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Description
The First Archangel creates world from the divine pearl.
“I was, am now, and shall have no end. I exercise dominion over all creatures and over the affairs of all who are under the protection of my image."
So begins the mysterious and mystical book of the Yezidis Al-Jilwah "Book of Revelation", which the supreme archangel Melek-Taus told to the saint Sufi Sheikh Adi. That Archangel better known in the Abraamistic religions as... Helel ben Shaḥar (Light-bringer, son of Dawn or Lucifer) Satan, Shaitan and Azazil (not to be confused with the Old Testament Azazel). But it would be erroneous to consider Melek-Taus a spirit of evil, a source of suffering and sin. Quite the opposite, Lucifer for the Yezidis is not a fallen angel or opponent of God - he is considered the main Archangel and creator of the material world.
Melek Taus, The Peacock Angel, is the primary deity of the Yezidi, a Kurdish religious group whose ancient roots link to Zoroastrianism.

Initially, the outsiders may neither read nor behold the sacred books of the Yezidis, since the texts of these books could be misunderstood by the outsiders. In the Book of Revelation the Supreme Archangel warned his people: "Do not mention my name nor my attributes, lest ye regret it; for ye do not know what those who are without may do (Chapter IV) " And: "Don"t say my secret name... you will know me as Melek-Taus". In "Meshaf i Resh" says: " Neither is it permitted to us to pronounce the name of Shaitan (because it is the name of our God)..."

"And who is Melek Taus? Halil looks slightly uncomfortable: "We believe he is a proud angel, who rebelled and was thrown into Hell by God. He stayed there 40,000 years, until his tears quenched the fires of the underworld. Now he is reconciled to God."But is he good or evil? "He is both. Like fire. Flames can cook but they can also burn. The world is good and bad."
For a Yezidi to say they worship the Devil is understandably difficult. It is their reputation as infidels - as genuine "devil worshippers" - that has led to their fierce persecution over time, especially by Muslims. But some Yezidi do claim that Melek Taus is "the Devil". One hereditary leader of the Yezidi, Mir Hazem, said in 2005: "I cannot say this word [Devil] out loud because it is sacred. It's the chief of angels. We believe in the chief of angels." -- The Devil worshippers of Iraq

Therefore, the Yezidis are forbidden to pronounce the name "Shaitan" or "Satan" before the uninitiated or at all before anyone.
The role of the archangel Lucifer-Azazil in Yezidism is strikingly different both from the Christian and Muslim traditions.
(Note: Before his expulsion, Iblis-Satan was called Azazil, "The Jewel of God" or "Beloved of God" (Aziz from Arabic means "precious"), and was the first among angels and worshiped God for thousands of years (according to his own estimate, seven hundred thousand years) But after he showed disobedience, God called him Iblis). The Islamic historian and theologian Tabari reported that Azazil was a high-ranked angel and created from fire with the greatest knowledge, so he was a teacher for other angels, and he is described as having four wings. He loves singing, dancing and poetry (therefore in orthodox Islam it is all forbidden, since all this is considered as satanic). For the Yezidis, Azazil their patron, so songs, dances, paintings and poems are regarded as the form worship of God and the Archangels).

The Yezidi Melek-Taus is a mysterious, beautiful, wise, male androgynous creature that has thousands of images, most often he comes in the form of a rainbow ray, a ball of energy, light, a winged youth, a boy, a peacock, an eagle or a snake. All the wisdom and beauty of the material world is a drop in the ocean of wisdom and beauty of Melek-Taus, the Yezidis believe.
In the Bible, we also see the magnificent descriptions of this angel. God says of him, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” Lucifer was the wisest creature God ever created. No other angel, no other being was created with the intelligence and beauty that God gave to him.

The Yezidi believe, that he is proud, strict, just, merciful; he punishes sinners and rewards the righteous. In the Al-Jilwah "Book of Revelation" (chapter II) he asserts:
"I give people kindness of their own free will. I have dominion over all that is (is) on earth, in the air and underground. I do not allow one creature to encounter another being."
So, he was not evil, his nature is good and kind, but he can punish people for sins (for malice, cruelty towards other people and nature, for bad behavior, slander, etc.) Melek-Taus or Tuvusi-Malak personifies the two sides of fire - fire as a life-giving light, and, fire as a destructive heat, that is both Good and Evil. This dual nature is hinted at by his name, which literally means: Tav - Sun (Light), U - and, Si - Shadow, Malak - Archangel, - "Archangel of Light and Shadow".

