An imp is a European mythological being similar to a fairy or demon , frequently described in folklore and superstition . The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe , used to denote a young grafted tree.
117-402: Imps are often described as troublesome and mischievous more than seriously threatening or dangerous, and as lesser beings rather than more important supernatural beings. The attendants of the devil are sometimes described as imps. They are usually described as lively and having small stature. The Old English noun impa meant a young shoot or scion of a plant or tree, and later came to mean
234-592: A Cambridge neuroscience study Jalal, Simons-Rudolph, Jalal, & Hinton (2013). The study found that as many as 48% of those who experience sleep paralysis in Egypt believe it to be an assault by the jinn. Almost all of these sleep paralysis sufferers (95%) would recite verses from the Quran during sleep paralysis to prevent future "jinn attacks". In addition, some (9%) would increase their daily Islamic prayer ( ṣalāh ) to get rid of these assaults by jinn. Sleep paralysis
351-512: A snake form, but can also choose to appear as scorpions , lizards , or humans. They may even engage in sexual affairs with humans and produce offspring. If they are injured by someone, they usually seek revenge or possess the assailant's body, requiring exorcism . Jinn rarely meddle in human affairs, preferring to live with their own kind in tribes similar to those of pre-Islamic Arabia. Individual jinn appear on charms and talismans. They are called upon for protection or magical aid, often under
468-420: A spiritual being ( Geistwesen ), having no relation to any form of sensual pleasure. It is necessarily required for the devil to be a spiritual being because if the devil were also a sensual being, it would be possible that the devil does evil to satisfy lower sensual desires, and does not act from the mind alone. The devil acts against morals, not to satisfy sensual lust, but solely for the sake of evil. As such,
585-402: A certain object, and then summoned only when their masters had need of them. Some even had the ability to grant their owner's wishes, much like a genie . This was the object of the 1891 story The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson , which told of an imp contained in a bottle that would grant the owner their every wish, but their soul would be sent to Hell if they didn't sell the bottle to
702-936: A god, but an evil angel. These writings commonly refer to the Creator of the material world as "a demiurgus " to distinguish him from the One true God . Some texts, such as the Apocryphon of John and On the Origin of the World , not only demonized the Creator God but also called him by the name of the devil in some Jewish writings, Samael . In the 12th century in Europe the Cathars , who were rooted in Gnosticism , dealt with
819-484: A good soul will be brought to Paradise by a Yayutshi sent by Ulgen. Some shamans also made sacrifices to Erlik, for gaining a higher rank in the Underworld, if they should be damned to Hell. According to Yazidism there is no entity that represents evil in opposition to God; such dualism is rejected by Yazidis, and evil is regarded as nonexistent. Yazidis adhere to strict monism and are prohibited from uttering
936-449: A man could kill a jinni in single combat, but they are feared for attacking without being seen. Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion. Despite that they were often feared or inspired awe, the jinn were also pictured to befriend humans or have romantic feelings for them. According to common Arabian belief, pre-Islamic soothsayers , philosophers, and poets were inspired by
1053-467: A model to follow (like angels) nor tempters of the lower self (like Satan) and mostly feature in poetic anecdotes. The jinn are obligated to follow the divine law ( sharīʿa ), as derived from the Quran by Muslim jurists ( faqīh ). Thus, the jinn are considered, along with humans, to be mukallāf . Believers among the jinn are called "Muslim jinn" ( muslimū l-jinn ). Since both creations must perform
1170-588: A monotheistic framework without demonizing them. An example of this can be seen in the writings of Syed Sultan who treated Shiva and Parvati as "created beings" and casts the Suras and Asuras into the roles of the jinn in Islamic haggadic tradition. Besides local deities, the existence of purely malevolent spirits is also acknowledged. Thus, jinn exist alongside other mythological entities, such as demons ( Dēw ) and fairies ( parī ). The moral attitude of
1287-469: A new owner before their death. Imps can be found in art and architecture throughout the world, most of the time carefully and painstakingly hidden and only being found by the most interested and observant of people. Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that
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#17327761474771404-568: A phenomenal range of creatures that can be found on the eight-pointed tiles of the Seal of Sulaymān device. Among these were the jinn, that belonged among Solomon's army and as Solomon claimed to have control over the jinn, so did the Rūm Seljuk sultan that claimed to be the Sulaymān of his time. In fact, one of the most common representations of jinn are alongside or in association with King Solomon. It
1521-537: A secondary deity, a demiurgus , who was god, in a sense, but not the supreme God; he was just, rigidly just, he had his good qualities, but he was not the good god, who was Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. John Arendzen (1909) in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) mentions that Eusebius accused Apelles , the 2nd-century AD Gnostic, of considering the Inspirer of Old Testament prophecies to be not
1638-440: A sensual joy or relief still accompanies the destruction of the tulip and therefore cannot be thought of solely as a violation of morality. Kant further argues that a (spiritual) devil would be a contradiction. If the devil would be defined by doing evil, the devil had no free choice in the first place. But if the devil had no free-choice, the devil could not have been held accountable for his actions, since he had no free will but
1755-528: A son of God and a brother to Christ. To explain this, they used the parable of the prodigal son, with Christ as the good son, and Lucifer as the son that strayed into evilness. The Catholic Church responded to dualism in AD 1215 in the Fourth Lateran Council , saying that God created everything from nothing, and the devil was good when he was created, but he made himself bad by his own free will. In
