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Azazil (Arabic: عزازيل ʿAzāzīl, also known as Arabic: حارث Ḥārith) is a figure in Islamic tradition, and believed to be the original name of Satan (Iblīs).^[1] The name does not appear in the Quran, however, is frequently mentioned in tafsīr (authorized exegesis of the Quran). According to a ḥadīth by ibn Abbas, Satan was once an angel called ʿAzāzīl or al-Ḥārith. He states that God created most angels from "light" (Nūr), but ʿAzāzīl and the angels with him from "poisonous fire" (nār as-samūm). The djinn were created from "a mixture of fire" (mārijin min nār).^[2]

The djinn were the first to inhabit the world and God entrusted them to govern the earth. When corruption increased among them, God sent an army of angels under the leadership of ʿAzāzīl to punish them. After driving the djinn away, ʿAzāzīl grew arrogant. When God creates a successor to the djinn and commands the angels to prostrate themselves before the new creation, ʿAzāzīl refuses, claiming that he is better. Thereupon, he is condemned to hell.

Etymology and naming

The name is derived from Azazel, a fallen angel in the Apocalypse of Abraham. Here, Azazel is said to have lost his former glory as a servant of God to humans.^[3]

Islamic philologists construct his name to the words aziz and il (God's dear), depicting him as God's once favorite angel.^[4]

According to many Arabic scholars, Azazil was the personal name of Satan (Iblis). Ibn Manzur^[5] (June–July 1233 – December 1311/January 1312) writes in his dictionary of the Arabic language:

"The word "إبليس" [(Iblis)] is from the root "بلس" [(BLS)]. The root may mean: to be silent. "أبلس من رحمة الله" means to be in despair of Allah's mercy, hence, the name إبليس (Iblis). His original name was Azazil. Allah has said in Surah Al-Rum "وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يُبْلِسُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ" (On the Day that the Hour will be established, the guilty will be struck dumb with despair). The name "Iblis" is derived from the root, بلس , as he is in despair of Allah's mercy" -Ibn Mandhur, Lisan Al-Arab, Vol.6/29

Quran and tafsīr

Quranic tradition can be divided into two camps in regards on the identity of Satan. This dispute roots back to the formative stage of Islam.^[2] When Surah al-Kahf states, in reference to Satan, "(...) he was one of the jinni (...)", the strand of Hasan al-Basri and ibn Abbas differ in meaning. According to al-Basri, angels are infallible. Thus, he argues, Satan could not have been an angel. Instead, the verse is supposed to mean that Iblis is one of the jinn, distinct from the angels.^[2]

According to ibn Abbas, the term is interpreted as jinān, meaning that Satan was "an inhabitant of paradise" (i.e. an angel).^[6] At that time, he was appointed by God as the ruler of the lower heavens and sent to judge the djinn, until they became corrupt and was commanded to eliminate them.^[7]^[8] Ibn Abbas further explains that Satan's angelic name was ʿAzāzīl. However, after ʿAzāzīl was banished from heaven, his name is changed to Iblīs and is turned into a "cursed demon" (shayṭān rajim).

He is further blamed to claim divine authority for himself by calling for obedience among God's creation. The statement in Surah al-’anbiyā states "(...) whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell." is understood as a reference to Satan.^[2]

Unlike the tradition of al-Basri, ibn Abbas' interpretation accepts that angels can sin and be expelled from heaven.^[2] This interpretation is favored in Sunni tradition by scholars such as Tabari, Suyuti, and Nasafi.^[2]

Wider Islamic tradition

Drawing from legends by some Turkish sources, ʿAzāzīl was a unique being, created from fire. He grew up pious and was lifted up to live with the angels in the first heaven. As the ruler of the lower earth, he was sent by God to the djinn communities on earth in order to persuade them to follow the right path. However, most djinn refused to obey and were burned by God's fire. ʿAzāzīl's piety increased and he was bestowed with angelic qualities when he reaches the seventh heaven. However, he loses his previous achievements when refused to prostrate himself before Adam.^[9]

ʿAzāzīl is also mentioned three times in Rumis Masnavi, as a reminder for the Muslim to exercise discipline and humility, since when ʿAzāzīl acted arrogantly, he was abandoned to hell in spite of his former high position:

Through discipline and humility this heaven has been filled with light, and through discipline the angel became immaculate and holy. By reason of irreverence, the sun was eclipsed, and insolence caused Azazil to be turned back from the door.^[10]

Although ʿAzāzīl is considered an angel (muqarrab),^[11]^[12] who was already created when God created the earthly djinn, the Brethren of Purity^[13] and Tarikh Khamis,^[14] depict ʿAzāzīl as someone who lived among the djinn until he was taken captive by the angels or was elavated to their rank.^[15]