The Yazidi consider Tawûsê Melek an emanation of God and a good, benevolent angel who has redeemed himself from his fall and has become a demiurge who created the cosmos from the Cosmic egg. After he repented, he wept for 7,000 years, his tears filling seven jars, which then quenched the fires of hell. Yazidis believe Tawûsê Melek is not a source of evil or wickedness. They consider him to be the leader of the archangels, not a still-fallen nor a still-disgraced angel, but a forgiven one and an emanation of God himself. They also hold that the source of evil is in the heart and spirit of humans themselves, not in Tawûsê Melek. Yazidis believe that good and evil both exist in the mind and spirit of human beings. It depends on the humans, themselves, as to which they choose. In this process, their devotion to Tawûsê Melek is essential, since it was he who was given the same choice between good and evil by God, and chose the good.
Tawûsê Melek is sometimes transliterated Malak Ta'us, Malak Tawus, or Malik Taws. Melek was borrowed from the Arabic term meaning “king” or “angel”. Tawûs is translated as “peacock”. In the ancient east, especially later in Sufism, the peacock was a symbol of beauty, pride and wisdom. In the Yezidis the peacock means sun, wisdom, beauty, variety and harmony.

The Kitêba Cilwe (Book of Illumination), which claims to be the words of Tawûsê Melek himself, states that he allocates responsibilities, blessings, and misfortunes as he sees fit, and that it is not for the race of Adam to question him.

The process of creation.
"In the beginning The Invisible One (God) created the White Pearl out of His most precious Essence; and He created a bird named Anfar. And He placed the pearl upon its back, and dwelt thereon forty thousand years.
On the first day, Sunday, He created an angel named 'Azazil, which is Ta'us Melek
("the Peacock Angel"), the chief of all, and he is Archangel over all the Angels.

He is the first to be, and to know that He is; for the One can know nothing.
On each of the other Days of the week the One brought forth Angels to serve Melek Taus.
After this, the Invisible One retreated into Itself, and acted no more; but Melek Taus was left to act. Seeing the barrenness of the ether, he created the form of the seven heavens, the earth, sun and moon.
He created mankind, animals, birds and beasts in the pockets of his cloak.
Then he brought man up from the pearl accompanied by angels.
He gave a great shout before the pearl, after which it split into four pieces.
He made water flow from its inside, and that water became the sea."
-- THE BLACK BOOK (Meshaf i Resh)

Art and text by Deva.

Description
The First Archangel creates world from the divine pearl.
“I was, am now, and shall have no end. I exercise dominion over all creatures and over the affairs of all who are under the protection of my image."
So begins the mysterious and mystical book of the Yezidis Al-Jilwah "Book of Revelation", which the supreme archangel Melek-Taus told to the saint Sufi Sheikh Adi. That Archangel better known in the Abraamistic religions as... Helel ben Shaḥar (Light-bringer, son of Dawn or Lucifer) Satan, Shaitan and Azazil (not to be confused with the Old Testament Azazel). But it would be erroneous to consider Melek-Taus a spirit of evil, a source of suffering and sin. Quite the opposite, Lucifer for the Yezidis is not a fallen angel or opponent of God - he is considered the main Archangel and creator of the material world.
Melek Taus, The Peacock Angel, is the primary deity of the Yezidi, a Kurdish religious group whose ancient roots link to Zoroastrianism.

Initially, the outsiders may neither read nor behold the sacred books of the Yezidis, since the texts of these books could be misunderstood by the outsiders. In the Book of Revelation the Supreme Archangel warned his people: "Do not mention my name nor my attributes, lest ye regret it; for ye do not know what those who are without may do (Chapter IV) " And: "Don"t say my secret name... you will know me as Melek-Taus". In "Meshaf i Resh" says: " Neither is it permitted to us to pronounce the name of Shaitan (because it is the name of our God)..."

"And who is Melek Taus? Halil looks slightly uncomfortable: "We believe he is a proud angel, who rebelled and was thrown into Hell by God. He stayed there 40,000 years, until his tears quenched the fires of the underworld. Now he is reconciled to God."But is he good or evil? "He is both. Like fire. Flames can cook but they can also burn. The world is good and bad."
For a Yezidi to say they worship the Devil is understandably difficult. It is their reputation as infidels - as genuine "devil worshippers" - that has led to their fierce persecution over time, especially by Muslims. But some Yezidi do claim that Melek Taus is "the Devil". One hereditary leader of the Yezidi, Mir Hazem, said in 2005: "I cannot say this word [Devil] out loud because it is sacred. It's the chief of angels. We believe in the chief of angels." -- The Devil worshippers of Iraq