1872-510: A strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. Islam places jinn and humans on the same plane in relation to God, both being subject to God's judgement and an afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them. Although usually invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies ( Arabic : أَجْسَام , romanized : ajsām ), and can change at will. They favor
1989-681: A superstitional belief and hinders the common people to instigate military power. Similarly, the Deobandi movement , although not denying the reality of jinn, mostly depicts jinn as malevolent beings who need to be avoided or exorcised. In modern Iran, (evil) jinn are often substituted by devils. Similarly, in many modern tales, the term jinn is used for div (demon), causing a shift in meaning. Nonetheless, traditional belief in jinn remains popular in Islamic culture. The negative evaluations of jinn are not static, but rather entangled with traditional and also positive depictions of jinn. According to
2106-510: A survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center in 2012: The amount of Muslims believing in jinn from Bosnia and Herzegovina is higher than the general European average (30%), although only 21% believe in sorcery and 13% would wear talisman for protection against jinn; 12% support offerings and appeal given to the jinn. Sleep paralysis is understood as a "jinn attack" by many sleep paralysis sufferers in Egypt, as discovered by
2223-436: A tulip seller who was in possession of a rare tulip, but when he learned that another seller had the same tulip, he bought it from him and then destroyed it instead of keeping it for himself. If he had acted according to his sensual urges, the seller would have kept the tulip for himself to make a profit, but not have destroyed it. Nevertheless, the destruction of the tulip cannot be completely absolved from sensual impulses, since
2340-441: A variety of definitions for the meaning of "devil", supported by a range of citations: "Devil" may refer to Satan, the supreme spirit of evil, or one of Satan's emissaries or demons that populate Hell, or to one of the spirits that possess a demoniac person; "devil" may refer to one of the "malignant deities" feared and worshiped by "heathen people", a demon, a malignant being of superhuman powers; figuratively "devil" may be applied to
2457-672: A wicked person, or playfully to a rogue or rascal, or in empathy often accompanied by the word "poor" to a person—"poor devil". In the Baháʼí Faith , a malevolent, superhuman entity such as a devil or satan is not believed to exist. However, these terms do appear in the Baháʼí writings, where they are used as metaphors for the lower nature of man. Human beings are seen to have free will , and are thus able to turn towards God and develop spiritual qualities or turn away from God and become immersed in their self-centered desires. Individuals who follow
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#17327761474772574-453: Is Ahriman . They are in eternal struggle and neither is all-powerful, especially Angra Mainyu is limited to space and time: in the end of time, he will be finally defeated. While Ahura Mazda creates what is good, Angra Mainyu is responsible for every evil and suffering in the world, such as toads and scorpions. Iranian Zoroastrians also considered the Daeva as devil creature, because of this in
2691-664: Is about the revelation to jinn. The same Surah mentions righteous jinn on one hand, and malicious jinn on the other. The jinn can neither harm nor benefit humans, for they are occupied with looking after themselves and their own place in the cosmos. This is in notable contrast to demons and devils in the Judeo-Christian tradition . The Quran does not condemn the jinn as a source of harm, but by mistaking them for beings deserving cultic veneration ( 72:6 ). Jinn and humans are blamed for ascribing divine attributes to another creature (i.e. jinn); jinn to themselves and humans to
2808-661: Is also used in the New Testament as a synonym for the devil. A corrupted version, "Belzeboub", appears in The Divine Comedy ( Inferno XXXIV). In other, non-mainstream, Christian beliefs (e.g. the beliefs of the Christadelphians ) the word "satan" in the Bible is not regarded as referring to a supernatural, personal being but to any 'adversary' and figuratively refers to human sin and temptation. In
2925-562: Is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root JNN ( Arabic : جَنّ / جُنّ , jann ), whose primary meaning is 'to hide' or 'to adapt'. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, 'beings that are concealed from the senses'. Cognates include the Arabic majnūn ( مَجْنُون , 'possessed' or, generally, 'insane'), jannah ( جَنَّة , 'garden', 'eden' or 'heaven'), and janīn ( جَنِين , 'embryo'). Jinn
3042-533: Is generally associated with great fear in Egypt, especially if believed to be supernatural in origin. Similarly, European patients with a Muslim background often attribute mental illnesses to jinn. Most common attributations to jinn are symptoms of hallucination and psychotic symptoms, but can also include mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Capgras syndrome , and epilepsy . It has been noted that not all Muslims who believe in jinn, believe they can possess people. Furthermore, belief in possession
3159-519: Is good, the evil in the world must be part of God's plan. Actually, God allowed the devil to seduce humanity. Evil and suffering are regarded as a test or a chance to prove confidence in God. Some philosophers and mystics emphasized Iblis himself as a role model of confidence in God. Because God ordered the angels to prostrate themselves, Iblis was forced to choose between God's command and God's will (not to praise someone other than God). He successfully passed
3276-519: Is in stark contrast to Islamists, such as Osama bin Laden , who justifies his violence against the infidels by contrary assertions. While in classical hadiths , devils ( shayāṭīn ) and jinn are responsible for ritual impurity, many Salafis substitute local demons by an omnipresent threat through the Devil himself. Only through remembrance of God and ritual purity, the devil can be kept away. As such,
3393-619: Is inherently evil. The One true God is remote, beyond the material universe; therefore, this universe must be governed by an inferior imposter deity. This deity was identified with the deity of the Old Testament by some sects, such as the Sethians and the Marcions . Tertullian accuses Marcion of Sinope , that he [held that] the Old Testament was a scandal to the faithful … and … accounted for it by postulating [that Jehovah was]