Sufism

Al-Hallaj (c. 858 – 922) mentions ʿAzāzīl in his Kitāb al-Tawāsīn. Here, ʿAzāzīl's disobedience to refuse God's command is dscribed as way to hallow God's name. According to him, ʿAzāzīl proved loyalty to God by declining to bow before Adam. Chapter Six is dedicated to the self-defence of ʿAzāzīl, and in one section Hallaj explains how each of the letters of ʿAzāzīl's name relate to his personality. Unlike many other Sufi writers, Hallaj rejected that ʿAzāzīl could be restored to God's grace, insisting on Satan's damnation.^[16] He argues that, since ʿAzāzīl originated from fire, fire must be his final destiny.^[17]

According to Al-Jili, depicts angels (malāʾikah) and devils (shayāṭīn) as manifestations of ʿAzāzīl is a manifestation God's attributes. While the good angels are made from light in order to guide humanity, ʿAzāzīl and his angels are created as reflecting God's names of majesty, darkness and misleading.^[18] As an angel of single-minded devotion, ʿAzāzīl fails to realize that bowing before Adam in accordance with God's command, is equal as bowing to God himself.^[19]^[20] ʿAzāzīl and his angels were reduced to the principle of evil, when they rejected repentance and justified their persistence by their creation from fire.^[21]

Inayat Khan (1882 – 1927), a pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West, similarly teaches that ʿAzāzīl is a devil leading astray from the way of God. He states that evil actions performed by people attract the spirit of ʿAzāzīl (or his minions) who in turn leads them further astray into darkness and wrong actions.^[22] ʿAzāzīl is the worst tempters, since the fallen angel has the power to lead even saints astray, however, still fails against the prophets.^[23]

Ismailism

In Umm al-Kitab, an 8th-century Ismaili work, ʿAzāzīl is the first creation of God, the High King. God gave him the power of creation, but ʿAzāzīl boasted with his loaned power, claiming divinity for himself, describing himself as another God beside the High King. To prove that Azazil's creation only depends on the power of his own creator, God makes a new creation, opposed by ʿAzāzīl. Every time, ʿAzāzīl again claims to be like God, he and his fellow angels lose colour, becoming darker and inferior and are thrown into lower celestial spheres until they end up on earth, which is made out of the essence of ʿAzāzīl's creations. As with the Gnostic Demiurge, ʿAzāzīl traps the life-forces of the heavenly realm and captures them in the material realm.^[24]^[25]

Umm al-Kitab's depiction of ʿAzāzīl might be a reaction to religious dualism. By claiming divinity for himself, but getting rebuked by God and presenting ʿAzāzīlmerely as an angel inferior to God, belief in two eternal principles is rejected. In one instance, Ahriman, the Zorastrian creator of evil, appears namely as a later incarnation of ʿAzāzīl.^[26]

Bektashi Alevism

ʿAzāzīl features as one of the first angels in an Alevi oral tradition, there he is informed by the archangel Cebrail (Gabriel), about their creator. Along with the other archangels, Cebrail leads ʿAzāzīlto a lamp with seven doors. They shall serve here for 1001 days, so the door will open. After the archangels entered the lamp, they saw two lights forming one body. The archangels were commanded to prostrate before the light. All followed the order but ʿAzāzīl, who refused to prostrate himself, since the light, as something that was created, could not be the creator, so he turned back to the door to stay in the former service of God. This narration explains that ʿAzāzīl stood at God's service, but he despised that he saw when the door opened and decided to move into the Ego World, causing the later enmity between Satan and humanity.^[27]

