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The concept of shaitan in Islam

Since centuries we have been hearing of the word Shaitan but there are many out there who are un-aware of the true meaning of shaitan and its history from where it started and its reason of origin. I sincerely hope I am able to do justice to the above title of my article, let me begin by referring to the Encyclopedia which throws light on the word Shaitan.

Satan ( Standard Hebrew Satan, Greek and Latin Stanas, Tiberian Hebrew n; Aramaic aan: both words mean "Adversary; accuser") is an angel, demon, or minor god in many religions. Satan plays various roles in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha and the New Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, Satan is an angel that God uses to test man for various reasons usually dealing with his level of piety (i.e. the test in the Book of Job). In the Apocrypha and New Testament, Satan is portrayed as an evil, rebellious demon who is the enemy of God and mankind. These two ideals are not necessarily mutually exclusive".

Now let me come to the point that what status does Shaitan have in the religion Islam?

While Shaitan (, from the root n ) is an adjective (meaning "astray" or "distant") that can be applied to both Man ("AlIns", ) and Jinn, Iblis is the personal name of the Shaitan who is mentioned in the Koranic account of Genesis, and whose origin is unclear.
Whenever the Koran refers to the creature who refused to prostrate before Adam at the time of the latter's creation, it refers to him as Iblis.

When we said to the angels, 'Prostrate yourselves to Adam,' they prostrated with the exception of Iblis. He was one of the jinn and wantonly deviated from his Lord's command. Do you take him and his offspring as protectors apart from me when they are your enemy? How evil is the exchange the wrongdoers make! (Surat al-Kahf, 50).

The relation between Shaitan, Adam and Eve:

For this Allah damned him to hell for eternity, but gave him respite till the Doomsday at his request. Then and there Iblis swore that he would use his time to lead all men astray to burn in hell.
After their creation, Adam and Hawwa' (, Eve) dwelt in Paradise (, AlJannah), where Allah forbade them to go near a tree. "The

Shaitan" (or al-Shaitan in Arabic),

Tricked Adam and Hawwa' into eating from the tree. Allah then expelled all of them from Heaven and onto Earth, to wander about, as a punishment. Then Adam sought to repent to Allah, and Allah

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