3510-482: Is not limited to Muslims. Contrary to the assumption that higher education is proportional to disenchantment , belief in jinn-possession may remain intact even after medical graduation . Although there are very few visual representations of jinn in Islamic art , when they do appear, it is usually related to a specific event or individual jinn. Visual representations of jinn appear in manuscripts and their existence
3627-460: Is not necessarily seen as opposed to God. The devil activates the selfish desires of the psyche, leading the human astray from the Divine. Thus, it is the I that is regarded as evil, and both Iblis and Pharao are present as symbols for uttering "I" in ones own behavior. Therefore, it is recommended to use the term I as little as possible. It is only God who has the right to say "I", since it
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3744-403: Is often implied in works of architecture by the presence of apotropaic devices like serpents, which were intended to ward off evil spirits. Lastly, King Solomon is illustrated very often with jinn as the commander of an army that included them. In addition to these representations of jinn in vicinity to kingship, there were also architectural references to jinn throughout the Islamic world. In
3861-440: Is only God who is self-subsistent. Uttering "I" is therefore a way to compare oneself to God, regarded as shirk . Many Salafi strands emphasize a dualistic worldview between believers and unbelievers, The unbelievers are considered to be under the domain of the Devil and are the enemies of the faithful. The former are credited with tempting the latter to sin and away from God's path. The Devil will ultimately be defeated by
3978-431: Is portrayed as a large, ferocious dragon or snake and is considered the king of the World of Darkness. Together they rule the underworld and create the seven planets and twelve zodiac constellations . Also found in the underworld is Krun , the greatest of the five Mandaean Lords of the underworld. He dwells in the lowest depths of creation and his epithet is the 'mountain of flesh'. Prominent infernal beings found in
4095-483: Is presented as someone who is totally controlled by the jinni entering. The soothsayer was consulted to reveal hidden information or settle disputes, as it was believed, the jinn speaking through them revealed hidden knowledge. Jinn have been called an integral part of the Muslim tradition or faith, completely accepted in official Islam; prominently featured in folklore. Medieval and modern scholars have studied
4212-640: Is properly treated as a plural (however in Classical Arabic , may also appear as jānn , جَانّ ), with the singular being jinnī ( جِنِّيّ ), which the English word "genie" is derived from. The origin of the word jinn remains uncertain. Some scholars relate the Arabic term jinn to the Latin genius – a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion – as a result of syncretism during
4329-513: The Gospel of the Secret Supper , Lucifer, just as in prior Gnostic systems, appears as a demiurge, who created the material world. In Islam, the principle of evil is expressed by two terms referring to the same entity: Shaitan (meaning astray , distant or devil ) and Iblis . Iblis is the proper name of the devil representing the characteristics of evil. Iblis is mentioned in
4446-558: The Book of Wisdom , the devil is represented as the one who brought death into the world. The Second Book of Enoch contains references to a Watcher called Satanael, describing him as the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven and an evil spirit who knew the difference between what was "righteous" and "sinful". In the Book of Jubilees , Satan rules over a host of angels. Mastema , who induced God to test Abraham through
4563-546: The Citadel of Aleppo , the entrance gate Bab al-Hayyat made reference to jinn in the stone relief carvings of serpents; likewise, the water gate at Ayyubid Harran housed two copper sculptures of jinn, serving as talismans to ward off both snakes and evil jinn in the form of snakes. Alongside these depictions of the jinn found at the Aleppo Citadel, depictions of the jinn can be found in the Rūm Seljuk palace. There are
4680-661: The Lake of Fire . He is described as hating all humanity (or more accurately all creation), opposing God, spreading lies and wreaking havoc on their souls. In the Bible , the devil is identified as "the dragon" and "the old serpent" in the Book of Revelation, as "the prince of this world" in the Gospel of John ; "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" in the Epistle to
4797-822: The Middle English devel , from the Old English dēofol , that in turn represents an early Germanic borrowing of the Latin diabolus . This in turn was borrowed from the Greek διάβολος diábolos , "slanderer", from διαβάλλειν diabállein , "to slander" from διά diá , "across, through" and βάλλειν bállein , "to hurl", probably akin to the Sanskrit gurate , "he lifts up". In his book The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity , Jeffrey Burton Russell discusses various meanings and difficulties that are encountered when using
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4914-628: The Quranic narrative about the creation of humanity. When God created Adam , he ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. Out of pride, Iblis refused and claimed to be superior to Adam. Therefore, pride but also envy became a sign of "unbelief" in Islam. Thereafter, Iblis was condemned to Hell, but God granted him a request to lead humanity astray, knowing the righteous would resist Iblis' attempts to misguide them. In Islam, both good and evil are ultimately created by God. But since God's will
5031-636: The Salic law ), the neuter plural of ‹See Tfd› Greek : ἔμϕυτος 'natural, implanted, grafted'. Unlike the Christian folklore , demons in Germanic legends were not necessarily always evil. Imps were often mischievous rather than evil or harmful. In some religions, they were attendants of the gods . A legend in Lincolnshire dating to the 14th-century recounts that the devil, being annoyed with
5148-460: The Shahnameh , it is mentioned as both Ahriman Div ( Persian : اهریمن دیو , romanized : Ahriman Div ) as a devil. A non-published manuscript of Spinoza 's Ethics contained a chapter (Chapter XXI) on the devil, where Spinoza examined whether the devil may exist or not. He defines the devil as an entity which is contrary to God. However, if the devil is the opposite of God,
5265-574: The required prayers ( salah ), Muslim jurists debated if one is allowed to perform the prayer behind a jinni. Shibli cites two Hanbalite scholars who regard this as permissible without hesitation. Since Muhammad was sent to jinn and humans, both are mukallāf and subject to the command to pray. Because humans and jinn are capable of procreation, Muslim jurists dealt with the issue of permissibility of intercourse between these two types of creatures. Some Ḥadīths , though considered fabricated ( mawḍūʻ ) by some muhaddith (hadith scholars) , pushed