References

^ Aloiane, Z. A. (1996). "Anthropomorphic Representation of Evil in Islam and Some Other Traditions. Cross-Cultural Approach". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 49 (3): 423–434. JSTOR 43391301.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Erdağı, Deniz Özkan. "Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in “Semum”." SN Social Sciences 4.2 (2024): 1-22.
^ Orlov, Andrei A. (2011). Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology. SUNY Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4384-3953-2.
^ Lari, Maryam (1 June 2011). "THE IMAGES OF ANGELS IN IRANIAN ART A Civilization Interaction in a Comparative Study". International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies. 3 (1): 247–257.
^ ZenEldeen, Zakaria Sobhi. "Dangers and Treatment of Hypocrites' Rumors Thematic Analytical Study." مجلة الجامعة الإسلامية للدراسات الإسلامية (عقيدة-تفسير-حديث) 29.1 (2021).
^ Patrick Hughes| Dictionary of Islam Asian Educational Services|page= 135
^ Jeffery, Arthur. “Ibn Al-’Arabī’s Shajarat Al-Kawn (Concluded).” Studia Islamica, no. 11, 1959, pp. 113–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595153. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.
^ Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism Scarecrow Press 2010 ISBN 978-1-461-71895-6 page 295
^ Kefeli, Agnès. "The Return of Jinn and Angels." Muslim Religious Authority in Central Eurasia (2022): 81.
^ Moradi, S. Robert (26 February 2010). "Love, Pathos, and the Inner Healer: Examples from Analytical Work Using Mythology and Rumi's Poetry". Psychological Perspectives. 53 (1): 5–20. doi:10.1080/00332920903543526. S2CID 170958216.
^ Wherry, E. M. (2013). A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran: Comprising Sale's Translation and Preliminary Discourse: Volume I. Routledge. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-136-39197-2.
^ Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 ISBN 9780815650706 page 40
^ Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam (in German). Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. p. 44 ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4.
^ Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 30 ISBN 978-9004069060
^ Tottoli, R. (2021). The Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Mutarrif Al-Tarafi. Deutschland: De Gruyter. p.24
^ Reynold A. Nicholson Studies in Islamic Mysticism CUP Archive 1978 ISBN 978-0-521-29546-8 page 120-121
^ I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass.
^ Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90
^ Reynold A. Nicholson Studies in Islamic Mysticism CUP Archive 1978 ISBN 978-0-521-29546-8 page 120-121
^ Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 182 ISBN 978-9004069060
^ Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90
^ I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 104
^ Bayman, H. (2012). The Teachings of a Perfect Master: An Islamic Saint for the Third Millennium. Vereinigtes Königreich: Anqa Pub.. p. 238
^ Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition Shambhala Publications 2009 ISBN 978-0-834-82414-0 page 707
^ Christoph Auffarth, Loren T. Stuckenbruck The Fall of the Angels BRILL 2004 ISBN 978-9-004-12668-8 page 161
^ Friedman, Y. (2010). The Nuṣayrī-ʻAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History, and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria. Niederlande: Brill. p. 97
^ Handan Aksünger Jenseits des Schweigegebots: Alevitische Migrantenselbstorganisationen und zivilgesellschaftliche Integration in Deutschland und den Niederlanden Waxmann Verlag 2013 ISBN 978-3-830-97883-1 page 83-84 (German)

[1] Aloiane, Z. A. (1996). "Anthropomorphic Representation of Evil in Islam and Some Other Traditions. Cross-Cultural Approach". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 49 (3): 423–434. JSTOR 43391301.

[Erdağı-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Erdağı, Deniz Özkan. "Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in “Semum”." SN Social Sciences 4.2 (2024): 1-22.

[3] Orlov, Andrei A. (2011). Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology. SUNY Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4384-3953-2.

[4] Lari, Maryam (1 June 2011). "THE IMAGES OF ANGELS IN IRANIAN ART A Civilization Interaction in a Comparative Study". International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies. 3 (1): 247–257.

[5] ZenEldeen, Zakaria Sobhi. "Dangers and Treatment of Hypocrites' Rumors Thematic Analytical Study." مجلة الجامعة الإسلامية للدراسات الإسلامية (عقيدة-تفسير-حديث) 29.1 (2021).

[6] Patrick Hughes| Dictionary of Islam Asian Educational Services|page= 135

[7] Jeffery, Arthur. “Ibn Al-’Arabī’s Shajarat Al-Kawn (Concluded).” Studia Islamica, no. 11, 1959, pp. 113–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595153. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.

[8] Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism Scarecrow Press 2010 ISBN 978-1-461-71895-6 page 295

[9] Kefeli, Agnès. "The Return of Jinn and Angels." Muslim Religious Authority in Central Eurasia (2022): 81.

[10] Moradi, S. Robert (26 February 2010). "Love, Pathos, and the Inner Healer: Examples from Analytical Work Using Mythology and Rumi's Poetry". Psychological Perspectives. 53 (1): 5–20. doi:10.1080/00332920903543526. S2CID 170958216.

[11] Wherry, E. M. (2013). A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran: Comprising Sale's Translation and Preliminary Discourse: Volume I. Routledge. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-136-39197-2.

[12] Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 ISBN 9780815650706 page 40

[13] Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam (in German). Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. p. 44 ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4.

[14] Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 30 ISBN 978-9004069060

[15] Tottoli, R. (2021). The Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Mutarrif Al-Tarafi. Deutschland: De Gruyter. p.24

[16] Reynold A. Nicholson Studies in Islamic Mysticism CUP Archive 1978 ISBN 978-0-521-29546-8 page 120-121

[17] I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass.

