Study of Shayṭān (Deception)

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Qabeelat Hosna | Student Notes April 2014

 

 

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Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1 | An Introduction to Shayṭān ....................................................................................17 Etymology .............................................................................................................................................. 17 Other Names for the Shayṭān .............................................................................................................. 18 The Origin and Creation of Shayṭān ................................................................................................... 21

Chapter 2 | “Most Certainly the Shayṭān is an Enemy for You!”...........................................27 Where the Enmity Began… .................................................................................................................. 27 The Prostration of the Angels............................................................................................................. 29 Iblīs’s Refusal and Arrogance .............................................................................................................. 30 Excuses of Shayṭān ................................................................................................................................ 31 Shayṭān divulges his plan ..................................................................................................................... 37 We have been warned… ....................................................................................................................... 39 Our Sworn Enemy ................................................................................................................................. 41 The difference between the enmity of mankind and the enmity of Shayṭān.............................. 45 Wisdom behind the Creation of the Shayṭān .................................................................................... 48

Chapter 3 | Physical Description and Abilities of Shayṭān .....................................................54 Can Shayṭān be seen? ............................................................................................................................ 54 What does Shayṭān look like? .............................................................................................................. 55 The Abilities of Shayṭān ........................................................................................................................ 57 The difference between the whispering of Shayṭān and our self (nafs) ....................................... 66

Chapter 4 | Shayṭān’s Army .........................................................................................................73 Iblīs is the Leader of His Army ............................................................................................................ 73 Shayṭān’s Soldiers from the Jinn ......................................................................................................... 74 Soldiers from Mankind ........................................................................................................................ 80 Allies of Shayṭān vs. the Allies of Allāh .............................................................................................. 81

Chapter 5 | Fact or Fiction ..........................................................................................................85 Magic ...................................................................................................................................................... 85 Possession .............................................................................................................................................. 90 Evil-eye (ʿAyn) ........................................................................................................................................ 94 Satanic Dreams...................................................................................................................................... 97

Chapter 6 | The Psychology of Shayṭān ...................................................................................102 Shayṭān’s Goals .................................................................................................................................... 102 Shayṭān’s Motivations ........................................................................................................................ 111

Chapter 7 | How Shayṭān Deceives People at Different Levels of Religiosity ....................120 Chapter 8 | 24-Hour Security & Protection ............................................................................145 Protection from Shayṭān and the shayāṭīn ...................................................................................... 145

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Introduction Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) in the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad tells us of an incident in the 13th year of the coming of Islam. On a dark, silent and quiet night, the leaders of the mushrikūn of Quraysh had decided to gather in a place called Dār’l-Nadwa. This was a gathering no one was told about. There were only a handful of people there and it was a secretive meeting. They were figuring out what to do with the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Amongst the Muslims who hadn’t made hijrah were Abu Bakr, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), ‘Ali and a few others. The fear the Quraysh had was that if the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) were to go to Madīnah as well, then his message would spread and Islam would one day be a bigger problem for the mushrikūn of Quraysh. They decided they needed to figure out what to do with him. One by one, people walked in very secretively. They had someone standing guard at the door. As the guard was shutting the door, an old man stuck his hand in the doorway. The guard asked, “Who are you?” because he did not recognize him. Only a few people were told about the secretive gathering. He said, “I know you don’t know me, but I am here from Najd and I have come to aid you in that which you are trying to solve.” They felt comfortable enough to let him in even though they didn’t know him. Scholars of sīrah mention how they were untrusting but for some reason for this man, as soon as he said he was there to help and aid them, they let him in. They discussed the matter at hand: what to do with the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). One of the leaders of the Quraysh stood up and said, “I think we should imprison him and put him in chains, tie him to the ground and leave him in one location.” At that time, imprisoning people was not common and considered a cruel punishment. It was only when a person’s evil got to such a high level that he was imprisoned. It was not a normal option. The old man who snuck in at the last moment stood up and said, “I swear by Allāh that this is not what I would advise you to do. If you imprison this man Muḥammad and tie him up, then you will only make his followers angrier and it is very possible that the following he already has will grow. You may make him a figure that people will rally after.” Another man says, “I think we should exile him and send him to a land far away and leave him there.” Once again, the old man stood up and said, “I swear by Allāh, this is the not the correct opinion and I would not advise it. If you exile him, it is possible that he will gather followers there. He could come back one day and be a threat for us.” Some time passes, and Abu Jahl stood up and said, “Let’s talk about what all of us are thinking but no one has the courage to say. I know all of you are afraid of the repercussions of killing Muḥammad and he has a tribe to back him up as well, and it could start a war. I think we should gather a young man from each of the major tribes, and they go together to kill Muḥammad and kill him in such a way that the blood splashes and will be found upon the clothes of all of these young men so that the blame

 

 

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is not taken by one of the tribes but spread apart. Then the tribe of Muḥammad cannot take revenge because they cannot go to war with multiple tribes. They will have no choice except to accept blood money. Once again, the old man stands and says, “I swear by Allāh, this is the correct opinion.” On that very night, they left Dār’l-Nadwa with the intention to kill the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) in his house. Some scholars of sīrah say it was a few days later, but the correct opinion is that they did not wait but immediately gathered the men and went to the house of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). As they waited outside. Jibrīl went to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and informed him of this evil plot. As the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was made aware, he walked out of the house. Some narrations said he picked up dirt from the ground and put it on the heads of the young men. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) protected the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Some narrations said the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) walked through the ranks of the young men, and they felt the dirt but didn’t know where it came from. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says,

“They plot and plan and Allāh plans and Allāh is the best of planners.” Sūrat’l-Anfāl [8:30] Who was the man? That man was no other than the Shayṭān. Iblīs is the one who took the form of a man. This shows us that Iblīs tried from the beginning to dismantle the message of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). The last resort for Iblīs is to try to cause physical damage or harm to you. He may not be able to trick you into disobeying Allāh or changing your life for the worse. His last step is to get others to speak ill of you and harm you.

Activity When you hear the term Shayṭān / devil, what are the three things that come to your mind first? What role do you think Shayṭān plays in your life? By the end of the seminar, you will be able to see the progression of your knowledge of Shayṭān and what role you think he plays in your life.

Resume of Shayṭān If Shayṭān were to have a resume, it would say:

 

 

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First Name: Iblīs (meaning: despair, someone who has lost all hope in the Mercy of Allāh) Last Name: Al-rajīm (the accursed, the one cursed by Allāh) Professional Goal: To destroy and condemn every single son and daughter of Ādam and Hawwa to the Hellfire, and I have made it my personal goal to never leave any single human being until they have reached the Hellfire. Qualifications: Thousands upon thousands of years of experience. (Shayṭān has been doing this since the creation of Ādam and is the most qualified to complete this job.) I run through the veins of mankind and know what they think, their desires, their weaknesses, and what I can do to make them slip up. Accomplishments: Trillions upon trillions of people have been sent to the Hellfire. Every single person is at war with Shayṭān. We are not going to war, but we are at war. Some may realize we are at war with Shayṭān while others do not. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) establishes for us Iblīs as our enemy.

Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) said in Sūrah Fāṭir: “Most certainly, the Shayṭān is your enemy, so take him as your enemy. He most certainly calls his party to become from the people of the blaze.” There are two commandments in this āyah. Allāh clarifies for us and tells us that Shayṭān is our enemy. The majority of people do not consider Shayṭān to be their enemy. The majority are worried about those who are a lot less influential than Shayṭān. Many times people deal with the effects of the problem and not the source. Does Shayṭān have anything to do with your relationship going bad? With the career you have chosen? With the problems you are having with a person? Allāh says “Shayṭān is your enemy” to remind us to be aware of Shayṭān every single day of our lives. In this verse, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says “innama” which implies it is the only goal of Shayṭān, and his existence revolves around this one purpose to take people to become his allies and party so that they may end up in the Hellfire.

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Think about the people in your life who you may consider your enemy. All of them lead back to one enemy: Shayṭān. Shayṭān makes you focus on individuals. Someone may be mean to you or treat you in a bad way or harmed you or has taken away your right, and Shayṭān will make you focus on that individual because he wants to make you forget that this person’s animosity goes back to Shayṭān. “…so take him as your enemy.” It is not enough to know that Shayṭān is your enemy. Allāh says to be proactive in protecting yourself from Shayṭān. Arm yourself in this war you are in. We are at war with Shayṭān. Shayṭān is constantly battling against us. This seminar serves two purposes: 1) Information (informing ourselves with the knowledge). What exactly is Shayṭān able to do and what are his methods of deception? 2) Protecting ourselves from Shayṭān. This also goes back to knowledge. We will discuss how Shayṭān deceives people. Shayṭān deceives people at all levels. Shayṭān has methods of deception for each and every one of us. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says in the Qurʾān, “Do not follow the footsteps of Shayṭān.” This shows us that Shayṭān has multiple footsteps and ways of coming at us. Shayṭān is incredibly determined. When anyone prepares for war, they may spends weeks and months and years. In this war, Shayṭān is more determined than any of us can imagine. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us that Iblīs when speaking to Allāh and the angels said, “I swear by the error You have put me in, I will sit and wait for them all upon Your path.” Did Allāh put Shayṭān in error? No! Why does Iblīs say this? Iblīs is saying that he will sit and wait. This shows that he will not just try once or a few times. He will be determined. If he can’t get to you once, he will try again and try again. He is waiting there for each and every one of us, and he doesn’t give up. We may have spent the last few years of our lives keeping ourselves safe from Iblīs, but he will continue to wait until our very last breath. He will be waiting for us to slip up. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says that Iblīs said, “I will come to them from in front of them and from behind them and from their right and from their left. Most of them will not be grateful to You for the guidance You have sent down to them.”

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When someone is attacked by bees, a person may initially think it is one or two bees, but when the swarm comes, it feels like wherever they turn and whatever they do, they cannot do anything to break free from the swarm. This is the type of attack Shayṭān makes. Scholars say that it is as if Iblīs will swarm the people. In this āyah, there are two directions which are left out: the top and the bottom. Why are these left out? Can Shayṭān come to you while you are in sajdah? Yes! The answer will be discussed later. Shayṭān has an army. In Sūrat’l-Shu‘arā’, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us that the army of Iblīs will be sent to the Hellfire. Iblīs doesn’t work alone. This army is determined. We also learn this from the ḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) in which he told us about the throne of Iblīs. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Iblīs places his throne upon water; he then sends detachments (for creating dissension); those who are nearer to him in rank are the ones who are most notorious in creating dissension. One of them comes and says, ‘I did such-and-such.’ And [Iblīs] he says, ‘You have done nothing.’ Then one amongst them comes and says, ‘I did not leave so-and-so until I caused dissension between him and his wife. Iblīs then comes close to him and says ‘Yes, you [have done well]!’” Al-A‘mash added, “He then embraces him.” The shayāṭīn stick to us and don’t let us go. Iblīs will not leave a person until he gets them to disobey Allāh. Scholars of the past would say a person may be vigilant and look out for the methods of deception for their whole life, but at the end of their lives, they may let their guard down. Once they become heedless of the plots of Shayṭān, that is when Shayṭān succeeds. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told us what happens at the end of this war with Shayṭān. There is a ḥadīth narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri in which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told us that every one hundred people Allāh created, ninety-nine will end up in the Hellfire. There is another narration of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) in which he said, “Out of every thousand people, nine hundred and ninety-nine will end up in the Hellfire.” Iblīs is so determined and so sure in his da‘wah that he will succeed that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us he swore by the Honor of Allāh: He said, “I swear by Your Honor that I will mislead all of these people except those people who are sincere in their religion.” Iblīs has assigned to each person a personal shayṭān. ‘Ā’ishah (raḍyAllāhu ‘anha) was surprised at this and asked, “Even you, O Messenger of Allāh, have a devil as well?” He (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “I have a personal devil as well except that Allāh gave

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me power over my personal shayṭān and he became Muslim.” In another narration: “I was protected from my personal shayṭān.” From another narration, we know that the devil runs through our body just as the blood flows through our veins. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was making i‘tikāf in the masjid, and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was visited by his wife Ṣafiyyah. He (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was walking his wife home in the middle of the night, and they came across two men. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) calls out to them, “Most certainly, she is Ṣafiyyah bint Huyayy, your mother.” They said, “SubḥānAllāh, ya Rasūlullāh!” Meaning: we would never think anything evil of you. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Most certainly the shayṭān flows in your body just like blood flows in the veins. It is possible that Shayṭān would come to you and whisper something.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is saying they may not have a bad intention, but Shayṭān could come and whisper something to them. It is possible for a person to let his guard down for a moment. This teaches us to guard ourselves from the whisperings of Shayṭān. When we are told of something someone has done, no matter how much respect we have for that person, there is something in the back of our mind that comes: “most likely he/she didn’t do this, but you never know.” This is why rumors are very dangerous. In Ramadan, we know that the shayāṭīn are chained up. Ibn Hajar said, “Even though the devils are chained up, there are two amongst the shayāṭīn who are not chained up. Iblīs is not chained up and your qarīn (personal shayṭān).” The qarīn knows you better than any other devil because he is always with you. This qarīn knows what specific traps you will fall into. They know your weaknesses and what is most beloved to you and where you will fall short. This is why it is so important to understand Shayṭān’s personal attack plan for you.

Shayṭān’s Sermon to the People of Hellfire There is a lot we can learn from Iblīs by contemplating over his words. People in therapy speak to their therapists, and they listen and then give solutions on how to solve the problem. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) has given us the speech of Iblīs.

 

 

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And Shayṭān will say when the matter has been concluded, "Indeed, Allāh had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with Allāh] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment." Sūrah Ibrāhīm [14:22] One of the chapters in this seminar is called “The Psychology of Shayṭān”. In this chapter, we will discuss the goals of Shayṭān in terms of his main goal and his immediate goals when it comes to how he goes about misleading us. We are going to be talking about Shayṭān’s motivations, meaning: Why does Shayṭān care if we go to heaven or hell? Why is he such a big enemy? Lastly, in this chapter we will analyze the speech of Shayṭān and look at some of the areas in the Qurʾān where Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us of the speech of Shayṭān. We will try to understand the psychology of Shayṭān. One example of this is what the scholars of the past would call “The Sermon of Iblīs for the People of Hellfire.” This is one āyah, but it encompasses the sermon or khuṭbah Iblīs will give to the people being sent to the Hellfire. “And when the matter has been decided…” Imagine that the Day of Judgment has come, and the Judgment has been made. Allāh has judged between the people, so there are people headed to Paradise and have been given the news of Paradise. On the other hand, there are people who are headed to the Hellfire and have been given the news of the Hellfire. The deeds have been weighed and people have been given their books in their right or left hands. The people this sermon is delivered to are those going to Hellfire. This means there is no going back and there is no changing of what is going to happen. You are now sitting there and you know for a fact that you are going to the Hellfire and there is nothing that can be done to change your situation. Everything has been done and decided. This is an instance where the people will say, “O Allāh, send me back that

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perhaps I may do something out of piety!” Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) told us that even if these people were sent back, they would go and do the same thing. Visualize that moment and scene and imagine yourself sitting there and witnessing this. This is a moment where everything has been decided. There are people gathered and collected in rows. Trillions of people have been given the news of Hellfire, and in this chaotic moment, one being stands up: Iblīs. When a person stands up, everyone listens. Iblīs is brought in front of them to give a final statement to the people of Hellfire. Iblīs then speaks and he doesn’t start by praising Allāh. He starts off with a very bold statement. He says: “Most certainly Allāh promised you a truthful promise…” After a lifetime of Iblīs lying to you and deceiving you, and after a lifetime of being a coward and a lifetime of deception, he finally now shows his true colors. This is the end of the story for Iblīs. In this moment, he cannot lie or deceive. He has to show people the reality of the deception he has been doing. He is saying the promise Allāh made to them is true. What is the promise of Allāh? Allāh promised us that if we obey Him and fulfill the commandments and stay away from the prohibitions, then we will be saved on the Day of Judgment. On the Day of Judgment, we will be sent to Paradise and not to the Hellfire. The promise of Allāh is that if we follow the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), we will be with him on the Day of Judgment. The promise of Allāh is that true happiness lies in obedience to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). True happiness lies in the submission to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Iblīs turns to the people and says, “Most certainly Allāh promised you a truthful promise.” Finally Iblīs for the first time in your life is telling the truth. Throughout your whole life, Iblīs has been lying to you and deceiving you. He has been whispering to you and telling you that happiness lies in the dunya and in disobeying Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). For the first time in your life Iblīs is speaking the truth. This shows us that Iblīs all along knew the truth. He knew that what he was calling to was wrong. He knew truth and falsehood, and he called you towards falsehood. “…and I made you promises but I betrayed my promise to you…” The people sitting there listening to this will feel like Iblīs is sticking a knife in their sides. On the Day of Judgment the matter has been decided and Iblīs twists the knife. It

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wasn’t enough for him that they are going to the Hellfire, but he wants to tell us that all along the promises he was making were false. This is why Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us that Iblīs will make promises to them and try to arouse in them in their desires that most certainly the promises Shayṭān makes is nothing but delusions. We want that on that Day we are not hearing this for the first time. We already know that Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) told us the promises of Shayṭān were nothing but deceit and deception for us. For some people, as they sit there, this is the first time they will hear this, and it will be the first time they have Shayṭān admit to them and say that he promised that the true life was the life of this dunya. He told us that the only thing that matters is that we enjoy our life and have fun. Shayṭān promises people and says there is no such thing as a hereafter and there is no reckoning. This is the promise that the Shayṭān and his helpers have made. How much time did Allāh give you to make tawbah and istighfār but months and years went by without you doing so? Shayṭān’s promises are all methods of deception. We will discuss methods of deception which are all promises Shayṭān made to us. “…I had no authority…” He is again twisting the knife. He is telling people that they obeyed him and followed him but he had no authority over them. He just suggested things and they followed it. He never forced them to disobey Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). We will talk about how much influence Shayṭān actually has and if we can blame Shayṭān. Shayṭān is saying, “How stupid were you to listen to me?” Not only did he not force us, but if you really look at the promises of Shayṭān, they were void of any substance. For example: those who denied the existence of God. Shayṭān may come to a person and say, “There is no God. Have you seen Him? Where is He?” This is void of any substance. If you were to really think about it and ponder the existence of Allāh, you would come to the conclusion that there is a God and a Creator. “…I had no authority over you and didn’t force you to do anything. The only thing that I did is called / invited you, and you answered my call.” The only authority he had was a call, and the people of Hellfire answered his call. He spoke out and we listened. Once again, he is saying, “How foolish are you? I didn’t make you disobey Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) but just called you.” In Arabic, the word here is “fa” which means that something happens immediately. The people going to the Hellfire didn’t even wait to answer the call. As soon as they heard the da‘wah of Shayṭān,

 

 

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because it was enticing and agreed with their desires and nafs, they didn’t think twice about it and didn’t sit and ponder over it. They immediately answered the call of Iblīs. Why did they answer the call? Because they forgot that this call that is coming is from the enemy of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) or they never knew or understood that Shayṭān is an enemy for us. They forgot that any time the Shayṭān comes to us or the allies of Shayṭān or the army of Shayṭān from the man and jinn come to us, we should never pay attention to them because they only have our destruction in mind. This is the only thing they want. “…so don’t blame me. Blame yourself.” How many people disobey Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and just blame Shayṭān? They say: “Shayṭān made me do it,” “these are the whisperings of Shayṭān.” They justify their action. Shayṭān himself is finally speaking the truth and says, “Don’t blame me! I had nothing to do with this. I just called you. I didn’t force you to do it.” Shayṭān brings the truth when there is no hope for us to turn back. He says, “You only have yourselves to blame for falling into my traps.” Shayṭān works in footsteps. Scholars say that when you hear that Shayṭān has footsteps, then it shows us that he has more than one method of deception. He works in ways that are particular to each individual. Iblīs is reminding you that you had the choice to worship Allāh but you didn’t. Iblīs is speaking to the people of Hellfire, and each sentence and word he says is like sticking a knife in you and twisting it. He says Allāh made you promises and he made you promises and he betrayed his promises. When Imam Ibn al-Qayyim talks about Iblīs, he talks about Iblīs as someone who needs to be fully understood. He says, “Never underestimate Iblīs.” He talks about him as someone you would psychoanalyze and think about how he is going to deceive you. “…I am not able to help you, and nor are you able to help me.” On this Day when people need help more than any other day, Iblīs says, “I know you took me as an ally and as your supporter, but the truth is I cannot help you. I made promises to you but betrayed my promises. I am not your helper.” The word muṣrikh is a helper or someone who helps and comes from the verb ṣarakha, which means to scream and yell. These people are not just saying “help me,” but they are screaming for help! Scholars say that people on that day will be yelling and screaming and crying and asking anyone to help them. They turn to Iblīs to ask for his help, and Iblīs says he cannot help them and they cannot help him either. Scholars say that Iblīs is putting himself down, but there is a bigger purpose and more to gain. The gain is instilling the loss of hope in people. He is twisting the knife.

 

 

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Scholars say that Iblīs is affirming that no one can be helped in this moment and the matter has been decided. Iblīs says, “Nor can you help me.” The father of evil and the one who laid out all these traps cannot be helped. Iblīs’s name means “loss of hope.” Iblīs really wants us to learn in this sermon that there is no hope once the matter has been decided. There is no helper. Iblīs wants to rub it in and twist the knife. Ask yourself: why would the people ask Iblīs for help after they have found out that he cannot help them? When a person is truly desperate, they will turn to those they know cannot help them because they are in a stupor. They grab for anything, so they even turn to Iblīs who has no help to give. This is the amount of desperation they have. They are grabbing at straws. “Most certainly, I deny the association you made between me and Allāh.” Not only does he say that he cannot help them and not to blame him, but he is also backing off. This is a character trait of Iblīs. He always makes promises and breaks them. When the matter becomes serious, he steps back and says there is nothing he can do. The association that the people had made was that they obeyed Iblīs and disobeyed Allāh. Instead of obeying Allāh, they obeyed Iblīs. Iblīs is showing his true colors now.

“I disbelieve in this / I don’t accept this.” This whole khuṭbah is about twisting the knife. After the people have been given the news, they feel worse and worse. The scholars say this is part of the punishment of the people of Hellfire that Allāh sends Iblīs and lets him deliver this khuṭbah to them. Iblīs is saying here that the people were foolish enough to believe that he should be obeyed, which he doesn’t even believe. He doesn’t believe he should be made a partner with Allāh. He is showing how foolish people were. Scholars say there is not a single person who will go to the Hellfire who will say, “O Allāh, You have wronged me. I don’t deserve to go to the Hellfire.” Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) does not make anyone go to the Hellfire. Allāh gives us every opportunity to save ourselves from the Hellfire. The people on that Day will not feel that they are oppressed. Their only excuse is that they will ask Allāh to send them back because they know in the current state they are in that they deserve to go to the Hellfire.

 

 

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This shows the people that it is themselves and their own deeds that led them to the Hellfire. “Most certainly, for the oppressors there is a painful punishment.” This is the final twist of the knife. People know they are about to be punished, but Iblīs wants to remind them and tell them. People know they are headed to the Hellfire. Why is Shayṭān reminding them? The entire khuṭbah is about making the people feel more and more miserable. This shows us that all along Iblīs had the correct knowledge and understood that the ẓālimīn end up in the Hellfire. The ẓulm (oppression) that Iblīs is speaking about here is shirk. Scholars often mention that the ẓulm that is happening here (i.e. disobeying Allāh, associating partners with Allāh, disbelieving in Allāh, worshipping other than Allāh) is the ẓulm upon their own selves. Iblīs was involved in kufr billāh, which is disbelieving in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Iblīs is from the ẓālimīn, but why does he say “lahum (for them)” and exclude himself? Iblīs is in such a habit of lying to the people and disassociating himself from the tricks that he is doing and is so compulsive that he cannot help himself. This is how messed up Iblīs is in his head. He knows the truth but denies it and leads people astray from it. Iblīs knew better than anyone else that Allāh is the Lord and Creator and that He exists, but he still disobeyed Allāh. His sin reached such a high level and he became so arrogant that his arrogance overtook the knowledge he has. An analogy: A child knows that he will be punished by his father if he does something (i.e. drawing on the wall with a crayon). The child may become so arrogant and say he doesn’t care if he will be punished. He becomes delusional. Even until the last moment, Iblīs is delusional. This is all one āyah. It shows how concise the khuṭbah of Iblīs will be. This shows us how smart Iblīs is. When doing tafsīr of this āyah, some scholars say that Iblīs was a faqīh and had knowledge. This is how effective the khuṭbah is. He chooses his words very carefully and chooses the most painful words. We make du‘ā’ to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) that it is only in this life that we hear this khuṭbah and that we are never sitting on the Day of Judgment listening to this khuṭbah. Some scholars say that the irony of this situation and people attentively listening to it is that most of them likely never attended a single Jumu‘ah khuṭbah.

 

 

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The point of this seminar is to learn about Iblīs and his methods of deception. We will learn about his physical description and his abilities. We will become aware of Shayṭān and his methods and learn how to protect ourselves from him. The khuṭbah of Iblīs is one line. He knows this will be the most painful thing a person has heard in his entire life. They only get more pain and sorry and regret for listening to Iblīs and falling for his traps. The irony is that many of the people listening that day did not listen to a real khuṭbah in their life. The irony is that it may be the first time they are hearing this khuṭbah because they never read this āyah or if they read it, they never contemplated it. We ask Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) that we never have to hear this khuṭbah in the ākhirah. We ask that Allāh grants us the ability to read this khuṭbah over and over in this life and take heed. This is a weekend where you can really change the outlook of your life and how you can go about leading your life. Your life will change after this seminar because at the least, you will start to think about how Iblīs is affecting your life, and you can then protect yourself. In Shaykh Saad’s last semester at the University of Madīnah, he started to buy more thawbs. He would get a custom thawb made. He would buy cloth in the market if he liked it and then keep until getting a thawb made. He went to one store and asked for a light cloth which is breathable and soft and easy to iron and will look nice. He brought out nice cloth and said it is 100 riyals / meter ($25 / yard). This is expensive. As he is talking to the shopkeeper, a young person walks out from the back and says they have some even nicer material. The older man helping Shaykh Saad stares back at the young man. He brings out the cloth and it was beautiful. It was 500 riyals / meter ($125 / yard). He tried to make a deal, but he couldn’t afford it. He is about to leave, and he hears the older man start yelling at the younger one. Shaykh Saad closes the door and asks what the problem is because he felt bad that the younger man is being yelled at. The older man said, “These young people don’t know how this business works. I’ve been selling cloth for the last 35 years and know and understand my clients. If a client comes in, we have to show them the type of cloth which is just above what they can afford. We have to look at the person and make a judgment on how much he can spend so that we can get them to stretch their limit to buy it. We never show a cloth that they cannot afford because once they look at that cloth, they will not buy the cheaper one and will leave without buying something.” With Iblīs, it is important to understand how he thinks and works. Iblīs knows and understands you. It behooves us to know and study Iblīs. Hashtag for this seminar: #DeceptionSoS

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Chapter 1 | An Introduction to Shayṭān Etymology What is the origin of the term ‘shayṭān’? There is some form of Shayṭān / Satan in all three Abrahamic faiths. Scholars did differ over the origin of this word. There are certain terms in Arabic which do not have an Arabic origin, and this is determined based on whether or not there is an Arabic root for it. The names Ibrāhīm, Yūsuf, Mūsa, and ‘Īsa do not have an Arabic root. Scholars differed on whether “Shayṭān” was imported into the Arabic language or comes from the Arabic language. The minority opinion is that it does not have Arabic origin, and their argument is that the Jews initially used this term, and the Jewish texts preceded the Islamic texts; therefore, Hebrew came before Arabic and because it was found in Hebrew, it is not an Arabic term. The opinion of the majority of scholars is that it is an Arabic name and even though the texts of the Jews came before, Arabic existed before the existence of Hebrew and Aramaic. Additionally, we can trace back this term to a few different Arabic verbs. There are some terms which will be used interchangeably in this seminar: Shayṭān = “the” Shayṭān The devil Iblīs These three terms may be used interchangeably. In Arabic, shayṭān (pl. shayāṭīn) comes from: • shaṭaṭa = to exceed the limits, to go too far, to transgress, to go into an extreme • shaṭṭa = to deviate, stray away from something • shāṭa = to burn or to be burned. In Arabic, they would say: “he was burning with anger” (shāṭa bi’l-ghaḍab) • shaṭana: This is the main root word. It means to be far away or to get far away from something. Shayṭān is far away from: 1) the Mercy of Allāh and 2) any type of goodness. Shayṭān exceeded the limits of Allāh and encourages others to do the same. Shayṭān deviated from the path of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and encourages others to deviate and stray from the path of Allāh as well. Iblīs was created from fire, and some scholars have mentioned he will be burned with fire and have the most severe punishment in the Hellfire.