5382-407: The sacrifice of Isaac , is identical with Satan in both name and nature. The Book of Enoch contains references to Sathariel , thought also to be Sataniel and Satan'el . The similar spellings mirror that of his angelic brethren Michael , Raphael , Uriel , and Gabriel , previous to his expulsion from Heaven. Gnostic and Gnostic-influenced religions postulate the idea that the material world
5499-476: The six articles of Islamic faith , as belief in angels is. Nonetheless, many Muslim scholars, including the Hanbalī scholar ibn Taymiyya and the Ẓāhirī scholar ibn Hazm , believe they are essential to the Islamic faith since they are mentioned in the Quran. It is generally accepted by the majority of Muslim scholars that jinn can possess individuals. This is considered to be part of the doctrines ( aqidah ) of
5616-588: The " people of the Sunnah " ( ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a ) in the tradition of Ash'ari . The Atharī scholars ibn Taimiyya and ibn Qayyim agree on this matter. From among the Sunni schools of theology, only the Māturīdīs seems to debate possession. Al-Rustughfanī deemed jinn-possession impossible. Al-Māturīdī focuses on the dynamics between jinn and humans based on Quran 72:6 . He states that seeking refuge among
5733-635: The 1980s, this genre has become prominent in Turkish literature. The story by Tekin deals with folkloric and religious belief in a rationalized society . Contrary to the neutral to positive depiction of jinn in Tekin's novels, since 2004 jinn have become a common trope in Middle Eastern horror movies . The presentation of jinn usually combines Quranic with oral and cultural beliefs about jinn. Out of 89 films, 59 have direct references to jinn as
5850-466: The Arabic translation for the Greek nymph (' arūsa ) is also used for jinn by Middle Eastern sources. Although the term spirit is frequently used, it has been criticised for not capturing the corporeal nature of the jinn, and that the term genie should be used instead. The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear. Belief in jinn in pre-Islamic Arab religion is testified not only by
5967-606: The Devil becomes an increasinly powerful entity who is believed to interfer with both personal and political life. For example, many Salafis blame the Devil for Western emancipation . Yahweh , the god in pre-exilic Judaism , created both good and evil, as stated in Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." The devil does not exist in Jewish scriptures. However,
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#17327761474776084-537: The Ephesians ; and "the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He is also identified as the tempter of the Gospels . Satan is traditionally identified as the serpent who convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit ; thus, Satan has often been depicted as a serpent. Beelzebub is originally the name of a Philistine god (more specifically a certain type of Baal , from Ba‘al Zebûb , lit. "Lord of Flies") but
6201-414: The Jewish idea of the devil as yetzer hara . On the other hand, Shaitan refers unilaterally to forces of evil, including the devil Iblis who causes mischief. Shaitan is also linked to humans' psychological nature, appearing in dreams, causing anger, or interrupting the mental preparation for prayer. Furthermore, the term Shaitan also refers to beings who follow the evil suggestions of Iblis. Also,
6318-528: The Limits of Reason Alone , Immanuel Kant uses the devil as the personification of maximum moral reprehensibility. Deviating from the common Christian idea, Kant does not locate the morally reprehensible in sensual urges. Since evil has to be intelligible , only when the sensual is consciously placed above the moral obligation can something be regarded as morally evil. Thus, to be evil, the devil must be able to comprehend morality but consciously reject it, and, as
6435-587: The Quran affirms their existence. Although depictions are categorized into little tradition ( folklore ) and greater tradition (official Islam) for research purposes, both depictions are largely the same. The Quran does not consider foreign mythological beings to be devils, but entities erroneously ascribed divine power to. Therefore, jinn were considered a third class of invisible beings, often neutral or morally ambiguous, not consequently equated with devils. Islam allowed to integrate local beliefs about spirits and deities from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India, into
6552-604: The Quran, but also by pre-Islamic Arabic poetry . Some scholars of the Middle East hold that they originated as malevolent spirits residing in deserts and unclean places, who often took the forms of animals; others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance. Jinn were already worshipped by many Arabs during in pre-Islamic Arabia . Julius Wellhausen observed that jinn were often thought to "inhabit or haunt desolate, dark and dingy places in
6669-518: The Sufi idea of seeing "Many as One" and considering the creation in its essence as the Absolute, leads to the idea of the dissolution of any dualism between the ego substance and the "external" substantial objects. The rebellion against God, mentioned in the Quran, takes place on the level of the psyche that must be trained and disciplined for its union with the spirit that is pure. Since psyche drives
6786-465: The World of Darkness include lilith , nalai ( vampire ), niuli ( hobgoblin ), latabi (devil), gadalta ( ghost ), satani ( Satan ) and various other demons and evil spirits. In Manichaeism , God and the devil are two unrelated principles. God created good and inhabits the realm of light, while the devil (also called the prince of darkness ) created evil and inhabits the kingdom of darkness. The contemporary world came into existence, when
6903-690: The antagonist, 12 use other sorts of demons, while other types of horror, such as the impending apocalypse, hauntings, or ghosts, constitute only 14 films. The popularity of jinn as a choice of monster can best be explained by their affirmation in the Quran. They are still a popular trope today. A study from 2020 shows that jinn are still the favorite Horror element among teenagers. Jinn further feature in Iranian horror movies. Though discouraged by some teachings of modern Islam, cultural beliefs about jinn remain popular among Muslim societies and their understanding of cosmology and anthropology. Affirmation on
