Azazil

Two angels turn back and see with alarm that Iblīs will not bow down before ʾĀdam. 1388 Persian miniature from a manuscript of *ʿAjāʾib al-Makhlūqāt* ("Wonders of Creation") by al-Ṭūsī Salmānī, century.

The angels meet Adam, and seem to share, albeit to a lesser degree, the defiant reaction of Iblīs, who stands at the back haughtily turning his head away. According to tradition, God created Iblīs as a beautiful Genie (jinn) called *ʿAzāzīl* and he is depicted as such here. He is portrayed with his characteristic darker skin to denote his impending fall, but he has wings of an angel and wears the contemporary ‘angelic hairstyle,’ a loop of hair tied on top of the head.

Azazil (Arabic: عزازيل ʿAzāzīl, Turkish: Azâzîl; also known in Arabic: حارث Ḥārith) is a figure in Islamic tradition, and believed to be the original name of Iblis. According to various Islamic beliefs, ʿAzāzīl was the master of the angels and the strongest and most knowledgeable of them, before his pride led to his downfall.

ʿAzāzīl is mentioned in Islamic complementary narratives, such as tafsīr (exegesis of the Quran) and Qisas al-Anbiya. According to a ḥadīth by ibn Abbas, Satan was once an angel called ʿAzāzīl or al-Ḥārith. He states that God created most angels from "light" (Nūr), but ʿAzāzīl and the angels with him from "poisonous fire" (nār as-samūm). The djinn were created from "a mixture of fire" (mārijin min nār).

The djinn were the first to inhabit the world and Allah entrusted them to govern the earth. When corruption increased among them, Allah sent an army of angels under the leadership of ʿAzāzīl to punish them. After driving the djinn away, ʿAzāzīl grew arrogant. When Allah creates a successor to the djinn and commands the angels to prostrate themselves before the new creation, ʿAzāzīl refuses, claiming that he is better. Thereupon, he is condemned to hell.