 

 

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Shayṭān is a general term for the being who is arrogant and rebellious and therefore became far away from the Mercy of Allāh and far away from any type of goodness. The plural of the word “Shayṭān” is “shayāṭīn”. This word is found in the Qurʾān in three different forms. What is the most frequently used name for shayṭān in the Qur’ān and Sunnah? a. “The Shayṭān” “Al-Shayṭān”: This refers to Iblīs (the being who refused to prostrate to Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) and disobeyed Allāh and was kicked out of Paradise). Scholars say Iblīs is Shayṭān’l-akbar. “Al-Shayṭān” only refers to Iblīs. b. “Shayṭān” “A shayṭān” refers to the devils but not “the devil.” It refers to the followers of Shayṭān. This is anyone who is arrogant or rebellious who follows the Shayṭān from mankind or jinn. c. “Shayāṭīn" This is the plural of the word shayṭān. These three forms are found 68 times in the Qurʾān. The title of the class should be: “The Study of the Shayṭān” in proper usage. Did you know? Some form of the word “shayṭān” can be found in all three of the Abrahamic faiths.

Other Names for the Shayṭān 1) Iblīs This is the most well-known name used for al-shayṭān in the Qurʾān other than alshayṭān. This is the authentic name of Shayṭān. Iblīs translates to despair. Linguistically from al-iblās (n) and ablasa (v) which means the loss of hope, to lose hope. Iblās is a loss of hope, and ablasa is to lose hope.

“And the Day the Hour appears the criminals will be in despair.” Sūrat’l-Rūm [30:12] There is no hope for them to go back and change the deeds that they have done. Technically, Iblīs is the one who has no chance of receiving the Mercy of Allāh.

 

 

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And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Ādam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblīs. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers. Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:34] This name is found 11 times throughout the Qurʾān. It most often goes back to the story of Iblīs’s refusal to make sajdah to Ādam. The term al-Shayṭān is used more generally such as referring to his plots, the way he deceives mankind, establishing him as an enemy. Some scholars said the name Iblīs was only given to this being after he disobeyed Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) because at that point he had lost all hope in the Mercy of Allāh. Side Note What was the name of Iblīs when he was obedient to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla)? Allāhu a‘lam. If Allāh didn’t tell us something, then it means that it is of no benefit to us. Imam al-Bayhaqi did mention a name for Iblīs before he disobeyed Allāh: ‘Azāzīl. Scholars have differed over whether this is really the name of Iblīs before he disobeyed Allāh. This is narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās, but the chain doesn’t go all the way to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Because the chain doesn’t go all the way to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), some scholars said we don’t know if this was his name before. Iblīs refers to al-shayṭān’l-akbar (the big Shayṭān). There is no Iblīs from mankind. 2) Al-Ṭāghūt This term has been used to describe Iblīs or al-shayṭān and is usually used in context where Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) or the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) are talking about the helpers of Iblīs.

 

 

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Allāh is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are ṭāghūt. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:257] The job of Iblīs is to take people out of the light of guidance and into the darkness of disbelief or shirk and disobedience of Allāh. By the consensus of the scholars of tafsīr, “ṭāghūt” refers to Iblīs and the followers of the Shayṭān. It can refer to anything worshipped or obeyed besides Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

“Those who believe, they struggle in the cause of Allāh. Those who disbelieve fight in the cause of al-ṭāghūt. So fight against the allies of Shayṭān. Indeed, the plot of al-Shayṭān has ever been weak.” Sūrat’l-Nisā’ [4:76] This is where we learn that the term ṭāghūt can be synonymous with the term Shayṭān. In this āyah, we know that ṭāghūt is synonymous with Iblīs is because Allāh says alshayṭān. Ṭāghūt can also refer to those who put themselves on the level of Allāh. 3) Al-Waswās and Al-Khannās

Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, The Sovereign of mankind. The God of mankind, From the evil of the retreating whisperer. Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind -From among the jinn and mankind.” Sūrat’l-Nās [114:1-4] Al-waswās literally means the one who whispers. The term al-khannās refers to someone who retreats or hides away. Allāh describes Shayṭān / Iblīs as someone who whispers from where you cannot see them. Usually they are hidden and we don’t see them. The

 

 

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hidden aspect is something characteristic of Shayṭān and Iblīs and the helpers of Shayṭān. 4) Al-Rajīm This comes from the verb rajama, which means to throw or to stone. What does this have to do with Iblīs? He was thrown out of the heavens and the gathering of the angels.

[Allāh] said, “Then get out of it, for indeed, you are expelled.” Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:34] This can refer to either the heavens or the gathering of the angels. There is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars regarding where Iblīs was kicked out from. 5) Al-Qarīn This is a consort, someone who is your companion and partner.

The Origin and Creation of Shayṭān Shayṭān is an actual being that exists, created by Allāh. Iblīs was created by Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and is an actual being who still exists and who is still ‘Alive today. This is by the consensus of ‘ulemā’ of ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah until this day. He is not a metaphor. Some people say the devil is a metaphor for evil or our desires and the angels are a metaphor for good, which is not correct. Was he a fallen angel? According to the Christian and Jewish traditions, Satan was a fallen angel. Islamically, we do not consider Satan to be an angel. The reason why some people took this belief is: 1) They get it from the Christian or Jewish traditions Or 2) Some people use the āyah in the Qurʾān when Allāh mentions how the angels fell into prostration except for Iblīs. They said that the exception implies that he was from them. Refutation: Sūrat’l-Kahf verse 50

 

 

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And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Ādam,” and they prostrated, except for Iblīs. He was of the jinn. Sūrat’l-Kahf [18:50] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) clarifies that Iblīs was from amongst the jinn. From this, we learn that Iblīs was not an angel but a jinn. This is the opinion of the vast majority of scholars of ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah, and there is almost no difference of opinion on this issue. Some people say we lose out on the benefit that even an angel can come bad. However, for us, it has the opposite meaning: even a jinn can be raised up so high to the status of the angels. The story of Iblīs refusing to prostrate to Ādam is mentioned in 7 different places in the Qurʾān, and in each place, Allāh gives us more information or clarifies certain things that happened. In Sūrat’l-Kahf verse 50, Allāh clarifies that Iblīs was of the jinn. Iblīs was one of the angels in terms of his worship and obedience, but he was a separate creation. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Certainly the Shayṭān was from the angels with respect to his deeds, but not with respect to his origin, and not with respect to him being of the same nature as them.” How was Shayṭān created? The Shayṭān was created in the same way the other jinn were created, which is from fire.

He created man from clay like [that of] pottery. And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire. Sūrat’l-Raḥmān [55:14-15] Question: If Shayṭān was created from fire, how can he be punished with fire? Answer: Just because Iblīs is created from fire, it does not mean he is actual fire. Just like we were created from clay, it doesn’t mean we are physically clay right now, and we can be harmed by clay. When was Shayṭān created? §

He, along with the rest of the jinn, were created before mankind.

 

 

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And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud. And the jinn We created before from scorching fire. Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:26-27] Some mufasirūn say that the jinn altogether, especially Iblīs, were created thousands and thousands of years before mankind was created. We don’t know the exact amount of time but do know it was a long time before the creation of mankind. “Before” refers to before the creation of mankind. The creation of the jinn preceded the creation of mankind. When Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) was created, the jinn already existed. §

Just like mankind, Allāh created the Shayṭān and the jinn for His worship.

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. Sūrat’l-Dhāriyāt [51:56] Some scholars say that this āyah is another proof to show that jinn were created before mankind because jinn are mentioned before mankind. Relationship between Shayṭān and the Jinn Some scholars say the jinn are in a world of their own which is separate from mankind. Some say that the angels and jinn have a similarity in that both are spirits. This is the opinion of many scholars, but there is no proof for it. Therefore, we can say it is possible they are spirits and have no physical form. Some scholars have the opinion that the jinn were on earth before mankind. The evidence is Sūrat’l-Baqarah: “We have placed on it a creation which will spread blood and mischief.” There is a difference of opinion over who this is referring to. The majority of scholars say this is referring to the jinn. When the jinn were put on earth, they spilled blood and disobeyed Allāh and were mischievous. Other scholars said we don’t know who the angels are referring to and it is possible that it is a different type of khalq (i.e. maybe the dinosaurs). Ibn Kathīr in Bidāyah wa’l-Nihāyah mentioned the jinn were on earth and created mischief and the angels pushed them to the corners of the earth and places which are abandoned.

 

 

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In Arabic, al-jinn comes from the root word janna which means to cover and to conceal. The default is that we do not see the jinn. The Arabic term for fetus is janīn because the fetus is hidden and cannot be seen. Jannah also means a garden. Scholars say it is called Jannah because a garden is hidden from sight by trees. We cannot understand the true nature of Jannah until we actually see it. The true pleasures of Jannah we cannot fully understand. §

They are called jinn because they are obscured from human sight. The aṣl is that we are not able to see the jinn.

§

There are three types of jinn:

“There are three types of jinn: one that have wings and fly through the air, one that are snakes and dogs, and one which stay in places and travel about.” [al-Ṭabarāni, al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqi, classified as authentic by al-Albāni] Scholars say these are three of the major forms which are mentioned, but the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is not restricting it to three forms. 1) The Winged They fly in the air. 2) The Animal They take the form of snakes and dogs. 3) The Traveler They travel on the earth. There are jinn who are pious (jinn ṣāliḥūn) and jinn shayāṭīn and the jinn in the middle.

“Jinn said that amongst us are those who are pious and those who are not. We are of divided ways.” Sūrat’l-Jinn [72:11]

 

 

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1) Jinn shayāṭīn 2) Jinn ṣāliḥūn 3) Jinn that are neither shayāṭīn nor ṣāliḥūn

“Amongst us are those jinn who are Muslims and those who are unjust. Those who submitted to Allāh have sought out the correct path and right course.” Sūrat’l-Jinn [72:14] Ins ṣāliḥūn: worship Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla), are pious Shayāṭīn min al-ins: the people who are obedient to Iblīs and Shayṭān and call to what Shayṭān is calling to A third category of people who are neither pious and neither shayāṭīn and this is the majority of mankind. Question: Was Shayṭān the first (or father) of the jinn? Answer: Some people may say that just as Ādam is the father of mankind, Iblīs is the father of the jinn (was the first to be created and all of the jinn who followed after are his progeny). The majority of the scholars held the opinion that Iblīs was indeed the father of the jinn, including Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim and Imam al- Ḥasan al-Baṣri and Mujāhid. We do know that Iblīs does have progeny. Allāh tells us in Sūrat’l-Kahf v. 50: “Will you take him and his progeny as awliyā’ other than Allāh?” From this āyah, we know that Iblīs has progeny.

“And We said to the angels to make sajdah to Ādam and they did except for Iblīs. He departed from the command of his Lord. Will you take him and his progeny as awliyā’ (protectors and allies) other than Allāh? Wretched it is for the wrongdoers as an exchange.” Sūrat’l-Kahf [18:50] This āyah contains the evidence both for and against Iblīs being the first of the jinn. Those who say he is not the father of the jinn say: The āyah says “min al jinn.”

 

 

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Is the progeny of Iblīs all bad? According to the majority of scholars: yes because Allāh says the progeny of Iblīs are your enemies. The progeny of Iblīs are all bad because they are our enemies. The jinn as a whole are not all bad. Therefore, it would be obvious that he is not the father of the jinn because that would mean all of the jinn are bad, which we know are not true. In Sūrat’l-Jinn, the jinn said amongst them are those who are Muslim and ṣāliḥūn those who are unjust and they are of different ways. It seems to be the stronger opinion that Iblīs is not the father of the jinn. However, we have no proof to tell us that Iblīs was the father of the jinn. We only know that he has progeny. It is accepted in ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah that Iblīs is the father of the jinn. Question: How did Iblīs have children? Allāhu a‘lam. We do not know. Imam al-Sha‘bi was asked about this: “If Ādam was the father of mankind and Ḥawwa the mother of mankind and Iblīs is the father of the jinn, then who is the mother of the jinn?” He said, “That is a wedding which I never attended.” Scholars say that even though people enjoy thinking about things like this, there is no benefit for us to delve into these matters. If Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) kept some knowledge from us and it was not narrated to us, then there is benefit in that.

 

 

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Chapter 2 | “Most Certainly the Shayṭān is an Enemy for You!” In this seminar, we will discuss how Shayṭān came to become our enemy. The idea of Shayṭān being our enemy is rooted in an incident that goes back to the creation of mankind. The jinn were created from fire and before mankind. Some scholars said they were created thousands and thousands of years before mankind. Some scholars said the jinn inhabited the earth before mankind. Some scholars even discuss whether there were other creations before mankind. It is possible they inhabited the earth before mankind and it is possible that there were other creations before the creation of mankind. Because the jinn inhabited the earth, the angels saw how the jinn were. They caused a lot of havoc and bloodshed on earth, which is why when Allāh created Ādam, the angels said, “O Allāh, are you going to place upon it [the earth] those who will cause corruption and shed blood?” they said this because they already experienced the creation of the jinn which had caused corruption on earth. Many of these stories are found in Ibn Kathīr’s Bidāyah wa’l-Nihāyah. Some narrations we accept if they don’t go against something we already know. For other things, we say that it is possible but we don’t know. Some scholars mentioned that the jinn caused so much corruption that they were forced to the corners of the earth (i.e. islands, isolated places).

Where the Enmity Began… Most of the jinn were disobedient to Allāh, but amongst them, there was one who was above the rest. He worshipped Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) with sincerity and didn’t cause any corruption and was so high in rank above the other jinn that Allāh raised him up to the heavens to the gathering of the angels. The angels were created to worship Allāh but were not given free will. This one jinn chose to worship Allāh and went against the norm of the jinn which was to disobey Allāh. This jinn was Iblīs. Scholars say that he was such a big exception that Allāh raised him to the rank of the angels. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Most certainly Iblīs was not from the angels; however, he was from the angels when it came to his behavior.” When it came to obeying Allāh and his worship, he was like the angels. For thousands and thousands of years, it was just the jinn. For thousands of years, Iblīs was in the company of the angels. Sometimes people hear this story and think Iblīs was there for a little time and then disobeyed Allāh, but it was for a long period of time. For thousands of years, Iblīs is the best, and even the angels were not as good as Iblīs because they didn’t have free will.

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After thousands of years, Allāh created a new creation: the body of Ādam. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) took clay from different parts of the earth and created the body of Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām). After Allāh created the body of Ādam, Iblīs got to see the body, and some narrations mention that Iblīs would spend hours inspecting the body of Ādam. Iblīs began to realize that this creation was very good, and he would say to Ādam before the soul was blown into him, “You have been created as something which is very great.” He would praise Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām). Some narrations say he would go through the body of Ādam and see him from the inside and out. The first sin that occurred was ḥasad. Jealousy can mean wanting something that someone else has. Ḥasad is wanting what someone else has and wanting Allāh to take it away from them. It is an extreme form of jealousy and envy and there is a pinch of hatred in it as well. Slowly, Iblīs became jealous of Ādam. This envy and jealousy took years upon years to grow and fester. This shows us that sometimes the cause of ḥasad can be very small, but if we let it linger, it can lead to a major sin. When someone has ḥasad towards someone else, they want whatever that person has to be taken away from him. This is the type of jealousy that Iblīs had towards Ādam. He wanted Ādam to be debased and destroyed. He had this kind of hatred towards Ādam. He wanted any merit that Allāh was going to give to Ādam to be taken away. Initially he was jealous, and then he became arrogant because he saw that the creation of Ādam has weaknesses. He begins to view himself better and above Ādam (‘alayhi’lsalām). These feelings festered for a while. The second sin after the creation of Ādam was arrogance. Iblīs’s jealousy led him to become arrogant. He had delusions of grandeur. The jealousy festered until Allāh finally blew the soul into Ādam and told everyone in the congregation to fall into sajdah. Allāh tells us in the Qurʾān that He ordered the angels to fall into sajdah and among them was Iblīs. This was the sajdah of respect and not worship. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said that the worship was to Allāh but the respect that was being paid was to Ādam.

And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Ādam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblīs. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.

 

 

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Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:34]

“When Allāh fashioned Ādam in Paradise, He left him as He liked him to leave. Then Iblīs roamed round him to see what actually that was and when he found him hollow from within, he recognized that he had been created with a disposition that he would not have control over himself.” [Muslim]

The Prostration of the Angels

So the angels prostrated - all of them entirely Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:30] All of the angels fell in sajdah all together. Imagine this. The angels are very high number – they don’t die. Imagine this gathering where there is row after row of angels as far as the eye can seen. The angels in their true form are large. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said their wings cover the sky. There are millions upon millions of angels. This is the gathering. All of these angels immediately obey the command and fell into sajdah. Imagine that as far as the eyes can see all of the angels go into sajdah and one being remains standing. Iblīs became arrogant, and because of this, he became of the disbelievers. He became of those who rejected the obedience to Allāh. This one being refuses to prostrate to Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām).

So the angels prostrated - all of them entirely. Except Iblīs; he was arrogant and became among the disbelievers. Sūrah Ṣād [38:73]

 

 

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There were thousands and millions and trillions of angels in the gathering. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) continuously creates angels. We cannot even imagine how many there are. Allāh emphasizes the fact that all of the rows of angels fell into sajdah. Allāh reemphasizes and says “ajma‘ūn” (all of them together). It is as if Allāh is saying: all of them, all of them. Allāh then makes one exception and says: illa Iblīs. He was the only one in the gathering who did not fall into sajdah. It was an amazing site that all of the angels fall into sajdah, and one creation is left standing. Imagine the amount of arrogance Iblīs had.

Iblīs’s Refusal and Arrogance

[Allāh] said, “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?” [Shayṭān] said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.” [Allāh] said, “Descend from Paradise, for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So get out; indeed, you are of the debased.” Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:12-13] The only reason Allāh gives for making the sajdah is that He commanded it. Scholars say that whenever Allāh orders us to do something, people often ask why or how, but with each type of questioning like this, we may be taking on the characteristic of Iblīs because it was not enough for Iblīs that Allāh ordered him. There is ḥikmah in worshipping Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla), but the very reason we worship Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is because it is the commandment of Allāh. Everything else is secondary. From this āyah, we see Iblīs’s delusions of grandeur. He uses his own ‘aql (logic) and says he knows he is commanded to make sajdah but that he doesn’t deserve to do so because he is better than Ādam since he is created from fire while Ādam is created from clay. This led many scholars to say that Iblīs was the imām of ahl’l-bid‘ah.

 

 

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Sound reasoning will never contradict authentic revelation. If there is a contradiction, then either: • the reasoning is not sound • the revelation is not authentic • your understanding of the revelation is not proper or it is a perceived contradiction when there is no contradiction The first person to make invalid qiyās (rejecting text based on one’s own thinking) was Iblīs. Ibn Taymiyyah said invalid qiyās leads to kufr (disbelief) and can even lead to shirk).

Excuses of Shayṭān

[Allāh] said, “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?” [Shayṭān] said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.” [Allāh] said, “Descend from Paradise, for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So get out; indeed, you are of the debased.” Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:12-13] Iblīs starts using his own reasoning and logic. Scholars mention that for thousands of years, Iblīs was obedient to Allāh, but in this moment, he became disobedient. This shows us that a person may be obedient, but when they are tested, then that is when their disobedience comes up. It is easy to be patient when times are good. What happens when Allāh tests you and puts you in a difficulty? Will you still be obedient to Allāh? For thousands of years, Iblīs was fine, but when the test came and Allāh ordered him to make sajdah to a creation he viewed as less than him because of jealousy, it was the first trial that Iblīs was put through. In his first tribulation, he failed and refused to fall into sajdah. The scholars of ‘aqīdah also mention that Iblīs was the first to give weight to ‘aql over naql. He was the first to use his logic / reasoning over a commandment of Allāh.

 

 

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Deviations in our history started when people started getting into philosophy and disregard the revelation and give preference to their logic over revelation. Many scholars say that Iblīs was the imam of ahl’l-bid‘ah (people of deviation). For example: someone may make a bid‘ah (action not legislated in the Sharī‘ah). The reasoning people often give is from logic or by saying, “What is wrong with what I’m doing? It is a good action.” Example: a Qurʾān khāni after someone dies where people say they are sending the reward to the dead person. This is a practice never done by the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) or the companions or the tabi‘ūn or the people who came after the tabi‘īn and the generations after them. This innovation came later. They use their reasoning to justify something that goes against Islam. Iblīs was the first to use his ‘aql over his naql.

And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Ādam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblīs. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers. Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:34] Three things are happening in this āyah: 1) Iblīs blatantly refused to prostrate 2) He became arrogant (Scholars say his arrogance which was deep-rooted finally came to light) 3) Iblīs became from the disbelievers. This shows that someone who blatantly refuses a commandment of Allāh can fall into disbelief. A person who is lazy about praying is different from someone who denies a commandment of Allāh and says he doesn’t have to pray. The second person can fall into kufr. It is one thing to not fulfill it and to make excuses, but it is another thing to reject the commandment of Allāh and say that you do not have to do it. The type of kufr Iblīs was in is the highest form of kufr. Iblīs is saying Allāh put him into error and he doesn’t deserve to be in the position of making sajdah to Allāh. He is telling Allāh that Allāh is wrong for ordering him to make sajdah in the first place. The other understanding of this āyah is that Iblīs is attributing his misguidance to Allāh, which is an error in ‘aqīdah. It is not our belief of ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah that Allāh forces us. Our belief in qadar is that everything happens by the Will, Permission, and Knowledge of Allāh, but this does not mean that Allāh forces us to do things. An analogy some scholars give is: a parent knows his toddler very well and he sees his

 

 

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child picking up a crayon and about to write on the wall, and the father stops the child. The father did not force the child. There was a man who was a thief who robbed caravans and he was finally caught by ‘Umar (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu). The proof was established against him, and the ruling was that his hand be cut off. He said, “O amīr’l-mu’minīn, how can you cut off my hand when I only stole by the qadar of Allāh?” ‘Umar (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) said, “You stole by the qadar of Allāh, and we will cut off your hand by the qadar of Allāh.” Iblīs had free will just like the jinn and mankind. This part of the story is in 7 different places in the Qurʾān: al-Baqarah, al-A‘rāf, al-Ḥijr, alIsrā’, al-Kahf, Ṭā Ha, Ṣād. This shows us the importance of this story. This story has implications that reach all of us.

[Allāh] said, “O Iblīs, what is [the matter] with you that you are not with those who prostrate?” He said, “Never would I prostrate to a human whom You created out of clay from an altered black mud.” Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:32-33]

[Allāh] said, “O Iblīs, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?” He said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.” Sūrah Ṣād [38:75-76] Question: Is fire really better than clay? Imam ibn al-Qayyim in his book mentioned around 15-20 different reasons why clay is better than fire. He said even his logic was wrong, and the assumption that Iblīs was

 

 

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better than Ādam was wrong. He also said there are many reasons why logically his reasons were not correct. Fire is not better than clay. From QTayybah: 1) Clay can be used to put out fire. Fire strengthens clay. 2) Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) chose clay over fire to create Ādam and all of the prophets. 3) A fire needs to be tended to. (Oxygen is needed to keep fire going. Clay can remain on its own.) 4) Clay and water mixed together makes mud and other helpful substances. When water is mixed with fire, the fire is put out. 5) Clay is soothing to the skin. Fire burns. 6) Clay can be used to build, and fire destroys. 7) Clay can be used for tayammum and ritual purification. Fire is never used. 8) We make sujūd upon the ground / earth. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The earth has been made for me as a purifying agent and as a masjid (a place where you make sajdah).” 9) Clay can be formed to create shapes. Fire cannot. 10) Clay is stable, and fire is not. 11) Allāh will use the fire to punish people. Compared to that, people will be resurrected upon the earth. 12) From the earth, we get plants and trees and things used for our sustenance. 13) Clay can be formed to hold things or make things, but fire only consumes or destroys things. 14) Clay will be used to punish Shayṭān. 15) Animals benefit from clay. 16) Clay has different textures. 17) Fire produces harmful fumes while clay does not. 18) Fire is destructive and dominating while clay is cool and humble. 19) Clay has nutrients that are good for the body. 20) Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) placed upon the earth the Ka‘bah. The masjid of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is also on the earth. 21) It is on earth that human beings are married. 22) We bury people in the earth. From QHosna: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Fire can be extinguished by clay. Fire strengthens clay. Fire can cause pain and burn you. Clay can be cooling. Fire destroys. Clay can be used to build and construct. Fire by nature is chaotic and clay can be easily molded and controlled. Humans are buried in clay and not cremated. Clay can hold water but fire cannot.

 

 

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7) Clay gives life (plants, trees, fruits). No life comes from fire. 8) Fire needs to be stoked. 9) Clay can be fashioned, used to create art. 10) Clay has more healing properties than fire. 11) You can walk upon clay but cannot walk upon fire. 12) Clay can be used as shelter. 13) Clay can be used for purification (tayammum), but fire cannot be used. 14) We get minerals from the earth. 15) There are carcinogens, smoke, and other harmful substances that come from fire. 16) Fire needs to be started while clay just exists. 17) People play with clay but not with fire. 18) Depending on where you live, it is possible to survive without fire but not without clay. 19) Fire is the main source of punishment in the Hellfire. 20) The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The earth has been made for me as a masjid and as a means of purification.” 21) We have been created in the best of forms and mankind is created from clay. Allāh chose to create Ādam from clay and told Iblīs to make sajdah to Ādam.

