Iblis

About this book

In the depths of darkness.. light was born. Satan was never merely a tale told to frighten little ones, or a metaphysical symbol dwelling the bellies of old books; he is, in the vision of Abbas Mahmoud Al-Aqqad, the mirror in which man first saw the face of his virtue. In this unique work, Al-Aqqad does not write a history of "Iblis" as a separate entity, but writes a history of "living morals" in our conscience. Have you ever wondered: how would we have known the meaning of "good" had "evil" not appeared to us in its ugliest form? Al-Aqqad roams with us on a cosmic journey beginning at "the beginning of good," that moment when man distinguished light because he knew darkness, passing through the civilizations of Babylon, the Nile, and India, reaching the revealed religions. He traces "Satan" not merely as an enemy, but as a tester of human will; that being who fell because he disdained to bow to Adam, becoming from that moment the function proving our helplessness or proclaiming the victory of our will. Between the philosophy of history and the magic of literature, Al-Aqqad reveals how.