Shaitan

A shaitan or shaytan (Arabic: شَيْطَان, romanized: shayṭān; pl.: شَيَاطِين shayāṭīn; Hebrew: שָׂטָן; Turkish: Şeytan or Semum, lit. 'devil', 'demon', or 'satan') is an evil spirit in Islam, inciting humans and jinn to sin by whispering (وَسْوَسَة, waswasa) in their hearts (قَلْب qalb).^[2]^[3] Although invisible to humans, shayatin are imagined to be ugly and grotesque creatures created from Hellfire.^[4]^[5]^(p21) In Islamic tradition, and in contrast to Christian tradition, devils are not a supernatural manifestation but psychological phenomena.^[6]

The Quran speaks of various ways the shayatin tempt humans into sin. They may teach sorcery, float below the heavens to steal the news of the angels, or lurk near humans without being seen. Several hadith tell of how the shayatin are responsible for various calamities that affect personal life. Both the hadith literature and Arab folklore usually speak of the shayatin in abstract terms, describing their evil influence only. According to hadith, during Ramadan they are said to be chained in Hell.

In Islamic theology, the influence of the shayatin on humans is elaborated as an internal struggle against the noble angels, often described in the invisible reality called alam al-mithal or alam al-malakut.

^ Çoruhlu, Yaşar. "Türk Sanatında Kötü Ruhlar." MSGSÜ Sosyal Bilimler 1.21 (2020): 59-88.
^ R. M. Savory Introduction to Islamic CivilizationCambridge University Press, 1976 ISBN 978-0-521-09948-6 p. 42
^ Szombathy, Zoltan. "Exorcism". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268. ISSN 1873-9830.
^ Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
^ el-Zein, Amira (2009). Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-5070-6.
^ Benussi, Matteo. "Public spaces and inner worlds: Emplaced askesis and architectures of the soul among Tatarstani Muslims." Ethnicities 20.4 (2020): 698.

[1] Çoruhlu, Yaşar. "Türk Sanatında Kötü Ruhlar." MSGSÜ Sosyal Bilimler 1.21 (2020): 59-88.

[2] R. M. Savory Introduction to Islamic CivilizationCambridge University Press, 1976 ISBN 978-0-521-09948-6 p. 42

[3] Szombathy, Zoltan. "Exorcism". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268. ISSN 1873-9830.

[4] Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

[AmiraJinn-5] -Zein, Amira (2009). Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-5070-6.

[6] Benussi, Matteo. "Public spaces and inner worlds: Emplaced askesis and architectures of the soul among Tatarstani Muslims." Ethnicities 20.4 (2020): 698.

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