[18] Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90

[19] Reynold A. Nicholson Studies in Islamic Mysticism CUP Archive 1978 ISBN 978-0-521-29546-8 page 120-121

[20] Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 182 ISBN 978-9004069060

[21] Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90

[22] I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 104

[23] Bayman, H. (2012). The Teachings of a Perfect Master: An Islamic Saint for the Third Millennium. Vereinigtes Königreich: Anqa Pub.. p. 238

[24] Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition Shambhala Publications 2009 ISBN 978-0-834-82414-0 page 707

[25] Christoph Auffarth, Loren T. Stuckenbruck The Fall of the Angels BRILL 2004 ISBN 978-9-004-12668-8 page 161

[26] Friedman, Y. (2010). The Nuṣayrī-ʻAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History, and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria. Niederlande: Brill. p. 97

[27] Handan Aksünger Jenseits des Schweigegebots: Alevitische Migrantenselbstorganisationen und zivilgesellschaftliche Integration in Deutschland und den Niederlanden Waxmann Verlag 2013 ISBN 978-3-830-97883-1 page 83-84 (German)

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{distinguish|Azazel}}
 {{Short description|Name of Iblis before he was expelled from heaven}}
 [[File:Angels watching Iblis not prostrating before Adam.png|thumb|Two angels turn back and see with alarm that Iblīs (ʿAzāzīl) will not bow down before [[Adam]]. Painting from a manuscript of ʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of Creation) of al-Ṭūsī Salmānī, 14th century.]]
 [[File:Angels (malāʾika) meet Adam.png|thumb|The angels meet Adam, and seem to share, albeit to a lesser degree, the defiant reaction of Iblīs, who stands at the back haughtily turning his head away. According to tradition, God created Iblīs as a beautiful angel called ''ʿAzāzīl'' and he is depicted as such here. He is portrayed with his characteristic darker skin to denote his impending fall, but he has wings of an angel and wears the contemporary ‘angelic hairstyle,’ a loop of hair tied on top of the head.]]
 {{Islam}}
-In many Islamic and Islam-related traditions, '''Azazil''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: عزازيل ''ʿAzāzīl'', also known as [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: حارث ''Ḥārith'') is the legendary prototype of the [[devil]] in [[Islam|Islamic culture]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aloiane |first1=Z. A. |title=Anthropomorphic Representation of Evil in Islam and Some Other Traditions. Cross-Cultural Approach |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |date=1996 |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=423–434 |jstor=43391301 }}</ref> Azazil was considered to be among the [[Cherubim#In Islam|nearest to God's throne]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wherry |first1=E. M. |title=A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran: Comprising Sale's Translation and Preliminary Discourse: Volume I |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-39197-2 |page=121 }}</ref> but because he [[Islamic views on sin|sinned]] through pride, he became a [[Shaitan|devil]].
+'''Azazil''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: عزازيل ''ʿAzāzīl'', also known as [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: حارث ''Ḥārith'') is a figure in [[Islam]]ic tradition, and believed to be the original name of [[Iblis|Satan]] (''Iblīs'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aloiane |first1=Z. A. |title=Anthropomorphic Representation of Evil in Islam and Some Other Traditions. Cross-Cultural Approach |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |date=1996 |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=423–434 |jstor=43391301 }}</ref> The name does not appear in the [[Quran]], however, is frequently mentioned in ''[[tafsir|tafsīr]]'' (authorized exegesis of the Quran). According to a ''[[Hadith|ḥadīth]]'' by [[ibn Abbas]], Satan was once an angel called ''ʿAzāzīl'' or ''al-Ḥārith''. He states that [[God in Islam|God]] created most angels from "[[Nūr (Islam)|light]]" (''Nūr''), but ''ʿAzāzīl'' and the angels with him from "poisonous fire" (''nār as-samūm''). The [[djinn]] were created from "a mixture of fire" (''mārijin min nār'').<ref name=Erdağı>Erdağı, Deniz Özkan. "Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in “Semum”." SN Social Sciences 4.2 (2024): 1-22.</ref>
-In Islamic tradition, ''Azazil'' is usually seen as the original name of [[Iblis]], before he was expelled from heaven. Although Azazil is mostly portrayed as an [[archangel]], who was already created when [[God in Islam|God]] made the [[jinn]], in some reports Azazil is considered created as a jinni first but elevated to the rank of the angels.<ref>Tottoli, R. (2021). The Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Mutarrif Al-Tarafi. Deutschland: De Gruyter. p.24</ref><ref>Kelly, H. A. (2006). Satan: A Biography. Vereinigtes Königreich: Cambridge University Press. p.185</ref><ref>Amira El-Zein Islam, ''Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn'' Syracuse University Press 2009 {{ISBN|9780815650706}} page 160</ref> According to Islamic tradition, Azazil served God for thousands of years. He was sent down to earth with the angels to ensure order among the jinn. When God was dissatisfied with the jinn, God created Adam. It was Azazil and his angels on earth who raised objection against the creation of humans.<ref>Jeffery, Arthur. “Ibn Al-’Arabī’s Shajarat Al-Kawn (Concluded).” Studia Islamica, no. 11, 1959, pp. 113–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595153. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.</ref>