7020-665: The belief that spiritually gifted people can act as intermediaries between humans and jinn. Most of the time, jinn are believed not to interfere with humans and live mostly in desolate or abandoned places. This is, for example, evident from the Turkish phrase İn Cin top oynuyor . It is only when they are angered or disturbed, for example, if their children are trodden upon or hot water is thrown on them, that they take revenge on humans. For this reason, Muslims utter "destur" (permission), before doing something which might accidentally hurt jinn, such as sprinkling hot water on public grounds or into bushes, so present jinn are advised to leave
7137-411: The body, flesh is not the obstacle to humans but rather an unawareness that allows the impulsive forces to cause rebellion against God on the level of the psyche. Yet it is not a dualism between body, psyche and spirit, since the spirit embraces both psyche and corporeal aspects of humanity. Since the world is held to be the mirror in which God's attributes are reflected, participation in worldly affairs
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#17327761474777254-449: The completion of the cathedral, paid a visit, accompanied by two imps who proceeded to wreak havoc in the building. An angel appeared and ordered them to stop. One turned to throw a rock at the angel and was instantly petrified. For the tiniest angel, with amethyst eyes, And hair spun like gold, 'fore the alter [sic] did rise, Pronouncing these words in a dignified tone "O impious imp, be ye turned to stone!" While his companion fled,
7371-467: The consequences implied by their existence, legal status, the possible relations between them and mankind, especially in questions of marriage and property. Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the Quran , exclusively in Meccan surahs . The Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with the subject without elaborating on the jinn much further. According to the Quran 51:56-57 , Muhammad
7488-504: The desert". For that reason, they were held responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses. Emilie Savage-Smith asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute. In the regions north to the Hejaz , Palmyra and Baalbek , the terms jinni and ilah (deity) were often used interchangeably. Julius Wellhausen likewise agrees that in pre-Islamic Arabia it
7605-537: The devil as an independent force of evil besides God. After the apocalyptic period , references to Satan in the Tanakh are thought to be allegorical . In Mandaean mythology , Ruha fell apart from the World of Light and became the queen of the World of Darkness , also referred to as Sheol . She is considered evil and a liar, sorcerer and seductress. She gives birth to Ur , also referred to as Leviathan . He
7722-421: The devil is blamed for could be explained without the proposal of a devil. Thus, the devil does not have any explanatory power and should be dismissed ( Occam's razor ). Regarding evil through free choice, Spinoza asks how it can be that Adam would have chosen sin over his own well-being. Theology traditionally responds to this by asserting it is the devil who tempts humans into sin, but who would have tempted
7839-400: The devil is unselfish, for he does not benefit from his evil deeds. However, Kant denies that a human being could ever be completely devilish. Kant admits that there are devilish vices (ingratitude, envy, and malicious joy), i.e., vices that do not bring any personal advantage, but a person can never be completely a devil. In his Lecture on Moral Philosophy (1774/75) Kant gives an example of
7956-547: The devil is usually referred to as Satan . This is because Christian beliefs in Satan are inspired directly by the dominant view of Second Temple Judaism (recorded in the Enochian books ), as expressed/practiced by Jesus , and with some minor variations. Some modern Christians consider the devil to be an angel who, along with one-third of the angelic host (the demons), rebelled against God and has consequently been condemned to
8073-480: The devil or Satan is a fallen angel who is the primary opponent of God . Some Christians also considered the Roman and Greek deities to be devils. Christianity describes Satan as a fallen angel who terrorizes the world through evil, is opposed to truth , and shall be condemned, together with the fallen angels who follow him, to eternal fire at the Last Judgment . In mainstream Christianity ,
8190-491: The devil would consist of Nothingness, which does not exist. In a paper called On Devils , he writes that we can a priori find out that such a thing cannot exist. Because the duration of a thing results in its degree of perfection, and the more essence a thing possess the more lasting it is, and since the devil has no perfection at all, it is impossible for the devil to be an existing thing. Evil or immoral behaviour in humans, such as anger, hate, envy, and all things for which
8307-433: The devil? According to Spinoza, a rational being, such as the devil must have been, could not choose his own damnation. The devil must have known his sin would lead to doom, thus the devil was not knowing, or the devil did not know his sin will lead to doom, thus the devil would not have been a rational being. Spinoza deducts a strict determinism in which moral agency as a free choice, cannot exist. In Religion Within
8424-475: The different conceptions of the devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God , 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil (a fallen angel ) or 4) a symbol of human evil. Each tradition, culture, and religion with a devil in its mythos offers a different lens on manifestations of evil. The history of these perspectives intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art, and literature, developing independently within each of
8541-606: The existence of jinn as sapient creatures living along with humans is still widespread in the Middle Eastern world (including Egypt), and West Africa , mental illnesses are still often attributed to jinn possession. Since modern times, jinn were often portrayed in a more negative light. After the failure of the rebellion against the East India Company , the Muslim elite regarded jinn-veneration in India as
8658-560: The figure in the Abrahamic religions . In the Introduction to his book Satan: A Biography , Henry Ansgar Kelly discusses various considerations and meanings that he has encountered in using terms such as devil and Satan , etc. While not offering a general definition, he describes that in his book "whenever diabolos is used as the proper name of Satan", he signals it by using "small caps". The Oxford English Dictionary has
