Arabic vocabulary
الشَّيْطَانُSatan in Arabic
الشَّيْطَانُ is how you say “Satan” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in a real example sentence from classical texts below.
Root ش ط ن (sh-ṭ-n)noun (substantive), measure فَيْعَالPronounced shayṭān
Meaning of Satan in Arabic
- devil; Satan — with the article, ash-shayṭān denotes Satan specifically; more generally applied to any being — human, jinn, or beast — marked by excessive pride, corruption, unbelief, or rebellion
- serpent — used of a maned, foul-looking species of serpent, or of a slender, active serpent
Lane gives two views on the derivation. The more common holds that shayṭān comes from shaṭana, 'to be far or remote' — remote from the truth and from God's mercy — with the ن as a genuine root letter (measure فَيْعَال). Others treat the ن as extra and trace the word instead to شَاطَ, 'to burn (with rage)' or 'be rendered void' (measure فَعْلَان). Beyond naming Satan, shayṭān is used broadly for any excessively proud, corrupt, or rebellious being, human, jinn, or animal, and also for a kind of serpent.
Words from the same root
- شَطَنَto be, or become, distant or remote (from someone/something)
- شَطَنٌa rope, or long rope
- شَطُونٌdistant, remote (of a place, journey, or expedition); also a deep, curving well
- شَاطِنٌdistant, remote; far from the truth; bad, corrupt
- شَيْطَنَto act like a devil, to behave as a shayṭān
- تَشَيْطَنَto become, or act, like a shayṭān
- شَطِينٌdistant, remote
Common questions
- How do you say "Satan" in Arabic?
- الشَّيْطَانُ (ash-shayṭān).
- What does the root of shayṭān (ش-ط-ن) mean?
- It centers on being distant or remote — literally far away, and figuratively far from the truth and from God's mercy.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
فَلَا تظن أَن الشَّيْطَان غلب وَلَكِن الْحَافِظ أعرض
So do not think that Satan has overpowered, but rather the Guardian has turned away.
الشَّيْطَانَ — Satan. In the accusative ('-a') because 'anna' governs it — the subject of the content-clause. The one wrongly thought to have won.
From: Guarding the Heart →
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