[1] Most of their depictions derive from Persian mythology, integrated to Islam and spread to surrounding cultures including Armenia, Turkic countries[2] and Albania.

[4](pp 37) Although they are not explicitly mentioned within canonical Islamic scriptures, their existence was well accepted by most Muslims just like that of other supernatural creatures.

Despite their uncouth appearance – and in addition to their great physical strength – many are also masters of sorcery, capable of overcoming their enemies by magic and afflicting them with nightmares.

In Ferdowsi's tenth-century Shahnameh, they are already the evil entities endowed with roughly human shape and supernatural powers familiar from later folklore, in which the divs are described as ugly demons with supernatural strength and power, who, nonetheless, may sometimes be subdued and forced to do the bidding of a sorcerer.

[5](p 519) Others argue that the term jinn refers to all kinds of spiritual entities, including both benevolent and evil creatures.

In early Persian translations of the Quran, when the term jinn was used to refer to evil spirits, they have been interpreted as divs sometimes.

[12] In Abu Ali Bal'ami's account, the div are used interchangeable with marid, a type of devil which assaults the heavens in an attempt to steal news from the angels.

[4](pp 41–42) The term marid is likewise confused with ifrit, in some works, like the standard MacNaghten edition of One Thousand and One Nights.

They were modified during that dissemination to include foreign (specifically Hindu) deities, and elements already present in local folklore.

[14][a] Evident from Xph inscriptions, Xerxes I (reigned 486–465 BCE) ordered the destruction of a sanctuary dedicated to Daivas and proclaimed that the Daeva shall not be worshipped.

In the translations of Tabari's Tafsir, the term div was used to designate evil jinn, devils and Satan.

Abu Ali Bal'ami's work on the history of the world, is the oldest known writing including explicitly Islamic cosmology and the div.

[4](p40) Some divs appear to be considered the incarnation of (false) Indian deities, who, unlike jinn, refused to obey the Prophet Solomon.

Some people continued to worship div in their rituals during the early Islamic period, known as "Daevayasna", although probably out of fear.

[4](p 41) The souls of wicked people could also turn into a demon (div) after death, as evident from Al-Razi[24] an idea recalling the concept of original daeva.

Jamshid, the fourth king of the world, ruled over both angels and divs, and served as a high priest of Ahura Mazda (Hormozd).

Like his father, he slayed many divs, however, spared some under the condition they teach him new valuable arts, such as writing in different languages.

[29] After a just reign over hundreds of years, Jamshid grew haughty and claimed, because of his wealth and power, divinity for himself.

[32]: 115  Rustam's victory over the White Div is also a triumph over men's lower drives, and killing the demon is a way to purge the human soul from such evil inclinations.

[32]: 115  Eliminating the divs is an act of self-preservation to safeguard the good in oneself's, and the part acceptable in a regulated society.

A similar account is provided by Tabari, who however, omits the existence of fairies and demons, only referring to the jinn as predecessor to mankind, a narration attributed to ibn Abbas.

[4](p40) According to the Süleymanname, the divs were created between the faeries and the jinn, made from the fires of the stars, wind, and smoke; some of them have wings and can fly while others can move quickly.

Arab and Persian writers locate their home in Ahriman-abad, the abode of Ahriman the personification of evil and darkness.

[35] As the sensual soul, they oppose the divine spirit, a motif often reflected in the figure of a div and the prophet Solomon.

Images of demons do not diminish the artists talents, on the opposite, his ability to draw evil in the most grotesque way possible, proves his capabilities.

The killing of nafs may not be possible except by means of the use of the dagger of silence, the sword of hunger, or the spear of solitude and humility....

Many ancient people probably believed such tales to be true, and that places beneath the earth's surface, where no human has gone before, were inhabited by gods and divs.

After a battle, Ali manages to kill the div, release the inmates, saves the devoured child and brings the severed head, with aid of Muhammad back to life.

Galimyan Gilmanov (2000) drawing from Tatar folklore, reinvents the story of a girl encountering a div in the forest.

[56] In later Islamic thought, Solomon is said to have bound both devils and the divs to his will, inspiring Middle Eastern magicians trying to also capture such demons.