Satan in Dialogue with God: A Comparative Study between Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
This analytical, library-based article compares dialogues between God and Satan in the Quran with other literature from Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. The mysterious personality of Satan and his direct influence on the life of man has long been the focus of investigation. On some occasions, Satan has conversed with God and, since man was created, Satan, as a interlocutor, has been an adventurer and has played an important and controversial role. This article is a comparative study that aims to examine the personality of Satan through his role as a speaker involved in dialogue with God during the story of man's creation, and to shed light on the style of discourse used by God in His dialogue with Satan. Furthermore, the article discusses crucial events, notions, and structures appearing within the dialogue. Hence, the study reveals that the appointment of Satan as a vengeful enemy in the dialogue is the turning point in the fate of man, a story embedded in literature of Zoroastrianism and in the Quran. It also shows that the polemic and arrogant discourses of Satan, quoted in all the literature of these religions in diverse forms, resulted in horrible consequences. Moreover, Satan's casting out from heaven was a crucial event and one of the results of his words identified in both the Quran and Judeo-Christian literature. To help future research on related issues, this study also highlights all the dialogues that involve God and Satan in the literature of the mentioned religions.
Keywords
Satan, Zoroastrianism, Ahūrāmazdā, God, Ahrīman, Adam, Qurʾan, Christianity, Dialogue, Judaism, Comparative literature
Divisions
Hadith
Publication Title
Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur'an and Hadith Studies
Volume
13
Issue
2
Publisher
Brill Academic Publishers