Before I begin, I should note that Sound Horizon is never a complete adaptation from what people may or may not see as a real thing. Even if you don’t believe in the Islamic faith, this is presented at face value, and should be treated with the such respect. I’m not a part of this culture, but I do find it important to talk about just what it is that makes this character a very significant choice, along with other significant choices to go along with it. For this reason, I’ve taken great care into making this. While I’m not a scholar, I can say I know what I’m talking about. And you can even find this yourself, if you really want to discover even more for yourself.

The same also applies for Christianity. I am not preaching, rather attempting to educate a very well though-out and presented release, as well as the depth of a character. Let’s not have any sensitive debates, but we can have mature discussions, if needed.

I’m also going to be using a “Read More”, despite some friends requesting that I didn’t. Since people are divided on this, I’d rather not contribute to the “tag clutter”. If you need a text file, I’ve made one and can send it on request if the “Read More” feature is still giving you trouble.

In Seisen no Iberia, we are brought up with the Old Testament’s account of Creation, with Adam and Eve. This is important, because we are given a very Christian perspective (Possibly because of how the holy war ends). On the other hand, if we look at it through the Islamic view, there is more to this tale. In Islam, there are more than “Angel”, a “God”, and “Humanity”. There are also the “Jinn”, a sort of in-between. The story we focus on revolves around one in particular, Iblis. Iblis is important because in Islam he was not an angel, but he had such a high enough ranking to be considered as an equal to them.

Shayṭān was an arrogant and proud Jinn, one who saw himself as above Adam when he was created. Iblis was told to prostrate to Adam (Similar to a kowtow, or just picture a bow in general), but he refused. For this, he was cast into “Jahannam”, or what we call a Hell or Purgatory more commonly outside of Islamic culture. He was given the name "Shayṭān"

Let’s move on a bit, though. Sound Horizon seems to have some variations from the rest of how this is recorded. In Sound Horizon, sages curse Shayṭān, and he’s eventually released somehow due to Layla. In Islamic faith, it’s a bit different. He eventually requests and is given refuge on the Earth, until the time of judgement, but that’s not relevant.

Shayṭān is also called as a whisperer. A tempter, so to say. He guides people, other Jinns, and so on to commit sins, using whispers. The other distinct notion is a usage of “haiif”, or malicious suggestions… A hint of poor guidance.

This is a very strong way that the Sound Horizon Shayṭān arguably communicates. You can argue about this all you want, but Ike Nelson calls him as someone who speaks and acts without promise. This is very similar to calling him an outright liar. This is most notably done in the CD versions. It’s not hard to hear for no reason. The exception is when he addresses Layla, which is slightly different.

Rather noteworthy is we get a line about Shayṭān having forgotten his own name before having come in contact with Layla, that everything was dark and lonely. It’s very subtle, but this is said after he introduces himself. His reply was cryptic, as in accordance with the narration.

Is Sound Horizon’s Shayṭān really an embodiment of Iblis? Does he in the end deceive Layla, and all of humanity? Well, there’s a lot that I could go on and say, but I do think it’s important to leave these questions unanswered. As always, I implore that you come to your own conclusions, or even research further if you like