+The djinn were the first to inhabit the world and God entrusted them to govern the earth. When corruption increased among them, God sent an army of angels under the leadership of ''ʿAzāzīl'' to punish them. After driving the djinn away, ''ʿAzāzīl'' grew arrogant. When God creates a successor to the djinn and commands the angels to prostrate themselves before the new creation, ''ʿAzāzīl'' refuses, claiming that he is better. Thereupon, he is condemned to hell.
-Drawing from Turkic Sufi sources, ʿAzāzīl was neither an angel nor a jinn, but an undefined being. He grew up pious and was lifted up to live with the angels in the first heaven. Then he was sent by God to the jinn on earth to persuade them to follow the right path. Since most jinn didn't listen, they were burned by God's fire. However, since ʿAzāzīl's piety increased he was bestowed with angelic qualities and placed in the seventh heaven, until he became proud of his achievements and refused to prostrate himself before Adam.<ref>Kefeli, Agnès. "The Return of Jinn and Angels." Muslim Religious Authority in Central Eurasia (2022): 81.</ref>
-In some mystical interpretations of Islam, like [[Sufism]], [[Ismailism]] and [[Alevism]], Azazil's fall happened before the creation of the world and he therefore, becomes the originator or prototype of sin in this world.
 ==Etymology and naming==
@@ Line 22: / Line 18: @@
 Allah's mercy, hence, the name إبليس (Iblis). His original name was Azazil. Allah has said in Surah [[Ar-Rum|Al-Rum]] "وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يُبْلِسُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ" (On the Day that the Hour will be established, the guilty will be struck dumb with despair). The name "Iblis" is derived from the root, بلس , as he is in despair of Allah's mercy" -Ibn Mandhur, Lisan Al-Arab, Vol.6/29}}
-== Quranic exegesis ==
+== Quran and ''tafsīr'' ==
+Quranic tradition can be divided into two camps in regards on the identity of Satan. This dispute roots back to the formative stage of Islam.<ref name=Erdağı/> When Surah [[al-Kahf]] states, in reference to Satan, "(...) he was one of the jinni (...)", the strand of [[Hasan al-Basri]] and [[ibn Abbas]] differ in meaning. According to al-Basri, angels are infallible. Thus, he argues, Satan could not have been an angel. Instead, the verse is supposed to mean that Iblis is one of the jinn, distinct from the angels.<ref name=Erdağı/>
-According to many Classical scholars, based on the reports of the [[Sahaba]], before Iblis was expelled from heaven, he was called Azazil.
+According to ibn Abbas, the term is interpreted as ''jinān'', meaning that Satan was "an inhabitant of paradise" (i.e. an angel).<ref>Patrick Hughes| ''Dictionary of Islam'' Asian Educational Services|page= 135</ref> At that time, he was appointed by God as the ruler of the lower heavens and sent to judge the djinn, until they became corrupt and was  commanded to eliminate them.<ref>Jeffery, Arthur. “Ibn Al-’Arabī’s Shajarat Al-Kawn (Concluded).” Studia Islamica, no. 11, 1959, pp. 113–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595153. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.</ref><ref>Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism Scarecrow Press 2010 {{ISBN|978-1-461-71895-6}} page 295</ref> Ibn Abbas further explains that Satan's angelic name was ''ʿAzāzīl''. However, after ''ʿAzāzīl'' was banished from heaven, his name is changed to ''Iblīs'' and is turned into a "cursed demon" (''shayṭān rajim'').
-According to whose interpretations legitimated by the authority of [[Ibn Abbas]], Azazil was the leader of Angels and sent by God to terminate the [[jinn]], who lived on earth before humanity.<ref>Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism Scarecrow Press 2010 {{ISBN|978-1-461-71895-6}} page 295</ref> After his victory, he grew arrogant and declined God's command to prostrate himself before [[Adam in Islam|Adam]]. Arguing that he was superior to humans, God expelled him from heaven and he became an ''accursed [[shaitan]]'' (Shaitan Rajim). When the Quran refers to Iblis as one of the jinn, this tradition states it does not refer to Azazil being one of the jinn who lived on earth, but to a group of angels who were entrusted with the task to guard the entrance to [[Jannah]].<ref>Patrick Hughes| ''Dictionary of Islam'' Asian Educational Services|page= 135</ref> Therefore, it is their relation to Jannah the term refers to Satan as a ''jinn'' in Quran.
+He is further blamed to claim divine authority for himself by calling for obedience among God's creation. The statement in [[Al-Anbiya|Surah al-’anbiyā]] states "(...) whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell." is understood as a reference to Satan.<ref name=Erdağı/>