[Allāh] said, “Descend from it (minha) for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. Get out! You are of the debased!.” Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:13] Allāh kicks Iblīs out of the gathering of the angels where the incident took place. The gathering of the angels is not a place of arrogance. The scholars mention the more arrogant a person gets, the further they get from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

[Allāh] said, “Then get out of it, for indeed, you are expelled.” Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:34] Iblīs says, “O my Lord, give me respite until the Day they are resurrected.” After disobeying Allāh and refusing to prostrate has the nerve to ask Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Iblīs understood Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and understood that it was still possible for Allāh to answer his du‘ā’. One of the tricks of Iblīs is to get people to think Allāh will not answer their du‘ā’. Iblīs committed kufr and still made du‘ā’ to Allāh.

 

 

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The rubūbiyyah of Iblīs is still intact. This āyah shows us that rubūbiyyah on its own is not enough to be Muslim. Tawḥīd is split into three categories: rubūbiyyah (believing Allāh is our Lord and Creator), ulūhiyyah (believing that Allāh is the only One deserving to be worshipped because he is our Lord and Creator – rubūbiyyah necessitates ulūhiyyah), and al-asmā’ wa’l-ṣifāt (Names and Attributes of Allāh – there is not anyone like Allāh in His Names and Attributes, they befit His Majesty). This āyah shows that only having rubūbiyyah is not enough for a person to be Muslim. His rubūbiyyah did not help him. He lacked in his ulūhiyyah. He did not have the worship of Allāh. This shows us that someone can believe that Allāh is their Rabb and Creator, but if they worship other than Allāh, then they can fall into kufr. Allāh answered the du‘ā’ of Iblīs, the worst of creation.

 

 

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Shayṭān divulges his plan  

[Iblīs] said, “My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all.” Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:39] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) kicks Iblīs out. Scholars disagree on where Iblīs was kicked out of. Many scholars say Iblīs was kicked out of the heavens, which is where the gathering of the angels was. Some say Iblīs was kicked out of Jannah where Ādam and Ḥawwa used to live. It seems that he was kicked out of the heavens and that this is the stronger opinion. Lesson: The more arrogant we are, the farther away we are from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Iblīs was initially brought to the gathering of the angels because he was pious and humble. Allāh specifically mentioned the arrogance. This is what led some scholars to say that no one in Jannah will be arrogant. When the arrogance is taken away from the person and the person is cleansed of it, then they will be allowed into Paradise. In Sūrat’l-Ḥijr, Allāh says, “Get out of it for you are expelled and upon you is the curse until the Day of when all judgment will take place.” Allāh is expelling Iblīs out of the heavens. Iblīs then makes a request to Allāh and says, “O my Lord, give me respite until the Day they are resurrected.” He is asking Allāh to allow him to live and not send him to the Hellfire right then. This shows us that even after disobeying Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and making kufr, he still felt confident enough to ask Allāh. One of the tricks of Shayṭān is to cause a person despair and to lose hope. The irony is that Iblīs himself makes du‘ā’ even though he was the most sinful. Iblīs says, “O my Lord…” He is acknowledging that Allāh is his Lord. One of the top goals of Iblīs is to get human beings to commit shirk or kufr. However, for himself, he still believed in Allāh. He recognizes that Allāh is his Lord and because of that He may answer his prayer. Allāh says, “I will let you live…” When people lose hope in the Mercy of Allāh, they should always remember that Allāh even answered the du‘ā’ of Iblīs. There is no reason why we should feel that Allāh will not answer our du‘ā’ no matter how many sins we commit or how far away from Allāh we get, we will never be as bad as Iblīs who stems all evil.

 

 

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After this, you would think that Iblīs would thank Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) that He allowed him to live. However, look at the amount of arrogance and the rebellious nature of Iblīs. He starts verbally attacking Ādam and the progeny of Ādam. He starts to tell Allāh of his plan.

[Shayṭān] said, “Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:16-17] “I swear by Your Honor that I will mislead all of them except for the few righteous servants sincere in their worship.” Iblīs says he will wait on the straight path. He says, “I swear by the error you have put me in…” Shayṭān is so arrogant that he does not take responsibility. Iblīs says that Allāh put him in a position he was not deserving of. Scholars of ‘aqīdah mention that Iblīs had a problem in his ‘aqīdah: he said “O Allāh, You have made me fall into error.” Allāh does not put anyone into misguidance. It is their own actions and deeds that leads them to disobedience. When a person is swarmed by bees, they are surrounded from every direction, and this is what Iblīs is doing. Why doesn’t Iblīs mention the top or the bottom? Iblīs tells Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) that he will come from the front and behind and right and left, which are directions which people are capable of anticipating. He will come to them from where they will anticipate him. Shayṭān is saying that we will see him coming and he will still get us to disobey Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Out of Iblīs’s arrogance, he is saying he will come to them from the directions they will anticipate. You will never imagine something coming from the top or bottom. Iblīs is saying that he will come to them from where they will anticipate him, and he will still be able to misguide them. This is how weak he views the children of Ādam out of his arrogance. Another interpretation: in du‘ā’, we turn to Allāh, and the waḥy comes to the top, and we make sajdah to Allāh. Some scholars said when we make du‘ā’ to Allāh, especially sajdah, then these are two directions by which the Shayṭān cannot misguide us.)

 

 

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“Even with that, you will find most of them are not thankful.” Even though we may see Iblīs coming or anticipate the attack, we won’t be thankful to Allāh. Ibn ʿAbbās in his tafsīr of this āyah says, “When Iblīs says he will come from the front, it means he will cause them to doubt the ākhirah (Hereafter). From the back means Shayṭān will cause them to have hope in the dunya. Iblīs coming from the right means he will cause people to have doubt about their dīn (religion). When Iblīs says he will come from the left, it means he will help or encourage the person to indulge in sins / make sins enticing to us.” The tafsīr of Ibn ʿAbbās goes back to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Ibn ʿAbbās said he went over the entire Qurʾān with the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and if he didn’t know about an āyah, he would ask about its revelation and meaning. Question: Why does Iblīs tell Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) of his plan? Answer: Iblīs knows that when Allāh makes a promise, then Allāh will not break His promise. This is how sure he is in the truthfulness of Allāh. Also, it is part of his arrogance that he lays out for mankind his plan and man still falls into it. Question: Why did Allāh allow Iblīs to boast and say all of this? Answer: 1) So that we are aware and can protect ourselves. Allāh knows what Iblīs is planning to do but allowed him to say this. It has been sent to us in the Qurʾān so that we take heed and are forewarned about the attacks of Shayṭān. Allāh allowed him to speak so we can protect ourselves. 2) Allāh allowed him to do this action so that he will be punished for it. He is increasing in his own punishment.

We have been warned…

Indeed, Shayṭān is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the Blaze. Sūrah Fāṭir [35:6] Allāh creates Ḥawwa and tells Ādam and Ḥawwa that they can live in Jannah and eat from whatever they like except from one tree.

 

 

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“O Ādam, dwell you and your wife in Paradise and eat from wherever you will. Do not approach or come close to this tree, for indeed you will become from amongst those who are wrongdoers.” Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:19]

So We said, “O Ādam, indeed this is an enemy to you and to your wife. Then let him not remove you from Paradise so you would suffer.” Sūrah Ṭā Ha [20:117] Allāh allowed them to eat from anything except one tree. Iblīs started to whisper to Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām). Iblīs still goes to Ādam and Ḥawwa and whispers to them. Scholars mentioned that this happened over a long period of time – we don’t know how long but it could even be thousands of years. Iblīs worked on Ādam and Hawa. He would come to them over and over again.

“He whispered to him, ‘O Ādam, should I not guide you to a tree of eternity and possession that will never go away?’” Sūrah Ṭā Ha [20:120] One of the tricks of Shayṭān is that he will make sins look good to you and give nice names to sins.

Scholars say that they didn’t fall into this trap until Iblīs swore by Allāh and said, “I swear by Allāh that I am a sincere advisor to you.” (Sūrat’l-A‘rāf, 7:21). Ibn Kathīr mentions that it was at this point that Ādam ate from the tree. After they ate from the tree, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) expelled them from Paradise. Question: A person may ask, “If Iblīs was expelled from Paradise, then how was he able to go and whisper to Ādam and Hawa?” Scholars give four explanations for this: 1) We don’t know that he couldn’t come back in even though he was kicked out. (from the Isrā’īliyyāt: he took the body of a snake that was allowed to enter)

 

 

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2) It wasn’t al-Jannah he was kicked out of, but he was kicked out of the gathering of the angels. It is possible that it was a different Jannah that he was kicked out of. 3) He wasn’t physically there but was able to whisper. He can whisper in our hearts. 4) Allāh didn’t allow Iblīs to reside in Paradise but allowed Iblīs to enter and leave Paradise as a test for Ādam and Hawa. Ādam and Ḥawwa sought forgiveness from Allāh but were no longer allowed to result in Paradise.

Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:27] There is a lesson from the story of Ādam and Hawa. Allāh addresses us. “O children of Ādam, do not let Shayṭān tempt you just as He removed your parents from Paradise.” We learn and take heed and know that Iblīs is our clear enemy.

Indeed Shayṭān is an enemy for you, so take him as your enemy. Sūrah Fāṭir [35:6]

Our Sworn Enemy Shayṭān is our enemy from the moment we are born until the day we die. From our birth…

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “When any human being is born, the Shayṭān pokes them at both sides of their body with his two fingers, except Jesus, the son of Mary, whom the Shayṭān tried to touch but failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead.” [al-Bukhāri]

 

 

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‘Īsa was an exception because of the du‘ā’ of the wife of ‘Imrān who said, “I have given her the name Maryam and I seek refuge in You for her and her family from al-Shayṭān’lrajīm.”

But when she delivered her, she said, “My Lord, I have delivered a female.” And Allāh was most knowing of what she delivered, “And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allāh ].” Sūrah Āle-‘Imrān [3:36] Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “When a child is born, they cry because of the poke of Iblīs.” We learn from this that this is one of the reasons why a child cries when he is born. Trivia: Was ʿĪsa (ʿalayhi’l-salām) the only Prophet saved from this poking? Al-Nawawi and others said the exception applies not only to ‘Īsa but to all of the prophets. Since the moment we are born, Iblīs is our enemy. If the parents are affected by Iblīs, then it will affect the children. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said every newborn child is born upon their fiṭrah and it is their parents who make them a Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian. …During our daily life…

 

 

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Shayṭān is ready to enter our body when we yawn Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: “When one of you yawns, you should try to restrain it for Shayṭān can enter your mouth when you yawn.” When you yawn, you should hold it back or cover your mouth.

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Shayṭān laughs at us In Bukhāri, Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said Allāh loves when a person sneezes. Allāh does not like it when a person yawns. When a person sneezes, they should praise Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and it is the right of every Muslim upon another Muslim that when they hear a Muslim sneeze, they say may Allāh have mercy on you. As for the yawning, it is from al-Shayṭān. Shayṭān laughs at the person when he hears a person making a sound while yawning. A person should try to restrain the yawn with the hand as much as they can. It is Sunnah to cover our mouth with our hand when we yawn so we protect from Shayṭān entering our body through our mouth. Ibn Hajar mentions that if the hand is not used, then use the arm. Yawning is contagious.

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Shayṭān urinates in our ear while we sleep Ibn Mas‘ūd narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri: A man slept until sunrise, and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “That is a man in whose ear Shayṭān had urinated.” In another narration: “in his two ears.”

 

 

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This applies to someone who doesn’t take any measures to wake up for fajr. Does this apply to someone who took all the means and measures but still didn’t wake up? There is ikhtilāf, but the opinion of the majority of scholars is that if you made the proper intention and did everything you could but were overtaken by sleep, then Shayṭān does not urinate in your ear. Note: no matter how late you sleep, always make the intention to wake up for fajr! If someone doesn’t set their alarm, then they are making the intention to miss fajr, which is a major sin. Always make the intention for goodness even if there is a good chance you will not do it. What does it mean that Shayṭān urinates in our ear? The jinn are in a different realm. We do not see them, feel them, or hear them. We may feel the effects of what they do. It doesn’t mean that those things are not happening. The point here is: how did you feel when you heard this ḥadīth? -

Shayṭān tries to eat with us Jābir (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Shayṭān tries to be present with you in everything you do. Even when a person eats their food, Shayṭān is present with them. If they drop a morsel of food on the floor, pick it up and remove anything harmful from it and eat it and not leave anything for Shayṭān to eat. One should lick their fingers because one does not know where he blessing lies.” Shayṭān eats from food and we should not allow him to eat from this food. For desis, it is very common that they fold the corner of the sajjādah after praying because they say Shayṭān will pray on it. Response: Shayṭān doesn’t pray. If that was the case, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would have informed us about it.

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Shayṭān tries to entice us while we are alone with the opposite gender This shows us that Shayṭān is always there with us. Ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Umar in Sunan al-Tirmidhi: “A man is not alone with a woman except that the third is alshayṭān.” This ḥadīth says “al-shayṭān,” meaning Iblīs. Note: the same thing applies to virtual gatherings and phone! Just because you are not physically together does not mean Shayṭān is not there in the gathering.

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Shayṭān tries to ruin our prayer In Bukhāri narrated by Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that when the call for prayer is announced, Shayṭān runs away passing wind.

 

 

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When the adhān is finished, the Shayṭān comes running back. When the iqāmah is made, Shayṭān runs away again. When the iqāmah is finished, Shayṭān comes back again and tries to whisper in their heart “do you remember this and that?” This shows us that as arrogant as Shayṭān is, Allāh debases him. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “If you forget what you did in your prayer, then perform two prostrations of forgetfulness after your prayer.” ‘Ā’ishah mentions in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri: “I asked the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) about a person who was praying and looking here and there. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘That is the theft that Shayṭān steals from your prayer.’” A person may ask: how does the Shayṭān do this? The default is that we cannot see the Shayṭān. This may be happening in their realm. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) informed us of this so that we don’t remain ignorant. Also, the scholars say that when we hear these aḥādīth, it should bring to mind a feeling of disgust. …Until our death When Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal was dying, his sons were telling him to say the shahādah (declaration of faith), but he kept saying, “no, no, no!” Afterwards, he regained his consciousness and they asked him, “Why were you saying no?” He said, “When you were telling me to say the shahādah, Shayṭān came to me and said, ‘You made it. You have beaten me, you have won, you are successful, don’t worry.’ I was saying, ‘no! not until I die.’” Even until the last moment of our existence, Shayṭān will try and come to deceive us. The playing ground for him is the last moments of a person’s life. It is very common for people on their deathbed singing a song. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A person’s whose last words are ‘la ilāha illa Allāh,’ he will enter Paradise.” Shayṭān will remind you of things you were used to. The scholars say those who spend their life repeating the shahādah, it will be easy for them to say it in their final moments. Iblīs worshipped Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) for thousands and thousands of years and was not tested in this time. When he was tested, he failed. This shows that what counts is what a person does when he is tested. The first test that came to Iblīs was the test of him feeling he was great. Upon receiving that test, he failed.

The difference between the enmity of mankind and the enmity of Shayṭān Ibn Kathīr said there are three places in the Qurʾān where we learn this lesson.

 

 

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When it comes to our enemies from mankind and enemies from Shayṭān, the scholars say that if you look in the Qurʾān, you will find three places where Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) clearly tells us the difference in how we act to our enemies from mankind and the enemies of Shayṭān.

Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant. And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Shayṭān, then seek refuge in Allāh. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:199-200] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is telling us how to behave with those people who do not behave well with us or those who are ignorant / foolish or act means towards us. Allāh says to show forgiveness and show what is good and turn away from what is foolish. When it comes to Iblīs, he is so dangerous that we seek refuge in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). “Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant” This is our approach to those who show animosity towards us. Show forgiveness when someone is mean to us. We also clarify that which is right. We forgive people for their mistakes and behaving in a wrong way. We still clarify and show them that which is good. This commanding of goodness may be through our tongues, actions, or behavior. When there is no reasoning with them, then turn away from them. This is the last resort. “And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Shayṭān, then seek refuge in Allāh. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing.”

There is no reasoning with Shayṭān. We don’t make da‘wah to Shayṭān or du‘ā’ for Shayṭān. Our first line of defense against Shayṭān is seeking refuge in Allāh from him.

 

 

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Repel, by [means of] what is best, [their] evil. We are most knowing of what they describe. And say, “My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils.” Sūrat’l-Mu’minūn [23:96-97] As a Muslim, your responsibility when someone comes to you with evil is to repel it with goodness. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is saying that when evil comes to you from mankind (i.e. talks to you in a bad way, shows animosity), then repel it with that which is better. Take the higher road. Then Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says to say, “My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the whisperings of the devils.” In the first āyah, Allāh tells us to repel evil with that which is better. If some whisperings come to you from the shayāṭīn, then seek refuge in Allāh. The approach toward the shayāṭīn and Iblīs is to seek refuge in Allāh.

And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better, and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend. But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion [of good]. And if there comes to you from Shayṭān an evil suggestion, then seek refuge in Allāh. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing. Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [41:34-36] Allāh is saying that when someone comes to you and has a bad approach towards you or shows animosity towards you, then repel it with something that is better. We don’t drop down to their level. We have better character and better behavior. When you do that, instead of this person becoming your enemy, they will become your devoted friend. Someone may start off hating you, but if you have good character towards them, then this person can become your good friend. In the next āyah, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says no one is granted the quality of being your close friend except those who are patient. The “great portion” that we will be granted is not only happiness in the dunya but also happiness in the ākhirah.

 

 

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With people, we are patient and repel evil with that which is good. We do this in the hope that this is da‘wah for them and that they may become our friend. With shayṭān, we are never patient. We only seek refuge in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) from Iblīs. In these three places in the Qurʾān, we see the contrast in how we behave with shayāṭīn and our enemies. It is possible that our enemies in the dunya could become our close friends, but the Shayṭān will never become our friend. We also learn from these āyāt the importance of saying a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-Shayṭān’lrajīm. Most people find it difficult to get up for fajr. One of the most powerful things you can do to fight the influence of Shayṭān at fajr time is saying a‘ūdhu billāhi min alShayṭān’l-rajīm.

Wisdom behind the Creation of the Shayṭān People often ask: why would Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) create a being like Iblīs whose sole job is to destroy us? Here are some reasons. 1. Struggling against the Shayṭān helps one improve their relationship with Allāh. Struggling against Shayṭān involves things like seeking refuge in Allāh, which is an act of worship. We are rewarded for saying the isti‘ādhah, and every act of worship brings us closer to Allāh. Tawakkul brings us closer to Allāh. Loving Allāh brings us closer to Allāh. If you fail a battle against Shayṭān, you seek Allāh’s forgiveness and make tawbah and come closer to Allāh. 2. The effects of fighting against Shayṭān and his supporters leads to the perfection of worship Look at any aspect of our worship: reliance on Allāh, trust in Allāh. We get to perfect these acts of worship as we take Shayṭān as an enemy. Your tawakkul in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) should go up. 3. Due to the existence of Shayṭān, the slaves of Allāh become fearful of their sins Iblīs committed a sin and will be punished in the Hellfire. We become fearful for ourselves as well. We realize from the story of Iblīs that he went from the highest rank to the lowest rank. No matter how knowledgeable you are, you should never feel that you are good to go. Imam Aḥmad did not feel safe from falling into evil even until his very last breath. 4. Allāh has made him a lesson for those who reflect. When one reflects, there are many lessons in the story of Shayṭān.

 

 

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The more you think about the story of Iblīs, you think and ponder and reflect on the Qurʾān more and more. - When Allāh commands us to do something, we may not understand it but it is for our own benefit and from our submission to Allāh that we carry out those deeds. - Iblīs worshipped Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) for thousands of years, and we worship Allāh for one night and think we are amazing. Never feel that you are safe. This is one of the traps of Shayṭān. - Be fearful of your sins and never take them lightly. It was a single sin that led Iblīs to kufr. 5. Allāh has made Shayṭān a test and trial for His slaves Allāh decreed that He will test mankind through Iblīs: the whisperings of Iblīs, his methods of deception. Allāh uses Shayṭān to test us. Allāh gave him life so that he may test us. 6. The creation of Shayṭān shows us the complete ability of Allāh to create opposites Scholars say that opposites show the virtues of the opposite. Just as Allāh created the likes of Jibrīl who is a pure being and an angel who never disobeys Allāh and just as Allāh created the prophets who are the best of mankind, likewise Allāh created an opposite to them who is Iblīs. The salaf would say, “O Allāh, we are thankful that you allowed us to accept Islam.” Our greatest blessing is guidance and Islam. 7. Opposites show the virtues of their opposites Example: someone who lives in California and has 70 degree weather all year round may not be grateful for what they have until they see the opposite. 8. Trials are a means to the actualization of thankfulness When a person is tried, they need to understand they need to be thankful for Allāh. A person in a trial may become more aware of Allāh and more thankful. If you want to meet someone who understands the blessings of health, then meet someone who is sick or has a terminal illness. 9. In the creation of Shayṭān rests many aspects of worship Patience with the decree of Allāh, reliance on Allāh and trust in Allāh come about from the creation of Shayṭān.

 

 

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10. The creation of Shayṭān makes Allāh’s signs clear Allāh sent the prophets as the enemies of Iblīs and his followers. Through the prophets, Allāh sent down many signs. The miracles of the prophets were to help us recognize truth from falsehood. 11. The creation of Shayṭān from fire is a sign in itself A person Allāh has created in a particular way may be capable of the opposite. For example, Allāh may have created someone who is obedient but they are capable of changing to the opposite. For example, fire has the ability to provide us with warmth and light and cook food for us. This shows us that people may seem to be of a certain nature but may be able to fall on either side of good and evil. 12. The creation of Shayṭān makes apparent the meaning of many of Allāh’s Names Sometimes we need to be put through tests and trials to put our trust in Allāh and realize His Names. Allāh is capable over all things. A person who is not going through a trial may read it and say that’s great. On the other hand, someone may be going through a serious trial and say “Allāhu kulli shay’in qadīr” and say that Allāh is All-Powerful and put their trust in Allāh and recognize the Names and Attributes of Allāh. 13. The creation of Shayṭān makes apparent Allāh’s complete control over the affairs of this creation Allāh has decreed that Iblīs be created and his followers be sent to the Hellfire. Allāh has decreed that those who work against Iblīs will go to heaven. 14. Shayṭān’s existence stems from the completeness of Allāh’s Wisdom Some things may seem evil or bad to us, and when we ponder it, we realize Allāh has a Wisdom in everything He created. In the creation of Iblīs there is goodness for us (i.e. all of these points mentioned).

15. By creating the Shayṭān, Allāh shows us His Patience We see Allāh’s Patience through the creation of Iblīs. Iblīs disobeyed Allāh by not falling into sajdah and then asked Allāh to give him respite. Allāh gave it to Him, and then he disobeyed Allāh again and said he would mislead mankind. Allāh still kept His Promise.

 

 

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Shayṭān disobeyed Allāh and became arrogant. When Allāh answered his du‘ā’, instead of being grateful, he said he would mislead people. This doesn’t make a difference to Allāh because of His Greatness. Because of Iblīs, many people will disobey Allāh, but it doesn’t bother Allāh. Bukhāri and Muslim: ‘Abdullāh b. Qays narrated that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “There is no one who is more patient or forbearing upon something they hear than Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). There are people who associate partners with Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and those who attribute a son to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Even though they commit shirk with Allāh and associate partners with Allāh, Allāh continues to give them sustenance, grant them safety, and give them many things.” People continually disobey Allāh and Allāh continues to give them. This is why you may find someone in the depths of kufr and uses their blessings to disobey Allāh but Allāh may continue to give to them. Worshipping other than Allāh is the greatest form of ẓulm. We cannot imagine the patience befitting the Majesty of Allāh who is Al-Ṣabūr. 16. Many of Allāh’s signs are shown to us because of the existence of the Shayṭān. Some signs that came about because of the existence of Shayṭān: - The coming of the prophets were signs for us. If Iblīs didn’t exist, people would not be on this type of misguidance. - The Qurʾān is a living sign we have until the Day of Judgment. It came about because we need guidance to defend ourselves against Shayṭān. 17. Having Shayṭān in existence leads to the love of Allāh The more we hate Iblīs and fight him, the more our love for Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) will grow. 18. Allāh loves to be the Protector and the Refuge for His servants Allāh loves it when we say “a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-Shayṭān’l-rajīm.” We are told over and over again in the Qurʾān to seek refuge in Allāh from the Shayṭān. This goes back to perfecting our worship of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Scholars have mentioned up to 100 different wisdoms of why Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) created Iblīs. Why was Shayṭān given respite until the Day of Resurrection? •

Allāh left him to be a trial for the servants

 

 

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Allāh intended to test and try mankind, and this is one reason why Allāh answered the du‘ā’ of Iblīs. It would be unfair to the children of Ādam if the beginning were tested and the end were not tested. Out of Allāh’s Wisdom and Justice, everyone has to face the test of Iblīs. •

Allāh gave Shayṭān respite as a reward for his previous deeds In the ākhirah, there is nothing but punishment for Iblīs. However, we know that for thousands of years, Iblīs was obedient to Allāh. Scholars say that it may be in order to reward him for this and that while mankind is in existence, he will let him live as reward for his previous deeds.

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Shayṭān is left to increase in his sins Every single moment that Iblīs is ‘Alive is a moment he will have to answer for and be punished for. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A person who starts a good action will have the reward of everyone who follows them in that good action. The one who starts something bad will have the weight of that sin and will have the weight of the sin of every single person who follows them until the Day of Judgment.” This is why Iblīs has the worst punishment in the ākhirah. Iblīs encourages people to sin and disobey Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

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Shayṭān has been left to be the patron and ally of the evildoers If the evildoers had him as a patron and ally in the beginning of time, then it is not fair that they would not have him now. The test continues in a similar manner which is why Allāh allowed him to live until the Day of Judgment. The prophets were sent to fight against Shayṭān; however, the prophets die. Why did Allāh give Iblīs life until the Day of Judgment but not allow the prophets to live until the Day of Judgment as well? The message of the prophets exists. Allāh sent the Dhikr (remembrance, guidance) and protects it. The Qurʾān is protected until the Day of Judgment.

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The proof of Allāh’s existence and the existence of Iblīs It increases our devotion to Allāh.

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Many of the signs of the Day of Judgment involve Iblīs For example, some of the minor signs include that women will be naked but clothed. Scholars interpret this in two ways: 1) they will wear clothing where their skin is covered but it is so tight that it is as if they are naked or 2) they will be wearing

 

 

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such little clothing that technically they are wearing “clothing” but it covers almost nothing. Iblīs helps people call this “freedom of women.” Also, one of the signs of the Day of Judgment is that fornication will become widespread. Shayṭān has a hand in this as well. •

It gives everyone in creation the opportunity to fight against Iblīs.

