Don't be fooled by Satan

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Praise be to Allah, who guided us to the most comprehensive religion, and who protects His righteous slaves, and peace be upon His Messenger, his household and blessed companions.

A battle! What a fierce battle! So many casualties!

An everlasting battle whose fire is ever blazing till the Day of Judgment, it will not stop raging till the Day of Resurrection!

O wise man! Do you know what this battle is!

It is the war against Satan! It is a battle where you fight an enemy who has all kinds of weapons!

It is a battle where you fight an enemy who does not cease fighting! It is a battle where you fight an enemy who, the more he fights with you; the more he increases his knowledge about your inside and outside!

It is a battle where missions of the Vanguard are useless, but a decisive confrontation is inevitable! It is a battle where, when you are more victorious, you should be more vigilant and awaiting.

It is a battle where you fight a permanent offensive enemy! It is a battle where you fight an invisible enemy!

“[Satan] said, "Reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected." (14) [Allah] said, "Indeed, you are of those reprieved." (15) [Satan] said, "Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. (16) 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]."” [Al-A'raf 7:14-17]
 

Transliteration: Qala anthirnee ila yawmi yubAAathoona (14) Qala innaka mina almunthareena (15) Qala fabima aghwaytanee laaqAAudanna lahum sirataka almustaqeema (16) Thumma laatiyannahum min bayni aydeehim wamin khalfihim waAAan aymanihim waAAan shamailihim wala tajidu aktharahum shakireena

O Allah! What a battle, a battle which has vanquished so many!

O son of Adam! The Devil has decided but to raise war against you! What have you prepared for that?!

A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri: "O Abu Sa'id, does the devil sleep?! He smiled and said: "If he did he would relieve us!"

O wise man! Do you know who are the most defeated in this battle?!

They are the sinners and the guilty, who left the commands of Allah, and obeyed the commands of the devil!

O you sinners do not forget that you're one of those who committed deeds which are favored by the devil!

O sinner! Have you thought of fighting the devil?!

Yes, fighting Satan! And do you know how to fight him?! When he orders you to do something, do the opposite!

Ibn al-Jawzi said: "when Satan beguiles you into doing something, you should keep your guard. Tell him: "you only wish for me to fulfill my lustrous desires by following your advice, then, how can I trust the advice of an enemy? Go away! Your words have not the least effect on me." Satan will have to direct his words to the soul because he advocates for its whims, man must then ask the help of his mind to remind him of the consequences of sins, and thus his will may resist the temptation and defeat the advocates of lust and whims".

O sinner! Nothing will make Satan happier than sinning, and nothing will tease him more than fighting him and obeying Allah.

A man said to Al-Fadhl ibn Marawan: "so and so speaks badly of you." He replied: "I swear I will tease him who ordered him to do so, may Allah forgive me and him", he was asked: "who ordered him?" he answered: "Satan".

A man complained to Abu Suleiman Al-Darani about the whispering of Satan, he said: "If you feel it, be happy, because if you became happy he would leave you, there is nothing more hateful to Satan than the pleasure of the believer; if you became grieved by it he will give you more".

O sinner! Remember your number one enemy.

It is Satan. He swore to lead the sons of Adam astray, to distract them from the right path; he is persistent; never giving up. Whenever you close a door against him, he opens another. He does not care how to get hold of you, whether by evil or good deeds: its main purpose is to lead you astray if even by righteousness.

Al-Hasan ibn Salih said: "Satan would open ninety-nine doors of goodness for the slave of Allah, just because they would lead to one door of evil!"

Satan did not give up even on Prophets and Apostles, peace be upon them, he is trying to misguide all creatures, even with the knowledge that some of them are unreachable!

“Iblees] 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 (39) Except, among them, Your chosen servants."” [Al-Hijr 15:39-40]
 

Transliteration: Qala rabbi bima aghwaytanee laozayyinanna lahum fee alardi walaoghwiyannahum ajmaAAeena (39) Illa AAibadaka minhumu almukhlaseena

Al-Fadil ibn 'Ayad said: "some of our learned people narrated that Satan, may Allah curse him, came to Moses, peace be upon him, when he was praying to his Lord, the Almighty, an angel said to him: Woe! What do you wish of him in this state praying to his Lord?! Satan said: "I wish of him what I wished from his father, Adam, when he was in Paradise!"

O sinner! If you just see the devotion of Satan to mislead your heart and lead you astray!

What a poor soul to be heedless to the enmity of the first enemy! An enemy that was given authority over you and you were given none over him.

Allah the Almighty said: “From the evil of the retreating whisperer” [An-Nas 114:4]
 

Transliteration: Min sharri alwaswasi alkhannasi

Mujahid said: "Satan spreads over the heart: if the heart mentions Allah the Almighty he withdraws and contracts; if the heart neglects mentioning Allah the Almighty he expands all over the heart"

The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to say: "The devils would gather around the heart as flies gather around the ulcer, if they are not driven away corruption takes place"!

O sinner! How could you obey your enemy?!

I wonder about those who take the advice from their enemy, and would rather obey him! Yes... O sinner! You are obedient to your enemy, and Allah the Almighty has commanded you to disobey and fight him.
“Indeed, Satan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the Blaze.” [Fatir 35:6]
 

Transliteration: Inna alshshaytana lakum AAaduwwun faittakhithoohu AAaduwwan innama yadAAoo hizbahu liyakoonoo min ashabi alssaAAeeri

Wahab ibn Munbih said: "Fear Allah, and do not curse Satan in public when you are his friend in secret!"