-Only in later traditions, asserted by the [[Brethren of Purity]], Azazil used to be a jinni from earth, taken captive by the angels during war. Among the angels, Azazil impressed the angels by his piety and joined them in worship and service, but loses his angelic state after he disobeys God.<ref>Amira El-Zein Islam, ''Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn'' Syracuse University Press 2009 {{ISBN|9780815650706}} page 40</ref><ref>Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam (in German). Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. p. 44 {{ISBN|978-3-110-33168-4}}.</ref>
+Unlike the tradition of al-Basri, ibn Abbas' interpretation accepts that angels can sin and be expelled from heaven.<ref name=Erdağı/> This interpretation is favored in [[Sunnism|Sunni tradition]] by scholars such as [[Tabari]], [[Suyuti]], and [[Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi|Nasafi]].<ref name=Erdağı/>
-== Sufism==
-In Sufism, Azazil is one of the worst tempters. The fallen angel is the devil who leads the saints astray, however, fails against the prophets.<ref>Bayman, H. (2012). The Teachings of a Perfect Master: An Islamic Saint for the Third Millennium. Vereinigtes Königreich: Anqa Pub.. p. 238</ref> [[Inayat Khan]], who was a pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West, states that evil actions performed by people attract this spirit who in turn leads them further astray into darkness and wrong actions.<ref>I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 104</ref>
+== Wider Islamic tradition ==
-[[Mansur Al-Hallaj|Al-Hallaj]] mentioned Azazil in his collection Tawasin. Here, Azazil's disobedience to refuse God's command is a way to hallow His name. Chapter Six is dedicated to the self-defence of Azazil, and in one section Hallaj explains how each of the letters of Azazil's name relate to his personality. Unlike many other Sufi writers, Hallaj declined that Azazil will be restored to God's grace, thus after the Day of Judgment, he will still be damned.<ref>Reynold A. Nicholson ''Studies in Islamic Mysticism'' CUP Archive 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-521-29546-8}} page 120-121</ref> Since Azazil originated from fire, fire will be his final destiny.<ref>I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass.</ref>
+Drawing from legends by some Turkish sources, ''ʿAzāzīl'' was a unique being, created from fire. He grew up pious and was lifted up to live with the angels in the first heaven. As the ruler of the lower earth, he was sent by God to the djinn communities on earth in order to persuade them to follow the right path. However, most djinn refused to obey and were burned by God's fire.  ''ʿAzāzīl's'' piety increased and he was bestowed with angelic qualities when he reaches the seventh heaven. However, he loses his previous achievements when refused to prostrate himself before Adam.<ref>Kefeli, Agnès. "The Return of Jinn and Angels." Muslim Religious Authority in Central Eurasia (2022): 81.</ref>
+''ʿAzāzīl'' is also mentioned three times in [[Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī|Rumi]]s Masnavi, as a reminder for the Muslim to exercise discipline and humility, since when ''ʿAzāzīl'' acted arrogantly, he was abandoned to hell in spite of his former high position:
+<blockquote> Through discipline and humility this heaven has been filled with light, and through discipline the angel became immaculate and holy. By reason of irreverence, the sun was eclipsed, and insolence caused Azazil to be turned back from the door.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moradi |first1=S. Robert |title=Love, Pathos, and the Inner Healer: Examples from Analytical Work Using Mythology and Rumi's Poetry |journal=Psychological Perspectives |date=26 February 2010 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=5–20 |doi=10.1080/00332920903543526 |s2cid=170958216 }}</ref></blockquote>
+Although ''ʿAzāzīl'' is considered an angel (''[[Cherub#In Islam|muqarrab]]''),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wherry |first1=E. M. |title=A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran: Comprising Sale's Translation and Preliminary Discourse: Volume I |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-39197-2 |page=121 }}</ref><ref>Amira El-Zein Islam, ''Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn'' Syracuse University Press 2009 {{ISBN|9780815650706}} page 40</ref> who was already created when [[God in Islam|God]] created the earthly djinn, the ''[[Brethren of Purity]]''<ref>Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam (in German). Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. p. 44 {{ISBN|978-3-110-33168-4}}.</ref> and ''[[Tarikh Khamis]]'',<ref>Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 30 {{ISBN|978-9004069060}}</ref> depict ''ʿAzāzīl'' as someone who lived among the djinn until he was taken captive by the angels or was elavated to their rank.<ref>Tottoli, R. (2021). The Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Mutarrif Al-Tarafi. Deutschland: De Gruyter. p.24</ref>
+== Sufism==