8775-400: The first human. He desired to create a human just as Ulgen did, thereupon Ulgen reacted by punishing Erlik, casting him into the Underworld where he becomes its ruler. According to Tengrism, there is no death, meaning that, when life comes to an end, it is merely a transition into the invisible world. As the ruler of Hell, Erlik enslaves the souls, who are damned to Hell. Further, he lurks on
8892-400: The form of an animal, favoring the form of a snake. Other chthonic animals regarded as forms of jinn include scorpions and lizards . Both scorpions and serpents have been venerated in the ancient Near East . When they shift into a human form however, they are said to stay partly animal and are not fully human. Although the power of jinn usually exceed those of humans, it is conceivable
9009-398: The idea that Satan is an opponent of God and the implied struggle between God and the devil . Iblis might either be regarded as the most monotheistic or the greatest sinner , but remains only a creature of God. Iblis did not become an unbeliever due to his disobedience, but because of attributing injustice to God; that is, by asserting that the command to prostrate himself before Adam
9126-442: The imp's endeavours, usually driving it away. Even if the imp was successful in getting the friendship it sought, it still often played pranks on its friend, either out of boredom or simply because this was the nature of the imp. This trait led to using the word “impish” for someone who loves pranks and practical jokes. Eventually, it came to be believed that imps were the familiar spirit servants of witches and warlocks , where
9243-650: The influence of Zoroastrianism during the Achaemenid Empire introduced evil as a separate principle into the Jewish belief system, which gradually externalized the opposition until the Hebrew term satan developed into a specific type of supernatural entity, changing the monistic view of Judaism into a dualistic one. Later, Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Enochian books (written during the Second Temple period under Persian influence), which depicted
9360-560: The jinn increases fear and anxiety, however, not because of the jinn, but due to the psychological dependence of the individual towards external powers. By that, he refers to seeking refuge among the jinn as a form of širk , due to the reliance on a created thing instead of God. Although jinn frequently appear in hagiographic Sufi literature and their existence is never doubted, they do not play any major role in Sufi cosmology . Because of their similarities to humans, they function neither as
9477-638: The jinn is usually associated with their religion. Good jinn are usually considered Muslim jinn or jinn Islam , whereas unbelieving jinn were tempted by the devils ( shayatin ) and are called kāfir jinn or jinn kāfir . Besides Islam, they could also practise Christianity and Judaism. Good jinn might teach people moral lessons and might be benevolent, or aid spiritual persons, such as shamans ( kam ) in Central Asia , or spiritual healers in Senegal . Mediha Esenel 's studies in 1940 Anatolia mentions
9594-413: The jinn occupy no fundamentally different position in the Quran than humans. Like humans, the jinn have no knowledge of the future. Like humanity, jinn face epistemic limitations regarding "the hidden/occult", have to rely on God's messengers, and face eschatological judgement. In Quranic interpretation, the term jinn can be used in two different ways: Belief in jinn is not included among
9711-403: The jinn" ("wa-akhī min al-jinn al-baṣīr"). The relationship between jinn and humans can also be romantic in nature. According to one famous Arabian story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah. He is supposed to have taught her the arts of healing. The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different than that of a jinni and a soothsayer ( kāhin ). The soothsayer
9828-513: The jinn. In the Quranic account, despite their similarities, there are important differences between the two species. Whereas humans are made from "clay" or "dirt", jinn were created from "smokeless fire" (Quran 15:27 , Quran 55:15 ), which is possibly the reason why they are credited with some extraordinary abilities, such as invisibility, transformation, and ascending into the air like devils (Quran 72:8 ). Despite some superhuman powers,
9945-408: The jinn. The Arabian poet al-A'sha (d. after 3/625) is said to have gotten his inspiration for his poetry by a friend named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") and further calls him his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī"). Similarly, the poet Thābit (d. 54/674) who later converted to Islam and became known as "the poet of the prophet", referred to his jinni-friend as his "sharp-sighted brother from
10062-565: The kingdom of darkness assaulted the kingdom of light and mingled with the spiritual world. At the end, the devil and his followers will be sealed forever and the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness will continue to co-exist eternally, never to commingle again. Hegemonius (4th century CE) accuses that the Persian prophet Mani , founder of the Manichaean sect in the 3rd century CE, identified Jehovah as "the devil god which created
10179-438: The leadership of a king. Many people who believe in jinn wear amulets to protect themselves against the assaults of the jinn, sent out by sorcerers and witches. A commonly held belief is that jinn cannot hurt someone who wears something with the name of God written on it. While some Muslim scholars in the past had ambivalent attitudes towards jinn, contemporary Muslim scholarship increasingly associate jinn with idolatry . Jinn
10296-467: The line taken by Irenaeus instead of the later Christian consensus that the devil did not rebel against God but against humanity. Further, although Iblis is generally regarded as a real bodily entity, he plays a less significant role as the personification of evil than in Christianity. Iblis is merely a tempter, notable for inciting humans into sin by whispering into humans minds (waswās), akin to
10413-444: The little demons served as spies and informants. During the time of the witch hunts , supernatural creatures such as imps were sought out as proof of witchcraft , though often the so-called imp was merely a black cat , a lizard , a toad or some other form of uncommon pet. Imps have also been described as being “bound” or contained in some sort of object such as a sword or a crystal ball . In other cases, imps were simply kept in
