Iblis

In Islam, Iblīs (Arabic إبليس), or Enais is the devil of the Christian and Jewish faiths called Satan or Lucifer. He appears more often in the Qur'an under the name Shaitan: Iblis is mentioned 11 times, and Shaitan 87 times. He is chief of the spirits of evil, and his personality is adapted to that of his Jewish counterpart. In an outburst rooted in envy, Iblis disobeyed Allah and was expelled from Paradise. The Qur'anic account depicts his fall as a punishment for his refusal to bow to Adam. Condemned to death he was afterwards respited until the Judgment day (Qur'an vii. 13).

The name 'Iblis' is thought to be a corruption of the Greek word diabolos which is also the root word for the English words diabolical and devil, but it could also be derived from the Arabic balasa, meaning "he despaired."

The name Iblis has been used a number of times in science fiction and fantasy:-

• Garm Bel Iblis was a founder of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars.
• Count Iblis was an exiled alien who was rescued by the Battlestar Galactica and stirred trouble among its crew until he was ejected from the ship: see this link.
• Iblis was also a demon that 'the Hero' battled in Sierra's Quest for Glory 2

References

• Gustav Weil, The Bible, the Koran and the Talmud (London, 1846).