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We have a chance to reach excellence. The companions were with the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and we have not seen him, but we still have this firm faith. Allāh is giving us a chance to have a high level.

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We are all given the ability to refute the claims of Iblīs. Everyone has their own personal battle and win.

Why didn’t Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) allow the prophets to live until the Day of Judgment as well? It is not the nature of mankind to live forever. The prophets suffered a lot and gave up a lot for the sake of Allāh and Allāh didn’t want to continue to test them. It doesn’t mean that guidance isn’t there. Just as Allāh allowed Iblīs to live, Allāh allows guidance to remain until the Day of Judgment. The Qurʾān will be preserved until the Day of Judgment. What will Shayṭān’s fate be? The Shayṭān will have the worst of punishments. After the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) came, he gets a portion of the reward of every single good deed on earth because he brought us the guidance from Allāh. Iblīs is the opposite – from the creation of Ādam, the sin of every single disobedience goes back to him.

[Allāh] said, “Get out of Paradise, reproached and expelled. Whoever follows you among them - I will surely fill Hell with you, all together.” Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:18] The most rewarded person on the Day of Judgment will be the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Every single good deed from his time on goes back to him. For every single bad deed, the punishment goes back to Iblīs.

 

 

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Chapter 3 | Physical Description and Abilities of Shayṭān Most people tend to think of Iblīs as being red with a tail and horns because of the Christian and Jewish traditions, which depict angels and devils.

Can Shayṭān be seen? Because Iblīs is from the jinn, he cannot be seen.

Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:27] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says, “He most certainly sees you, him and his tribe, from where you do not see them.” This means that Allāh has given the jinn the ability to see us, and we have not been given the ability to see the jinn. It makes sense that because Iblīs was from the jinn, we cannot see him. Scholars differed over to what extent can we not see the jinn or the Shayṭān. Does this mean that in most cases we cannot see him or we can never see him? There are two different aspects: 1) The Iblīs and jinn in their original form Most scholars say that they cannot be seen except by the prophets. Some scholars said that this may apply to the righteous people as well; however, the majority of scholars say it is something specific to the prophets. The minority opinion is that they can be seen by the prophets and the ṣāliḥūn. 2) The shayāṭīn and Iblīs and jinn in a different form (form of man or animal, etc.) Jinn may make themselves visible to other people. According to the law of the jinn, they are not supposed to do that. In general, someone who is doing that is not doing something which is good. They may be sinful when taking on a different form. The aṣl is that they cannot be seen by mankind. However, we know that certain animals may be able to see the jinn in their original form. Did you know? Donkeys and dogs can see Shayṭān and the jinn

 

 

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Ḥadīth of Jābir: “When you hear the barking of dogs and the braying of donkeys at night, seek refuge in Allāh, for they see that which you do not see.” [Abu Dāwūd] Is the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saying they see the jinn in the original form or different form? This ḥadīth is referring to donkeys and dogs being able to see the jinn in their original form.

What does Shayṭān look like? In Christianity, they depict angels and prophets. In Islam, we don’t depict these. From their tradition, they depict Shayṭān with wings and a tail. The reality is that we know very little about how Iblīs looks. We know that Iblīs is very ugly and extremely hideous in his original form. In Sūrat’l-Ṣaffāt, Allāh talks about the heads of the devils and the tree of zaqqūm which is found in the Hellfire.

Is Paradise a better accommodation or the tree of zaqqūm? Indeed, We have made it a torment for the wrongdoers. Indeed, it is a tree issuing from the bottom of the Hellfire, Its emerging fruit as if it was heads of the devils. Sūrat’l-Ṣaffāt [37:62-65] The tree of zaqqūm is extremely hideous and the worst thing that someone can eat. Some scholars said it will make a person’s insides boil when they eat from this tree. Allāh said the fruits of this tree are like the heads of the shayāṭīn. We know that the shayāṭīn are very ugly and Iblīs is very ugly.

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Scholars say Allāh chose to describe the fruit in this way because it is the ugliest description possible. The ḥikmah of Allāh concealing Iblīs from us is that if we were to see him, we wouldn’t be able to function or sleep at night. Some scholars have drawn the analogy to say that one of the things that makes Iblīs so ugly is that he continues to sin and disobey Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Sometimes you may be able to see the ugliness of sins upon a person. Scholars of the past and early generations would say that at times you can witness obedience upon someone (i.e. nūr on someone’s face) or disobedience upon someone. Taqwa recognizes other taqwa. A person whose heart is pure is more likely to recognize purity. A trick of Shayṭān is to make things seem beautiful to you. Stand-up comedy is filthy and the more you listen to it, the more normal it becomes. They may say the nastiest thing and someone doesn’t even cringe. We can all fall prey to this. Apart from Iblīs being ugly, we don’t know much else. The scholars mention that the Ḥikmah of Allāh in keeping Iblīs hidden from us is that if we were to see Iblīs, then we may not be able to sleep at night because he is so ugly. Mankind may not be able to function. Allāh doesn’t want us to have that type of test or trial. Iblīs is the absolute extreme of ugliness. The Two Horns of Shayṭān There are a few authentic aḥādīth in which we hear of the horns of Shayṭān.

Ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not intend to observe prayer at the time of the rising of the sun nor at its setting, for it rises between the horns of Shayṭān.” [Muslim] Most translations say “the two horns of Shayṭān.” Scholars differ on if this means the two horns of Shayṭān or the two sides of Shayṭān. Qarn is the end or beginning of something, which is why a generation is called qarn. The stronger opinion seems to be that it refers to the two sides of the head of Shayṭān. Imam al-Nawawi was of this opinion as well. A minority of scholars said that Iblīs has horns. However, if you look into the text of the ḥadīth, it is not talking about the actual horns. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) doesn’t want us to make sajdah during that time. In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) clarifies and added: “It is

 

 

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at that time (rising and setting of the sun) in which the kuffār make sajdah to it.” Scholars say that what is meant here is that is a time when either Shayṭān or other than Allāh are worshipped. In the Arabic of the ḥadīth, it says “shayṭān” and not “al-shayṭān.” There is another narration of this ḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and an addition in which the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “It is at that time the disbelievers make sajdah.” The scholars said this is a time when the disbelievers get involved in their worship. The disbelievers who worship the sun are known to worship it at that time. Therefore, our act of worship is not at the same time so as not to be confused with theirs. Shayṭān likes for people to worship other than Allāh. When a person is making sajdah at that time, shayṭān feels good about himself and feels that people are making sajdah to him. The intended meaning is the two sides of a shayṭān’s head. It is a time when people disobey Allāh and worship other than Allāh. Note: the scholars of the past did not give this issue much importance. The purpose of this ḥadīth is not to tell us that the Shayṭān has two horns. The point is that we should not be praying to Allāh at that time. Does shayṭān have two horns? Allāhu a‘lam. It is possible, but we don’t know.

The Abilities of Shayṭān His ability to see us This means we should be even more diligent in seeking protection from him. There are du‘ā’s for entering the house, entering the bathroom, leaving the house, etc. We protect ourselves twenty-four hours a day.

Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:27] Shayṭān, Iblīs and the jinn as a whole have the ability to see us. The scholars mentions that this is a very dangerous trait. It is even worse because we cannot see them. 1) Allāh has given Shayṭān the ability to see mankind, without them being able to see him. 2) It’s a dangerous ability • He is able to monitor and observe us

 

 

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• He is able to learn from us • He constantly follows us, 24 hours a day! 3) We cannot win unless you seek the help of the One who is more powerful than Shayṭān. His ability to take physical form Abu Hurayrah (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) narrates: “The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) put me in charge of guarding the charity of Ramaḍān. Someone came to me and started grabbing handfuls of the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).’ He said, ‘I will teach you some words by means of which Allāh will benefit you.’ I said, ‘What are they?’ He said, ‘When you go to your bed, recite āyat’l-kursi Allāh will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no shayṭān will come near you until morning.’ The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked me, ‘What did your prisoner do last night?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, he taught me something and claimed that Allāh would benefit me by it.’ He said, ‘What was it?’ I said, ‘He taught me to recite āyat’l-kursi when I go to bed and said that no shayṭān would come near me until morning and that Allāh would appoint a guard for me who would stay with me.’ The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘He told you the truth, although he is an inveterate liar. That was a shayṭān.’” From this narration, we learn the following: - The shayāṭīn can take human form - The general habit of the shayāṭīn is that they will lie; however, it is possible that truth may come out but we don’t have the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to tell us the difference between a truth and a lie. - Āyat’l-kursi is a protection from us at night time if we recite it then. - The shayāṭīn may be seen in a human form. There is a story from the sīrah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), which shows us that Iblīs was attacking from the very beginning of Islam. When the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was in Makkah and the da‘wah began to spread, the leaders got together in dār’l-Nadwa. They were trying to figure out what to do with the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). The narrator says when they were about to close the door of the secret gathering, an old man stuck his hand in the door and asked if they would allow him in. They did. One man said they should chain up the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). The old man said, “This is not the right thing to do because then most certainly he would get stronger and his followers would get stronger.” Another said they should expel him from Makkah. The old man spoke up again and said, “This is not the correct opinion. If you expel him, he may leave Makkah and gain more followers and get strong and come back and take over Makkah.” One person said, “We should kill him. Not only should we kill him, but we should kill him in a way that no one can be blamed by getting one person from each tribe and having them kill him

 

 

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together.” The old man said, “This is the correct opinion.” This old man was Iblīs. Jibrīl went to warn the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and he was able to escape. Sometimes shayāṭīn take human form to deceive mankind and get them involved in more shirk. If you go to places with tombs and shrines, we may hear crazy things happen. Sometimes the shayāṭīn will pretend to be awliyā’ and speak. An ignorant person doesn’t know that making du‘ā’ to other than Allāh is shirk. They start making du‘ā’ at his gravesite and hear a voice coming from inside. They want to increase the people in their shirk. The shayāṭīn and jinn can take on the form of animals. In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Abu Dharr narrated that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “When a person is praying, he should place something in front of him. If a black dog walks in front of him, it breaks his prayer.” Abu Dharr asked why a black dog, and the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A black dog is a shayṭān.” The shayāṭīn tend to take on the form of black dogs. The jinn and the shayāṭīn can take on the form of snakes. Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri narrated in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: “I heard the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) say that in Madīnah there is a group of jinn who became Muslim. Give them a warning three times. If they appear after that, then kill it; it is a shayṭān.” The snake may be a jinn who has become Muslim and doesn’t know they aren’t supposed to be doing this, so you warn it three times. Does this mean that all snakes are shayāṭīn? No. Is this ḥadīth specific to Madīnah at that time or also apply to us? The scholars differed over this issue. The stronger opinion is that this ḥadīth is specific to that time and that place (note: less scholars say this, but Shaykh Saad holds this opinion). If we see a snake in our house, we don’t have to warn it three times and can take it outside or kill it if we fear it may bite us. Allāh knows best. Shaykh Saad does hold the opinion that we should still warn the snake three times to just be on the safe side. This would take yourself out of the khilāf, and you are covered either way. His ability to flow within mankind

“Shayṭān flows through man as blood flows [through veins], and I was afraid that Shayṭān might bring an evil thought (or something) into your hearts.” [al-Bukhāri, Muslim]

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Ṣafiyyah visited the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) while making i‘tikāf and asked him to walk her home. As he was walking her home at night, there were two anṣāri men who saw them and he (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Don’t rush! This is Ṣafiyyah bint Hiyyah.” The two men said, “SubḥānAllāh, ya Rasūlullāh! We would never expect you to be with a woman you are not related to.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Most certainly the Shayṭān flows in man as blood flows through veins. I feared that Shayṭān may throw something into your hearts. It is possible someone doesn’t have a bad intention but Shayṭān whispers something into their heart.” If you are in a position where you know you can clarify a situation and people will listen to you, then you should do so because that is what the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did. Does this mean Shayṭān literally flows through our veins or is it metaphorical? This question is wrong to begin with. When we hear a ḥadīth or āyah, we take it literally unless we learn otherwise. If you take the opinion that the jinn and angels are spirits, it makes no difference. This ḥadīth shows that Shayṭān is able to influence us easily because he flows in our bodies. Where does Shayṭān reside?

Ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “When one of you wakes up from your sleep and performs ablution, you must clean your nose three times, for the Shayṭān spends the night in the interior of his nose.” [Muslim] Rule: we take every ḥadīth literally unless we have a proof to understand it otherwise. Shayṭān is one being, so how does he spend the night in the nose of everyone? Allāhu a‘lam. As long as there is an authentic ḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saying it happens, then it does. This is not an issue of it being literal or metaphorical. Scholars mention that this doesn’t happen always and the exception to the rule is that if for example a person recited āyat’l-kursi, he will be saved from this type of thing.

 

 

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Shayṭān’s Throne

Ḥadīth of Jābir b. ‘Abdullāh in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: “Iblīs places his throne upon water; he then sends detachments (for creating dissension); those who are nearer to him in rank are the ones who are most notorious in creating dissension. One of them comes and says, ‘I did such-and-such.’ And [Iblīs] he says, ‘You have done nothing.’ Then one amongst them comes and says, ‘I did not leave so-and-so until I caused dissension between him and his wife. Iblīs then comes close to him and says ‘Yes, you [have done well]!’” Al-A‘mash added, “He then embraces him.” From this, we learn: - Iblīs has a throne. Out of Iblīs’s arrogance, he wants to imitate Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) has a Throne that is upon water, which we learn in Sūrah Hūd v. 7. Iblīs also places his throne upon water. Ibn Ṣayyād is mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and come across a man by the name of Ibn Ṣayyād . The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says to him, “Do you testify that I am the Messenger of Allāh?” He says, “I testify that I am the messenger of Allāh. I testify in my belief in Allāh, the angels, and His Books.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says, “What do you see?” He says, “I see a throne upon water.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says, “You see the throne of Iblīs upon water.” To Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, he (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says, “Leave this man, indeed Iblīs has deceived him / caused him confusion.” Some of the companions thought Ibn Ṣayyād was the Dajjāl. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) informed them that the time of the Dajjāl had not come yet. In another narration, it mentions that Iblīs places his throne above the ocean.

 

 

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This leads people to ask which ocean. What is the point of all of this information? How does this knowledge benefit you in your dunya or ākhirah? It doesn’t! One of the goals of Shayṭān is to get us involved in mubāḥ (permissible) matters but keep us away from matters which are better. One of the tricks of Shayṭān is to make us spend time doing things of no benefit to us instead of worshipping Allāh. -

Dissension is one of the major goals of Shayṭān, and specifically amongst married couples. When people love one another for the sake of Allāh, Shayṭān will always attack their relationship. For example, spouses got married for the right reasons and their relationship is based on taqwa, but Shayṭān will always attack their marriage. The aṣl when it comes to divorce is that we are cautious that shayṭān is not playing. The scholars mention that the more you love someone, the more Shayṭān tries to cause dissension between the two of you. One of the main problems we have is dissension. Shayṭān has given up hope that the muṣallūn (someone who is regular in prayer) will worship him, so he resorts to causing dissension amongst them, which is why one of the biggest problems in masājid today is dissension. Shayṭān will often try to cause disagreement and dissension among couples. Take advantage of saying the isti’ādhah. Sometimes that is all it takes to calm down. This is a cure for anger as well. Never feel that your relationship is safe. Always be vigilant of Shayṭān. If you are vigilant, then you can protect yourself and anticipate problems.

Where do the shayāṭīn sit and gather? The shayāṭīn may inhabit the same places where humans inhabit. They may be in such places abandoned by mankind or they may gather in places that are impure, whether physical (i.e. bathrooms) or where Allāh is being disobeyed. A place of sin is more likely to be a place of shayāṭīn. In places like that, sins become rampant and one sin leads to another sin and another sin. For example, in a club, there is alcohol, immodesty, zina, etc. Some scholars also mention the marketplace. Side Note: Going to a restaurant that sells sheesha to eat should be avoided as much as you can because it is places like that where sins are taking place that the shayāṭīn tend to be. The shayāṭīn spread out in the early portion of nightfall. In Bukhāri and Muslim, Jābir b. ‘Abdullāh mentions the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “When it is the beginning of the night, keep your children close to you because it is when the shayāṭīn spread out. When an hour of the night has passed, then you may let them out. Close the

 

 

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doors and mention the Name of Allāh so that the shayṭān will not open a door like that.” This shows us the blessings of mentioning the Name of Allāh when entering or leaving the house. We don’t want the shayāṭīn or the Shayṭān to enter the house. Remember the Name of Allāh when entering or leaving the house. What is the ruling of sitting between shade and sunlight? Some scholars said it is makrūh and disliked to do this. However, this is based on a very, very weak ḥadīth. Therefore, there is no basis for it even though some scholars say it is better to be on the safe side. However, since we have no authentic ḥadīth to prove it to us, then it goes back to the aṣl and the default of actions which are not worship is that it is allowed for us to do it. And Allāh knows best. Does Shayṭān have power over us? Should we be afraid of Shayṭān?

Indeed, there is for him no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord. Sūrat’l-Anfāl [16:99]

Indeed, over My [believing] servants there is for you no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs. Sūrat’l-Isrā’ [17:65]

[Iblīs] said, “My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all except, among them, Your chosen servants.” Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:39-40] •

He has no power over the pious

 

 

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When a person is afflicted by magic or possessed, one thing the scholars always ask is: “Are you obedient to Allāh? Are you praying your five daily prayers? Have you left the door open to Shayṭān?”

“Those who believe, they struggle in the cause of Allāh. Those who disbelieve fight in the cause of al-ṭāghūt. So fight against the allies of Shayṭān. Indeed, the plot of al-Shayṭān has ever been weak.” Sūrat’l-Nisā’ [4:76] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says, “The plots of Shayṭān are weak.” The mufasirūn say that this āyah is for those who do not take Shayṭān as an ally and for those who have taqwa and take the protection of Allāh. The plots are only weak if you arm yourself with the knowledge of how to protect yourself.

[Iblīs] said, “My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all except, among them, Your chosen servants.” Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:39-40] Iblīs himself admitted he has no power over the pious. In Sūrat’l-Ḥijr v. 39-40: Allāh says that Iblīs says, “I swear by the error that You have put me in. I will beautify for them their good deeds. I will mislead all of them except those of Your servants who are pure in their intentions. Those I cannot mess with.” •

The only thing that gives Shayṭān power over us is our sins When Iblīs succeeds against us, it is only because we have allowed him to succeed. Surat’l-Nahl v. 100: Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says, “His (Iblīs’s) authority is only over those who take him as an ally and associate partners with Allāh.”

 

 

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Indeed, My servants - no authority will you have over them, except those who follow you of the deviators. Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:42] Ḥadīth in al-Tirmidhi: “Indeed Allāh is with the judge as long as this judge is not unjust. As soon as this judge becomes unjust / unfair, then Allāh leaves this judge and the Shayṭān begins to accompany him.” As we commit more sins, the Shayṭān may begin to accompany us. From this ḥadīth, we learn that we take the first step: we allow Shayṭān in from our sins and then he takes over. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is saying that we allow Shayṭān to influence us through our sins. If we worship Allāh and have our guard up, then we protect ourselves. Lesson: We protect ourselves against Iblīs through our piety and worship of Allāh. The only thing that gives Shayṭān power over us is our sins. When we allow Shayṭān to influence us, he will. Can Shayṭān become afraid of you? Yes! An example of this is ‘Umar (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu). The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told us in a ḥadīth in al-Tirmidhi: “Most certainly the Shayṭān is afraid of you, ya ‘Umar.” ‘Abdullāh b. Buraydah narrates: “The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) had returned from one of his journeys from battle. When he returned, a young girl came to him and said, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, I took a vow that if Allāh returned you to us safely, I would sing and play the duff for you.’ The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘If you have made this oath, then go ahead and do so.’ She sang and played the duff for the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). In the meantime, Abu Bakr walked in and she continued. ‘Uthmān walked in and she continued. ‘Ali walked in and she continued to play the duff. ‘Umar walked in, and she hides the duff underneath her. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) laughed and said, ‘Ya Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, even the Shayṭān is afraid of you.’” [Note: this is used as an evidence to show that it is permissible for men to listen to and play the duff] In the ḥadīth of Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqāṣ in Bukhāri, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “I swear by the One whose soul my hand is in, if he falls on your path, then he takes a different path from the one you are on.” Ḥadīth of ‘Ā’ishah in al-Tirmidhi: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Indeed most certainly I can see the shayāṭīn

 

 

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from mankind and jinn. Most certainly I see them running away from you, ya ‘Umar.” The prophets are able to see the jinn in their original form. This shows us that we can make Iblīs scared and the shayāṭīn scared through our piety and firm faith and obedience to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). There is no reason for us to be afraid of Iblīs. Instead, we should just be aware. We need to stop blaming Shayṭān for our sins. We have nothing to fear when it comes to Iblīs and shayṭān as long as we are protecting ourselves with piety and the obedience of Allāh. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not revile Shayṭān or badmouth / curse Shayṭān, rather, seek refuge in Allāh from his evil.” Spend your time in protecting yourself from the plots of Shayṭān. Can we blame Shayṭān for our sins? Who is responsible for our sins? Shayṭān will say not to blame him but to blame yourself on the Day of Judgment.

Indeed, there is for him no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord. Sūrat’l-Naḥl [16:99] The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not revile Shayṭān, rather seek refuge in Allāh from his evil.” [Narrated Abu Ṭāhir al-Mukhalliṣ in al-Fawā’id] Whenever people do something bad, they have the habit of cursing shayṭān and don’t take responsibility for their sins. Instead of reviling shayṭān, seek refuge in Allāh from shayṭān. Some scholars from this ḥadīth say to not send the curse of Allāh upon shayṭān (they say that only Allāh is allowed to curse shayṭān); however, the stronger opinion is that it is permissible.

The difference between the whispering of Shayṭān and our self (nafs) Three types of nafs: 1) The soul which encourages evil

 

 

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And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul/self is a persistent enjoiner of evil [inclined to evil], except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful. Sūrah Yūsuf [12:53] The wife of al-Azīz tried to commit zina with Yūsuf, and she initially put the blame on him and said he tried to commit zina with her. The matter later became clear, and she admits her fault. She is saying that it is her nafs who commanded her to do this sin. There is a part of our self that may encourage us to do a sin. Or our nafs may be in a state encouraging us. This type of nafs encourages us to give in to our desires. It says to eat, drink, and merry, for tomorrow you will die.

And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:179] Surat’l-A’raf v. 179: “These people have hearts by which they do not understand and eyes by which they do not see and they have ears by which they do not hear. These people are like the cattle.” 2) Self-reproaching soul

And I swear by the self-reproaching soul. Sūrat’l-Qiyāmah [75:2] This is the part of our self which feels bad about committing sins. It reminds us that sins are not right. Scholars relate this to the regret a person feels after committing a sin.

 

 

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This can happen before or after a sin is committed. If it happens before, then the person has the intention or thought to intend a sin. It can happen after a sin and a person feels bad and makes tawbah to Allāh. The self-reproaching soul can be referred to as guilt as well. There are two types of guilt: 1) Positive / good This is when you commit a sin and feel bad and it leads you to tawbah. This falls into nafs’l-lawwāmah. 2) Negative / bad This is when you feel so bad and say there is no hope for yourself. You give up and continue in your sin. This type of guilt falls in this category of al-nafs’llawwāmmah bi’l-su.

3) Satisfied soul

[To the righteous it will be said], “O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], and enter among My [righteous] servants and enter My Paradise.” Sūrat’l-Fajr [89:27-30] This is the highest level of the self. This is the type of soul that will lead a person to Paradise.

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allāh. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allāh hearts are assured." Sūrat’l-Ra‘d [13:28]

 

 

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Our nafs at any given moment can fall into any one of these categories. You are not in just one category. We can be anywhere between the lowest and highest level. In Sūrat’lRa‘d v. 11: Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says, “Allāh will not change the state of a group of people until they change what is in their selves.” This means that we have the ability to change our nafs.

For each one are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allāh intends for a people ill, there is no repelling it. And there is not for them besides Him any patron. Sūrat’l-Ra‘d [13:11] Waswās – Whisperings In Arabic, wiswās (pl. wasāwis) literally means to a beatified and faint vocal sound. This can be heard either by the ears or the heart. Waswās has a negative connotation. Waswās is also referred to waswasa. The plural is wasāwis. Another word that is used with a similar meaning is the hams, which is a whispering as well, but this is more of a positive thing, and waswās is a negative type of whispering. These are negative images that come into one’s heart. Whispering come from 3 sources: 1) The self that commands us to evil This is the self which encourages evil.

And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein. Sūrah Qāf [50:16]

 

 

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“Allāh forgives my followers those (evil deeds) their souls may whisper or suggest to them as long as they do not act (on it) or speak.” [al-Bukhāri] 2) The Shayṭān or the shayātīn from amongst the jinn

Then Shayṭān whispered to him; he said, “O Ādam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not deteriorate?” Sūrah Ṭā Ha [20:120] Allāh tells us that Iblīs whispered to Ādam. 3) Shayātīn from mankind

Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind. The God of mankind, From the evil of the retreating whisperer Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind – From among the jinn and mankind.” Sūrat’l-Nās [114:1-6] How can we tell the difference between waswās from ourselves and the whispering from Shayṭān? Scholars say it is a subtle difference.

 

 

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Scholars mention that the initial desire to commit a sin is a sign it is from shayṭān or the shayāṭīn, but when we want to keep going back to committing it, then it is a sign it is from the self.

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Shayṭān will try to beautify something which may go against the natural inclination of the soul. When a person commits a sin more in line with their base desires, it may be a waswās from the self.

An example of this: pornography. People who view it a lot will view things which are abnormal. Before they started watching pornography, they would think certain things are strange, such as child pornography. Pornography pairs a normal act with an abnormal action. The brain associates the weird act with pleasure, and from there it gets more and more extreme until someone ends up in something like child pornography. The difference between the waswās from the nafs and the waswās of Shayṭān is very subtle, and you may not be able to tell the difference. In any case, you say the isti’ādhah and seek refuge in Allāh from the Shayṭān. If it is from Shayṭān, it would go away or weaken. If it is from our own selves, we are at least reminded of Allāh and may give up the sin. The reality is that in both cases, we have to struggle and fight this. We should always make tawbah and seek forgiveness from Allāh and say “a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-shayṭān’lrajīm”. There is waswās that becomes a sickness or overwhelming waswās. It keeps recurring even after saying the isti’ādhah. For us, it is commonly known as OCD. For example, a person may make wuḍū’ and be about to pray but then wonder if he washed all the way to his elbows. He then makes wuḍū’ again and then wonders if he washed the ankles properly and so on. In this situation, seek refuge in Allāh and train yourself and put that type of waswās aside. The reality is that this type of sickness from waswās could by a psychological illness or it could be from Shayṭān. We should seek refuge in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) from this type of waswās. Don’t give weight to this type of waswās. If it reaches the point where it is a sickness, then it is permissible to seek professional help in this. Ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah in Bukhāri: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh has forgiven from my ummah those whispering to themselves as long as they do not act upon it or speak regarding it.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is saying Allāh doesn’t hold us accountable for simply having an evil thought as long as we don’t carry it out.

