Shaitan

Shayāṭīn (شياطين; devils or demons), singular: Shayṭān (شَيْطٰان)) are evil spirits in Islamic belief, inciting humans to sin by waswasaħ (وَسْوَسَة, “whispering”) to the heart (قَلْب qalb).[1] By such, they always try to lead humans astray.[2] Although demons are usually spoken of in abstract terms, and more often described by their evil influences only, they are depicted as ugly and grotesque creatures of hell-fire.

For Satan in Islam, see Iblis.
"Shaytan" and "Sheitan" redirect here. For other uses, see Shaitan (disambiguation).
Depiction of a Shaitan made by Siyah Qalam between the 14th and the 15th century
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Etymology and terminology

The word Šayṭān (Arabic: شَيْطَان‎) originates from the Semitic root š-ṭ-n ("distant, astray") taking a theological connotation designating a creature distant from divine mercy.[3] In pre-Islamic Arabia, this term was used to designate an evil spirit, but only used by poets who were in contact with Jews and Christians.[4] With the emergence of Islam, the meaning of shayatin moved closer to the Christian concept of devils.[5] The term shayatin appears in a similar way in the Book of Enoch, denoting the hosts of the devil.[6] Taken from Islamic sources, "shaitan" may be translated as "demon" or "devil".[7] Among Muslim authors, the term can also apply to evil supernatural entities in general, such as evil jinn, fallen angels or Tawaghit.[8][9][10] In a broader sense, the term is used to designate everything from an ontological perspective that is a manifestation of evil.[11]

Theology

Quran

Mentioned 88 times, the shayatin, together with the angels, are the most frequently mentioned supernatural entities in the Quran. In the story of Adam and Eve, a shaitan tempts Adam to eat from the forbidden tree, arguing, God only prohibited its fruit, so they shall not become immortal, as narrated in Quran 7:20. According to Quran 15:16–18, shayatin rise against heaven in attempt to steal its secrets, but are chased by meteorites; however, unlike the jinn, they may partly succeed and snapping some information.[12] 2:102 mentions the shayatin as the teachers of sorcery. Quran 37:62–68 describes the fruits of Zaqqum, the tree of hell, as heads of shayatin. Surah 6:112 mentions shayatin among Ins (humans) and jinn. According to some exegetes, the term is used as an epithet to describe rebellious men and jinn, but others use it to refer to shayatin who tempt among the jinn or those who tempt among humans.[13]

Hadith

The hadith-literature depicts the shayatin as malevolent forces closely bound to humans and points to the presence of a Muslim's everyday life. A shaitan is assigned to every human (with Jesus as exception), and shayatin are said to move through the blood of human. Sahih Muslim mentions among the shayatin five sons of Iblis, who bring everyday calamities: Tir, “who brings about calamities, loses, and injuries; Al-A’war, who encourages debauchery; Sut, who suggests lies; Dasim, who causes hatred between man and wife; Zalambur, who presides over places of traffic."[14] Shayatin try to disrupt the prayer or the ablution. Further they might appear in dreams, and terrorize people. When someone yawns, the mouth should be covered, since the shayatin might enter the body. The sun is said to set and rise between the horns of a shaitan, when prayers should cease, since this is the moment the doors of hell open.[15] Sahih al-Bukhari and Jami` at-Tirmidhi state that the shayatin can not harm the believers during the month of Ramadan, since they are chained in Jahannam (Gehenna (hellfire)).[16]

Exegesis

The shayatin make up one of three classes of supernatural creatures in Islamic theology. But since they are invisible, like the jinn, some scholars put them merely under one category of the supernatural. However, the prevailing opinion among the mufassirs distinguish between the jinn and shayatin as following:[17][18]

  • Among the jinn, there are different types of believers (Muslims, Christians, Jewish, polytheists, etc.), however the shayatin are exclusively evil.
  • The jinn are mortal and die, while the shayatin only die when their leader ceases to exist. The father of the jinn is Al-Jann and the father of the shayatin is Iblis.[lower-alpha 1]

The shayatin are beings of hell-fire,[20][21] and although their origin is not mentioned in the Quran (similar to the angels), Islamic scholars repeatedly asserted the idea that the shayatin have been created from either smoke[22] or the hell-fire itself.[23] Comparable to demons or devils in Christian theology, shayatin are incapable of good and limited to "evil". Abu Mufti writes in his commentary of Abu Hanifa's "al-Fiqh al-absat" that all angels, except with Harut and Marut, are obedient but all shayatin, except Ham ibn Him Ibn Laqis Ibn Iblis, are created evil. Only humans and jinn are created with Fitra, meaning both angels and shayatin lack free-will and are settled in opposition.[24]

Some Sufi-writers connect the descriptions of shayatin mentioned in hadith to human's psychological conditions. Based on the notion that the shayatin reproduce by laying eggs into the heart of humans, Ghazali linked them to inner spiritual development. Accordingly, from the eggs laid on the heart, the offspring of Iblis grew and unite with the person, causing the sin the shaitan is responsible for.[25] He further explains the difference between divine inspiration and the devilish temptations of the shayatin, asserting one should test the inspiration by two criteria: firstly the piety and secondly whether the suggestion is in accordance with sharia.[26] He further elaborates an esoteric cosmology, visualizing a human's heart as the capital of the body, in constant struggle between reason ('aql) and carnal desires invoked by the shayatin.[27] Ali Hujwiri similarly describes the shayatin and angels mirroring the human psychological condition, the shayatin and carnal desires (nafs) on one side, and the spirit (ruh) and the angels on the other.[28]

Folklore

Shayatin are assumed to visit filthy or desacralized places.[29] They tempt humans by their whisperings into sin and to everything disapproved by society.[30] It is commonly believed among folk Islam that saying bismillah, or reciting a certain supplication (du'a), like "A'uzu Billahi Minesh shaitanir Rajiim" or the Suras "An-Naas" or "Al-Falaq",[31] could ward off attacks of shayatin.[32] In 2:102, it states Solomon did not practise witchcraft but rather the shayatin. Witchcraft is also traced back to the shayatin (compare with the Christian understanding).