Therefore, the Yezidis are forbidden to pronounce the name "Shaitan" or "Satan" before the uninitiated or at all before anyone.
The role of the archangel Lucifer-Azazil in Yezidism is strikingly different both from the Christian and Muslim traditions.
(Note: Before his expulsion, Iblis-Satan was called Azazil, "The Jewel of God" or "Beloved of God" (Aziz from Arabic means "precious"), and was the first among angels and worshiped God for thousands of years (according to his own estimate, seven hundred thousand years) But after he showed disobedience, God called him Iblis). The Islamic historian and theologian Tabari reported that Azazil was a high-ranked angel and created from fire with the greatest knowledge, so he was a teacher for other angels, and he is described as having four wings. He loves singing, dancing and poetry (therefore in orthodox Islam it is all forbidden, since all this is considered as satanic). For the Yezidis, Azazil their patron, so songs, dances, paintings and poems are regarded as the form worship of God and the Archangels).

The Yezidi Melek-Taus is a mysterious, beautiful, wise, male androgynous creature that has thousands of images, most often he comes in the form of a rainbow ray, a ball of energy, light, a winged youth, a boy, a peacock, an eagle or a snake. All the wisdom and beauty of the material world is a drop in the ocean of wisdom and beauty of Melek-Taus, the Yezidis believe.
In the Bible, we also see the magnificent descriptions of this angel. God says of him, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” Lucifer was the wisest creature God ever created. No other angel, no other being was created with the intelligence and beauty that God gave to him.

The Yezidi believe, that he is proud, strict, just, merciful; he punishes sinners and rewards the righteous. In the Al-Jilwah "Book of Revelation" (chapter II) he asserts:
"I give people kindness of their own free will. I have dominion over all that is (is) on earth, in the air and underground. I do not allow one creature to encounter another being."
So, he was not evil, his nature is good and kind, but he can punish people for sins (for malice, cruelty towards other people and nature, for bad behavior, slander, etc.) Melek-Taus or Tuvusi-Malak personifies the two sides of fire - fire as a life-giving light, and, fire as a destructive heat, that is both Good and Evil. This dual nature is hinted at by his name, which literally means: Tav - Sun (Light), U - and, Si - Shadow, Malak - Archangel, - "Archangel of Light and Shadow".

The Yazidi consider Tawûsê Melek an emanation of God and a good, benevolent angel who has redeemed himself from his fall and has become a demiurge who created the cosmos from the Cosmic egg. After he repented, he wept for 7,000 years, his tears filling seven jars, which then quenched the fires of hell. Yazidis believe Tawûsê Melek is not a source of evil or wickedness. They consider him to be the leader of the archangels, not a still-fallen nor a still-disgraced angel, but a forgiven one and an emanation of God himself. They also hold that the source of evil is in the heart and spirit of humans themselves, not in Tawûsê Melek. Yazidis believe that good and evil both exist in the mind and spirit of human beings. It depends on the humans, themselves, as to which they choose. In this process, their devotion to Tawûsê Melek is essential, since it was he who was given the same choice between good and evil by God, and chose the good.
Tawûsê Melek is sometimes transliterated Malak Ta'us, Malak Tawus, or Malik Taws. Melek was borrowed from the Arabic term meaning “king” or “angel”. Tawûs is translated as “peacock”. In the ancient east, especially later in Sufism, the peacock was a symbol of beauty, pride and wisdom. In the Yezidis the peacock means sun, wisdom, beauty, variety and harmony.

The Kitêba Cilwe (Book of Illumination), which claims to be the words of Tawûsê Melek himself, states that he allocates responsibilities, blessings, and misfortunes as he sees fit, and that it is not for the race of Adam to question him.

The process of creation.
"In the beginning The Invisible One (God) created the White Pearl out of His most precious Essence; and He created a bird named Anfar. And He placed the pearl upon its back, and dwelt thereon forty thousand years.
On the first day, Sunday, He created an angel named 'Azazil, which is Ta'us Melek
("the Peacock Angel"), the chief of all, and he is Archangel over all the Angels.

He is the first to be, and to know that He is; for the One can know nothing.
On each of the other Days of the week the One brought forth Angels to serve Melek Taus.
After this, the Invisible One retreated into Itself, and acted no more; but Melek Taus was left to act. Seeing the barrenness of the ether, he created the form of the seven heavens, the earth, sun and moon.
He created mankind, animals, birds and beasts in the pockets of his cloak.
Then he brought man up from the pearl accompanied by angels.
He gave a great shout before the pearl, after which it split into four pieces.
He made water flow from its inside, and that water became the sea."
-- THE BLACK BOOK (Meshaf i Resh)

Art and text by Deva.