Editing Iblis (section)

=== ''Satan's Monotheism'' (''Tawḥīd-i Iblīs'') ===
[[File:Adam honored.jpg|thumb|Adam honoured by Angels – Persian miniature. Iblis, black-faced and without hair (top-right of the picture). He refuses to prostrate himself with the other Angels.]]

''Satan's Monotheism'' is illustrated in a story attributed to [[Wahb ibn Munabbih]]. Accordingly, [[Moses in Islam|Moses]] met Iblis on the slopes of [[Mount Sinai|Sinai]]. When Moses asks Iblis for the reason behind his disobedience, Iblis replies that the command was a test.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Joseph E. B.|last1=Lumbard|first2=Ahmad|last2=al-Ghazali|title=Remembrance, and the Metaphysics of Love|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|location=Albany, New York|date=2016|isbn=978-1-438-45966-0|pages=111–112}}</ref> This story is mentioned in the ''Kitāb al-Tawāsīn'' by the [[Persian people|Persian]] [[poet]] [[al-Hallaj]], who also became known as one of Iblis' greatest defenders.<ref name="y361"/> The idea also inspired later famous theologians and Sufis, including [[Ahmad Ghazali]] and [[Attar of Nishapur]].<ref name="t416">{{cite book | last=Schimmel | first=Annemarie | title=Mystical Dimensions of Islam | publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press | publication-place=Chapel Hill | date=2011 | isbn=978-0-8078-9976-2 | page=195}}</ref>

Ahmad Ghazali  depicted Iblis as a paragon of self-sacrifice and devotion, stating: "Whoever doesn't learn monotheism from Satan is a [[Zandaqa|heretic]] (''zindīq'')."<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337198008 |title=Ahmad Ghazali's Satan |first1=Ghorban |last1=Elmi |date=November 2019 |access-date=14 September 2020 |journal=HTS Teologiese Studies |volume=75 |number=3 |doi=10.4102/hts.v75i3.5368|hdl=2263/73903 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="t416"/> His student [[Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir]] asserted that Iblis' disobedience was wanted by God, or God would be powerless and a powerless being cannot be attributed to God.<ref name="Victoria Arakelova-2014">{{cite book |last = Victoria Arakelova |first =Garnik S.Asatrian |title = The Religion of the Peacock angel The Yezidis and their spirit world  |publisher = Routledge |isbn = 978-1-84465-761-2 |page = 38 |year = 2014}}</ref>

Despite the positive receptions of the story, other theologians and Sufis disapproved of ''Satan's Monotheism''. [[Ibn Ghanim]] argues that Iblis is referring to God's predetermined judgement as an excuse to cover his unbelief.{{sfnp|Awn|1983|p=131}} Furthermore, similar to [[Ruzbihan Baqli]], he argues that ''Satan's Monotheism'' is a subtle deception by Iblis, in order to evoke sympathies and doubt about God's message.{{sfnp|Awn|1983|p=131-132}}

[[Rumi|Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī]] (1207–1273) argues that God's determinism can not be an excuse for one's own demise and failure.<ref name="Basharin-2018"/>{{rp|p=132}} He invokes the analogy between Adam and Iblis to highlight the difference between a believer and an unbeliever: While both Adam and Iblis were destined to fall, Iblis and his offspring blamed God, while Adam pleaded for forgiveness, nonetheless. He advises humans to do the same.<ref name="Latif-2009">{{cite book |last=Latif |first=Amer |title=Quranic narrative and Sufi hermeneutics: Rūmī's interpretations of Pharaoh's character |publisher=State University of New York at Stony Brook |year=2009}}</ref><ref name="Basharin-2018"/>{{rp|p=132}} In this context, Rumi declares that love is more important than intelligence<ref name="Basharin-2018"/>{{rp|p=132}} and states: "(Cunning) intelligence is from Iblis, and love from Adam."<ref>{{cite book|first=Annemarie|last=Schimmel|title=The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|location=Albany, New York|date=1993|isbn=978-0-791-41635-8|page=255}}</ref> In his story of [[Mu'awiya I|Mu'awiya]], in his ''[[Masnavi]]'' (Book 2), Mu'awiya realizes that he cannot outsmart Iblis' excuses, thus seeking refuge in God's protection. Whereupon, Iblis confesses that he only attempts to trick people. Rumi reminds the reader that the Quran emphasizes that Iblis is the enemy of humanity and thus, there is no reason to have sympathies for him.<ref name="Rustom-2020"/>