And the Shaytan in the language of the Arabs is the tall, black man; he is also the Shayzam, and it is taken from the Shaza, which is the rope of the deep well. And every Iblis is a Shaytan, but not every Shaytan is Iblis, because the Iblises transformed into darkness, and nothing remained with them of the causes of guidance but that they rejected and denied it, and not a thing of the causes remained but that it was presented to them.
As for the Shayatin [Satans/Devils], something of the causes has remained for them to be presented to them, and praise may occur regarding them in some places, whereas Iblis, no praise occurs regarding him.
Allah the Exalted said: (And among the Shayatin were those who dived for him and did work other than that, and We were guardians of them)1. So does Allah guard [anyone] except an acknowledger, not a denier?
As for the one who said that the Maker’s intent by His saying [Guardians] means: guarding their number, then indeed the Maker (Blessed and Exalted is He) does not inform except of that which contains benefit, and this [counting numbers] has no benefit in it.
And whoever is ignorant that the Maker does not know the number of everything is a disbeliever.