Editing Iblis (section)

== In culture ==
=== In arts ===
{{Further|Angels in art#Islamic art}}
[[File:Iblis_with_turban.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Another painting of angels prostrating before Adam with Iblis refusing, here depicted with a headcover]]
[[File:Siyah Qalem - Hazine 2153, s.31b.jpg|thumb|Portrayal of Islamic devils in the form of wild monsters. Siyah Qalem - Hazine 2153, s.31b]]

Iblis is perhaps one of the most well-known individual supernatural entities in Islamic tradition and was depicted in multiple visual representations like the Quran and Manuscripts of Bal‘ami's ''‘Tarjamah-i Tarikh-i Tabari''.{{sfnp|Leoni|2012|pp=153–154}} Iblis was a unique individual, described as both a pious jinni and an angel before he fell from God's grace when he refused to bow before the prophet [[Adam in Islam|Adam]]. After this incident, Iblis turned into a ''[[Shayatin|shaytan]]''.{{sfnp|Leoni|2012|p=3}} In visual appearance, Iblis' depiction was described in ''On the Monstrous in the Islamic Visual Tradition'' by Francesca Leoni as a being with a human-like body with flaming eyes, a tail, claws, and large horns on a grossly disproportionate large head.{{sfnp|Leoni|2012|pp=5–6}}

Illustrations of Iblis in Islamic paintings often depict him black-faced, a feature which would later symbolize any satanic figure or heretic, and with a black body, to symbolize his corrupted nature. Another common depiction of Iblis shows him in human form wearing a special head covering, clearly different from the traditional Islamic turban and long sleeves, signifying long lasting devotion to God.{{sfnp|Kuehn|2019}} Only in one, he wears traditional Islamic head covering.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Na'ama|last1=Brosh|first2=Rachel|last2=Milstein|first3=Muzeʼon|last3=Yiśraʼel|title=Biblical stories in Islamic painting|publisher=[[Israel Museum]]|location=Jerusalem|date=1991|asin=B0006F66PC|page=27}}</ref>

Most pictures show and describe Iblis at the moment, when the angels prostrate themselves before Adam. In the manuscripts of Bal‘ami's ‘''Tarjamah-i Tarikh-i Tabari'' he is usually seen beyond the outcrop, his face transformed with his wings burned, to the envious countenance of a devil.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Walter|last1=Melion|first2=Michael|last2=Zell|first3=Joanna|last3=Woodall|title=Ut pictura amor: The Reflexive Imagery of Love in Artistic Theory and Practice, 1500–1700|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|location=Leiden, Netherlands|date=2017|isbn=978-9-004-34646-8|page=240}}</ref> In his demonic form, Iblis is portrayed similar to his cohorts (''shayāṭīn'') in Turko-Persian art as Asian demons (''Dīv'').<ref name="Dmitriy">{{cite journal |last1=Dmitriy |first1=Dmitriy |title=Bad Spirits in Turkish Art |journal=Turkish Art. Social Sciences |date=2020 |volume=1 |issue=21 |pages=59–88}}</ref> They are bangled creatures with flaming eyes, only covered by a short skirt. Similar to European arts depicting devils by traits of pagan deities, Islamic arts portray the devils with features often similar to that of Hindu deities.<ref name="b778">{{cite book | last1=Lewisohn | first1=L. | last2=Shackle | first2=C. | title=Attar and the Persian Sufi Tradition | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | publication-place=London | date=2006-11-22 | isbn=978-1-78673-018-3 | pages=156–158}}</ref>

=== In literature and film ===
[[File:Allama Iqbal.jpg|thumb|Iqbal in 1938. His [[Javid Nama]] was published in 1932 and discusses the role of Iblis in relation to the [[Problem of evil]]]]
The complexity of Iblis' character from the Quranic story had lasting influence on Islamic literature. It elaborates on the necessity of evil and Iblis' disobedience in creative retelling of the exegetical tradition.<ref name="Latif-2009"/>