See also

Notes
  1. A minority of scholars, such as Hasan Basri and Muqatil ibn Sulayman, disagreed with this view, holding that Iblis is both the father of the jinn and shayatin and accordingly equated with Al-Jann.[19]

References
  1. Szombathy, Zoltan, “Exorcism”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268, First print edition: ISBN 978-9004269637, 2014
  2. R. M. Savory Introduction to Islamic CivilizationCambridge University Press, 1976 ISBN 978-0521099486 p. 42
  3. Mustafa ÖZTÜRK The Tragic Story of Iblis (Satan) in the Qur’an Çukurova University,Faculty of Divinity JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC RESEARCH İslam Araştırmaları Vol 2 No 2 December 2009 page 134
  4. Amira El Zein: The Evolution of the Concept of Jinn from Pre-Islam to Islam'. pp. 227–233.
  5. Jeffrey Burton Russell Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages Cornell University Press 1986 ISBN 978-0-801-49429-1 page 55
  6. James Windrow Sweetman Islam and Christian Theology: Preparatory historical survey of the early period. v.2. The theological position at the close of the period of Christian ascendancy in the Near East Lutterworth Press 1945 University of Michigan digitalized: 26. Juni 2009 p. 24
  7. Mehmet Yavuz Seker Beware! Satan: Strategy of Defense Tughra Books 2008 ISBN 978-1-597-84131-3 page 3
  8. Robert Lebling Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar I.B.Tauris 2010 ISBN 978-0-857-73063-3 page 22
  9. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition [6 volumes] ABC-CLIO 2010 ISBN 978-1-598-84204-3 page 117
  10. Frederick M. Smith The Self Possessed: Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization Columbia University Press 2012 ISBN 978-0-231-51065-3 page 570
  11. Seyyed Hossein Nasr Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines, An SUNY Press 1993 ISBN 978-1-438-41419-5 p. 70
  12. Eichler, Paul Arno, 1889 Die Dschinn, Teufel und Engel in Koran [microform] p. 31. (German)
  13. Teuma, E. (1984). More on Qur'anic jinn. Melita Theologica, 39(1–2), 37–45.
  14. Hughes, Thomas Patrick (1885). "Genii". Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopædia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies. London: W.H.Allen. pp. 134–36. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  15. Awn Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. With a Foreword by A. Schimmel Brill, 2018 ISBN 978-9004378636 pp. 45–60
  16. Tobias Nünlist (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4. p. 229 (in German).
  17. Egdunas Racius ISLAMIC EXEGESIS ON THE JINN: THEIR ORIGIN, KINDS AND SUBSTANCE AND THEIR RELATION TO OTHER BEINGS p. 132
  18. Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 ISBN 978-0815650706 p. 21
  19. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/can--cin (turkish)
  20. Fahd, T. and Rippin, A., “S̲h̲ayṭān”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1054
  21. Marshall G. S. Hodgson The Venture of Islam, Volume 2: The Expansion of Islam in the Middle Periods, Volume 2 University of Chicago Press, 2009 ISBN 978-0226346878 p. 449
  22. Seyyed Hossein Nasr Islamic Life and Thought Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-134-53818-8 p. 135
  23. ANTON M. HEINEN ISLAMIC COSMOLOGY A STUDY OF AS-SUYUTI’S al-Hay’a as-samya fi l-hay’a as-sunmya with critical edition, translation, and commentary ANTON M. HEINEN BEIRUT 1982 p. 143
  24. Abu l-Lait as-Samarqandi's Comentary on Abu Hanifa al-Fiqh al-absat Introduction, Text and Commentary by Hans Daiber Islamic concept of Belief in the 4th/10th Century Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa p. 243
  25. Peter J. Awn Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblis in Sufi Psychology, Brill, 1983 ISBN 978-9004069060 p. 58
  26. Abdullahi Hassan Zaroug "AI-Ghazali's Sufism: A Critical Appraisal", Intellectual Discourse, 1997 p. 150
  27. Jurnal Ilmiah ISLAM FUTURA Vol. 17. No. 2, Februari 2018, THE INTERTWINED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NAFS (CARNAL SOUL), AQL (REASONING) QALB (HEART) Hyder Gulam Australian National Imams Council p. 207
  28. SHIGERU KAMADA* A STUDY OF THE TERM SIRR (SECRET) IN SUFI LATA'IF THEORIES p. 18
  29. Marion Holmes Katz Body of Text: The Emergence of the Sunni Law of Ritual Purity SUNY Press, 2012 ISBN 978-0791488577 p. 13
  30. Gerda Sengers Women and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic Egypt Brill, 2003 ISBN 978-9-004-12771-5 p. 254
  31. Rudolf Macuch "Und das Leben ist siegreich!": mandäische und samaritanische Literatur ; im Gedenken an Rudolf Macuch (1919–1993) Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2008 ISBN 978-3-447-05178-1 p. 82
  32. Gerda Sengers. Women and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic Egypt. Brill, 2003. ISBN 978-9-004-12771-5. p. 41.
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