Iblis is Satan. He is one of the jinn, and he refused out of pride to bow to Adam. Ever since, he has been our open enemy. Every person also has a qareen: a companion from the jinn who whispers evil. But neither of them can force anyone to do anything, and Satan has no authority over those who believe and trust in Allah (﷾).
This guide sets out what the Qur’an and the authentic hadith say about Iblis and the qareen. It covers who they are, what they can and cannot do, and how a Muslim seeks refuge from them.
“Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy.”
Who Iblis is
Iblis is the name the Qur’an gives the one who refused to bow to Adam. It says plainly that he was one of the jinn. The jinn are hidden beings that Allah (﷾) made from fire, and Iblis said so himself: “Thou didst create me from fire.”
Satan, in Arabic Shaytan, is what he became. The Qur’an also uses the word for any jinn or human who rebels and leads others astray. It speaks of “evil ones among men and jinns”. So there are many devils, and the Qur’an speaks of Iblis and his offspring.
Iblis in brief
- One of the jinn, never an angel. Qur’an 18:50
- Refused to bow to Adam out of pride: “I am better than he.” Qur’an 38:76
- Given time until the Day of the Time appointed. Qur’an 15:37Qur’an 15:38
- He can call people, but he has no power to force them. Qur’an 14:22
- He and those who follow him end in Hell. Qur’an 38:85
So Iblis was never an angel of any kind, and not a fallen angel. The angels never disobey Allah (﷾). Iblis chose to disobey, because the jinn, like us, are free to choose.
He refused to bow
Allah (﷾) told the angels that He was about to create man from clay. When He had fashioned him and breathed into him of His spirit, they were to bow down to him. The angels all bowed together. Iblis refused.
Iblis was there with the angels, and the command was for him too. Allah (﷾) asked him, “What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?” His answer showed his sin: pride. He judged his worth by what he was made of.
“I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay.”
So Allah (﷾) cast him out. It was not for him to be arrogant there. He was rejected and accursed, and the curse is on him until the Day of Judgement.
Iblis did not ask to be forgiven. He asked for time until the Day the dead are raised, and he was given it. Then he swore to lie in wait on the straight way. He would come at people from before them and behind them, from their right and their left.
He asks for time
He is given it, until the Day of the Time appointed.
His oath
To lead people astray from every side, except Allah’s (﷾) sincere servants.
Adam turned back, Iblis did not
Satan began with Adam and his wife. He whispered to them about the tree. He told them it was forbidden only so they would not become angels, or live for ever. He swore he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit, he brought about their fall.
But Adam and his wife did not answer like Iblis. They said, “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls.” Allah (﷾) taught Adam words to turn back to Him, and He forgave him.
| After the wrong | Adam | Iblis |
|---|---|---|
| The wrong | Ate from the tree | Refused to bow Qur’an 7:22Qur’an 7:11 |
| What he said | “We have wronged our own souls” | “I am better than he” Qur’an 7:23Qur’an 7:12 |
| The end | Forgiven | Cast out Qur’an 2:37Qur’an 7:13 |
This is the lesson of the story. Everyone does wrong. What matters is what comes next. Pride keeps a person from saying sorry. Humility turns them back to Allah (﷾), and He forgives. Islam teaches that no one carries Adam’s sin: each person answers only for their own.
What he can and cannot do
Satan has a voice that calls, and helpers among jinn and men. He makes promises and stirs up false desires. But the Qur’an says his promises are nothing but deception.
And he has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord. Allah (﷾) said this to Iblis himself. His hold is only on those who take him as a patron.
“I had no authority over you except to call you but ye listened to me: then reproach not me, but reproach your own souls.”
Why does Allah (﷾) let Iblis and the qareen whisper at all? The Qur’an answers that Satan had no authority over people, “except that We might test the man who believes in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt concerning it”. Life itself is a test, to show which of us is best in deed. So having these whispers, and refusing them, is part of that test. The commentary in the site’s Qur’an reader explains the verse the same way.
