In all mainstream religions of the world, there has always been a concept of an adversary of God. The “Satan”, as known in Christianity, is “Shaitan” in Islam. It is depicted as an evil power that has taken up arms against everything good; challenging, or trying to challenge God’s word in every way possible.
Though Satan has different sources of origination in some of the other religions, in Islam and Christianity along with differences, there are many similarities. For both religions, Satan or Shaitan is believed to be one of the exalted creatures who fell from grace. Bible refers to it as Lucifer, the fallen angel who has often been portrayed in many different forms. In Islam, the Shaitan, who is originally named as “Iblees”, has been portrayed as one of the “Jinnaat” (plural of “jinn”). Iblees, who was exalted to the ranks among angels due to his piety and reverence, fell from grace when he disobeyed Allah’s direct orders on the creation of Adam.
Regardless of that difference, both religions depict it as “the tempter” (Christianity) or “the whisperer”(Islam). Someone who coaxes human being into his bidding, and makes them go astray from God’s path. Islam does advocate that God has not given any power to Shaitan apart from casting evil suggestions while Christianity, following the principle that he used to be one of the archangels, attaches all the angelic powers to him.
To utmost surprise of all, the Satan has never been described in the Bible or Quran as the common lore tells. No chapter or verse of the Bible ever refers to him as a red, horned and tailed, moon-bat faced hideous creature! The book of Ezekiel and Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible go as far as naming Lucifer as the most beautiful creature God ever created – who fell from grace later on and was turned into Satan. In other parts, the Christian books of faith do relate him to a serpent or a dragon, but that is, for what it’s worth, a figurative term that depicts his sneaking and coaxing in the former and the wrath that his evil can bring on believers in the latter.
According to Islamic concepts of Jinn, Shaitan can take up the form of everything –an exception being, according to Hadith, that Satan can take up the shape of any of the creations except the being of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.W). Islam presents Shaitan as Jinn; a being made of fire that is ruthless when it comes to tempting believers away from God’s way. A being that holds the deepest grudge against human kind, because he believes he is superior, so he tries all the sneak shows and coaxing and luring that he can in order to corrupt mankind.
The difference of opinions is but of physical form, but the choice between good and evil remains the same –the boundaries for which were laid long ago.
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