Whether or not Shiva is based on the Hindu god Shivca, which I know, it's apparently based on some kind of god or goddess.

wtf is an Ifrit? Sounds like a made up creature to me. Let's do some math.

Real vs. Not Real equals only Real.
ie. 2 + (2)0 = 2
ie. Shiva vs. Ifrit = Shiva

I thin that makes sense. I, like the genius Einstein, flunked all my math courses and never made it into college.