10530-458: The malevolent spirits called ' demon ' and mostly-benevolent 'heavenly angels', in literature. In Assyrian art , the modern term used for creatures ontologically between humans and divinities is also genie . Though not a precise fit, descriptive analogies that have been used for these beings in Western thought include demon , spirit , "sprite", and fairy , depending on source. In turn,
10647-739: The necessity for an explanation: "The Hour will come when the children of jinn will become many among you." "Among you are those who are expatriated (mugharrabûn);" and this, he explained, meant "crossed with jinn." Although there are recorded cases of purported human-jinn relationships most Muslim jurists agree that such a relationship is not permissible. Even those scholars who allowed such relationships, still considered them undesirable ( makruh ). Offspring of human-jinn relationships are nonetheless, usually considered to be gifted and talented people with special abilities. The jinn (also known as: Albanian : Xhindi , Bosnian : Džin , Turkish : Cin ) were adopted by later Islamic culture , since
10764-429: The place. Angered or straightforwardly evil mannered jinn, could hurt people by inflicting physical damage, causing illness, or taking control over a human's body . A human can be controlled by jinn under certain circumstances. The individual needs to be in a state of dha'iyfah ( Arabic : ضَعِيفَة , "(mental) weakness"). Feelings of insecurity, mental instability, unhappy love and depression (being "tired from
10881-628: The power of God, but remains until then a serious threat for the believer. The notion of a substantial reality of evil (or a form of dualism between God and the Devil) has no precedence in the Quran or earlier Muslim traditions. Neither in the writings of ibn Sina, Ghazali, nor ibn Taimiyya, has evil any positive existence, but is described as the absence of good. Accordingly, infidelity among humans, civilizations, and empires are not described evil or devilish in Classical Islamic sources. This
10998-416: The principle of shaitan is in many ways a symbol of spiritual impurity, representing humans' own deficits, in contrast to a " true Muslim ", who is free from anger, lust and other devilish desires. In Muslim culture, devils are believed to be hermaphrodite creatures created from hell-fire, with one male and one female thigh, and able to procreate without a mate. It is generally believed that devils can harm
11115-460: The problem of evil, and developed ideas of dualism and demonology. The Cathars were seen as a serious potential challenge to the Catholic church of the time. The Cathars split into two camps. The first is absolute dualism, which held that evil was completely separate from the good God, and that God and the devil each had power. The second camp is mitigated dualism, which considers Lucifer to be
11232-510: The reign of the Roman empire under Tiberius and Augustus ; however, this derivation is also disputed. Supporters argue that both Roman genii as well as Arabian jinn are considered to be lesser deities inhabiting local sanctuaries , trees or springs, and persons or families. Aramaic ginnaya ( Classical Syriac : ܓܢܝܐ ) with the meaning of ' tutelary deity ' or 'guardian' are attributed to similar functions and are another possible origin of
11349-818: The same beings, both sharing the same sense of free spirit and enjoyment of all things fun. It was later in history that people began to associate fairies as being good and imps as being malicious and evil. However, both creatures were fond of pranks and misleading people. Most of the time, these pranks were harmless fun, but some could be upsetting and harmful, such as the switching of babies or leading travelers astray in places unfamiliar to them. Although imps are often thought of as being immortal , they can be damaged or harmed by certain weapons and enchantments, or be kept out of people's homes by wards . Imps were also portrayed as lonely little creatures in search of human attention, using jokes and pranks to attract human friendship . This often backfired when people became annoyed with
11466-407: The scion of a noble house , or a child in general. Starting in the 16th century, it was often used in expressions like "imps of serpents", "imp of hell", "imp of the devil", and so on; and by the 17th century, it came to mean a small demon, a familiar of a witch . The Old English noun and associated verb impian appear to come from an unattested Late Latin term * emputa ( impotus is attested in
11583-582: The sight of humans, they would have been called jinn. The anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie , also from the Latin genius . It first appeared in 18th century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the 1706 French edition, where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense and further applies to benevolent intermediary spirits, in contrast to
11700-486: The soul") are forms of dha'iyfah . In that case, it is believed that an exorcism is required to save the person from the assaulting jinni. To protect oneself from jinn, many Muslims wear amulets with the name of God graved on. Jinn are also said to be scared of iron and wolves . Jinn feature in the magical realism genre , introduced into Turkish literature by Latife Tekin (1983), who uses magical elements known from pre-Islamic and Islamic Anatolian lore. Since
11817-400: The souls of humans through their whisperings. While whisperings tempt humans to sin, the devils might enter the hearth ( qalb ) of an individual. If the devils take over the soul of a person, this would render them aggressive or insane. In extreme cases, the alterings of the soul are believed to have effect on the body, matching its spiritual qualities. In contrast to Occidental philosophy,
11934-456: The souls of those humans living on Earth by causing death, disease and illnesses. At the time of birth, Erlik sends a Kormos to seize the soul of the newborn, following him for the rest of his life in an attempt to seize his soul by hampering, misguiding, and injuring him. When Erlik succeeds in destroying a human's body, the Kormos sent by Erlik will try take him down into the Underworld. However
12051-461: The temptations of the self and do not develop spiritual virtues are often described in the Baháʼí writings with the word satanic . The Baháʼí writings also state that the devil is a metaphor for the "insistent self" or "lower self", which is a self-serving inclination within each individual. Those who follow their lower nature are also described as followers of "the Evil One". In Christianity ,
