In the Qur'an, Satan is the general name given until the Day of
Judgment to all beings who have committed themselves to lead man
astray. Iblis is the principal evil being who rebelled against Allah when
He created Adam.
According to the Qur'anic account, Allah created Adam and then
called the angels to prostrate to him. The angels complied with Allah's
command, but Iblis refused to prostrate to Adam. He impiously asserted
that he was superior to man. Because of his disobedience and insolence,
he was banished from Allah's sight.
Before leaving Allah's presence, Iblis requested time from Allah to
lead people astray. The purpose of Iblis is to tempt people and thus to
make them turn away from the right path within the period of time
granted to him. He will try anything to make the majority of people
subject to himself. Allah proclaims that He will send Satan and his
followers to the Fire. These things are related in the Qur'an as follows:
We created you and then formed you and then We said to the
angels, "Prostrate before Adam," and they prostrated—except
for Iblis. He was not among those who prostrated.
He [Allah] said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I
commanded you to?" He [Iblis] replied, "I am better than him.
You created me from fire and You created him from clay."
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