance.

The devil, known under two designations in the Qur’an: Iblis, used always as a proper name, and Al-shay Tan (the

Satan) originally a generic designation but with the definite article used as a proper name as well. The generic Satan

takes up a pre-Islamic nation of a superhuman entity not unlike the Jinn, which may govern the words and deeds of

humans as did the pagan demands and deities. An Arab was seen as possessed by a jinn or a Satan. The name Iblis is

usually seen as derived from the Greek diabolos, the name of the devil in Christian scripture.

Satan is a hidden creature and invisible to the human eyes. Allah has given them the ability to see humans, while humans cannot see them due to Satan’s forms being smooth and soft.

Allah also reminds the people of their danger and intrigue as they will attempt to mislead people on the right path by providing a range of luxury world, as described in the Qur’an of surah al-A‘raf (The Heights) verse 27.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) explained that Satan can get into the human body through various ways to

disturb them, such as the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from Safiyah bint Huyay:

“Satan circulates in a person like blood (in the blood streams). I apprehended lest Satan should drop some evil thoughts in your minds”. (al-Bukhari, 1980).

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Accordingly, in sura al-Baqarah verse 275, the Qur’an explained the ability of Satan to possess and disturb descendants of Adam to become mad. This means they can change their forms when they want to penetrate into the human body. They can change shapes so that they can appear as animals such as cats, dogs, and goats. They never extinct their determination to lead people astray. The ultimate goal is to make people forget Allah, ascribing partners to Him and even denying Him, as indicated in Sura al-Hashr (The Exile) verse 16 (Al-Tabari, 2001).

As shown in sura al-An‘am (The Cattle) verse 100 (Al-Tabari, 1954).

Devil, or Satan, is one of the Jinn, but the Qur’an also portrays them as rebellious angels, a belief that had arisen

In conclusion

Pagans claimed between Allah and the devil have brotherly relations, some others said Jinnah was the daughter of Allah and it was among the angels.

in Judaism and Christianity previously. The scholars agree the devil is the first creature who refused to obey Allah’s

command to salute Adam. They also seduced, or deceived Adam and Eve until expelled from heaven (Al-Shaukani,

1994). When God ordered the angels and all creatures including the devil to bow down to Adam, the devil refused and got Allah’s wrath and curse and was sent out from heaven.

The devil refused God because of pride and arrogance and become the devil wanted equality with God.

It’s believed that the devil still lives amongst men as those who God against the rule of God, Allah/Jehovah is often term followers of Satan.

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