Arabic · name · Faith & Sacred History
Iblees
इबलीस
said ib-LEES
also written: Iblis, Shaitan, iblis, iblees, shaitan
Meaning
The devil of Islamic tradition, who refused to bow to Adam out of pride and was cast out.
Literally: the Devil; Satan
Usage & notes
Iblees — the proud spirit who refused to bow to Adam and became the tempter. Iqbal's treatment is famously complex: in his dramatic verse Iblees becomes a foil who voices a restless, defiant energy and even taunts the believer for his slackness, dramatizing the dialectic of obedience and revolt. Iqbal does not endorse Satan, but uses the figure to probe will, refusal and the trials by which the self is forged.