Meaning & use
shaytan
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablereligion
In Islam, the chief evil being who whispers temptation to humans and leads them away from obedience to God; often written with a capital letter.
Grammar: Used as a name for Satan without an article: Shaytan whispers; with an article for any devil: a shaytan.
Patterns
- the whispers of Shaytan
- seek refuge from Shaytan
In the story, Shaytan refuses to bow to Adam out of pride.
Muslims often say a short prayer to seek protection from Shaytan.
The preacher warned that Shaytan tries to make people forget good intentions.
nouncountablereligionfigurative
Any devil or evil spirit that tempts people to do wrong, or a person described as acting like one.
Grammar: Takes an article and a plural when it means any evil spirit: a shaytan, shayatin.
Patterns
- a shaytan in disguise
Folk tales describe a shaytan hiding in abandoned wells.
Her grandmother called the mischievous child a little shaytan, half in jest.
Word forms
| plural | shayatin |
|---|
Common combinations
- whispers of Shaytan
- He said that doubt was only the whispers of Shaytan.
- seek refuge from Shaytan
- Before reciting, she sought refuge from Shaytan.
- the tricks of Shaytan
- The sermon explained the tricks of Shaytan in daily life.
- follow in the footsteps of Shaytan
- The verse warns believers not to follow in the footsteps of Shaytan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Satan
- Satan is the common English name from Christian and Jewish tradition, while shaytan is the Arabic term used in Islamic contexts.
- Iblis
- Iblis is the specific name of the being who refused to bow to Adam, whereas shaytan can also describe his tempting role or any devil.
- devil
- Devil is a general English word for an evil being and has no particular religious tradition built into it.
Opposites
Word family
- shayatin noun
- plural form, meaning devils or evil spirits
- Iblis noun
- the name of the devil in the Quran
- jinn noun
- supernatural beings in Islamic tradition, some of them evil
Commonly confused: shaytan or jinn?
shaytan vs jinn
Jinn are a wider group of unseen beings, some good and some evil, while shaytan refers to the devil or an evil tempter.
Practice
In an essay on Islamic belief, what does shaytan most naturally refer to?
Choose one answer.
Shaytan is the devil or evil tempter. The messenger who brings revelation is an angel, so that option is the opposite idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shaytan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.