Shayatin in the context of "Angels in Islam"

In Islam, angels (Arabic: ملاك٬ ملك‎, romanized: malāk; plural: ملائِكة‎, malāʾik/malāʾikah or Persian: فرشته, romanized: ferešte) are believed to be heavenly beings, created from a luminous origin by God. The Quran is the principal source for the Islamic concept of angels, but more extensive features of angels appear in hadith literature, Mi'raj literature, Islamic exegesis, theology, philosophy, and mysticism.

Belief in angels is one of the core tenets within Islam, as it is one of the six articles of faith. Angels are more prominent in Islam compared to Jewish and Christian traditions. The angels differ from other invisible creatures in their attitude as creatures of virtue, in contrast to evil devils (Arabic: شَيَاطِين, romanized: šayāṭīn or Persian: دیو, romanized: dīv) and ambiguous jinn (Arabic: جِنّ or Persian: پَری, romanized: parī). Despite being considered to be virtuous beings, angels are not necessarily bringers of good news, as per Islamic tradition, angels can perform grim and violent tasks.

Iblis (Arabic: إِبْلِيسْ, romanized: Iblīs), also known as Shaitan, is the leader of the devils (shayāṭīn) in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven after refusing to prostrate himself before Adam. In Sufi cosmology, Iblis embodies the cosmic veil supposedly separating the immanent aspect of God's love from the transcendent aspect of God's wrath. He is often compared to the Christian concept of Satan, since both figures were cast out of heaven according to their respective religious narratives. In his role as the master of cosmic illusion in Sufism, he functions in ways similar to the Buddhist concept of Mara.

Islamic theology (kalām) regards Iblis as an example of attributes and actions which God punishes with hell (Nār). Regarding the origin and nature of Iblis, there are two different viewpoints. According to one, Iblis is an angel, and according to the other, he is the father of all the jinn. Quranic exegesis (tafsīr) and the Stories of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ) elaborate on Iblis's origin story in greater detail. In Islamic tradition, Iblis is identified with ash-Shayṭān ("the Devil"), often followed by the epithet ar-Rajīm (Arabic: ٱلرَّجِيم, lit. 'the Accursed'). Shayṭān is usually applied to Iblis in order to denote his role as the tempter, while Iblīs is his proper name.

Div or dev (Classical Persian: دیو dēw; Iranian Persian: دیو dīv) (with the broader meaning of demons or fiends) are monstrous creatures of Middle Eastern lore and probably of Persian origin. Their origin may lie in the Vedic deities (devas) who were later demonized in the Persian religion (see daeva). Most of their images, when disseminated into the Islamic world, including Armenia, Turkic countries, and Albania, assimilated with the demons and ogres of ancestral beliefs. As such they have been adapted according to the beliefs of Islamic concepts of otherworldly entities. Muslim authors often identified them with the ifrit (demons) and shayatin (devils) of their own belief-system. In Sufism they became symbols of human vices and evil urges.

In folklore and legends, they are often described as having a body like that of a human, only of gigantic size, with two horns upon their heads and teeth like the tusks of a boar. Powerful, cruel and cold-hearted, they have a particular relish for the taste of human flesh. Some use only primitive weapons, such as stones: others, more sophisticated, are equipped like warriors, wearing armour and using weapons of metal. Despite their uncouth appearance – and in addition to their great physical strength – many are also masters of sorcery, capable of overcoming their enemies by magic and afflicting them with nightmares.

The Throne Verse (Arabic: آيَة ٱلْكُرْسِيّ, romanized: Āyat al-Kursī) is the 255th verse of the second chapter of the Quran, al-Baqara 2:255. In this verse, God introduces Himself to mankind and says nothing and nobody is comparable to God.Considered the greatest and one of the most well-known verses of the Quran, it is widely memorised and displayed in the Islamic faith. It is said (ḥadīṯ) that reciting this verse wards off devils (šayāṭīn) and fiends (ʿafārīt),and its recitation after every obligatory prayer prevents nothing from entering Paradise except death.

Al-Suyuti narrates that a man from humanity and a man from the jinn met. Whereupon, as means of reward for defeating the jinn in a wrestling match, the jinn teaches a Quranic verses that if recited, no devil (šayṭān) will enter the man's house with him, which is the "Throne Verse".