Thread by @aaolomi

In Islam, the devil is known as Iblis. He is the leader of the evil jinn, or shaiytan. Some of these evil jinn are actually his direct descendants and family

a thread

Though some of the broader narrative of Iblis mirrors the story of Lucifer’s fall it is generally accepted Iblis is a jinn as he’s identified as such in the Qu’ran

The jinn are an invisible race of elemental beings who live alongside humanity. While many ghost and supernatural phenomenon are equated to the jinn, they are more accurately understood as an alternative form of life

The jinn therefore are not exactly pure demonic forces. There are good jinn, bad jinn, and ambivalent jinn

The wicked ones who follow Iblis are more like a rival tribe who oppose humanity

Iblis is then not the ruler of hell or even the ruler of evil, but a tribal chieftain with his own family

Various narrations list the progeny and relations of Iblis.

The 11th century Tabsi identifies Aina as one of the daughters of Iblis. She is described as a queen among the jinn

Aina in turn is married to another jinn royal, Khartaf a princeling who medieval mages invoked in charms and incantations

Here we see both intermarriage and jinn politics

Together the daughter and son-in-law of the devil are reputed to lead tribes of warrior jinn who serve Iblis

Bidukh is another of Iblis’ daughters.

Famed as a sorceress, she is often invoked in cemetery rites who seek to make deals and pacts with her.

The contract with her is sealed by laying with her

The origins of Bidukh are interesting as she may have Babylonian roots.

Al Balkhi relates a narration where she is a Babylonian woman who encounters the angels Harut and Marut who teach her secret knowledge.

She is elevated among the stars where she becomes Venus

the story is apocryphal and exists outside the Quranic narrative but is significant as it speaks to the complexities of transmission

Iblis is also said to have sons.

There is one-eyes Awar who functions as the PR guy for adultery convincing people to break oaths of love and cheat because it is empowering or good

Dasim poisons the domestic by turning the home into a zone of conflict and hate

His brother Welha brings doubt and hesitation when one is praying

Their elder sibling is Zalambur who causes dishonesty in trade and business

Tir brings about calamities and accidents

Mazbut spreads fake news, gossip, and rumor often working closely with Awar

Haffan encouraged drunkenness though he himself does not drink

Then there is Wasin who causes anxiety and fear and sorrow

In some text like from Qazwini and Tabsi, Iblis has a lover, Hanash who gave birth to his progeny.

In other tales Iblis himself birthed the jinn through eggs

The stories and various tales of Iblis and his children are fascinating. They point to the complicated history of the late antique milieu where parabiblical, Hellenistic, and near eastern tradition intermingled with Islamic thought

We can see in the idea of Iblis and his family an understanding of the jinn not as ghosts and demons but as a rival tribe, a type of life different than human kind.

Yet some of his children like his sons are more akin to demonic forces

the resulting cosmology is rich and varied

I shall continue covering jinn in future threads