Iblis and the angels feature in [[Hafez]]'s poetry (1325–1390), collected in ''[[The Divān of Hafez]]''. Hafez iterates that angels are incapable of love. They can merely praise the creator but without the passion of a human-being. When Iblis protests, either because he considers Adam's offspring unworthy or himself devoted to God alone, he is described as an imposter (''mudda'ī''). He claims to act for the sake of God's love, but is actually envious of mankind's exalted position. Hafez advises his audience not to reveal the secrets of love towards God to the imposter.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Leonard |editor-last=Lewisohn |title=Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry |year=2010 |place=Vereinigtes Königreich |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-0857736604 |pages=117–118}}</ref>

[[Muhammad Iqbal]]'s [[Javid Nama]] deal in length with the question of [[Good and Evil]].<ref name="Schimmel">{{cite book |last1=Schimmel |first1=Annemarie |title=Encyclopaedia Iranica Online |publisher=Brill |chapter=IQBAL, MUHAMMAD|doi=10.1163/2330-4804_EIRO_COM_3473}}</ref> As such, it is little surprising that Iblis plays a significant role in his works. Similar to [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe’s]] [[Mephistopheles]], Iblis is a necessary obstacle for man to overcome.<ref name="Schimmel"/> Only when man eventually resists and overcomes Iblis, he can finally prostrate himself and find salvation.<ref name="Schimmel"/>{{sfnp|Awn|1983|p=9}}

Egyptian novelist [[Tawfiq al-Hakim]]'s ''ash-Shahid'' (1953) describes the necessity of Iblis' evil for the world. One day, Iblis regrets his rebellion and consults religious authorities (the [[Pope]], a [[Rabbi]], and the head of the [[Al-Azhar Mosque|al-Azhar]]) in order to seek forgiveness. After Iblis' requests were rejected by all of them, he turns to the angel Gabriel, but is rejected again. Then Iblis realizes the necessity of his nature in order for good to exist and exclaims: "I am a martyr!".<ref name="g427">{{cite book | last1=Graf | first1=Arndt | last2=Fathi | first2=Schirin | last3=Paul | first3=Ludwig | title=Orientalism and Conspiracy | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | publication-place=London | date=2010-11-30 | isbn=978-0-85771-914-0 | pages=219–221}}</ref><ref name="m140">{{cite book | last=Issa | first=Islam | title=Milton in the Arab-Muslim World | publisher=Routledge | publication-place=London New York, NY | date=2019-01-17 | isbn=978-0-367-17761-4 | page=94}}</ref>

A demon called "Semum", from the eponymous 2008 Turkish [[horror film|Horror Movie]] ''[[Semum]]'', embodies qualities attributed to both Iblis and his offspring. Alluding to the Quran, Semum blames God for abandoning demon-kind after creating humanity and vows to destroy God's newest creatures.<ref name="y167"/>{{rp|p=8}} Referring to the Quranic cycle of God creating and then destroying his creatures, the "Semum" argues that humanity will be eventually abandoned by God, and should worship Iblis instead.<ref name="y167"/>{{rp|p=9}}

Iblis himself does not appear, but his presence is implied throughout the movie. Described by his devilish followers, he is the master of the "[[Jahannam|World of Fire]]". On the other hand, the exorcist (representing God) describes Iblis imprisoned in the lowest pit of hell.<ref name="y167"/>{{rp|p=18}} The movie implies Sufistic metaphysics by asserting that "God is everywhere". The demon denies God's omnipresence by asserting that hell belongs to Iblis. His dualistic beliefs are disproven when God intervenes on behalf of the exorcist in hell.<ref name="y167"/>{{rp|p=20}} Iblis creates merely the illusion of God's absence.<ref name="y167"/>{{rp|p=20}}

[[Supernatural season 5|The fifth season]] of the American TV show ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'' features ''[[Lucifer]]'' as the main antagonist. Despite its Christian roots, the antagonist of the season bears resemblance to the Quranic Iblis.<ref name="m377">{{cite journal | last=Nosachev | first=Pavel | title=Theology of Supernatural | journal=Religions | volume=11 | issue=12 | date=2020-12-04 | issn=2077-1444 | doi=10.3390/rel11120650 | doi-access=free | page=650}}</ref> Lucifer reveals his [[backstory]] in the fourth episode,<ref name="m377"/> declaring:
<blockquote>"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved Him, more than anything, and then God created you, the little hairless apes; and then He asked all of us to bow down before you, to love you more than Him. And I said: ‘Father, I can’t.’<ref name="m377"/></blockquote>