+[[Mansur Al-Hallaj|Al-Hallaj]] (c. 858 – 922) mentions ''ʿAzāzīl'' in his ''Kitāb al-Tawāsīn''. Here, ''ʿAzāzīl's'' disobedience to refuse God's command is dscribed as way to hallow God's name. According to him, ''ʿAzāzīl'' proved loyalty to God by declining to bow before Adam. Chapter Six is dedicated to the self-defence of ''ʿAzāzīl'', and in one section Hallaj explains how each of the letters of ''ʿAzāzīl's'' name relate to his personality. Unlike many other Sufi writers, Hallaj rejected that ''ʿAzāzīl'' could be restored to God's grace, insisting on Satan's damnation.<ref>Reynold A. Nicholson ''Studies in Islamic Mysticism'' CUP Archive 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-521-29546-8}} page 120-121</ref> He argues that, since ''ʿAzāzīl'' originated from fire, fire must be his final destiny.<ref>I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass.</ref>
+According to [[Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī|Al-Jili]], depicts angels (''malāʾikah'') and devils (''shayāṭīn'') as manifestations of ''ʿAzāzīl'' is a manifestation [[Names of God in Islam|God's attributes]]. While the good angels are made from [[Nur (Islam)|light]] in order to guide humanity, ''ʿAzāzīl'' and his angels are created as reflecting God's names of majesty, darkness and misleading.<ref>Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90</ref> As an angel of single-minded devotion, ʿAzāzīl fails to realize that bowing before Adam in accordance with God's command, is equal as bowing to God himself.<ref>Reynold A. Nicholson ''Studies in Islamic Mysticism'' CUP Archive 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-521-29546-8}} page 120-121</ref><ref>Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 182 {{ISBN|978-9004069060}}</ref> ''ʿAzāzīl'' and his angels were reduced to the principle of evil, when they rejected repentance and justified their persistence by their creation from fire.<ref>Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90</ref>
-Azazil is also mentioned three times in [[Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī|Rumi]]s Masnavi, emphasizing the importance of discipline and humility:
-<blockquote> Through discipline and humility this heaven has been filled with light, and through discipline the angel became immaculate and holy. By reason of irreverence, the sun was eclipsed, and insolence caused Azazil to be turned back from the door.</blockquote> When Azazil acted arrogantly, he was abandoned to hell in spite of his former high position.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moradi |first1=S. Robert |title=Love, Pathos, and the Inner Healer: Examples from Analytical Work Using Mythology and Rumi's Poetry |journal=Psychological Perspectives |date=26 February 2010 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=5–20 |doi=10.1080/00332920903543526 |s2cid=170958216 }}</ref>
+[[Inayat Khan]] (1882 –  1927), a pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West, similarly  teaches that ''ʿAzāzīl'' is a devil leading astray from the way of God. He states that evil actions performed by people attract the spirit of ''ʿAzāzīl'' (or his minions) who in turn leads them further astray into darkness and wrong actions.<ref>I. K. (1989). Spiritual Liberty. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 104</ref> ''ʿAzāzīl''  is the worst tempters, since the fallen angel has the power to lead even saints astray, however, still fails against the prophets.<ref>Bayman, H. (2012). The Teachings of a Perfect Master: An Islamic Saint for the Third Millennium. Vereinigtes Königreich: Anqa Pub.. p. 238</ref>
-According to [[Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī|Al-Jili]] God created, out of the [[Logos (Islam)|light of Muhammad]] the good angels, reflecting [[Names of God in Islam|God's attributes]] of beauty, [[Nur (Islam)|light]] and guidance. Azazil and his angels were created as reflecting God's names of majesty, darkness and misleading. Azazil worshipped God for thousands of years before the creation of the world and it was forbidden to him to worship anything else.<ref>Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90</ref> As an angel of single-minded devotion, Azazil fails to realize that bowing before Adam in accordance with God's command, is equal as bowing to God himself.<ref>Reynold A. Nicholson ''Studies in Islamic Mysticism'' CUP Archive 1978 {{ISBN|978-0-521-29546-8}} page 120-121</ref><ref>Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 182 {{ISBN|978-9004069060}}</ref> After getting rebuked by God, Azazil does not repent but accepts his punishment as part if his unchanging nature of fire and becomes the principle of evil.<ref>Nicholson, Reynold A.. Studies in Islamic Mysticism. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2003. p. 90</ref>
 ==Ismailism==
-In [[Umm al-Kitab (Ismaili book)|Umm al-Kitab]], an 8th-century [[Ismailism|Ismaili]] work, Azazil is the first creation of God, the ''High King''. God gave him the power of creation, but Azazil boasted with his loaned power, claiming divinity for himself, describing himself as another God beside the High King. To prove that Azazil's creation only depends on the power of his own creator, God makes a new creation, opposed by Azazil. Every time, Azazil again claims to be like God, he and his fellow angels lose colour, becoming darker and inferior and are thrown into lower celestial spheres until they end up on earth, which is made out of the essence of Azazil's creations. As with the [[Yaldabaoth|Gnostic Demiurge]], Azazil traps the life-forces of the heavenly realm and captures them in the material realm.<ref>Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer ''The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition'' Shambhala Publications 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-834-82414-0}} page 707</ref><ref>Christoph Auffarth, Loren T. Stuckenbruck The Fall of the Angels BRILL 2004 {{ISBN|978-9-004-12668-8}} page 161</ref>