And every refusal counts. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that when someone means to do a bad deed and does not do it, Allah (﷾) writes it down as a full good deed. Only if they do it is one bad deed written.
| You | What is written |
|---|---|
| Mean to do wrong, then hold back | A full good deed Sahih al-Bukhari 6491 |
| Do the wrong | One bad deed Sahih al-Bukhari 6491 |
Whisper into the heart Qur’an 114:4Qur’an 114:5
Make wrong look good Qur’an 15:39
Make false promises Qur’an 4:120
Force anyone to do wrong Qur’an 14:22
Rule over those who trust in Allah (﷾) Qur’an 16:99
Live beyond the time he was given Qur’an 15:38
So Satan is not a second god fighting Allah (﷾) as an equal. He lives only by the time Allah (﷾) gave him. The Qur’an calls his cunning “feeble”.
How he works
Satan rarely asks for the worst at once. The Qur’an speaks of his “footsteps”. He leads one small step at a time, and he commands only what is shameful and wrong.
He threatens people with poverty, to keep them from giving. Allah (﷾), the Qur’an says in the same verse, promises forgiveness and bounty.
His plan is to stir up enmity and hatred between people, with intoxicants and gambling. He wants to keep them from remembering Allah (﷾), and from prayer. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Iblis sends out his troops to tempt people. The one he holds closest is the one who causes the most trouble. One comes and says he did not leave a man until he had split him from his wife. Iblis brings him close and praises him.
He also tries to spoil the prayer. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Satan runs away when he hears the call to prayer. Then he comes back and whispers. He reminds a person of things they had forgotten, until they lose count of how much they have prayed. A Companion once told him that Satan came between him and his prayer. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him to seek refuge in Allah (﷾) and spit lightly to his left three times. He did, and it left him.
The Prophet (ﷺ) named other openings too. When two men quarrelled, and one went red with anger, he said there was a word that would calm him: “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the outcast.”
He also said that a bad dream is from Satan. The hadith do not say which devil, so they do not single out the qareen. A good dream, he said, is from Allah (﷾). And he taught what to do after a bad dream, so that it will not harm you.
Seek refuge
Ask Allah (﷾) three times to protect you from Satan and from the dream’s harm.
A good dream is different. Thank Allah (﷾) for it, and tell it only to those you love.
In the end he walks away from the people he misled. The Qur’an says he tells a man to deny Allah (﷾). When the man does, Satan says, “I am free of thee.” On the Day of Judgement he will tell his followers to blame themselves.
The qareen: your companion from the jinn
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that every one of us has been given a qareen, a companion from the jinn. His Companions asked whether he had one too. He said yes, but that Allah (﷾) had helped him against it, so it commands him only to do good.
The Arabic word for what happened next can be read in two ways, and scholars have kept both. One reading is that his companion submitted, and became Muslim. The other is that the Prophet (ﷺ) was kept safe from it. Either way, it was a help Allah (﷾) gave His Prophet (ﷺ), and his companion called him only to good.
One night Aisha felt jealous when the Prophet (ﷺ) went out. When he came back, he saw how upset she was. He told her that her devil had come to her. She asked whether a devil is with everyone. He said yes. She asked whether one was with him too. He said yes, but his Lord had helped him against it, so he was safe.
We are not left alone with it. In another narration of the same hadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) said that each person has a companion from the jinn and a companion from the angels. The Qur’an also says two angels are with each person, noting what they do.
| Companion | From the angels | From the jinn |
|---|---|---|
| With every person | Yes | Yes Sahih Muslim 2814Sahih Muslim 2814 |
| What it does | Notes every word and deed | Whispers into the heart Qur’an 50:17Qur’an 114:5 |
| On the Day of Judgement | Brings the record | Says the person went astray himself Qur’an 50:23Qur’an 50:27 |
Surah Qaf shows both companions on the Day of Judgement. The commentary in the site’s Qur’an reader explains which is which. The companion in verse 23 is the angel, who brings the record. The companion in verse 27 is the devil. He clears himself and blames the person: “Our Lord! I did not make him transgress, but he was (himself) far astray.”
The Prophet (ﷺ) also said that Satan flows through a person as blood flows. He said it to two men who saw him walking at night with a woman. He told them she was his wife Safiyyah, so that Satan would not put a bad thought in their hearts. So a Muslim closes the door to suspicion, and thinks well of others.