 

 

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To Allāh belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allāh will bring you to account for it. Then He will forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills, and Allāh is over all things competent. Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:284] In v. 284, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) says, “Indeed to Allāh belongs everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or hide / conceal it, Allāh will hold you to account for it.” How do we reconcile between this ḥadīth and verse 284 in Sūrat’l-Baqarah (“to Allāh belongs all that is in the heavens and earth and whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allāh will hold you accountable to this”)? The āyah is referring to when a person acts upon their sin. Allāh is saying that when you act upon your sin and it is hidden, Allāh will still hold you accountable. If you were to not act upon the sin, then Allāh will not hold you accountable. The āyah refers to after a person commits a sin – whether it is in public or private, Allāh will hold you accountable. The ḥadīth is referring to when you don’t commit the sin. The āyah is speaking about the hypocrites. There is a type of intention that we will be held accountable for even if we don’t do the action: ‘azīma. This is the type of intention where someone makes the full intention to do the sin except that an external action stops them from doing it. ‘Azīma is the intention right before the action happens. For example, a person leaves his house with the intention to commit zina. He made the full intention to carry it out and would have done it if the opportunity was there. However, we still say that at the end of the day reward and punishment are from Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

 

 

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Chapter 4 | Shayṭān’s Army We are at war with Shayṭān, and he has an army. The army of Shayṭān are the helpers of Shayṭān and those who share in the goal of Shayṭān and help him to carry out his mission of sending everyone to the Hellfire.

And Paradise will be brought near [that Day] to the righteous. And Hellfire will be brought forth for the deviators, And it will be said to them, “Where are those you used to worship other than Allāh? Can they help you or help themselves?” So they will be overturned into Hellfire, they and the deviators and the soldiers of Iblīs, all together. Sūrat’l-Shu‘arā’ [26:90-95] We learn that indeed Iblīs has an army, and he has supporters. Allāh is speaking about the Hellfire here.

Iblīs is the Leader of His Army

Ḥadīth of Jābir b. ‘Abdullāh: “Iblīs places his throne upon water; he then sends detachments (for creating dissension); those who are nearer to him in rank are the ones who are most notorious in creating dissension. One of them comes and says, ‘I did

 

 

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such-and-such.’ And [Iblīs] he says, ‘You have done nothing.’ Then one amongst them comes and says, ‘I did not leave so-and-so until I caused dissension between him and his wife. Iblīs then comes close to him and says ‘Yes, you [have done well]!’” Al-A‘mash added, “He then embraces him.” [Muslim] We know that this is his army from jinn. Shayṭān’s army is made up of: 1) Soldiers from the jinn 2) Soldiers from mankind

Shayṭān’s Soldiers from the Jinn 1) Progeny of Shayṭān These are the children or children’s children of Iblīs. Iblīs does have a family and descendants.

And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Ādam,” and they prostrated, except for Iblīs. He was of the jinn and departed from the command of his Lord. Then will you take him and his descendants as allies other than Me while they are enemies to you? Wretched it is for the wrongdoers as an exchange. Sūrat’l-Kahf [18:50] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is saying the progeny of Iblīs is our enemy. We don’t know the details or exactly what they are like. We only know that he has dhuriyyah, and beyond that we don’t know anything. Allāh left out the details of the progeny of Shayṭān, which means that this knowledge is not important for us. 2) The Shayāṭīn from the Jinn Those jinn who obey and follow and support Iblīs are known as the shayāṭīn. These jinn disobey Allāh and follow Iblīs.

And among us are the righteous, and among us are [others] not so; we were [of] divided ways.

 

 

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Sūrat’l-Jinn [72:11]

And among us are Muslims [in submission to Allāh], and among us are the unjust. And whoever has become Muslim - those have sought out the right course. Sūrat’l-Jinn [72:14] From the jinn, there are those who are Muslim and obedient to Allāh and there are others who are disobedient to Allāh and follow Iblīs or his dhurriyyah. In order for a jinn to downgrade from being a regular jinn to a Shayṭān, they have to support, follow, and obey Iblīs. They have to call to the da‘wah of Iblīs. 3) ʿIfrīt Scholars differed over whether ‘Ifrīt refers to a category of the jinn or a particular jinn.

A powerful one from among the jinn said, “I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed, I am for this [task] strong and trustworthy.” Sūrat’l-Naml [27:39] Sulaymān (‘alayhi’l-salām) was able to have control over the jinn. An ‘ifrīt refers to a powerful jinn. It seems that this is more of a description for the jinn, so amongst them are jinn who are powerful and they make up the army of Iblīs. ‘Ifrīt is mentioned in the Sunnah in the ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “One of the ‘ifrīt from the jinn came to me last night to disturb my prayer, but Allāh gave me power over this jinn and I was able to overcome him. I intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the masjid so all of you would be able to witness him, but I remembered that Allāh gave control over the jinn to Sulaymān and it was particular to him so I let him go.” In the āyah and here, ‘ifrīt is mentioned with the “al-“; therefore, it means “a ‘ifrīt” and shows us it is a description for a type of jinn and is not a particular jinn. 4) The Qarīn

 

 

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I did not make him transgress, but he [himself] was in extreme error." [Allāh] will say, "Do not dispute before Me while I had already presented to you the warning. The word will not be changed with Me, and never will I be unjust to the servants." Sūrah Qāf [50:27-29] These shayāṭīn are tied up in Ramadan. The qarīn is not tied up. We have a qarīn, and this qarīn will speak on the Day of Judgment just like Iblīs and say that he has no authority over us and did not cause us to go astray and transgress but we were already in extreme error. This shows us that we cannot blame our qarīn for the sins that we commit. Qarīn comes from the verb qarana which means to accompany or be close or be the second of two. We always have the qarīn with us. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said with every child of Ādam is a qarīn from the angels and a qarīn from the jinn.

‘Abdullāh b. Mas‘ūd narrates that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “There is none amongst you with whom there is not a consort from the jinn.” They (the Companions) said, “And what about you O Messenger of Allāh?” He (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) then said, “And me as well. However, Allāh has helped me against him and so I am safe from him, and he does not command except with good.” [Muslim] Fa aslama means that he became Muslim. Another narration says “fa aslamu,” which means “and I have become safe from him.” the scholars say that both interpretations are valid and acceptable. It either means the qarīn became Muslim or that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) became safe from him. Because his qarīn became Muslim, he orders him with nothing but good.

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The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “When any one of you prays, you should not allow anyone to pass before you. If they refuse [to not pass in front of you], then you should forcibly stop them, for with them is their qarīn.” [Muslim] If you are praying and in between you and your area of sajdah, the scholars say that if someone tries to pass in front of you, then put your hand out in front of them. If they still try to pass in front of you, then the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said you should fight them. This means that you forcefully stop them as much as you can. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is saying that if the person still insists on passing in front of you, then it’s possible the qarīn is encouraging him to do so to break your prayer. This ḥadīth is referring to someone praying by himself or if someone is the imam. If you are following in the congregation, then people can pass in front of you. As long as no one passes in front of the imam, everyone is fine. If the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) wasn’t in the masjid, he would take his spear and put it in front of him while praying. According to one reading of the ḥadīth, the qarīn of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) became Muslim. Does this mean that if we are pious enough that our qarīn can become Muslim? The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said “illa (except)” meaning that it is an exception for him and no one else has been given this exception. Some scholars said it could also apply to the other prophets, but Allāhu a‘lam. Question: Can anyone make his qarīn Muslim? It is specific to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to make the qarīn Muslim. However, we do know that a person can weaken their qarīn and take away power from him. In the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad, Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A believer can certainly wear down / tire out their qarīn just like a person may tire out or wear down their riding animal during travel.” If you don’t give a riding animal any rest, it will wear down. If we are constantly working at our qarīn, we can reduce its power. This means that we are constantly involved in the obedience of Allāh (i.e. Qurʾān, du‘ā’, dhikr). The qarīn wears down with the remembrance of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla): dhikr, recitation of Qurʾān, ‘ibādah.

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5) Khinzib

‘Uthmān b. Abu al-‘Āṣ came to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and said, “O Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), the Shayṭān intervenes between me and my prayer and my reciting of the Qur’ān and he confuses me.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “That is a shayṭān known as Khinzib. If you sense him, seek refuge in Allāh from him and spit to your left three times.” He [‘Uthmān] said, “I did that and Allāh dispelled him from me.” [Muslim] ‘Uthmān b. Abu al-‘Āṣ assumed that this was Iblīs. Why? Because he said “al-Shayṭān.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said it is “a Shayṭān” named Khinzib. This teaches us that the guidance of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is that if we get confused in our prayer or are not paying attention, then this could be the shayṭān called Khinzib and should seek refuge in Allāh from the Shayṭān (this would include Iblīs and all of his supporters and allies) and dry spit to your left three times. When you are distracted in your prayer, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) gave you a sunnah action to do: say the isti‘ādhah and dry spit to your left three times. This is a physical action. We are not allowed to bring any foreign actions in the ṣalāh, but this is the exception because the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) instructed us to do this to fight Shayṭān. We are allowed to do this to fight off the influence of Khinzib.

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The job of Khinzib is to confuse people in their prayers and to cause them to be distracted. Khinzib is of the shayāṭīn from the jinn. Apart from these shayāṭīn from the jinn, the other aḥādīth with names are not authentic. The above are the only names which are authentic.

 

 

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Soldiers from Mankind The Shayāṭīn from Mankind

And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy - devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion. But if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it, so leave them and that which they invent. Sūrat’l-An‘ām [6:112] This shows us that there are shayāṭīn from the ins (mankind) and jinn. The same conditions apply in order for someone to be considered a Shayṭān: disobedient to Allāh, follow and support Iblīs, call to the da‘wah of Iblīs. Generally the term shayāṭīn can refer to mankind and jinn and it is not just specific to the jinn. These are those people who are the supporters and allies of Iblīs. They help Iblīs in his cause. The shayāṭīn from the jinn and the shayāṭīn from mankind help the Shayṭān in the methods of deception. For example, a friend may encourage you to do evil or disobey Allāh, and this may be a shayṭān from mankind. Mālik b. Dinār said: "Certainly a human shayṭān is more difficult for me to deal with than a jinn shayṭān. That is because when I seek refuge in Allāh, the jinn shayṭān runs away from me while the human shayṭān personally tries to drag me towards a sin." [Tafsīr’l-Qurṭubi] The influences you have in your life from humans are harder to deal with than the jinn. Often times we fear the shayāṭīn of the jinn and are very afraid and paranoid, and we forget the shayāṭīn of mankind and the bad influences of mankind. Imagine there is someone who comes up to you and tells you to go the club. When a person says a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-shayṭān’l-rajīm, the jinn shayāṭīn would run away but the man of the shayāṭīn would not go away. Sometimes it is more difficult to fight the shayāṭīn from the ins. The shayāṭīn from mankind may be more dangerous even though we see them. It may be more of a test and trial to deal with the shayāṭīn from mankind. Important Note: It is not for us to label people as shayāṭīn from mankind. The point is to become aware that there are shayāṭīn from mankind. If we see someone who is encouraging us to do evil, we can think to ourselves that this person is carrying out the job of Iblīs and protect ourselves.

 

 

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Allies of Shayṭān vs. the Allies of Allāh Allāh divides people into the allies and protectors of Shayṭān and the allies and protectors of Al-Raḥmān.

O children of Ādam, let not Shayṭān tempt you as he removed your parents from Paradise, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:27] This can refer to the shayāṭīn from mankind and jinn. Those who may take an antagonistic approach to Islam or harm Muslims or Islam are allies of the shayāṭīn.

And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allāh has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him]. Sūrat’l-An‘ām [6:121] Allāh refers to the awliyā’ and allies of Shayṭān. The Allies of Allāh

 

 

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Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allāh there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those who believed and were fearing Allāh. For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the words of Allāh. That is what is the great attainment. Sūrah Yūnus [10:62-64]

Allāh is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are ṭāghūt. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:257] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) has awliyā’ and Iblīs has awliyā’ and the shayāṭīn have awliyā’. The allies of Allāh call to the goodness and da‘wah of Allāh. Allāh has equated His allies with light and goodness and the allies of Shayṭān with darkness. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said every grey hair a believer has will be light on the Day of Judgment. The marks of sajdah will be light. The true celebrity will show up on the Day of Judgment and be among these people. The awliyā’ of Allāh are protected by Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). They seek the Help of Allāh, and Allāh protects them. In the Battle of Badr, Allāh left the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and Muslims to seek His Help. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) made du‘ā’ to Allāh, and Allāh sent the angels. The awliyā’ of Allāh put in the work and worship Allāh and are constantly involved in ‘ibādah, and Allāh gives them and supports them. The Allies of Shayṭān

Indeed, there is for him no authority over those who have believed and rely upon their Lord. His authority is only over those who

 

 

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take him as an ally and those who through him associate others with Allāh. Sūrat’l-Naḥl [16:99-199]

And whoever takes Shayṭān as an ally instead of Allāh has certainly sustained a clear loss. Sūrat’l-Nisā’ [4:119]

Ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah: Allāh’s Messenger (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh said, ‘I will declare war against the one who shows hostility to a pious slave of Mine. And the most beloved matter by which My slave comes near to Me is that which I have enjoined upon them; and My slave keeps coming nearer to Me through performing superogatory deeds until I love them. So I become their sense of hearing with which they hear, and their sense of sight with which they see, and their hand with which they grip, and their leg with which they walk. If they ask Me, I will give them, and if they ask for My protection, I will protect them. I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for they hate death, and I hate to disappoint them.’” [al-Bukhāri] Scholars discuss the allies of Allāh and the allies of Shayṭān. We seek the allegiance of Allāh in everything that we do and make Allāh our ally and disassociate from Iblīs. Taking Allāh as an ally means that you seek that which pleases Allāh in all of your

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matters and make a conscious effort to stay away from those things that please Iblīs or the shayāṭīn.

 

 

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Chapter 5 | Fact or Fiction Question: Can Shayṭān physically harm us? One of the goals of Shayṭān is to physically harm us. When his other goals cannot be met (i.e. have us fall into sin), then he may physically attack us as well.

Magic Magic is referred to as “siḥr” in the Qur’ān. Siḥr is from saḥara, which is something which is hidden or secret. It is called siḥr because: 1) The practitioners of siḥr deal with things in secret

They said, “O Moses, either you throw or we will be the first to throw.” He said, “Rather, you throw.” And suddenly their ropes and staffs seemed to him from their magic that they were moving [like snakes]. And he sensed within himself apprehension, did Moses. Allāh said, “Fear not. Indeed, it is you who are superior. And throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have crafted. What they have crafted is but the trick of a magician, and the magician will not succeed wherever he is.” Sūrah Ṭā Ha [20:65-69] Allāh tells us in the Qurʾān how the people of Fir‘awn were proficient in magic. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) gave Mūsa the ability to overcome their magic. Islamically, we should have no doubt that there is something known as magic. From the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), we know people tried to perform magic on him.

 

 

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People practice magic usually in private and in secret. It is not something made public. The last part of the night is called saḥr. The Arabic word for our lungs is saḥr because the lungs are something inside the body. People often go to magicians to get things done. Magicians hide how they are going to go about performing the action. 2) Its means are hidden or secret

And from the evil of the blowers in knots. Sūrat’l-Falaq [113:4] Tying knots is a form of magic. Siḥr can cause things like illnesses. Shaykh Saad’s mother practiced psychology and specialized with schizophrenia. After studying what siḥr is, she said it is possible that some of the patients who were diagnosed as schizophrenic were possessed or sometimes it may be linked. The jinn or possession could cause the schizophrenia. To cure this, the Islamic cures along with medicine could be used to cure it. There are Islamic cures to depression, but there is a point where depression goes beyond the norm, and this can be cured by reliance on Allāh, prayer and du‘ā’. There is a type of depression so severe it is clinical depression, and this person cannot just be told to make du‘ā’ or pray qiyām’l-layl to feel better. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh has sent down illnesses and the cures as well, so seek out the medicine to cure yourself.” Very few cases, especially in America, are siḥr. Magic has a close relationship with Iblīs because one of his major goals is for people to fall into kufr and shirk. A person always involved in magic is involved in a form of kufr (disbelief). Siḥr may involve things which magicians manage to do through the shayāṭīn: Only the bad or evil jinn will help magicians perform magic.

 

 

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And they followed [instead] what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt. But the two angels do not teach anyone unless they say, “We are a trial, so do not disbelieve [by practicing magic].” And [yet] they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allāh. And the people learn what harms them and does not benefit them. But the Children of Israel certainly knew that whoever purchased the magic would not have in the Hereafter any share. And wretched is that for which they sold themselves, if they only knew. Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:102] Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us that people involved in magic in any way is involved in kufr. There are two main types of magic: 1) Magic in which people seek the help of the shayāṭīn and the help of the jinn. Any jinn who helps someone performs magic is considered a shayṭān and is not considered a pious jinn. This jinn is a helper of Iblīs. People may do things supernatural to fool the people and this is with the help of jinn. When magicians perform these things, it is to gain power and superiority over people. Instead of relying upon Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla), people may go to a magician because they have seen this person perform “miracles.” Ibn Taymiyyah witnessed many things in his time such as people floating or walking on coals. By the consensus of scholars, this is kufr (disbelief in Islam). It is disbelief to use the help of the jinn and shayāṭīn to perform magic. It is kufr to perform it, to help it, and to go out and seek this type of magic.

 

 

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2) Illusions. This means we see one thing and it is actually something else. These illusions fall into two categories: a. The jinn make the illusion possible. One of the magicians handed a person a rock, and when he looked at the rock, he thought he was holding an egg while everyone else could see it is a rock. The jinn can make this possible. This type is kufr. b. Sleight of hand. This is not kufr and does not take a person outside of Islam. Scholars have differed on whether or not this is allowed. The help of jinn is not sought in this. This type of magic is makrūh and disliked by Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Even though it is makrūh, we should be very careful with this type of magic because as soon as we are in a situation where people don’t know we are doing sleight of hand, the person can slide into disbelief. Some people believe it and think it is real magic. Many scholars hold this type of magic to be haram and sinful. A person should be very careful before indulging in this kind of magic. Correct opinion: as long as the person knows that an illusion is being performed and that it is a sleight of hand trick and not a “real” illusion with the help of jinn, then it is permissible. Shaykh Saad would personally advise against doing this. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that whoever goes to a fortuneteller, his prayer will not be accepted for 40 days. In another ḥadīth in Tirmidhi, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said if a person goes to a soothsayer and believes in what they are told, then they have disbelieved. Magic can cause people illnesses and other things as well. Magicians may perform magic as their illusions

He said, “Throw,” and when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they presented a great [feat of] magic. Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:116] Signs of a person who is afflicted by magic:

 

 

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Note: Just because a person is having some of these symptoms, it does not necessitate that they are afflicted by magic. It may be because of certain psychological illnesses or other problems. 1) Dislike of one’s spouse, as indicated in the Qurʾān by the following verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife...” Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:102] This is a very common form of magic. A person may fall in love with someone and they are already married, so they go to a magician and want to cause problems in the relationship. Scholars say that if it feels very abnormal (i.e. one day you have a very good relationship and the next day there is immediate hatred in your heart, you feel disgusted when you touch your spouse), then it is more of a sign that it is something dealing with magic. 2) Different attitude in the house from that which is outside the house. 3) Inability to have sexual intercourse with one’s spouse. There are many reasons why this could happen, and one of them is that someone has done siḥr on the person. However, this is not the first thing we should turn to when someone has a problem like this. 4) Frequent miscarriage for pregnant women. There are medical and genetic reasons why this happens as well. 5) Sudden change in behavior without obvious reason. Keyword here is “sudden.” 6) Complete loss of appetite for food. 7) Thinking or imagining one has done something when in reality one has not. How do we know that the illness of schizophrenia doesn’t have a link to magic or jinn? It is possible. When someone is suffering an illness like this, then treat it from both ends (don’t discard advice of psychiatrists and also don’t discard advice of scholars). 8) Sudden obedience and/or love for a particular person. Scholars of the past would mention that sometimes “shaykhs” had followers (murīds) who would do insane things such as cut themselves or harm themselves to

 

 

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show devotion to their teacher. It is possible that this “shaykh” or “wali” has performed some type of magic to get this type of devotion out of his followers. This shows us that the shayāṭīn can physically cause harm to us. The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” [Muslim] The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muḥammad.” [Tirmidhi] When people seek out the help of magicians to either have magic performed on someone else or to have themselves helped with this magic, then this is a form of kufr and disbelief. Doing ruqya on yourself is always a good thing to protect yourself. Lead a lifestyle where you will be protected such as performing adhkār in the morning and evening and remembering Allāh during the day and not disobeying Allāh. This is an excellent precaution. To be paranoid and scared of possession and magic is not from the character of the Muslim. There is no reason to be scared of Iblīs as long as we are trying our best to fulfill our obligations and being obedient to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).

Possession According to the scholars of ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah, possession is real, and the shayāṭīn have the ability to possess a human being. If a jinn is doing this, it is because of one of the following reasons: 1) They are a Shayṭān and trying to cause harm to Bani Ādam 2) They are ignorant 3) They may be forced to do it

 

 

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Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Shayṭān into insanity… Sūrat’l-Baqarah [2:275] This is referring to possession. Can a shayṭān or jinn take over a person’s body? Yes, a shayṭān or jinn can do something like that. People who consume riba will be in such a stupor on the Day of Judgment, and Allāh is saying just like someone who cannot stand and has no control over his bodies, this person will be like that on the Day of Judgment.

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to say: “O Allāh, I seek refuge with You from being thrown from a high place or crushed beneath a falling wall, or drowning or being burned, and I seek refuge with You from being led astray by the Shayṭān at the time of death, and I seek refuge with You from dying in Your cause while fleeing from the battlefield, and I seek refuge with You from dying of a scorpion sting.” [Al-Nasā’i, ḥasan] The scholars mention that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would make this du‘ā’ to not only protect himself from magic but also from possession. ‘Abdullāh b. al-Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal said: “I said to my father, ‘There are some people who say that the jinn do not enter the body of the epileptic.’ He said: ‘O my son, they are lying; the jinn could speak through this person.’” This is the widely accepted belief of ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah that a jinn can take over a person’s body. This is known as possession. Just like magic, it can cause illnesses and problems. Shaykh Saad was leading prayer at a wedding and decided to recite āyat’l-kursi in the prayer. As he is leading the prayer, he started the beginning of āyat’l-kursi, and a brother in the jamā‘ah started shaking. He finished the prayer quickly, and when he turned around, they told him what happened. Sūrat’l-Fātiḥah is strong against possession and magic and so is āyat’l-kursi. When both were recited, it had an effect on this brother. Shaykh Saad is usually skeptical when it comes to possession and magic. To see what was going on, he then recited Sūrat’l-Falaq and Sūrat’l-Nās and the brother started shaking more and more, and he told them to call someone who performs ruqya.

 

 

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While in Madīnah, a brother had come from the UK. It seemed to them that someone had performed some type of magic on him before he came to Madīnah. There are ruqya hospitals in Madīnah. The brother was taken to get ruqya done. (For a person to perform ruqya, he has to have a high level of īmān and sincerity and be highly protected.) As the shaykh would recite Qurʾān upon this brother, he started yelling and told the shaykh to stop. The shaykh said there was some type of magic done on him. Eventually the brother felt better, but he wasn’t able to complete his studies and went back to the UK. It is possible that Allāh tested someone with magic or being possessed just like a sickness. Signs of a person being possessed •

Strong repulsion when hearing Qur’ān or adhān. Depending on what level a person is possessed, any part of the Qurʾān can cure him. Some are stronger than others: Sūrat’l-Fātiḥah, Sūrah Ṭā Ha, last two āyahs of Sūrat’lBaqarah, āyat’l-kursi. Sometimes if you just mention the Qurʾān or Sunnah around someone seriously possessed, he will be repulsed by it. Many rāqis say the adhān and iqāmah over and over again because it is so powerful against the shayāṭīn. The whole of the Qurʾān is a cure for us. This is the main method of performing exorcism.

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Episodes of losing consciousness and/or epileptic attacks, especially when Qur’ān is recited for the possessed person.

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Frequent nightmares during sleep One of the sources of bad dreams is Iblīs or Shayṭān. If someone has nightmares all the time, then this is a sign the person may be possessed.

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Tendency to avoid people accompanied by out-of-the-norm behavior. A person who stays away from people who are doing normal thing and isolates himself. Note: One of the methods of deception of Shayṭān is to isolate people from guidance and people. If a person feels he cannot be around people who are pious or praying, then it could be a sign of someone who is possessed.

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The jinn who possesses him might speak when Qur’ān is recited for the possessed person. When a person is possessed, when the Qurʾān is being recited, depending on the strength of the jinn or shayṭān, he may speak out and say to stop reciting the Qurʾān.

 

 

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A sign is that the voice of the person will change to a very deep tone or a very high note. •

Madness Having epileptic seizures or madness in general. Madness is a broad category encompassing many things.

Note: It is not necessary that if someone has a symptom above that they are possessed, but it is possible. How can magic and possession be cured? •

If a person is not performing any major sins and trying to be in obedience to Allāh as much as possible.

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Putting trust in Allāh and being sincere

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Tawakkul and reliance on Allāh [Note: Tawākul is different from tawakkul. Tawakkul is relying upon Allāh and putting your trust in Allāh and taking the means. Tawākul is trusting in Allāh and not taking the means. The person who has tawakkul will make du‘ā’ to Allāh when skydiving and pull the parachute at the right time. The person with tawākul will jump out of the plane without a parachute. Tawākul is impermissible. Part of tawakkul is taking the means.] Amongst the means is reciting the Qurʾān.

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The Qurʾān. The most powerful cure to possession is the Qurʾān. Sūrat’l-Falaq, Sūrat’lNās, Sūrat’l-Fātiḥah, Sūrat’l-Baqarah and in particular āyat’l-kursi and the last two verses and any verses dealing with magic.

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Reciting Qurʾān upon water and having the person drinking the water. Some also say zamzam. Some narrations say the companions did this, but Shaykh Saad hasn’t found anything authentic. However, scholars say it is okay to do this. It is important to understand that the cure is coming from Allāh and Allāh has put the cure in the Qurʾān.

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Honey

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If a person knows the means by which magic is performed, they should try to remove those means. If magic is done on a piece of clothing, then it is very important that it is destroyed. Someone tied knots and blew upon it to do magic on the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and Allāh informed him where the knots were and he (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) had ‘Ali go to the well and take out the

 

 

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knots and undo them and then burn them. Some scholars said it should be burned and then buried. •

Ajwa dates. Scholars say if you don’t have ajwa, then any dates will do.

