Editing Ifrit (section)

===Mahan and the Ifrit===
[[File:MakhanEmbracedByAnEfreeti.jpg|thumb|upright|Māhān embraced by an ifrit. [[Persian miniature|Illustration]] to [[Nizami Ganjavi]]'s poem ''Hamsa''. [[Bukhara]], 1648.]]
[[Nizami Ganjavi]] (c. 1141–1209) narrates in his ''[[Haft Peykar]]'' the story of the Egyptian wayfarer Māhān (the "moonlike one") and his travels to a demon-infested desert.<ref>Brend, Barbara. "Figurative Art in Medieval Islam and the Riddle of Bihzād of Herāt (1465–1535). By Michael Barry. pp. 408. Paris, Flammarion, 2004." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 17.1 (2007): 64-68. pp. 361-363</ref> Māhān's horse, presented to him by a demon in human disguise, gallops his rider into the desert, where it turns into a seven-headed monster. In the desert, Māhān finds shelter in a mysterious [[oasis]] owned by an old man. After Māhān and the old man know each other better, the old man decides to bequeath his legacy and marry him to a beautiful woman. He leaves to prepare for the wedding and warns Māhān that he must not descend from the perch until the old man is back. After that, the house, garden, and wife will belong to him.

When a beautiful girl with the face of a ''[[peri|parī]]'' (fairy) enters the room, Māhān is overwhelmed by his lust and passion and ignores the order of the old man. While the beauty of his desire embraces Māhān, the girl suddenly turns into an ifrit, formed from God's wrath.<ref>Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam [Daemonic Belief in Islam] (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4. pp. 235-239</ref><ref>Brend, Barbara. "Figurative Art in Medieval Islam and the Riddle of Bihzād of Herāt (1465–1535). By Michael Barry. pp. 408. Paris, Flammarion, 2004." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 17.1 (2007): 64-68. pp. 361-363</ref> The demon explains that the fairy turned into a demon because of Māhān's uncontrollable passion.<ref>Brend, Barbara. "Figurative Art in Medieval Islam and the Riddle of Bihzād of Herāt (1465–1535). By Michael Barry. pp. 408. Paris, Flammarion, 2004." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 17.1 (2007): 64-68. pp. 361-363</ref> Thereupon, the ifrit explains that he now must tear Māhān apart; if it were to spare him, the monster would be no true demon ([[div (mythology)|''dēw'']]). Furthermore, the demon considers it ashamed to present as a fairy in the first place. Māhān is saved when the rooster sounds in the morning and everything demonic vanishes.<ref>Nünlist, Tobias (2015). Dämonenglaube im Islam [Daemonic Belief in Islam] (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-110-33168-4. pp. 235-239</ref>

Nizami notes that the meaning of the story is that the ifrit is the consequence of Māhān's moral transgression. The ifrits in the story feature as moral instance and guardians of moral order.