The evil companion in the Qur’an
The Qur’an warns that turning away from Allah (﷾) invites an evil companion. Such companions hinder people from the path, and yet those people think they are rightly guided.
“If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of (Allah) Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one, to be an intimate companion to him.”
First
A person turns away from remembering Allah (﷾).
Then
An evil one is made his close companion.
So
He is kept from the path, yet thinks he is rightly guided.
At last
He wishes the distance of East and West stood between them.
When that person comes before Allah (﷾), he turns on his companion: “Would that between me and thee were the distance of East and West!” Sharing the blame will not help either of them that Day.
The Qur’an says the same of those who reject the truth: companions were assigned to them, who made their wrongs look attractive.
The way back is just as plain. When a thought of evil from Satan comes, those who fear Allah (﷾) remember Him, and at once they see clearly.
A whisper is not a sin
Many people worry about the thoughts that come into their minds. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (﷾) has overlooked the evil thoughts of his followers, as long as they do not act on them or say them.
Some of his Companions came to him troubled. They had thoughts they felt were too terrible to say. He asked whether they really felt that. They said yes. He said, “That is the faith manifest.” Hating such a thought is a sign of faith, not of its loss.
He also said Satan comes to a person and asks who created this and that. In the end he asks, “Who has created your Lord?” When that happens, seek refuge in Allah (﷾) and stop following the thought.
So you are not your whispers. A whisper is not a sin, and it is not control: each of us still chooses what to do. If such thoughts will not leave you, and they weigh on you every day, talk to a doctor as well. If you feel they could lead you to harm yourself or someone else, contact a doctor straight away, or call your local emergency number. Help for this is real.
Seeking refuge in Allah (﷾)
The Qur’an gives one answer to every suggestion from Satan: seek refuge in Allah (﷾).
“If a suggestion from Satan assail thy (mind), seek refuge with Allah; for He heareth and knoweth (all things).”
Before reading the Qur’an, Muslims say A‘udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim: I seek refuge with Allah (﷾) from Satan, the rejected one. The Qur’an tells us to.
The Qur’an also gives a short prayer: “O my Lord! I seek refuge with Thee from the suggestions of the Evil Ones. And I seek refuge with Thee O my Lord! lest they should come near me.”
Every day
- Seek refuge before reading the Qur’an. Qur’an 16:98
- When angry, say: I seek refuge with Allah (﷾) from Satan. Sahih al-Bukhari 6115
- Say Bismillah on coming home and before eating. Sahih Muslim 2018
- Recite Ayat al-Kursi on going to bed. Sahih al-Bukhari 2311Qur’an 2:255
- Recite al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas at night. Sahih al-Bukhari 5017
- Recite Surah al-Baqarah in your home. Sahih Muslim 780
- Remember Allah (﷾) when a bad thought comes. Qur’an 7:201
The last two chapters of the Qur’an are prayers for refuge. The last, an-Nas, asks for refuge from the whisperer who withdraws after his whisper, among jinn and among men. Every night, the Prophet (ﷺ) recited al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas into his cupped hands. Then he wiped them over his body, three times.
Qur’an 114:1Qur’an 114:4Qur’an 114:5Qur’an 114:6Sahih al-Bukhari 5017
A devil once told Abu Hurayrah that whoever recites Ayat al-Kursi on going to bed has a guard from Allah (﷾) all night. The Prophet (ﷺ) said this was true, although the one who said it was a liar.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that when a person mentions Allah’s (﷾) name on coming home and before eating, Satan tells his own: you have nowhere to stay and nothing to eat here. Satan runs away from a house where Surah al-Baqarah is recited. And when Ramadan comes, the devils are chained.
Calm, not afraid
None of this is a reason to live in fear. Allah (﷾) is greater than Iblis and every jinn. The Qur’an calls Satan’s cunning feeble, and says he has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord.
Nor is Satan an excuse. On the Day of Judgement he will say that he only called, and people chose to listen. So each of us is answerable for what we do, and each of us can turn back to Allah (﷾) at any time, as Adam did.
Remember Allah (﷾), keep up the prayer, and say the words of refuge the Prophet (ﷺ) taught. That is enough.
“As for My servants, no authority shalt thou have over them”