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Du‘ā’ and dhikr

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Hijāmah

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Olive oil

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Black seeds.

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Dhikr of morning and the evening (this is not only preventative but also a cure)

A major sign that the rāqi is dealing with jinn is when they tell you things about yourself or things in your house. They are using jinn to get this information. It is not allowed to go to those rāqis.

Evil-eye (ʿAyn) ‘Ayn refers to a person’s eye. It is when a person may harm another person with their jealousy. Ḥasad is an extreme form of jealousy where you want what another person has and want it taken away from them. It can reach such an extreme as to cause harm in another person. ‘Ayn is one of the avenues by which people get jealous. For example, you witness what Allāh has blessed someone with and that is where this envy or jealousy may start from. Evil eye is true and exists, and a person can cause another harm through their extreme jealousy.

And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred). Sūrat’l-Baqarah [68:51] The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever among you sees something in himself or in his possessions or in his brother that he likes, let him pray for blessing for it because the evil eye is real.” [al-Ḥākim]

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Lessons from this ḥadīth: - A person can give himself evil eye - A person may give another person evil eye as well - The cure for envy and jealousy and evil eye is praying for blessings in it or for them. If a person in their heart feels jealous of someone else or like something that someone has, then instead of dwelling on those feelings, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said to ask Allāh to put blessings on what that person has. This is why the scholars mention you can say “tabārakAllāh” or “Allāhumma zidd wa bārik fih (O Allāh increase in what you have given them and put blessings in them)” or “bārak Allāh fik” (may Allāh put barakah in it for you). When you do this, then not only do you release the negative feelings you have, but you are making du‘ā’ for yourself as well because when you make du‘ā’ for someone, the angels make du‘ā’ for you.

“The influence of an evil eye is a fact; if anything would precede the destiny it would be the influence of an evil eye, and when you are asked to take bath (as a cure) from the influence of an evil eye, you should take bath.” [Muslim] One of the cures of evil eye is that a person takes a bath with the wuḍū’ water of the person who has given evil eye to them.

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Why does one of you kill his brother? Why did you not say, ‘May Allāh bless you?’ The evil eye is true. Do wuḍū’ from it.” [Muwaṭṭa’ of Imām Mālik] Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Everyone who gives the evil eye is jealous, but not everyone who is jealous gives the evil eye.” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said if you see something you like, then say “māshā’Allāh la ḥawla wa la quwwata illa billāh” and the evil eye will not afflict them. This

 

 

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ḥadīth is ḍa‘īf jiddan and extremely weak and it is not proven in the sunnah. It is more sunnah to ask Allāh to bless them! Don’t remind people to say “māshā’Allāh”. The only thing you can do is protect yourself from ‘ayn. Have faith in Allāh, make du‘ā’ and adhkār, have tawakkul. You should say: bārakAllāh fik or tabārakAllāh (may Allāh bless you in it). If you like something someone has, ask Allāh to increase them (Allāhumma zid wa bārik). When you ask this du‘ā’ for someone, angels make the same du‘ā’ for you. Don’t remind people to say “māshā’Allāh.” There is a better thing to say, which is “tabārakAllāh.” When you tell someone to say this, then you are saying, “I know you are jealous, so say ‘māshā’Allāh.’” The person may feel that they are being accused. You can say “māshā’Allāh” but it is better to say “tabārakAllāh.” The evidence used by those who say “māshā’Allāh” is: In Sūrat’l-Kahf and the story of the garden. However, this is the wrong usage of this āyah. It is not being applied properly. Why? From the context of the āyah, the problem with the man who had the beautiful Jannah was that he had pride and arrogance, and he was reminded to say “māshā’Allāh” to remind himself that this is because of Allāh and whatever Allāh wills and that there is no power except from Allāh and it is not from his own doings. If you have something nice, you should say “māshā’Allāh” to remind yourself it is from Allāh, but not to protect against ‘ayn when saying “tabārakAllāh” or “bārak Allāh fih” is better. It is better to say māshā’Allāh when you yourself have something nice – you are reminding yourself that this is because of Allāh. When it comes to fearing you may give someone ‘ayn or yourself ‘ayn, then say “may Allāh put blessings in it” and say “bārak Allāh fih” or “tabārakAllāh.” Protection from the Evil Eye 1) Having strong faith in Allāh by putting his trust in Him and seeking refuge with Him and beseeching Him 2) Reciting the last two sūrahs of the Qur’ān, Sūrat’l-Ikhlāṣ, Sūrat’l-Fātiḥah, and āyat’lkursi. 3) Du‘ā’s for protection from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam):

“I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allāh from the evil of that which He has created” This is one of the most important du‘ā’s!

 

 

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“I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allāh from His wrath and punishment, from the evil of His slaves and from the evil promptings of the devils and from their presence.”

“Allāh is sufficient for me. None has the right to be worshipped but He; in Him I put my trust and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.” Sūrat’l-Baqarah [9:129] Rely upon Allāh to protect yourself from any ‘ayn.

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to seek refuge with Allāh for al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn and say: “Your forefather (i.e . Abraham) used to seek Refuge with Allāh for Ishmael and Isaac by reciting the following: 'O Allāh! I seek Refuge with Your Perfect Words from every devil and from poisonous pests and from every evil, harmful, envious eye.’” [al-Bukhāri] People usually follow two extremes with ‘ayn: they deny it or everything is ‘ayn.

Satanic Dreams

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Ḥadīth “When the time draws near (when the Resurrection is near), a believer's dream can hardly be false. And the truest vision will be of one who is himself the most truthful in speech, for the vision of a Muslim is the forty-fifth part of prophecy, and dreams are of three types: one good dream which is a sort of good tidings from Allāh; the evil dream which causes pain is from the Shayṭān; and the third one is a suggestion of one's own mind; so if any one of you sees a dream which he does not like, he should stand up and offer prayer and he should not relate it to people.” [Muslim] That which people see in their sleep may come under one of two categories:

 

 

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That which people see in their sleep may come under one of two categories: 1. Dreams/visions 2. Confused dreams Confused dreams can be divided into two categories: a. Shayṭān’s attempts to frighten If the dream is confusing and frightening and scares you, then it may be from Shayṭān. b. The workings of the subconscious You may have been thinking of something during the day and it all got mixed up in your head and you had a dream about it. Or, dreams can be divided into three categories: 1) Visions or dreams that come from Allāh This is a good dream. You wake up feeling good. The dream itself is clear. This could be a warning or glad tidings for a person. The more pious the person is, the clearer that type of dream will be. There can be truth in these. One of the ways the scholars mention to ask is if they can remember the details of the dream. If they cannot, then it is more likely it is a confusing dream and not from Allāh. Also, the scholars mention that if you have this dream after fajr, then this is very likely not from Allāh.

 

 

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2) Attempts by the Shayṭān to frighten us This is a bad or scary dream. 3) The workings of the subconscious You may have a clear dream, but it didn’t make sense. Dream interpretation: Shaykh Saad’s opinion is that there is very little we know from the Qurʾān and Sunnah about interpreting dreams. Most of what we know from dream interpretation comes from people’s experiences. There is not a lot of proof. It is not a science. Shaykh Saad had a dream while preparing for this seminar. He dreamt that he was sitting in a halaqa of Shaykh Uthaymin and he knew who Shaykh Saad was. Shaykh Saad never met him but benefited a lot from his books and lecture recordings. What should you do when you have a bad dream? 1) Know that this dream is from the Shayṭān, so don’t dwell over it Shayṭān wants you to be concerned and think about it. The way to fight Shayṭān is to put it aside and not think about it. 2) Seek refuge in Allāh from the accursed Shayṭān The sunnah is to say: a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-shayṭān’l-rajīm. 3) Seek refuge in Allāh from the evil of this dream Say: O Allāh protect me from anything I saw in the dream and then put your trust in Allāh. 4) Spit dryly to your left three times (i.e. blowing with a little bit of saliva) 5) Don’t tell anyone about it Shayṭān wants for us to spread the negative feelings. 6) Turn over from the side on which you were sleeping 7) Get up and pray Note: All types of magic is kufr, and there is no such thing as good magic and bad magic. All types of magic is disobedience to Allāh and disbelief in Allāh. If you go to a rāqi and he says the jinn will be used to heal you, then you immediately know that this is not someone you should go to. Ruqya has to be performed according to the Qurʾān and Sunnah and how the companions and pious predecessors would do it. If a rāqi starts

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telling you things about yourself, then it is a clear sign this person is involved with jinn and not someone you should be going to for ruqya or any time of cure.

 

 

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Chapter 6 | The Psychology of Shayṭān Shayṭān’s Goals •

Shayṭān’s Main Goal

Indeed, Shayṭān is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the Blaze. Sūrah Fāṭir [35:6] •

Shayṭān’s Immediate Goals

These are ways Shayṭān gets to his main goal. There is a process by which Iblīs works. Some scholars call these the steps / levels of attack of Shayṭān. Every single person falls into one of these levels, meaning Shayṭān is trying with us on one or more of these levels. We can all fall into one or more of these categories. -

To take someone outside the fold of Islam (major shirk or major kufr) Those who disbelieve in Allāh are on this level. This is the worst level. Why does Shayṭān start here? A person who dies upon shirk or kufr has no hope of going to Paradise, and this means Shayṭān has completely succeeded. Allāh says that if a person dies upon shirk, then that is not forgiven. If a person commits shirk and repents, he may be forgiven. Ḥadīth qudsi in Sunan al-Tirmidhi and one of Imam al-Nawawi’s 40 ḥadīth: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh said, ‘O child of Ādam, if you come to me with sins as great as the earth and then meet Me and have not associated anything with Me, I will bring you that same amount or similar amount of forgiveness.’” No matter what sins you commit, Allāh can forgive you if you die upon it as long as you do not commit shirk and worship other than Allāh or associate partners with Him. Anyone who dies upon Islam will eventually end up in Jannah.

 

 

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This shows us that even Iblīs has priorities when it comes to his da‘wah. He starts with the most important thing. He starts with that which is most effective and most powerful. He doesn’t start with delaying prayer. If he gets someone to commit a sin, it is not as big a deal as getting someone to commit kufr. We want to be from the awliyā’. We should ask ourselves: do we have priorities as well? Do we start with the most important things or jump to things of lesser importance? Sometimes when we are giving da‘wah to someone, someone may criticize someone who is not wearing ḥijāb, but there is a bigger issue to solve first: the person’s īmān. In order to fight Iblīs, we should also have priorities and start with the most important issues. Always start with tawḥīd when making da‘wah. Iblīs does 3 main things to get people to disbelieve: 1) Intellectually Get them to give preference to their ‘aql over naql. Islamically, we live a life of harmony between revelation and intellect. We run into problems when considering ‘aql to be above everything else. 2) Doubts Doubts in religion, the ākhirah, or in Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). 3) Desires The story of Barsīsah started with his desires, and it ended in shirk and kufr. If Shayṭān succeeded with someone in this level, then they become part of the army of Shayṭān. -

To make someone commit al-bid‘ah (innovation) What is a bid‘ah? Response: What kind of definition are you looking for? A linguistic one or technical one? Linguistically, bid‘ah is simply something which did not occur before; something which is new. Linguistically, to say driving cars is bid‘ah is correct. Sharī‘ definition: An action that was not performed or sanctioned by the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that is brought into the religion. Linguistically, sunnah is something that was done before. Technically, Sunnah is something the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did, legislated, sanctioned or was part of his behavior.

 

 

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Sunnah and bid‘ah are direct opposites both linguistically and technically. Why does Shayṭān move on to bid‘ah? It is very rare for people to do bid‘ah with a bad intention of corrupting the religion. Most people who do bid‘ah have good intentions. The problem is that when someone does something with a good intention, they don’t realize that they are actually doing a sin. Scholars say that committing bid‘ah is a major sin. Bid‘ahs can lead to shirk and kufr. • A person who commits a sin may easily repent and know they did something wrong. People commit bid‘ahs thinking they’ve done something good, so they won’t repent from it. •

The nature of bid‘ah is that people will follow it. People call to bid‘ah as well because they think it is a good deed.

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Major sins are known by most people, but to know bid‘ah, you have to have an understanding of religion, so it is easy to misguide them.

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Bid‘ahs lead to shirk and kufr. For example: the people of Nūḥ. These people started with simply making images of their pious people. Iblīs came to them and said that these pious people remind them of Allāh, so make images of them so that you are reminded of Allāh after they die. They introduced something new. Generations pass and Iblīs comes to them and says they should start seeking the help of these pious people. This later generation forgot that the images were only for a reminder to remember Allāh and not for worship. The bid‘ah led to shirk and kufr.

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Bid‘ahs may take away from the farā’id.

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Bid‘ahs are deep rooted in culture, so it is very hard to get rid of them. Be gentle when telling someone that what they are doing is bid‘ah. You are telling them that something they think has been a good deed they’ve been doing their whole life is a bid‘ah.

Examples of bid‘ahs: Qurʾān khāni, gathering after 40 days and sending the reward to the dead. Scholars mention that bid‘ahs in matters of worship lead to shirk and kufr. When someone is involved in bid‘ah, they don’t even know they did something wrong. Ways to combat this: stick to the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Ask yourself if the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) worshipped Allāh in this manner or not. If you are presented with a deed that could either be

 

 

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Sunnah or bid‘ah and you are not sure because you are a layman, then leave it so that you protect yourself. It is better to die in a state of knowing that you only worshipped Allāh in the way that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) worshipped Allāh. Scholars say our dīn revolves around two main ḥadīth: 1) Ḥadīth of ‘Ā’ishah: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A person who brings something new into this matter of ours will be rejected.” 2) Ḥadīth of ‘Umar: “Actions are by intentions…” In our times, Shayṭān has come up with a new trick regarding bid‘ahs. Shayṭān makes people afraid of using the term bid‘ah. How do you save yourself from this level? Always be truthful with Allāh and His Messenger. This means that any time you are about to do something in terms of ‘ibādah and coming closer to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla), ask yourself: did the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) do this? Did he (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) teach his companions to do this? Did the companions practice this action or not? Is this something the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) encouraged? Is it something found in the religion? If it is not found in the religion, then no matter who is telling you this action is fine, protect yourself. Sunnah is something you are rewarded for if you do it, but there is no punishment if you do not do it. You are punished for bid‘ah. By leaving it, you have protected you religion. No one will feel bad if they are dying knowing that they followed the Sunnah. If someone comes to you with a newly invented matter, ask yourself: is this something the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did or did not do? 1) Did - Authentic ḥadīth - Not authentic ḥadīth: this means the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did not do it 2) Did not do - Knew: Someone who says this is saying that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) knew that something is good and iyya‘udhu billāh hid it from us à who would say this about the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)? The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Today I have completed your religion.” Ibn ‘Umar said there is nothing the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did not tell us to get to Paradise. In the farewell sermon at Ḥajj, the people testified that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) delivered the message.

 

 

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Did not know: Someone who says this is saying that they know more than the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) of what is needed to get to Paradise and what will bring us closer to Allāh. No one can claim this!

In the Muwaṭṭā’ of Imam Mālik, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “I have left you with two things, and you will never go astray as long as you hold on to them: the Book of Allāh and the Sunnah of His Messenger (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).” Bid‘ah is the path of Iblīs and Sunnah is the path of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and they will always be at odds. One way to protect ourselves from this is to implement the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), even in the small things. Try to implement the habits of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) in our daily lives. ‘Ā’ishah narrates in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhāri: “The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) liked to start from his right when wearing his shoes, combing his hair, and when making wuḍū’.” Once we bring the barakah of that, we protect ourselves from Iblīs. One of the biggest sources of bid‘ah is a lack of knowledge. When people are ignorant about the religion, they fall into bid‘ah. The more you educate yourself about your religion and dīn, then you will be in opposition to Iblīs and the concept of bid‘ah. Ibn ʿAbbās in a ḥadīth in Ibn Mājah, al-Tirmidhi, and others said the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A single faqīh is more formidable against the Shayṭān than a thousand devout worshippers.” Why? Because he is worshipping correctly. The thousand worshippers may spend years worshipping Allāh incorrectly. Note: Some scholars consider this ḥadīth to be weak. It seems this ḥadīth is ḥasan li ghayrihi, which is a ḥadīth which is weak but not inauthentic, meaning there is a problem in the chain somewhere but this ḥadīth is narrated by so many different people that the number of narrations brings strength to one another. Some scholars are of the opinion that it remains weak while others say the number of narrations make it acceptable. -

To make someone commit major sins Imam al-Dhahabi wrote a book called Al-Kabā’ir. This helps to identify the kabā’ir and protect you from falling into them. What is the difference between a major sin and minor sin? Major sins are those sins for which there is a specific punishment mentioned in the Qurʾān and Sunnah in the ākhirah or dunya. For example, the qiṣāṣ for murdering someone is that they are punished by death. This is a major sin.

 

 

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(Note: this only occurs in an Islamic state with a qāḍi). Minor sins are those which have no specific punishment found in the Qurʾān and Sunnah. Also, major sins require specific tawbah. The person specifically has to ask Allāh to forgive him for that sin. Example: ḥadīth of isrā’ wa’l-mi‘rāj in Bukhāri. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said he was shown some punishments from the barzakh and came across a big pit of fire and there were people in this fire who were naked and the fire would eat up their bodies and they would be screaming. After their bodies were burned, the bodies would become normal and they would be burned again. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked who these people were and Jibrīl said they were adulterers. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) also saw people in a river of blood, and they kept trying to get out of the river. As they reached the shore, their heads were being hit by rocks and they kept falling back into the river. Jibrīl (‘alayhi’l-salām) said these people were being punished because they were involved in riba. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saw people whose lips and tongues were being cut with scissors and then they would be put back to normal. Jibrīl told the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that these people were being punished because they were involved in backbiting. Minor sins do not require specific tawbah and can be forgiven in different ways. One jumu‘ah to the next forgives sins. This refers to minor sins. Note: the greatest sin is shirk and it is in a category on its own. The Shayṭān works the hardest on the learned individuals, imams and scholars. If Iblīs can get a scholar or leader to fall into a sin, then not only will he fall into the sin but others will as well because: - others will think that if the scholar can fall into it, then how can they be protected from it or - because they are in a position of authority, they may try to justify their action and then they not only misguided themselves but also other people Iblīs tries very hard with scholars and learned individuals. -

To make someone commit minor sins Minor sins are things which do not require specific tawbah. They can be erased by our good deeds. Many religious people fall into this category. Even in the minor sins, Iblīs is very smart. A person may look at their minor sins and say it is not a big deal. They may think that their good deeds will erase their

 

 

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minor sins. Iblīs is successful in convincing the person that these are small and minor and not a big deal. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told us in the ḥadīth of Sahl b. Sa‘d in the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad: “Beware of those sins that people view as small or those sins that people belittle. The example of a person who gets involved in these minor sins is the example of a group of people who go to spend the night in a valley and from this group of people, one person goes and brings a little bit of wood. Another goes and brings a little bit of wood. Another goes and brings a little bit of wood. As soon as the wood is lit, a Ḥajj fire goes up. When a person indulges in minor sins, he will be destroyed by them.” Shayṭān misrepresents things to us. He gets us to compare minor sins to major sins. A person involved in minor sins will eventually fall into major sins. Minor sins lead to major sins. This is why Shayṭān uses this as the next category. Belittling sins is a major sin. -

To make someone waste his or her time in permissible things Iblīs cloaks and covers and doesn’t show the reality. With bid‘ah, the truth is covered with something we think is good. Shayṭān will swamp a person with permissible things so they have no time to do anything which is better. Example: A newly married couple who has had the nikāḥ but not the walīmah. These couples will spend hours on the phone talking. They are not doing anything wrong. Sometimes there is nothing to talk about so people start talking about hypothetical situations (i.e. naming children). The time is wasted. That time could have been spent in the worship of Allāh. When a couple is living together, it is easier to solve their disagreements. Living together also means they are having marital relations, and when there is a physical relationship, it is a lot easier to get over something you don’t like. Example: sports. A trick of Shayṭān is to make you obsessed with sports or any hobby which is ḥalāl. They start losing out on other things which are important. Example: instead of paying attention to the message of the khuṭbah, we think about other things (his style of delivery, his Arabic grammar, the tone of his voice, etc.).

 

 

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Sometimes it is a simple matter of getting people to sit around and do nothing. This is okay sometimes, but when it gets excessive, then Shayṭān has succeeded on this level. -

To make someone choose to do the lesser of two good deeds If you let you guard down, Iblīs can get you. Shayṭān will get you to pick the action with the lesser reward. As Shaykh Saad was preparing this section, he realized that ‘aṣr had come in an hour earlier. Shayṭān had succeeded. It is better to pray the prayer at its earliest time. It is so important to have knowledge so that Iblīs doesn’t get you in this type of situation. Shayṭān gets us in this level in knowledge and worship. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The superiority of an ‘ālim (scholar) over an ‘ābid (worshipper) is like my superiority over the least of you.” A person who has knowledge is able to tell in which matter there is more reward or less reward. They are able to tell if an act of worship is sunnah or bid‘ah. Sometimes we think of Islam as individualistic, and we forget that as a Muslim, we are part of the ummah and have rights upon one another. Imam Aḥmad said about tahajjud, “Tahajjud is for myself, but the actions of the ummah are for everyone, so I would rather do what is going to help more people than what will help less people.” Story of Ḥafṣah, the daughter of ‘Umar: When her husband passed away, ‘Umar (raḍyAllāhu ‘anhu) went first to ‘Uthmān and offered his daughter in marriage to him, and ‘Uthmān refused. He then went to Abu Bakr who refused as well. Eventually, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) married his daughter. Why did ‘Umar go to ‘Uthmān before Abu Bakr? Isn’t Abu Bakr the best of the companions? Abu Bakr has the highest rank amongst the companions. The wife of ‘Uthmān had passed away, and Abu Bakr already had two wives. Even though Abu Bakr was better than ‘Uthmān, ‘Umar knew ‘Uthmān didn’t have a wife. This shows that knowledge is so important – Shayṭān will get you to do the lesser of the two actions. Ibn al-Qayyim told us the best form of worship. He said, “The best act of worship depends on the time and the place and to see what is best in that time and place.” -

If someone brings you food and the adhān is called and the masjid is nearby, then the preferred action is: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “If food is presented to you and the prayer has been established, then start with the food.” This is the fiqh of understanding what is best to do in that time and place. There is more reward in eating. Why? When you go pray your prayer, if you go hungry, then you will be thinking about the food. If

 

 

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you were to eat first and then pray, the quality of your prayer would be much better. Also, because you ate first, you implemented the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and there is reward in that action. -

Example: In Ḥajj on the day of ‘Arafāh, the best thing to do is make du‘ā’ to Allāh.

In prayer, we are not allowed to speak. If the imam makes a mistake in the prayer, then according to the majority of scholars, you can correct him. The Sunnah is to correct him and there is more reward to do this. Even women should clap their hands to correct the imam. Sometimes parents may do things to their children which may make their selfworth or self-esteem suffer. It is common in the desi community for parents to say that their children must become a doctor. This may not be everyone’s strength, and they may have a tough time succeeding in this. This child may think that he is not smart. That child’s strength may lie in another field. It is from the fiqh and understanding of a parent to look at their child’s strengths and weaknesses and encourage them in their strengths. This includes in ‘ibādah too. For some people, they are not good at fasting sunnah fasts, but it is easy for them to wake up for qiyām’l-layl. Focus on something you have no problem with. -

Ruining acts of obedience to Allāh Al-Baqarah v. 264: Do not nullify your acts of charity with harming someone or reminding a person of your faḍl upon them. This is how you ruin your charity. An act of worship can be ruined even after it is done, and this goes back to the issue of intention. One of the biggest goals of Shayṭān is to mess with our intentions. He will get us to change our intentions or play with them after they are already done. Someone may have performed the best of the good deeds and Shayṭān will try to get them to ruin it. Another example: riyā’. As a person is praying, they realize someone is walking into the masjid, and they start to beautify their prayer.

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An all-out attack If Shayṭān is unsuccessful in the above, then he will make an all-out physical attack. If we get to this level, we will be tested very severely. When your īmān is

 

 

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at this level, then the tests get serious. An example of this is ‘Umar who was at a level at which Shayṭān couldn’t get to him. ‘Umar died after being stabbed by a Majusi with a poison dagger. “Islam began as something strange and will go back to something strange. There is reward for those people who are the strangers.” All of the people of knowledge were tested. Imam Mālik was beaten to the point where he couldn’t raise his hands to pray. Ibn Taymiyyah was jailed. If Iblīs cannot succeed in other categories and if someone is in leadership, then Iblīs will try to get people to turn against him and attack him. People turned against Imam Bukhāri and tried to cause psychological harm.

Shayṭān’s Motivations Why does Shayṭān care if we go to heaven or hell? - Shayṭān sees Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) as the father of mankind and blames Ādam. He wants to make sure we end up in the Hellfire. - Some scholars mention that when we fight the shayāṭīn, we are fighting a war with prisoners. Sayyid Qutb said about Iblīs: “He doesn’t ask for respite because he doesn’t regret what he has done. Rather, he takes revenge from Ādam and his progeny.” An analysis of Shayṭān’s speech Let’s take some examples of Shayṭān’s speech as mentioned in the Qur’ān. What conclusions can we come to?

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[Allāh] said, “O Iblīs, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?” He said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay.” [Allāh] said, “Then get out of Paradise, for indeed, you are expelled. And indeed, upon you is My curse until the Day of Recompense.” He said, “My Lord, then reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected.” [Allāh] said, “So indeed, you are of those reprieved until the Day of the time well-known.” [Iblīs] said, “By Your might, I will surely mislead them all except, among them, Your chosen servants.” Sūrah Ṣād [38:75-83] A lot of this is additional information regarding Iblīs’s refusal to make sajdah to Ādam. In the other set of āyāt, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) said, “What has stopped you from making sajdah when I have commanded you to do so?” In this āyah, Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) mentions that Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) has been created with the two Hands of Allāh, which is nobility given to Ādam over Iblīs. Iblīs was not created by the two Hands of Allāh. Because Allāh created him with His Hands, it shows us the superiority of Ādam over Iblīs. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) gives Iblīs another opportunity by asking if he is not making sajdah because of arrogance. Allāh is telling Iblīs exactly why he isn’t making sajdah. This is a rhetorical question. Whenever Allāh asks a question, He knows the answer but is asking so that Iblīs can think. Iblīs is once again persistent in his arrogance and insists he is better than Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) even though Allāh has clearly told Iblīs that Ādam is better. Part of our faith is that we know that Allāh tells us to do things for our benefit. When we disobey, it is as if we are saying that we think we know better. It is a characteristic of Iblīs to insist even when the matter has been made clear. Here we see once again that Iblīs is expelled due to his arrogance. Allāh can raise you up and disgrace you as well. In the obedience of Allāh is true honor and in disobedience is disgrace. Allāh tells us about Iblīs refusing to make sajdah. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) tells us that He commanded Iblīs to make sajdah. In this āyah, Allāh shows the honor He gave to Ādam in that He created Ādam with His Hands. This arrogance is even higher because Iblīs disregards the argument presented by Allāh that He created Ādam with His Hands and Iblīs still thinks that he is better than Ādam.

