Inhabitants on Earth before Adam and names of Iblees
Fatwa No: 87990

Question

I have 2 questions.
1. Did any other creation like Jinn live before human beings (Prophet Adam) on the earth?
2. Is there any other name of Iblees (Shaitan) lik" Azazeel"?

Answer

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

No sound resources report the existence of the Jinn on this Earth before Adam (Alaihi Salaam).

IbnKathir stated in Al-Bidaya and Al-Nihaya: 'Abdullah Ibn Umar (Radiya Allahu Anhu) said that the Jinn existed 2000 years before Adam (Alaihi Salaam).  They made mischief on Earth, so Allah sent to them troops of angels who drove them back to Sea Islands.'  Ibn Abbas (Radiya Allahu Anhu) narrated the same meaning.

These Ahadith are not correct. Anyway, there is no benefit in knowing these Ahadith, so it is better to ignore them and just take into consideration what is Sahih from the Sunnah.

As regards the names of Iblees (Satan), Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar in Fathh Al-Bari, said: 'Al-Tabari and Ibn Abu al-Dunya reported that Ibn Abbas said: 'When Iblees (Satan) was with the angels, his name was Azazeal, then his name was changed to Iblees.'  He also said, 'among his names also: Al-Harith and Al-Hakam, and his nickname is "Abu-Murra."

Allah knows best.


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