14وَإِذا لَقُوا الَّذينَ آمَنوا قالوا آمَنّا وَإِذا خَلَوا إِلىٰ شَياطينِهِم قالوا إِنّا مَعَكُم إِنَّما نَحنُ مُستَهزِئونَMuhammad AsadAnd when they meet those who have attained to faith, they assert, "We believe [as you believe]"; but when they find themselves alone with their evil impulses,1 they say, "Verily, we are with you; we were only mocking!"Lit., "their satans" (shayatin, pl. of shaytan). In accordance with ancient Arabic usage, this term often denotes people "who, through their insolent persistence in evildoing (tamarrud), have become like satans" (Zamakhshari): an interpretation of the above verse accepted by most of the commentators. However, the term shaytan - which is derived from the verb shatana, "he was [or 'became'] remote [from all that is good and true]" (Lisan al-'Arab, Taj al-'Arus) - is often used in the Qur'an to describe the "satanic" (i.e., exceedingly evil) propensities in man's own soul, and especially all impulses which run counter to truth and morality (Raghib).