 

 

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Allāh can raise someone up and take them down when they become disobedient to Allāh. The la‘na of Allāh means: 1) anger and 2) distance. The anger of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) is upon Iblīs. Also, Iblīs is distant from the Mercy of Allāh. This will last until the Day of Judgment and after when he is punished in the Hellfire. It is very serious to say to someone, “May the la‘na of Allāh be upon you.” You are saying, “May you earn the Wrath of Allāh and may you be far away from the Mercy of Allāh and far away from any type of hope.” He said, “My Lord, then reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected.” [Allāh] said, “So indeed, you are of those reprieved until the Day of the time well-known.” Even after being cursed, Iblīs understood the Mercy of Allāh and asked for respite until the Day of Resurrection, and Allāh allows him to live until the Day of the appointed time. Allowing him to live means he will increase in his sins, which means his punishment will be severe. Iblīs said, “I swear by Your Honor…” Iblīs is thinking of the highest possible thing that he can swear by, and he thinks that it is the Honor of Allāh. “…except, among them, Your chosen servants.” This shows the sincerity in one’s actions. The only people who will be saved from the tricks and traps of Shayṭān are the sincere. Shayṭān gets people to show off their good deeds (riyā’).

And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Ādam,” and they prostrated, except for Iblīs. He said, “Should I prostrate to one You created from clay?” [Iblīs] said, “Do You see this one whom You have honored above me? If You delay me until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few.” Sūrat’l-Isrā’ [17:61-62] Iblīs is taking the focus away from the real matter. It doesn’t matter what Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) is created from.

 

 

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This shows Iblīs’ arrogance and viewing of himself to be better than Ādam. The word aḥtanikanna comes from ḥanaka. Ḥanaka has two forms of usage. 1) Iblīs will be able to affect the person just like you will affect a child. Taḥnīk: the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is to chew a bit of a date and put it in the baby’s mouth. Fulfilling a commandment of Allāh is worshipping Allāh. To fight Iblīs, we give the child a good upbringing. Any type of worship you do is a defeat for Iblīs. It is alluding to the fact that Iblīs will be the enemy of the child since the first day, and the second connotation is that just like a child has an upbringing, he will make sure it is a bad upbringing. 2) He will be able to control mankind. The other meaning of ḥanaka is when someone puts a rope in a horse’s mouth to control it. Iblīs will try to control the progeny of Ādam and lead them to the Hellfire. “…except for a few…” The scholars mention that in this position here, Iblīs is not actually sure and doesn’t know how many people he will mislead. He is making boastful claims. He is very confident in the way he is speaking. Sometimes confidence is a way for a person to hide their insecurities. Iblīs is trying to bully the children of Ādam.

And do not be like those who came forth from their homes insolently and to be seen by people and avert [them] from the way of Allāh. And Allāh is encompassing of what they do. And [remember] when Shayṭān made their deeds pleasing to them and said, “No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector.”

 

 

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But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, “Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allāh. And Allāh is severe in penalty.” Sūrat’l-Anfāl [8:47-48] “And do not be like those who came forth from their homes insolently and to be seen by people and avert [them] from the way of Allāh.” What is Allāh speaking about? The Battle of Badr. The mushrikūn of Quraysh were leaving Makkah to fight the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the Muslims. As they were gathering at the city limits, there was a rumor spreading that Makkah may be attacked by Banu Bakr (Banu Kinānah). Many fighters of the Quraysh started to become uneasy. They almost decided to not go out and fight the Muslims. A man named Surāqah b. Mālik b. Ju‘shim who was one of the leaders of Banu Bakr came and told them that Banu Bakr would not attack them and that he would go and fight with them hand in hand, and he grabbed the hand of one of the fighters of the Quraysh. Surāqah b. Mālik was the Shayṭān. He beautified the war for them. He said, “There is no one from amongst the people who can overtake you that day.” This is the guarantee he gives. He says, “I will be your jarh.” Jarh is someone who is your neighbor, and this is supposed to be someone who protects you and looks out for you. However, what happened? When the armies came together and he saw them come together, he turned and fled. Some narrators say Iblīs snatched his hand away and threw the person he was holding hands with and pushed him back. He said, “I am free from you.” This is the habit of Iblīs: giving reassurances and making false promises and when the punishment of Allāh comes, he backs out. Scholars say that he saw Jibrīl (‘alayhi’l-salām) and the angels come down, and when he saw the power of the angels, he fled. The stronger opinion on the number of angels is 100. At this moment, he said, “I fear Allāh.” He fears the punishment of Allāh, and when he sees the angels, he knows the punishment of Allāh is coming. “Allāh is the most severe in His punishment.” Why does Allāh say at this moment that he fears Allāh? Iblīs is taking the knife and twisting it. He is telling them that the people were fools to believe him. He is saying that even he knows how powerful Allāh is.

[The hypocrites are] like the example of Shayṭān when he says to man, “Disbelieve.” But when he disbelieves, he says, “Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I fear Allāh, Lord of the worlds.” Sūrat’l-Ḥashr [59:16]

 

 

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Allāh is reminding us that Iblīs is a habitual liar. Shayṭān will make false promises and reassure you. Allāh is saying this is the way the hypocrites are as well. The hypocrites are the helpers of Shayṭān. This āyah is also proof of the fact that rubūbiyyah necessitates ulūhiyyah. Rubūbiyyah is the belief that Allāh is our Creator, Sustainer, Lord, Rabb. If a person believes that only is Allāh is their Lord and Sustainer, then it necessitates that Allāh is the only Lord worthy of worship. Iblīs fears Allāh because He is the only Lord. The example of the hypocrites is like Shayṭān. Story of Barsīsah Many scholars, including Ibn Kathīr in Bidāyah wa’l-Nihāyah, say this story was revealed because of the story of Barsīsah. It is narrated that this verse was revealed about a monk who came in the nations before us. This monk was known to be very pious and worshipped Allāh for 60 years. One day, Shayṭān decided he wanted to misguide this worshipper, so he possessed a woman and she became ill from this possession. They tried to help her and find a cure. She had three brothers who became worried. Shayṭān came to the brothers and told them to take her to Barsīsah. They took their sister there and told her that they had to go to battle and they asked Barsīsah if they could leave her. Barsīsah initially said no until Shayṭān came to him and said, “What kind of worshipper are you that you do not help this poor, ill girl?” Barsīsah thought he should perform ruqya and agreed to take care of her. Initially, it mentioned that she was in a separate room and he would do ruqya through a door. He would put a plate of food at the door and knock and run away until Shayṭān came to him and said this woman has been put in his care and is by herself for so long, which is not humane. Barsīsah decides he would at least ask her how she was and hand her food personally. He then thinks that if he is doing that, then he should perform ruqya on her as well and she would be cured sooner. He sits beside her bed and performs ruqya. She is cured slowly, and he starts talking to her and develops affection for her. They began to have feelings for one another until they committed zina. She gets pregnant, and Shayṭān goes to Barsīsah and says, “What have you done? This woman was brought to you to take are of her, and you took advantage of her, and now there is an illegitimate child. What will you tell the brothers? They will not believe you. The only solution you have is to kill her and the baby, and when the brothers come back, you tell them that she became ill and died.” He thinks and thinks and decides that is the best solution. He wonders how people will behave when they realize a monk committed zina with a woman and had an illegitimate child. He kills her and the baby.

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The brothers come back, and he tells the story of her becoming ill and dying. The brothers say, “Why did you bury her so quickly? We wanted to find out what happened.” They investigated. Iblīs comes back to Barsīsah and tells him that they will find out and realize that he not only committed zina and had a child but killed her and the baby. Iblīs says, “The only thing that can save you now is me. I can take you out of your predicament. I am your advisor. All you have to do is make sajdah to me, and I will help you.” Barsīsah makes sajdah. When he commits this kufr, Iblīs says, “I am free from you. I fear Allāh, the Lord of the worlds.” The brothers find out what happened and kill Barsīsah and he dies upon kufr. Allāh is saying this is how the hypocrites are. This is the step-by-step process of Iblīs. Shayṭān doesn’t come to a person immediately. He takes a step-by-step process until he leads a person to kufr and then says he is free from them and fears Allāh.

Whom Allāh has cursed. For he had said, “I will surely take from among Your servants a specific portion. And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the creation of Allāh.” And whoever takes Shayṭān as an ally instead of Allāh has certainly sustained a clear loss. Shayṭān promises them and arouses desire in them. But Shayṭān does not promise them except delusion. Sūrat’l-Nisā’ [4:118-120] “I will surely take from among Your servants a specific portion…” There are three methods of emphasis here: 1) Lām al-tawkīd. 2) Nūn al-tawkīd 3) Al-qasm wa’l-muqaddar: an implied swear, meaning it is as if he is saying, “I swear that I will most definitely…” The swear is implied. Iblīs is being cursed. The “specific portion” are the aiders and helpers of Iblīs. First he says that he will take from His servants a specific portion. Then he says, “I will surely

 

 

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mislead them.” Then he says, “I will certainly give rise to their desires.” He then says, “I will command them to cut the ears of cattle.” Iblīs is smart in the way he works. At the time of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), the Arabs had a lot of superstitions attached to cutting the ears of cattle. Everything that came out of it would lead to shirk – minor and possibly major. There are three methods of emphasis in each statement. Iblīs comes to us with very small things, but the implications of them are so large. “…and I will command them so they will change the creation of Allāh.” Scholars say the distortion of Allāh’s creation has three meanings: 1) People will physically change the creation of Allāh. He will get them to physically harm themselves (i.e. drugs, plastic surgery, tattoos). Iblīs will make them think that they are doing something good. 2) Changing the creation from worshipping Allāh to worshipping other than Allāh. He will get the creation to worship people, saints, rocks, trees, idols, the sun, etc. 3) Changing the fiṭrah of mankind. The fiṭrah is the natural inclination to worship Allāh. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “There is not a child born except that he is born on the fiṭrah…” Shayṭān only promises them with deception. The term ghurūr means that you are not shown the reality of something. You are shown something, but the reality is something else. Shayṭān’s Sermon to the People of Hellfire

And Shayṭān will say when the matter has been concluded, “Indeed, Allāh had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my

 

 

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aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with Allāh] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment.” Sūrah Ibrāhīm [14:22] [Refer to the Introduction for notes]

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Chapter 7 | How Shayṭān Deceives People at Different Levels of Religiosity This chapter is like a workbook. Throughout this weekend, we will fill in this chapter and see how Shayṭān deceives people. Shayṭān doesn’t use one method in one way but many methods in many ways. He may use a particular method but apply it differently to different people depending on factors such as a person’s religiosity. You can protect yourself and those around you as well. These are the methods (strategies, tools, and tricks) employed by Shayṭān. He has a plan of attack for every single person, religious or not, strong or weak, young or old, male or female! He has been strategizing and perfecting his attacks since the creation of Ādam (ʿalayhi’l-salām). Levels of Religiosity: NM

S N LI RM

AC

Non-Muslims or non-practicing Muslims (includes Muslim only by culture) - Those who are heedless to purpose of life: • Antagonistic towards traditional Islam • Indifferent towards traditional Islam Those seeking out the purpose of life; looking for spirituality New Muslims or newly-practicing Muslims Muslims dealing with low īmān “Religious” Muslims • Laymen • Students of knowledge • Learned Individuals All categories

Note: Shayṭān tries extra hard with the learned individuals to get them to commit major sins. Why? Iblīs’s strategy is to try to get the most bang for his buck. He does this by getting a knowledgeable person like a scholar or imam to fall into a sin and then everyone else will fall because the people will wonder how they can be expected to not fall into a sin when a great scholar has. Also, matters become justified in their minds. One of the ways Iblīs comes is that not only does he get the knowledgeable person to commit a sin but to make him arrogant and justify the sin. When this happens, then to all the followers, it becomes justified. Allāh says, “Ask the people of knowledge if you don’t know.”

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A real example for us in our times: Those people who have made it their goal in life to criticize scholars and imams and teachers. Sometimes other leaders and other knowledgeable people do this. Every time an example is shown, we will place it in one of the above categories. Shayṭān comes to people in different ways. You will be able to recognize how Shayṭān or Iblīs deceives you. Example: we may not get angry as others do, but we may have a problem as well. This is for us to be able to help people if we find them in one of these categories. 1. Distortion of Reality

“Then Shayṭān whispered to him; he said, ‘O Ādam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not deteriorate?’” [20:120] Iblīs distorted the reality and called in a “tree of eternity,” meaning that if you eat from this tree, you an live forever. Iblīs will either take goodness and make it appear as evil or take evil and make it appear as something good. In this case, Iblīs is taking something evil and make it appear as something good. The evils in society are given a positive name and as a result we may accept it. Shayṭān will make zina look enticing. Iblīs makes people think about sexual freedom and not think that it is a big deal to have sex outside of marriage. We see the effects in our society: divorce, single parents raising kids, STDs, etc. Iblīs will never remind you of these things. Iblīs deceives people into thinking things are good. Equality: if the term is applied as a whole, it is not always a good thing. It depends on what you mean. An example of how equality is bad is that a father says he wants to treat his two children equally and spend the same on each child. If one of the children gets sick and is afflicted with a disease, the father may not pay for the treatment because he would have to spend the same amount of money on the other child, which he cannot afford to do. There are situations where they should not be treated equally. It is easy to put things under titles and slogans but the reality may be different. Shayṭān will get people to jump on labels. When you label someone, you can distort the reality very easily. The tyrant tried to commit zina forcibly with the wife of Ibrāhīm (‘alayhi’l-salām) and every time he tried, he became paralyzed. In the end, he said, “Take this Shayṭān away

 

 

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from me.” He calls Sarah a Shayṭān, but in reality, he is the Shayṭān. It is a matter of flipping the issue and distorting the reality and making it something it is not.

§

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

Non-Muslims / non-practicing Muslims: Iblīs will distort the reality of life and may whisper to someone that it is in this life that he can fulfill all of his desires. The reality is that people may spend their whole lives trying to fulfill their desires and it will not happen. Iblīs will say that happiness is in material things and fame. When people gain that, they realize it is not true. Those seeking purpose of life / spirituality: Allāh created us with different needs, and we have spiritual needs. If someone doesn’t address this need, then they will feel that void. Iblīs will convince that person that the answer to the void is everything except spirituality and worshipping Allāh. He will make people think praying five times a day is difficult but a person who does it sees the barakah and blessings of praying. New Muslims / newly practicing Muslims: The “better than” argument. They will let themselves continue in a certain sin with the excuse that “at least I’m better than that person.” Iblīs will get you to compare yourself to those who are worse off in their dīn. With the dunya, he will get you to compare yourself to people with more. For dunya, we should compare with those who have less than us so that we are grateful and thankful to Allāh, and for dīn, we should compare ourselves with those who do more than us. Muslims dealing with low īmān: A common method of deception related to this matter is that Iblīs makes a person feel like a hypocrite. They feel that only when they have low īmān do they turn to Allāh. This is a trick of Iblīs, and he is distorting reality. Allāh may put us in a test or trial so that we get closer to Him and worship Him. This test or trial may come so that we worship Allāh. If a person is praying during the time of exams, they are better than a person who is not praying at all. Goodness is goodness. At least this person is worshipping Allāh in that time, and you never know if this may change someone’s life and he feels the sweetness of īmān and continues to pray for the rest of his life. Religious Muslims: Laymen: Shayṭān may distort the reality of what goodness is and they may view goodness as only the exterior and physical acts of worship. They pray their prayers and fast and look the part and feel good about themselves but have issues in the heart (jealousy, envy). Many of these issues are big sins. To have ḥasad is a major sin. Even a person’s online sins go back to the heart. If a person is sincere and cares about his heart, then online sins will cut down. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa

 

 

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sallam) told us: “Most certainly, in the body there is a morsel of flesh and if it is sound, then the rest of the body is sound as well and if it is ruined, then the rest of the body is ruined as well. Most certainly this is the heart.” Learned Muslims / Scholars: Iblīs will come to this person and make him think he is safe because he is religious and teaches and is imam, etc. Iblīs will make the person think he knows enough. A learned individual may focus on everyone but their own family and relationship with their family. Someone may give da‘wah and teach others but they are not giving their family attention. Our families have rights upon us. Shayṭān has got them to focus on things which seem good, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your own family. All Categories: Riyā’ and doing things to show off. 2. Causing one to go into extremes (extremism) Ibn al-Qayyim said, “Allāh never orders anything except that Shayṭān takes two contradictory stances towards it: either shortcoming and negligence or overzealousness and exaggeration.” Extremism is excessiveness or negligence, and Iblīs loves both of these. For fasting, one extreme is fasting every single day. This is one of the tactics of Iblīs: to make us think we are doing something good when we are actually doing a sin by going outside of the Sunnah of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). People think they are doing something good and may say, “What is wrong? I’m just fasting!” The other extreme is never fasting and even leaving off the farḍ fasts of Ramadan. In Bukhāri: Anas narrates a story from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Three pious men came to visit the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Anas said, “They came to learn about the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and see how he worshipped Allāh. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was not there, so they asked about his worship. After we described it to them, they were not that impressed. They began to say, ‘The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) has had his past and future sins forgiven so we need to be different.’ One of them said, ‘As for me, I’m going to fast every single day.’ Another said, ‘As for me, I’m going to pray the whole night.’ Another said, ‘As for me, I will never get married.’ They left. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) came back and is told of what took place. He (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) immediately said, ‘Go find these three men and bring them back to me.’ When they are brought back, he (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘Did you three make these statements?’ They said yes. He (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘W’allāhi, I am the most pious amongst all of you and I have the most taqwa amongst all of you, yet I pray and I sleep, and I fast and I break my fast, and I marry women. The one who goes beyond my Sunnah is not from amongst me.’” Bid‘ah is extremism.

 

 

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When Allāh gives a commandment to do or not do something, Shayṭān will cause you to take a stance: shortcoming and negligence or overzealousness. This is a common trap of Shayṭān. In almost every single issue, you can find people on each extreme. Wasaṭiyyah is a core concept of Islam. Ahl’l-sunnah wa’l-jamā‘ah always seek to be in the middle. §

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

Non-Muslims / non-practicing Muslims: Monks go to an extreme in their worship. They do not get married and stay celibate. This is a form of extremism and not from the guidance of Allāh. Those seeking out the purpose of life; looking for spirituality: Instead of real spirituality, they practice a form of zuhd. Asceticism means abandoning the dunya, and zuhd means to not let the dunya affect you / to own the dunya and not let the dunya own you. Imam al-Hasan al-Basri said to hold the dunya in your hands and not in your heart. New Muslims / newly practicing Muslims: They want to do everything and go to one extreme and then cannot sustain it so they go to the other extreme of not doing anything. People dealing with low īmān: It is common for Shayṭān to come with someone dealing with low īmān and convince them that Muslims are only of two categories: a good Muslim or a bad Muslim. They say that since they are not in the good Muslim category, they think they are a bad Muslim and they give up and may even leave off worship of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Shayṭān causes them to give up the goodness they are doing. Shayṭān causes you to think either you are perfect or worthless. There is no such thing as a perfect Muslim. Religious Muslims: Laymen: Worshipping Allāh in a way which is not described by the Sharī‘ah (bid‘ah). Also, everything is black and white. Taking an extreme stance on every single issue and not understanding that scholars differ. Scholars and learned individuals: To refute the philosophers, they forgot and ended up changing their ‘aqīdah and morals and principals. 3. Procrastination and laziness

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Allāh’s Messenger (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “During your sleep, the Shayṭān ties three knots at the back of the head of each of you, and he breathes the following words at each knot, ‘The night is long, so keep on sleeping.’ If that person wakes up and remembers Allāh, one knot is undone. If they perform ablution, then the second knot is undone. If they pray, then all the knots are undone, and they get up in the morning lively and in good spirits, otherwise they get up in low spirits and lazy.” [al-Bukhāri] When you miss ṣalāt’l-fajr, it affects your whole day, and Iblīs knows this, which is why he tries three knots. He tries hard to make sure we don’t wake up for fajr. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said if we don’t wake up for fajr, then the laziness will last throughout the day. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would seek refuge in Allāh from laziness. A trick of Shayṭān is that if you miss fajr, Shayṭān will cause you to be lazy throughout the rest of the day and not pray the rest of your prayers on time. Procrastination is a major trick of Shayṭān. He will get you to delay a good deed. For example, a person may want to make Ḥajj, but if Shayṭān can’t get you to say that you don’t want to make Ḥajj, then he will get you to want to make Ḥajj when you are old. Example: Delaying tawbah. Shayṭān may fail in getting the person to not make tawbah. Shayṭān will get them to delay their tawbah to the point where they will never be able to make it. Shayṭān will get us to be lazy and procrastinate. You don’t know how much time you have left, but Shayṭān will make us think we have tons of time to make tawbah. We never know how long we have to live, and we know our repentance will be accepted as long as our soul hasn’t left our body. Iblīs wants you to be in a position where after you die, you say, “O Allāh, send me back that perhaps I may do something pious in my previous life!” If you say that you are going to do it later, then it is not important to you. If you really care about tawbah, then you would make tawbah right now to Allāh.

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Example: I’ll become a good Muslim after I get married or when we have children, then we will become good Muslims. Then they think their children are still babies and nothing will affect them. The Shayṭān wants you to delay your goodness. A good way to fight this is to be vigilant over all of your prayers. A prayer puts you in a schedule of worshipping Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said in the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi: “Shayṭān has given up hope that the people who pray will worship him.” Solutions: - Be extra careful to pray fajr on time. It affects your whole day. Never let Shayṭān convince you that if you delayed fajr that the rest of your prayers don’t matter. Each prayer is a way to regain focus. You don’t know which sajdah, rakʿah, or dhikr Allāh will put barakah in and make it change your whole life. Ibn al-Qayyim said, “A single sajdah can propel a person…” - Say the isti‘ādhah. - Prayer gives you a schedule. Lives of students in Madīnah were set in a schedule of ṣalāh. A good fight for laziness is to seek refuge in Allāh from it. Also, the importance of saying a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-Shayṭān’l-rajīm. When you are about to hit the snooze button in the morning, say a‘ūdhu billāhi min al-Shayṭān’l-rajīm. 4. Fear

That is only Shayṭān who frightens [you] of his supporters. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers. Sūrah Āle-‘Imrān [3:75] Shayṭān cannot frighten the awliyā’ of Allāh. When you listen to Shayṭān and obey him, then he can frighten you. When you allow Shayṭān to take the first step and open the door, then that is when he comes in. Fear is a tactic of Shayṭān. The most severe way that this occurs is when Shayṭān makes you afraid of someone above Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) and depending on the severity of that, it can be minor shirk or major shirk.

 

 

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One of the most obvious ways is Shayṭān coming to us with bodily harm or discomfort. A person who doesn’t practice Islam may think that he cannot fast for 30 days in Ramadan. Shayṭān may convince people that their life will become very difficult as soon as they become a practicing Muslim or religious Muslim. People after 9/11 either came closer to Allāh in that time of distress and many non-Muslims came to Islam, and some also went further away from Islam. Shayṭān will often make us afraid for ourselves. You are not supposed to be afraid of Shayṭān. At the end of the day, remember that the plots of Shayṭān are weak. Above all, put your trust in Allāh and take Him as our Protector and Wali. §

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

Non-Muslims / non-practicing Muslims: Shayṭān will make people think they will be boring, mad all the time, upset, and antisocial.     Those seeking out the purpose of life; looking for spirituality: Shayṭān may make someone think they will lose their job or others may make judgment about them.     People dealing with low īmān: Shayṭān will make you afraid that no matter what you do, you will be punished by Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla), so he makes you give up and lose hope.     Religious Muslims: Students of knowledge: Fear of riyā’. Shayṭān will tell a person he is knowledgeable or learned but if he starts teaching, then he may fall into riyā’ and do it just to show off.   Scholars and learned individuals: Shayṭān will make them feel afraid to take an opinion or stance because it will cause them to lose the love of people or people will turn against them. 5. Desires

Anas b. Mālik narrated that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, "Paradise has been surrounded by hardships and Hellfire has been surrounded by desires." [al-Bukhāri, Muslim]

 

 

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It is very easy to get to the Hellfire. Paradise is difficult to attain. Shayṭān will make us focus on our desires. For example, he may get us to focus on the hardships of Islam and not the ease and comfort that Islam provides. Islam doesn’t promise that you will always have physical ease. You need to struggle with your desires. Islam does promise the ease of the heart and of the soul once you submit to Allāh. Love of dunya is one of the tricks of Shayṭān. The marketplace is the battleground of Shayṭān because we see the dunya first-hand. A lot of evil comes about from the marketplace. We now have access to the marketplace on our computers and phones. Extravagance and excessiveness: Excessiveness is going beyond your means or desiring beyond your means. In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Jābir narrates that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “In one’s household, there should be a bed for the man and a sleeping place for his wife. [this means they should have a place to lay down and go to sleep]. The third sleeping place should be for the guest. The fourth sleeping place is for al-Shayṭān.” What does this have to do with extravagance and excessiveness? Some people may have many extra rooms in their house for no reason. Excessiveness opens the door for Shayṭān to come in. When spending on things you don’t need, you are allowing Shayṭān into your life. People think isrāf and extravagance is equal to money, which is not true. Isrāf is spending beyond your means.

Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Shayṭān been to his Lord ungrateful. Sūrat’l-Isrā’ [17:27] In the quest for fulfilling our desires, we sometimes compromise our Islam. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told us the marketplace is the battleground of Shayṭān. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not be the first to enter the marketplace and the last to leave it for indeed it is the battleground of Shayṭān. It is that where he places his flag.” §

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

People dealing with low īmān: When someone is dealing with low īmān, they are feeling emptiness in their life. Shayṭān will convince a person that this is because he doesn’t have something from this dunya. The real problem is that they are not addressing their spirituality. Shayṭān makes them think it is something else.