12168-408: The term devil . He does not claim to define the word in a general sense, but he describes the limited use that he intends for the word in his book—limited in order to "minimize this difficulty" and "for the sake of clarity". In this book Russell uses the word devil as "the personification of evil found in a variety of cultures", as opposed to the word Satan , which he reserves specifically for
12285-416: The term jinn refers to foreign, invisible, or unknown anthropomorphic beings, which are nonetheless subject to the same considerations as the former. They were both created to worship God ( 51:56 ). Because they are supposed to worship God from free will, they are both able for good and evil deeds ( 7:179 , 55:56 ). They are, like humans, rational beings formed of nations ( 7:38 ). Surah al-jinn
12402-602: The term jinn . Another suggestion holds that the word is of Persian origin and appeared in the form of the Avestic Jaini , a wicked (female) spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even pre-Zoroastrian mythology of peoples of Iran . Wensick advocates a purely Arabic origin of the term, asserting that according to the common Semitic view psychic and bodily affections are caused by spirits. An object reacting upon such an affect would be an incarnation of said spirit. Since these spirits are covered from
12519-405: The test, yet his disobedience caused his punishment and therefore suffering. However, he stays patient and is rewarded in the end. Muslims hold that the pre-Islamic jinn , tutelary deities , became subject under Islam to the judgment of God, and that those who did not submit to the law of God are devils . Although Iblis is often compared to the devil in Christian theology , Islam rejects
12636-405: The traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names— Satan (Judaism), Lucifer (Christianity), Beelzebub (Judeo-Christian), Mephistopheles (German), Iblis (Islam)—and attributes: it is portrayed as blue, black, or red; it is portrayed as having horns on its head, and without horns, and so on. The Modern English word devil derives from
12753-468: The unfortunate imp remains enslaved by the Angel Choir at the east end of the cathedral. The imp is also depicted on the emblem of the local football team Lincoln City F.C. They are also nicknamed The Imps. Imps are often shown as small in stature and not very attractive. Their behaviour is described as being wild and uncontrollable, much the same as fairies', and in some cultures they are considered
12870-477: The waters and collect some mud. Erlik hid some inside his mouth to later create his own world. But when God commanded the Earth to expand, Erlik got troubled by the mud in his mouth. God aided Erlik to spit it out. The mud carried by Erlik gave place to the unpleasant areas of the world. Because of his sin, he was assigned to evil. In another variant, the creator-god is identified with Ulgen . Again, Erlik appears to be
12987-480: The word "devil" and from speaking of anything related to Hell . Zoroastrianism probably introduced the first idea of the devil; a principle of evil independently existing apart from God. In Zoroastrianism, good and evil derive from two ultimately opposed forces. The force of good is called Ahura Mazda and the "destructive spirit" in the Avestan language is called Angra Mainyu . The Middle Persian equivalent
13104-545: The world" and said that "he who spoke with Moses, the Jews, and the priests … is the [Prince] of Darkness, … not the god of truth." Among the Tengristic myths of central Asia, Erlik refers to a devil-like figure as the ruler of Tamag (Hell), who was also the first human. According to one narrative, Erlik and God swam together over the primordial waters. When God was about to create the Earth, he sent Erlik to dive into
13221-787: Was assumed there are at least some friendly and helpful beings among the jinn. He distinguishes between a god and a jinni, not on the basis of morality, but on the basis of worship; the jinn are worshipped in private while the gods are worshipped in public. Al-Jahiz credits the pre-Islamic Arabs with believing that the society of jinn constitutes several tribes and groups, analogous to pre-Islamic Arabian culture. Jinn could also protect, marry, kidnap, possess, and kill people. Despite being invisible, jinn are considered to have bodies ( ajsām ), as described by Zakariya al-Qazwini , they are among animals , along with humans, burdened beasts (like horses ), cattle , wild beasts, birds , and reptiles . Jinn are further known as shapeshifters, often assuming
13338-511: Was inappropriate. There is no reference to angelic revolt in the Quran and no mention of Iblis trying to take God's throne, and Iblis's sin could be forgiven at any time by God. According to the Quran, Iblis's disobedience was due to his disdain for humanity , a narrative already occurring in early New Testament apocrypha . As in Christianity, Iblis was once a pious creature of God but later cast out of Heaven due to his pride. However, to maintain God's absolute sovereignty, Islam matches
13455-988: Was only following his nature. Honorifics or styles of address used to indicate devil-figures. Opinion polls show that belief in the devil in Western countries is more common in the United States ... where it is more common among the religious, regular church goers, political conservatives, and the older and less well educated, ... but has declined in recent decades. Jinn Jinn ( Arabic : جِنّ ), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies , are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabia and later in Islamic culture and beliefs . Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers ( Muslims ) or disbelievers ( kafir ), depending on whether they accept God 's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and could adapt them during its expansion. Jinn are not
13572-466: Was sent as a prophet to both human and jinn communities, and prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Throughout the Quran, humans and jinn ( al-ins wa-l-jinn ) appear frequently as a pair, designating their equal status in regards of their creation and rejecting that jinn share divinity with the Creator. The term ins derives from anisa , which means "to be familiar with", and refers to recognisable familiar human beings. In contrast,
13689-553: Was thought that King Solomon had very close ties to the jinn, and even had control over many of them. The idea that a great and just ruler commands jinn was also extended to other emperors, such as Alexander the Great . Given this association, jinn were often seen with Solomon in a princely or kingly context, such as the small, animal-like jinn sitting beside King Solomon on his throne illustrated in an illuminated manuscript of Aja'ib al-Makhluqat by Zakariya al-Qazwini , written in
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