The Titles and Names of Iblis

"The Titles and Names of Iblis"
The Nameless, Summer 2025

Iblis is known by several titles and in this section I discuss five of them.

"The Father of Bitterness"

Perhaps this is a parallel title to "the Devil" [الشيطان] or "al-Shaytan" in its reflection of the resentment Iblis hosts for the elevation of mankind above creation.

"The Mask of all Masks"

In refusing a command of divinity to show humility toward humanity, Iblis is cursed. "The Mask of all Masks" is darkness waking up and covering sleeping light.

"The Bruised One"

In the course of his struggles, Iblis has accumulated scars that reflect the immensity of his life; every hour is a century for "the Outcast" and "the Accursed."

"The Father of the Plowmen"

"El Harith," "Al Harith," or The Tiller, tended soil in Paradise and on Earth, and after his curse and exile returned to sow seeds in the heart of mankind.

"The Father Who Piles Up, Crams, or Crowds Together"

In the wake of his act of exiling humanity from paradise, Iblis encouraged formation of groups, crowding them together in self-glorification, cramming together captured enemies in slums or hovels, and piling up the bodies of their enemies.