23 Oct. 2024, Nar As-Samum
The following is a summary of existing views of motives.
I. The Three Faces of Iblis
1. The Obdurate Face of Iblis
Its motive is rigid adherence
to doctrine, creed, or dogma.
Iblis refuses homage or fealty to Adam because humanity is made from a mixture of altered black mud and divine spirit. When he sees humanity, Iblis insists to God that Adam is a terracotta statue to whom homage would be idolatry.
On this view, Iblis is the primordial fomenter, usurper, or sectarian.
The view that Iblis aspired to something like divinity finds its counterpart clearest in this particular view of motives, where he acts as a mask of divinity.
2. The Illuminative View.
The motive is fidelity, fealty, or loyalty.
The motive is fidelity, fealty, or loyalty.
Iblis refuses homage or fealty to Adam because only divinity is worthy of receiving it. In this Sufi view of Iblis, bowing to Adam is blasphemy or polytheism. Even after he is cursed and exiled by God, Iblis remains loyal to his sovereign.
On this view, Iblis is the primordial steward, warden, or disciple.
In the first view, Iblis is in some sense trying to appropriate the mantle of divinity, but in this view, Iblis is an ardent servant of divinity trying to redeem himself.
3. The Traditional View.
The motive is lineage, descent, or origins.
The motive is lineage, descent, or origins.
Iblis refuses to bow to Adam due to their unique origins or lineages. In Hasidic and Christian apocrypha, Iblis has temporal seniority. In Islamic theology, the lineage of Iblis originates in fire and the lineage of Adam originates in clay.
On this view, Iblis is the primordial linealist, nativist, or primevalist.
In contrast to the first two views, on this more mainstream view, Iblis is foremost the antagonist of humanity but he is secondarily an antagonist to divinity.