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6. Doubts

The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The Shayṭān comes to one of you and says, ‘Who created such-and-such? Who created such-and-such?’ Until he says, ‘Who has created your Lord?’ So if he brings you to this [nature of questioning], one should seek refuge in Allāh and give up such thoughts.” [al-Bukhāri] The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is telling us that if this line of questioning comes to us, then seek refuge in Allāh. Shayṭān will cause us to doubt many things: īmān, faith, etc. Many young people may sign up for a philosophy class in college. Even when you are sure of something, you will doubt it. It is like trying to run a 23 mile marathon when you cannot run even 500 feet. You will fail because you did not prepare yourself. Shayṭān will put you in positions you are not prepared to be in. A brother was close to the end of his studies in Madīnah, and he started talking about philosophy with someone. He said it took him three years to get rid of one doubt. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said if you are in that position, then say the isti‘ādhah and move on with your life. As a human being, you are not given all of the knowledge in the world. You will run into issues and doubts if you try to answer every question. There will never be a contradiction between sound intellect and authentic revelation. The doubt that is there is perceived and not real. Shayṭān may get people to doubt in the abilities of Allāh or doubt in their own du‘ā’. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said Allāh will continue to answer du‘ā’s as long as a person is not hasty in du‘ā’, which is a person thinking that he has made du‘ā’ and made du‘ā’ and that his du‘ā’ is not answered. Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) answered du‘ā’s, but there are various reasons why your du‘ā’ may be delayed or the answer is not what you want. 7. Alcohol, games of chance, idols and divining arrows

 

 

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O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allāh], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Shayṭān, so avoid it that you may be successful. Shayṭān only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allāh and from prayer. So will you not desist? Sūrat’l-Mā’idah [5:90-91] Scholars call these the tools of Shayṭān. We know the ills that come in society because of alcohol and gambling. Some scholars add the music industry to this and say these are the tools of Shayṭān to cause animosity and dissension between people and make society suffer. They said part of the voice of Shayṭān is music. Look at the amount of sin that comes from music. So many evil messages get passed to us through music. Without a difference of opinion among the scholars, any type of music that leads a person astray is ḥarām. If you pay attention to some lyrics, they are absolutely filthy. Shayṭān will attach nice things to evil things. Music is something is very addictive and affects the brain. When a new habit is introduced to us, there is a pathway that gets created in the brain. Initially it may be very weak. The more you are exposed to it, the pathway becomes stronger until you become used to it. A solution is to make habits out of obedience to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Make dhikr a habit. Make ṣalāh a habit. We want the last words on our lips to be a dhikr of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla).   8. The step-by-step process

O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Shayṭān. And whoever follows the footsteps of Shayṭān - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing. Sūrat’l-Nūr [24:21] The Shayṭān uses a step-by-step process. He won’t come directly to a pious person and tell him to commit adultery or shirk or drink alcohol. An example is the story of the

 

 

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people of Nūḥ. Shayṭān may start with doing something that doesn’t seem like that big a deal. People fall into different sins depending on their own weaknesses. knowledgeable person can fall into sin. An example of this is Barsīsah.

Even a

For example, there may be e-mails exchanged which are all business and then end with a smiley face or a wink, and it eventually leads to zina. The reality is that these things are happening. 9. Haste

"Haste comes from Shayṭān." [al-Tirmidhi] Some scholars considered this ḥadīth weak. Allāh knows best. From Shaykh Saad’s research, it seems that this ḥadīth is authentic. When people are hasty, they are likely to fall into mistakes and commit sins. Haste is not always a bad thing, but in certain contexts, it is bad. One of the ways this happens is rushing to conclusions about other people. Iblīs will get us to judge the intentions of people instead of thinking good of people. An example of this is rushing into anger: if a person calms down and steps back and thinks about the situation, they likely won’t get angry. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) taught us to pray istikhārah for small and big matters. Istikhārah prevents us from rushing into matters. §

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

For people with low īm or a new Muslim: haste in prayer and dhikr. Iblīs will come to a person dealing with low īmān and tell them that they have tried praying and making dhikr and their īmān is not going up and causes them to lose hope. 10. Delusions of Grandeur (Arrogance)

 

 

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The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The one who has in their heart a mustard seed of arrogance will not enter Paradise.” A man asked, “What if it pleases me that my clothes be nice and my shoes be nice?” The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Verily Allāh is Beautiful and He loves beauty. Arrogance is disdaining the truth and contempt for people.” [Muslim] One of the first sins was arrogance and jealousy. They are closely linked together, which makes it so dangerous. Iblīs likes to inspire arrogance in other people. Shayṭān may come to a person of knowledge and make him shy to say Allāhu a‘lam. Humbleness is a sign of a person’s knowledge and the antithesis to Iblīs and the plots and plans of Shayṭān. The solution to this is that a person constantly seeks the forgiveness of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) even if they think there is nothing to seek forgiveness for. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was the best of creation and his past and future sins were forgiven and he would say astaghfirullāh daily. If you start to feel good about the work you are doing, then think about those who are doing more than you. There will always be someone working harder than you, so there is no reason to have delusions of grandeur or arrogance. §

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

Religious Muslims: Laymen: Arrogance is a common trait in the leaders of the awliyā’ of Shayṭān. Arrogance leads a religious lay person to not leave a bid‘ah because they don’t think it is possible that they may have been worshipping Allāh in a wrong way. Students of knowledge: Students of knowledge may become arrogant and knowledge bullies. They use their knowledge to put the other person down. It becomes about showing the other person is wrong instead of spreading khayr. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A person who seeks knowledge to argue with the foolish or boast among the scholars will be in the Hellfire.” If you seek

 

 

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knowledge for the wrong reasons, Iblīs has turned this good act into something you will be punished for. It is common for students of knowledge to ask questions in ways that show they know what they are talking about or to prove that they know more. If someone is in a position of leadership, they may hold onto their opinion simply out of arrogance even if they are wrong. 11. Jealousy and envy

When they said, "Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error. Kill Joseph or cast him out to [another] land; the countenance of your father will [then] be only for you, and you will be after that a righteous people." Sūrah Yūsuf [12:8-9] The brothers of Yūsuf were jealous and it led the m to transgress. Jealousy and envy are closely linked. Jealousy often leads to envy. Ibn Taymiyyah said that everyone is afflicted by jealousy except that people with īmān know how to deal with it properly. The Jews did not accept the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as a messenger of Allāh for this reason. Allāh said they recognized the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as they recognized their own children, but they were jealous and wanted the prophet to come from amongst their lineage, so they rejected the guidance. Reject goodness and reject guidance and reject naṣīḥah out of jealousy because you don’t want to be in a position of being less than another person. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Every person is afflicted with jealousy except the person who is knowledgeable and sincere.” Some scholars said jealousy is the art of counting other people’s blessings. How do you counter this? Count your own blessings. There are people out there who wish they had something we have.

 

 

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12. Bad assumptions

O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin... Sūrat’l-Ḥujurāt [49:12] Bad assumptions about people are one of the main tricks of Shayṭān. Many times in conflict, Shayṭān will come to you and remind you of something someone has done. Shayṭān will keep reminding you because he knows that if he keeps reminding you of how you have been wronged, the resentment and anger will grow. Ṣu al-dhann is a way to start conflict and keep the conflict going. If you want to put an end to a conflict, then have good assumptions. Ḥusn’l-dhann stops a lot of conflict from occurring in the first place. The narration about Ṣafiyyah when she exited the masjid: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “You may not assume that, but indeed Shayṭān flows through your body like blood through the veins.” If people may make bad assumptions about the best of creation, then what about us? Shayṭān will make you focus on people’s faults and weaknesses. From bad assumptions is looking at someone and assuming that there is no hope for them, so you don’t even try with them. This can lead to arrogance. We never know who Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) will raise up. Fight the whisperings of Shayṭān and say the isti‘ādhah. Be very careful about who you go to for advice. Sometimes Iblīs will come to religious people and people of knowledge and have them thinking that people will never change and that there is no good in them. They look at people and think there is no hope for them. Allāh can raise the person you are looking down upon today to a higher level than you tomorrow. 13. Self-Reliance

 

 

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No! [But] indeed, man transgresses. Because he sees himself self-sufficient. Sūrat’l-‘Alaq [96:6-7] A trick of Iblīs is to cut off our connection with Allāh and to rely upon ourselves. Shayṭān will get us to believe that everything happens because of ourselves and that there is no need for Allāh. In the Qurʾān, Qārūn says; “This wealth and power I’ve been given is because of my own knowledge and accomplishments.” A solution to this is always reminding yourself that Allāh has given you everything and can take it away at any moment. Remember that everything comes from Allāh and returns to Allāh. Inna lillāhi wa inna ilayhi rāji‘ūn. §

How this method of deception affects people at different levels of religiosity:

For non-Muslims / non-practicing Muslims: Shayṭān tricks them by making them think they control their own matters and decide what happens in their lives. Realize that you are not in control but Allāh is in control. 14. Hate

On the authority of Jābir who said: “I heard the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) say, ‘Certainly the Shayṭān has lost hope that he would be worshiped by the worshippers in the peninsula of Arabia, but he [is hopeful] in that he can sow seeds of dissension amongst them.’” [Muslim] When a person prays, Shayṭān has given up hope that the person will worship him. Shayṭān gets to this person by causing dissension between people. The number one problem in the masjid is conflict in the masjid.

 

 

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Hate is so powerful and such an effective tool of Shayṭān because once you hate someone, then you will not pay attention to anything they have to say, even if it is something good. Once hate develops, everything else seems bad. Once you hate someone, then you don’t have to do much else after, and everything else they do may seem bad to you. You would interpret anything he did in a negative way. Iblīs hated Ādam (‘alayhi’l-salām) and vowed to mislead and misguide him. the goodness of Ādam was right in front of him and Allāh ordered him to make sajdah, but because of his hate, he put this aside. Part of hate is holding onto grudges. People suffering from low self-esteem are more likely to hold onto grudges because they are saying that a person did something to them and is bad. As long as there is hatred and animosity towards them, you have knocked them down. Because of low self-esteem, you will view them as bad and at a lower level and hold onto that type of grudge. 15. Ungratefulness

And if We give man a taste of mercy from Us and then We withdraw it from him, indeed, he is despairing and ungrateful. Sūrah Hūd [11:9] This is closely linked with self-reliance. Scholars would say someone who is ungrateful is blind because you have to be blind to be ungrateful to Allāh. If you look at all your blessings, then you cannot help but be grateful to Allāh. If you tried to count the blessings of Allāh, you would not be able to. Truly someone who is ungrateful has let Iblīs affect them. This is one reason why Shayṭān will always get us to look at people who have more than us. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) instructed us to look at those who have less than us in dunya and more than us in piety. It was a big part of the Sunnah to be thankful and grateful. In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) prayed at the night and his feet swelled and he said, “Shall I not be a thankful servant?” Iblīs was ungrateful. It wasn’t enough for him that Allāh brought him up to the heavens and raised him above the other jinn, but he wanted to be above Ādam as well. 16. Anger

 

 

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On the authority of Sulaymān b. Ṣurad who said: “While I was sitting in the company of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), [we saw] two men berating each other and the face of one of them became red with anger, and his jugular vein swelled. On that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘I know a word, if he were to say it, what he has would go away. If he were to say: I seek refuge in Allāh from Shayṭān.’” [al-Bukhāri] Anger is a very strong tool of Shayṭān. It is similar to the issue of alcohol and drunkenness. People will do things while drunk which they will likely regret. When a person is really angry and loses it or flips out, if you were to record him and show it to him when he is calm, in most cases people would say, “I don’t what came over me. I don’t know why I reacted like that.” That was the influence of Shayṭān. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that when a person feels anger, if he is standing, he should sit and if he is sitting then he should lay down and some scholars said to go make wuḍū’. So much evil comes from the door of anger. 7 Solutions to Anger 1) Identify the source of the anger. If you can identify the source of your anger, then you can better deal with it. 2) Slow down and take a minute to take in what is happening. 3) Learn to manage your anger. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that if you are angry and if you are standing then sit down. 4) Watch your tongue. We are accountable for what we say. 5) Learn to discipline your thoughts. The first step is to say the isti‘ādhah and cut off negative thoughts and the chain of ṣu al-dhann. If you are going to get angry, then get angry at Shayṭān. How do we knock Shayṭān down and make him weak? Through the obedience to Allāh. Every act of obedience to Allāh is a fight against Shayṭān. 6) Think and visualize the consequences of your anger. Sometimes this will stop you from entering into anger. Shaykh Waleed said, “Anger is one letter away from danger.”

 

 

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7) Patience. Train yourself to be patient. This is something that develops over time. 17. Isolation

And hold firmly to the rope of Allāh all together and do not become divided. Sūrah Āle-‘Imrān [3:103] Shayṭān loves to isolate people because he knows he can get you when you are alone. People dealing with low iman. Shayṭān will convince them that they need to be by themselves and spend time on themselves. When you isolate yourself, you open up the door from Shayṭān. They think they need time for themselves. Shayṭān will convince them that they are not worthy to be around religious people or people with high iman. The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “I urge you to stick to the jamā‘ah and I caution you of isolation. Shayṭān is with the person who stays by himself. When a person is with a second person, then Shayṭān is further away from the two.” [al-Tirmidhi] The more people you add, the further away Shayṭān gets. This is why so much of our religion is about the jamā‘ah. We are the people of the Sunnah and the jamā‘ah. When you are isolated, it is very easy to lose track of what is happening around you and to lose hope. Shayṭān may come to you and make you think twice about going to the masjid if people are judgmental there, but it shouldn’t lead us to isolate ourselves from the masjid. There are aspects of the masjid which are very important. Shayṭān will convince people to stay away from the masjid. Depending on your level, he will tell people that there are politics and drama in the masjid. There is always still khayr in the masjid because that is where the Muslims are. Laymen: They may isolate themselves from the community with the excuse that there is no goodness in them. They spend time away from the Muslims they could cause to do goodness. 18. Losing hope, Despair (al-Iblas)

 

 

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“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’” Sūrat’l-Zumar [39:53] If Shayṭān can get you to lose hope, then he has won. Iblīs has no hope. He has no hope in the Mercy of Allāh or of being forgiven. He loves to cause this type of feeling in Bani Ādam as well. Allāh forgives all sins as long as you don’t die upon it. The Shayṭān loves to convince a person that there is no hope for them and that they are not good enough to worship Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). A person may try to take a few steps to Allāh, and Shayṭān will say, “You are not worthy. How dare you! Didn’t you commit this sin?” Shayṭān wants that you give up hope in the Mercy of Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). People can lose hope in all different ways and all different categories. If there is a sinful person, they may lose hope their sins will not be forgiven. Those dealing with low īmān may lose hope in themselves and think they are beyond the point of redemption. Don’t ever say you have hit rock bottom. As long as Allāh has given you breath to breathe and a conscious mind, then you have not hit rock bottom. You have the chance to repent and come back to Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla). Until you are in the Hellfire and the matter has been decided, then don’t ever say you have hit rock bottom because you have the ability to make tawbah. It is a statement of Shayṭān to say you have hit rock bottom. Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri narrates in the Musnad of Imam Aḥmad that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Iblīs said, ‘I swear by Your Honor, my Lord, that as long as Your servants have souls in their bodies, I will continue to mislead them.’ Allāh (subḥānahu wa ta‘āla) said, ‘I will continue to forgive my servants as long as they seek My forgiveness.’” Shayṭān will continue to misguide people and will succeed. We all make mistakes and it is bound to happen, but Allāh will continue to forgive us as long as we seek His forgiveness. One of the best ways to protect yourself from the traps and tricks of Shayṭān is to constantly seek forgiveness of Allāh.

 

 

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Allāh does not want us to go to the Hellfire. Allāh has given us the tools and means and measures and the knowledge to protect ourselves. 19. Making evil look good/enticing

And [remember] when Shayṭān made their deeds pleasing to them… Sūrat’l-Anfāl [8:48] “Shayṭān beautified for them their actions.” During the Battle of Badr, they were going to war with the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the Shayṭān beautified their actions for them and made it seem like what they were doing is correct and fine. Example: Sex outside of marriage. Shayṭān will make this action seem very pleasant. Shayṭān keeps away from us all the ill effects of that type of ideology. Shayṭān will hide from us all the problems we see in society such as the issue of children born outside of wedlock and their problems (i.e. neglected by both parents, raised by a single parent). The Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “If one of you sees something in another woman (i.e. enticed), rush back to your wife for indeed your wife has what she has.” One of the tricks of Shayṭān is to make people think that there is something special about a woman who is foreign to him and that she is better than what he has at home. Shayṭān has made it more enticing. Lower your gaze so that you don’t compare your spouse to other people. When you compare your spouse to someone else, you only see the best parts of the person and don’t know their faults and weaknesses. We may look at someone on Facebook or Twitter and everyone looks amazing in their profile picture. We start comparing our lives to the lives as others and don’t realize that they are just posting the amazing parts of their lives but their lives are like ours. Example: When a person starts practicing Islam, Iblīs may come to this person, especially if they are going through some difficulty and turning to Allāh and making du‘ā’ to Him and praying qiyām’l-layl and praying their five daily prayers on time. Shayṭān will tell this person that he is not sincere and tell him that you are only turning

 

 

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to Allāh because you are in need. Shayṭān will make you feel like a hypocrite. One reason why Allāh put you in that hardship is so that you become close to Him. Allāh puts us through tests and trials so that we become close to Him. Shayṭān takes something which is evil and makes it look good (leaving closeness to Allāh and having them think that at least they aren’t a hypocrite).

[Iblīs] said, "My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all. Except, among them, Your chosen servants." Sūrat’l-Ḥijr [15:30-40] 20. Giving nice names to bad things / Misrepresentation of Sins

Then Shayṭān whispered to him; he said, "O Ādam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not deteriorate?" Sūrah Ṭā Ha [20:120] Example: To take something like lewdness or immodesty and call it freedom. A person may be committing minor sins and the Shayṭān will tell this person that he has nothing to worry about because they are only minor sins. This is misrepresentation. Ibn al-Jawzi wrote a story in his book The Devil’s Deception. Shaykh Saad couldn’t find a reference for it and some scholars say it goes back to the Isra’īliyyāt. Ibn al-Jawzi says this story was narrated by al-Hasan al-Basri. There was a tree which was worshipped besides Allāh. One of the pious men wanted to go chop this tree down and Iblīs came to this person in the form of a man. He said to this man, “Where are you going?” He said, “I am going to chop the tree down because it is worshipped in place of Allāh.” Iblīs said, “Why is this bothering you? I will give you two dinars every night if you don’t chop down this tree.” The man said, “Where will these two dinars come from?” Iblīs said, “I will give them to you.” The man agreed. The first night went by and he found two dinars in his bed. Another night went by and he found another two dinars. Another night went by and he found another two dinars. This happened regularly until one day came when this person found nothing in his bed, and he got angry. He said, “Most certainly I will go and chop down this tree because he promised me two dinars.” Iblīs

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came back to this person and said, “Where are you going?” He said, “To chop down this tree because it is worshipped other than Allāh.” Iblīs said, “Do you know who I am?” He said, “No.” Iblīs said, “I am the Shayṭān and have certainly deceived you and you are not going to chop down the tree for the sake of Allāh but only because you didn’t receive two dinars from me.” This is how Iblīs got mastery over this person. This is how Shayṭān will come to us and rationalize our sins. Example: Iblīs will tell people backbiting is commanding the good and forbidding the evil. Sometimes we cause more evil by commanding the good and forbidding the evil. When you are focused on something, Iblīs will make you focus on something less important. In Makkah, there was a man who was standing outside of the Haram during Ḥajj time and smoking a cigarette. He was wearing his iḥrām. Another man saw him smoking and became very upset and said, “Why are you smoking a cigarette? You need to fear Allāh! You are here for Ḥajj and wearing iḥrām and smoking a cigarette in Makkah a few hundred feet away from the Ka‘bah.” The man ignored this and it seemed like he was saying who are you to tell me what to do. He kept smoking. The other man became more and more angry and started yelling at him more and more until people started gathering around him. The man who was smoking remained quiet. The other man became louder and louder and more and more upset. The face of the man smoking was getting red and he was getting upset. Other people started joining in and asking him to put out his cigarette. The man smoking said, “Wallāhi, I’m never going to quit smoking.” This man said this in Makkah standing a few hundred feet away from the Ka‘bah. As bad as it was for this man to take an oath like that, this person who was berating him has a lot of the blame in this because he was doing this under the guise of commanding the good and forbidding the evil. He caused more damage and harm than good. This is how Shayṭān will misrepresent something to us. Before you command the good and forbid the evil, one of the shurūṭ (conditions) is to weigh the harms and benefits. If it is going to cause more harm, then you are not allowed to tell them what is wrong. Shayṭān will make you jump to carry out a certain deed and misrepresent it. Example: There may be a brother involved in da‘wah work but at the expense of neglecting his family or parents. This person feels like he is doing so much good work and may be praised in public. It may be that this person may be getting sin for what he is doing. To the general public, it may seem like he doing a lot of good work, but Iblīs is misrepresenting what is actually happening. Example: The sin of backbiting often gets misrepresented. Everyone from scholars to lay people can fall under this trap. They will say, “I’m not saying something which isn’t true.” Backbiting is simply to say something about your brother that they wouldn’t like

 

 

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for you to say. Scholars say it can even be a description of a person (i.e. saying someone is fat / bald but the person wouldn’t like for you to describe him that way).

21. False promises and distortion of reality

Shayṭān promises them and arouses desire in them. But Shayṭān does not promise them except delusion. Sūrat’l-Nisā’ [4:120] When a promise comes from Shayṭān, then realize that Shayṭān is deluding you. Shayṭān may come to those not practicing Islam is to promise them that all that matters is the dunya or that they will find ultimate happiness in this life. Shayṭān may come to a religious or knowledgeable person and get them to ignore their own problems. He will convince them to worry about other people’s problems. Shayṭān will get you busy in other people and forget about the own issues you are going through. Shayṭān may misrepresent a test as punishment from Allāh. The problem is when Shayṭān tells you that it is a punishment so you need to abandon Allāh. A punishment in this life is better than the punishment in the Hereafter, and it is a good thing. Shayṭān may distort a person’s reality. They may have a happy life and are very sinful. Shayṭān may say: how can Allāh be upset with you? You have so much and Allāh has blessed you with so much. The person thinks he must be doing something right since Allāh has given him so much. Distortion of reality can also apply to the aspect of labels. Shayṭān will get you to label people and write them off. For many non-Muslims, Shayṭān makes it such that when they hear a certain word, something comes to their mind. The awliyā’ of Shayṭān make this possible. In Pakistan, when people think of religious people, they think molvis and an immediate picture comes to their mind of the guy who screams on the minbar and is ignorant and uneducated. Shayṭān has deceived these people to think of religion as meaning this. Once you label people, then you don’t have to give weight to what they are saying. When Sarah and Ibrāhīm were tested and the tyrant king tried to commit zina with her, he would become paralyzed. After that, he said, “You have brought me a shayṭān.”

 

 

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SubḥānAllāh – who is the shayṭān here? He put a label on her when he is actually the shayṭān. 22. Coming as a sincere advisor

And he swore [by Allāh] to them, "Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors." Sūrat’l-A‘rāf [7:21] Even the shayāṭīn from mankind will say that it is their sincere advice but their advice is taking us away from Allāh. On the Day of Judgment, the Shayṭān will back off and say he is free from what people did. If someone gives you bad advice and say “it is just my advice and you can take it or leave it,” a person may feel guilted into taking the advice. We don’t judge advice based on guilt. We judge it on whether or not it is correct. Shayṭān promised Ādam and Ḥawwa that if they eat from the tree that they could live in Paradise forever. The shayāṭīn from mankind may come from the same door and in actuality will leave us when the matter becomes serious.

 

 

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Chapter 8 | 24-Hour Security & Protection Protection from Shayṭān and the shayāṭīn Protection with the Qur’ān Saying “Aʿūdhu billāhi min’l-shayṭān’l-rajīm”

And if there comes to you from Shayṭān an evil suggestion, then seek refuge in Allāh. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing. Sūrah Fuṣṣilat [41:36] This is one of the most powerful things you can do to protect yourself from the influence of the Shayṭān. Reciting the Muʿawwidhatayn (the last two chapters of the Qur’ān: al-Falaq and al-Nās)

It was narrated that Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allāh be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to seek refuge in Allāh from the jinn and from the evil eye until the Mu‘awwidhatayn were revealed, and when they were revealed he started to recite them and not anything else." [al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasā’i, Ibn Mājah] These were given to the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to protect / cure himself of the influences of magic and Shayṭān. Reciting Āyat’l-Kursi

 

 

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Reciting Sūrat’l-Baqarah

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: "Do not make your houses like graves, for the Shayṭān runs away from a house in which Sūrat’l-Baqarah is recited." [Muslim] When we go to graves, we don’t recite Sūrat’l-Baqarah. If you ever feel like there is a jinn or something strange in the house, then recite Sūrat’l-Baqarah or at the very least recite the last two āyahs of it. Reciting the last two verses of Sūrat’l-Baqarah It was narrated that Abu Mas‘ūd al-Anṣāri said: "The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘Whoever recites the last two verses of Sūrat’l-Baqarah at night, that will suffice him.’" [al-Bukhāri, Muslim] It was narrated from al-Nu‘mān b. Bashīr (may Allāh be pleased with him) that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: "Allāh inscribed a book two thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, from which the last two āyahs of Sūrat’lBaqarah were revealed. If they are recited for three nights, no shayṭān will remain in the house." [Tirmidhi] The Qurʿān as a whole Abu Hurayrah (may Allāh be pleased with him) said: "Indeed the home becomes spacious for its inhabitants, and the Angels visit it and the shayāṭīn abandon it, and its goodness is increased if the Qur’ān is recited in it. And indeed the home becomes narrow and restricted upon its inhabitants, and the Angels abandon it and the shayāṭīn visit it, and its goodness is decreased if the Qur’ān is not recited in it." [al-Dārimi] Make the Qurʾān part of your daily life even if it is just reciting a few āyāt daily.

 

 

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Non-time-specific Duʿā’s for Protection from Shayṭān and the Shayāṭīn You can find more du‘ā’s in the Fortress of the Muslim.

Khālid b. al-Walīd said to the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), "I have nightmares." The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said to him, "Say, 'I seek refuge with the complete words of Allāh from His anger and His punishment and the evil of His slaves, and from the evil suggestions of the shayāṭīn and from their being present (at death).'" [Muwaṭṭā’ of Imām Mālik]

‘Abdu’l-Raḥmān b. Khanbash narrates that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, "Jibrīl came to me and said, 'O Muḥammad, say!' I said, 'What should I say?' He said, 'Say: "I seek refuge in the complete, perfect words of Allāh, which no righteous one nor wicked one can exceed, from the evil of what He has created, and from the evil of what descends from the heavens, and from the evil of what ascends to them, and from the evil of what is sown in the earth and is created, and from the evil of what comes out from it, and from the evil of the tribulations of the night and the day, and from the evil of everyone who comes knocking, except for the one who comes knocking with khayr, O Merciful One!"'" [Aḥmad]

 

 

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Allāh's Messenger (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, "If one says one hundred times in one day: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allāh, the Alone Who has no partners, to Him belongs Dominion and to Him belong all the Praises, and He has power over all things (i.e. Omnipotent),' one will get the reward of manumitting ten slaves, and one hundred good deeds will be written in his account, and one hundred bad deeds will be wiped off or erased from his account, and on that day he will be protected from the morning till evening from Shayṭān, and nobody will be superior to him except one who has done more than that which he has done." [al-Bukhāri] Time-specific duʿā’s for your whole day -

Morning and Evening Before sleeping When waking up Entering and leaving the bathroom Dressing and undressing Before and after eating Marital relations Exiting and entering the house Traveling

The struggle won’t end until the soul has left the body. Until our last breath, take Shayṭān as our enemy, which means that you fight Shayṭān.