Editing Demon (section)

=== Islamic culture in the Middle Ages ===
{{See also|Div (mythology)|Marid|Ifrit}}
[[File:Imam Ali and the Jinn.jpg|thumb|[[Imam Ali|Ali]] slaying demons with his sword [[Zulfiqar]] in a Persian manuscript. As evident from the poetry of Sanā'ī Ghaznavī, the sword is believed to be made from fire (آتش), able to kill not only a body but also a soul.<ref>Bakr, Sarmad Mohammad. "The Structural Level in the Sufi Poetry."</ref>]]
In Islamic culture, [[Div (demon)|demons]] ({{Lang|pes-latn|dīv}}) share many anthropomorphic attributes with the Arabian [[jinn]].<ref>Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew. The Ashgate encyclopedia of literary and cinematic monsters. Routledge, 2016. chapter: Div</ref><ref name=Abedinifard-etal-2021>{{cite book |title=Persian Literature as World Literature |series=Literatures as World Literature |place=USA |editor1=Abedinifard, Mostafa |editor2=Azadibougar, Omid |editor3=Vafa, Amirhossein |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2021 |isbn=978-1501354205 |pages=40–43 |postscript=,}} {{isbn|9781501354205}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|page= 37}} Like the jinn from Islamic traditions, they can enter sexual relationships with humans and sire offspring.<ref name="The Good p. 24"/> Nonetheless, demons differ from jinn as they are perceived as malign creatures.<ref name="The Good p. 24">The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful: The Survival of Ancient Iranian Ethical Concepts in Persian Popular Narratives of the Islamic Period p. 24</ref> Within context of the [[Islam]]ic belief system, demons are considered to be yet another creature of [[God in Islam|God]], rather than independent parts of the world,<ref>Friedl, E. (2020). Religion and Daily Life in the Mountains of Iran: Theology, Saints, People. Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 86</ref><ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023">Sinai, Nicolai. "Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary." (2023): 1-840.</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=452}} as evident from [[Abu Ali Bal'ami]]'s interpretation of [[Tarikh al-Tabari]]<ref name=Abedinifard-etal-2021/>{{rp|style=ama|page=40}} and the [[Süleymanname]] (written at the time of [[Suleiman the Magnificent]]).<ref>ÇAKIN, Mehmet Burak. "SÜLEYMÂN-NÂME'DE MİTOLOJİK BİR UNSUR OLARAK DÎVLER." Turkish Studies-Language and Literature 14.3 (2019): 1137-1158.</ref> 

''Dīv'' also appear in [[Manichaeism|Manichaeistic writings]] as the original inhabitants of the world of darkness.<ref name="iranicaonline1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/manicheism-pandaemonium|title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=2019-04-27|archive-date=2019-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427124415/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/manicheism-pandaemonium|url-status=live}}</ref> Before the demons attacked the realm of light, they have been in constant battle and sexual intercourse against each other.<ref name="iranicaonline1"/> It is only in the realm of darkness demons are described in their physical form. After their assault on the world above, they have been overcome by the Living Spirit, and imprisoned in the structure of the world.<ref name="iranicaonline1"/> From that point onwards, they impact human's ethical life, and appear as personified ethical qualities, mostly greed, envy, grief, and wrath (desire for destruction).<ref name="iranicaonline1"/> [[Ibn al-Jawzi]], describes these demons (''[[ifrit|ʿafārīt]]''), in his {{Lang|ar-latn|Talbīs Iblīs}} ({{Gloss|devils' delusion}}), as components of the Devil (or ''Darkness'') waging war against God (or ''Light''), composed of angels.<ref>David S. Margoliouth;''The Devil's Delusion by Ibn al-Jawzi'', 1935, Bd. 1, chapter: Account of the way wherein he deludes the Dualists.</ref> Such demons also frequently appear throughout Islamic literature as personification of human vices. The protagonist of these stories must overcome the demons, as a symbol for their own animalistic nature, in order to heed his rational inclination and achieve salvation in paradisical bliss.<ref name="Barry, M. A. 1535 p. 361-363">Barry, M. A. (2004). Figurative art in medieval Islam and the riddle of Bihzad of Herat (1465-1535). Flammarion. 361-363</ref><ref>Davaran, Fereshteh. Continuity in Iranian identity: Resilience of a cultural heritage. Routledge, 2010. pp. 207-208</ref>

Demons are believed to be vanquished by sacred symbols. The content of the symbol depends on the prevailing religion of the culture. Among Turks, the ''[[basmalah]]'' ("invocation of the name of Allah") is used to ward off demons,<ref>Zhanar, Abdibek, et al. "The Problems of the Mythological Personages in the Ancient Turkic Literature." Asian Social Science 11.7 (2015): 341.</ref> while among Armenians, the symbol of the cross is utilized.<ref name="Armenian"/> Common features of these Middle Eastern demons are their immortality and pernicious nature, they can turn invisible, and can be enslaved when pierced by a silver needle.<ref name="Armenian">{{cite journal |title=Armenian Demonology: A Critical Overview |author=Asatrian, Garnik |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |volume=17 |number=1 |pages=9–25 |year=2013 |publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/1573384X-20130103  | issn = 1573-384X}}</ref> Demons are believed to be mostly active at night and a bad smell in the air or sudden change in temperature would announce their presence.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/div | title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref> It is generally accepted that demons can be subjugated as they are said to be enslaved by legendary heroes ([[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]] in the Quran and [[Jamshid]] in Persian legends).<ref>{{cite book |first1=Eva |last1=Orthmann |first2=Anna |last2=Kollatz |title=The Ceremonial of Audience: Transcultural approaches |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |date=2019-11-11 |isbn=978-3-847-00887-3 |page=155}}</ref> Due to their reluctant nature, even enslaved, they do always the opposite of what has been commanded.<ref name="The Good p. 24"/>  In some tales, supernatural powers are attributed to them, such as causing sickness, mental illnesses, or even turn humans to stone.<ref>Pedram Khosronejad The People of the Air Healing and Spirit Possession in South of Iran in: Shamanism and Healing Rituals in Contemporary Islam and Sufism, T.Zarcone (ed.) 2011, I.B.Tauris</ref>