+In [[Umm al-Kitab (Ismaili book)|Umm al-Kitab]], an 8th-century [[Ismailism|Ismaili]] work, ''ʿAzāzīl'' is the first creation of God, the ''High King''. God gave him the power of creation, but ''ʿAzāzīl'' boasted with his loaned power, claiming divinity for himself, describing himself as another God beside the High King. To prove that Azazil's creation only depends on the power of his own creator, God makes a new creation, opposed by ''ʿAzāzīl''. Every time, ''ʿAzāzīl'' again claims to be like God, he and his fellow angels lose colour, becoming darker and inferior and are thrown into lower celestial spheres until they end up on earth, which is made out of the essence of ''ʿAzāzīl's'' creations. As with the [[Yaldabaoth|Gnostic Demiurge]], ''ʿAzāzīl'' traps the life-forces of the heavenly realm and captures them in the material realm.<ref>Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer ''The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition'' Shambhala Publications 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-834-82414-0}} page 707</ref><ref>Christoph Auffarth, Loren T. Stuckenbruck The Fall of the Angels BRILL 2004 {{ISBN|978-9-004-12668-8}} page 161</ref>
-Umm al-Kitab's depiction of Azazil might be a reaction to religious [[Dualism in cosmology|dualism]]. By claiming divinity for himself, but getting rebuked by God and presenting Azazil merely as an angel inferior to God, belief in two eternal principles is rejected. In one instance, [[Ahriman]], the [[Zorastrian]] creator of evil, appears namely as a later incarnation of Azazil.<ref>Friedman, Y. (2010). The Nuṣayrī-ʻAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History, and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria. Niederlande: Brill. p. 97</ref>
+Umm al-Kitab's depiction of ''ʿAzāzīl'' might be a reaction to religious [[Dualism in cosmology|dualism]]. By claiming divinity for himself, but getting rebuked by God and presenting ''ʿAzāzīl''merely as an angel inferior to God, belief in two eternal principles is rejected. In one instance, [[Ahriman]], the [[Zorastrian]] creator of evil, appears namely as a later incarnation of ''ʿAzāzīl''.<ref>Friedman, Y. (2010). The Nuṣayrī-ʻAlawīs: An Introduction to the Religion, History, and Identity of the Leading Minority in Syria. Niederlande: Brill. p. 97</ref>
 == Bektashi Alevism ==
-Azazil features as one of the first angels in an [[Alevism|Alevi]] [[oral tradition]], there he is informed by the archangel [[Gabriel#Islam|Cebrail]] (Gabriel), about their creator. Along with the other archangels, Cebrail leads Azazil to a lamp with seven doors. They shall serve here for 1001 days, so the door will open. After the archangels entered the lamp, they saw two lights forming one body. The archangels were commanded to prostrate before the light. All followed the order but Azazil, who refused to prostrate himself, since the light, as something that was created, could not be the creator, so he turned back to the door to stay in the former service of God. This narration explains that Azazil stood at God's service, but he despised that he saw when the door opened and decided to move into the ''Ego World'', causing the later enmity between Satan and humanity.<ref>Handan Aksünger ''Jenseits des Schweigegebots: Alevitische Migrantenselbstorganisationen und zivilgesellschaftliche Integration in Deutschland und den Niederlanden'' Waxmann Verlag 2013 {{ISBN|978-3-830-97883-1}} page 83-84 (German)</ref>
+''ʿAzāzīl'' features as one of the first angels in an [[Alevism|Alevi]] [[oral tradition]], there he is informed by the archangel [[Gabriel#Islam|Cebrail]] (Gabriel), about their creator. Along with the other archangels, Cebrail leads ''ʿAzāzīl''to a lamp with seven doors. They shall serve here for 1001 days, so the door will open. After the archangels entered the lamp, they saw two lights forming one body. The archangels were commanded to prostrate before the light. All followed the order but ''ʿAzāzīl'', who refused to prostrate himself, since the light, as something that was created, could not be the creator, so he turned back to the door to stay in the former service of God. This narration explains that ''ʿAzāzīl'' stood at God's service, but he despised that he saw when the door opened and decided to move into the ''Ego World'', causing the later enmity between Satan and humanity.<ref>Handan Aksünger ''Jenseits des Schweigegebots: Alevitische Migrantenselbstorganisationen und zivilgesellschaftliche Integration in Deutschland und den Niederlanden'' Waxmann Verlag 2013 {{ISBN|978-3-830-97883-1}} page 83-84 (German)</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 56: / Line 59: @@
 {{Angels in Abrahamic Religions}}
-[[Category:Archangels in Islam]]
+[[Category:Angels in Islam]]
-[[Category:Jinn]]
 [[Category:Satan]]