Azazil

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.

The name resembles Azazel, a fallen angel in the Apocalypse of Abraham, and might be its etymological origin. The name itself likely derives from Jewish sources, but Islamic sources appear to be the first to consider this to be the original name of Satan.

Some scholars suggested that Muslims constructed the name independently from Jewish sources. Feinberg argues that the name relates to Arabic ‘azala (to remove) and is given to this angel because he "removes or separates" by Muslim authors. Some Islamic philologists construct his name from the words aziz and il (God's dear), meaning that his name derived from the meaning that he was once God's favorite angel.

According to many Arabic scholars, ʿAzāzīl was the personal name of Satan (Iblis). Ibn Manzur (June–July 1233 – December 1311/January 1312) writes in his dictionary of the Arabic language:

"The word "إبليس" [(Iblis)] is from the root "بلس" [(bls)]. The root may mean: to be silent. "أبلس من رحمة الله" means to be in despair of Allah's mercy, hence, the name إبليس (Iblis). His original name was Azazil. Allah has said in Surah Al-Rum "وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يُبْلِسُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ" (On the Day that the Hour will be established, the guilty will be struck dumb with despair). The name "Iblis" is derived from the root, بلس, as he is in despair of Allah's mercy" -Ibn Mandhur, Lisan Al-Arab, Vol.6/29

Sunni exegetical tradition can be divided into two camps in regards on the identity of Satan. This dispute roots back to the formative stage of Islam. When Surah al-Kahf states, in reference to Satan, "(...) he was one of the jinni (...)", the strand of Hasan al-Basri and ibn Abbas differ in meaning. According to al-Basri, angels are infallible. Thus, he argues, Satan could not have been an angel. Instead, the verse is supposed to mean that Satan is one of the djinn, distinct from the angels.