O sinner! Do not be like a ball in the hands of Satan!

Whoever follows the whims of his soul, and persists in sinning, is but a puppet in the hands of the devil, he is a ball that Satan tosses around however he likes! Reflect on your state O poor soul: are you one of those?!

Wahib ibn Al-Ward said: "We have heard that Satan was represented to Yahya (John) ibn Zakariyyâ (Zachariah), peace be upon them, and said: I want to advise you! Yahya said:" I do not need your advice, but tell me about the sons of Adam. Satan said: "we classified them into three categories: the first one is the most difficult for us; we allure one of them, and we get a firm hold of him, however, he panics and seeks forgiveness and repentance, and thus he destroys everything we have done with him, and then we come back to him and he to us, it is that we don't give up on him, nor do we obtain what we want from him, he puts us in great trouble! The other category is in our hands like the ball in the hands of your children, we toss them around however we like, and they have spared us the trouble! The third category is like you: impeccable, we cannot do anything with them."

O sinner! Did you know that the desires are the soldiers of Satan?!

Yes... desires are a powerful weapon of Satan's; he has doomed so many by them, and still does!

It was narrated that Satan appeared to Yahya ibn Zakariyyâ, peace be upon them, and Yahya saw all kind of dangles hanging from him, he asked him: "O Iblis (Satan)! What are these dangles?!" He said: "These are the desires which I hit the son of Adam with." Yahya said:" Is there anything among them for me?" Satan said: "Maybe you get satiated by food so that you would be lazy for prayers and the mentioning of Allah." He asked: "Is there anything else?" He said: "no." He said: by Allah I will never fill my stomach with food!" so Satan said to him: by Allah I will never advise a Muslim "!

Hasan ibn Salih said: "I heard that the devil said to the woman: You are half of my soldiers, and you are my arrow which I throw and never mistake, and you are my confidant and my apostle when I need "!

O sinner! The devil loves sin!

O you who took off the garment of obedience, and put on the garment of sins! Did you remember that the devil loves sins and hates acts of worship?! How pleased he will be to see you disobeying Allah the Almighty! How grieved he will be to see you obeying Allah the Almighty!

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "when the son of Adam reads the prostration verses and prostrates, Satan retires weeping, he says: "O woe be to him". In the version of Abu Kuraib Satan says: "O woe be to me – the son of Adam was ordered to prostrate and so he did, so he is rewarded by paradise; but I was ordered to prostrate but I refused, so I am in hellfire (in other version: I refused so I am in hellfire)" [Narrator: Abu Huraira, from Sahih Muslim].
 

Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: - ““Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.” [Baqarah 2:268]”
 

Transliteration: Alshshaytanu yaAAidukumu alfaqra wayamurukum bialfahshai waAllahu yaAAidukum maghfiratan minhu wafadlan waAllahu wasiAAun AAaleemun

O people, do good when your age permits you, you will be preserved in your end, for Allah the Almighty has promised paradise to those who obey Him, and promised hellfire to those who disobey Him, it is a fire which has ever-ending exhale, its captives never ransomed, its broken inmates never healed, its heat is severe, its bottom is deep and its water is pus. The most I fear for you is following your whims and high expectations".

O sinner! Forgetting guilt gives power to the devil over you!

O sinner, you have been inattentive to sins! You are dwelling between an old sin and a new one! Unaware of your sins, excusing yourself with I will (procrastination)! How empowering this is of Satan, and bringing authority to an enemy of the most Gracious!

Ibn al-Samak said: "Satan said: whoever has one of the three (qualities); I have a firm hold of him: whoever feels superior because of his knowledge, whoever forgets his sins, or whoever is conceited by his opinion"

Some of the worthy ancestors said: "leave I will, it is the biggest soldier of Satan!"

O sinner! Beware of the lure of Satan!

Know O sinner that the devil is not pleased with a sin or two; he is inciting you to commit many sins; until you fall into grave sins, and he still adorns sins in your eyes until he deprives you from your religion, so that you will be his companion in hellfire!

“And Shaitân (Satan) will say when the matter has been decided: “And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, "Indeed, Allah 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 Allah] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment."” [Ibrahim 14:22]
 

Transliteration: Waqala alshshaytanu lamma qudiya alamru inna Allaha waAAadakum waAAda alhaqqi wawaAAadtukum faakhlaftukum wama kana liya AAalaykum min sultanin illa an daAAawtukum faistajabtum lee fala taloomoonee waloomoo anfusakum ma ana bimusrikhikum wama antum bimusrikhiyya innee kafartu bima ashraktumooni min qablu inna alththalimeena lahum AAathabun aleemun

O sinner! The devil plots against righteous people, and lure them to reverse their good deeds into sins! How about those who cling to sins?!

Makhoul said: "The man does the deed in secret; the devil lures him into talking about it, so it is erased from secrecy and written in the book of public deeds, then the devil lures him into boasting about it, till it is erased from good deeds and written into sins against him!"

O sinner! Beware of Satan against yourself!

O poor man! You are being antagonized by an enemy who sees you but you do not see him... he plots against you night and day!

He is just waiting for you to be inattentive to penetrate into your heart, to whisper and spoil your affairs! How pleased he will be by a ruined heart which is charged with the love of sins!

Abdul-Wahid ibn Zayd said: "Habib Abu Muhammad was gravely alarmed when he was dying, and he started saying in Farsi: I want to take a trip I have never taken! I want to take a path I have never walked through! I want to visit my Lord whom I have never seen! I want to behold horrors of which alike I have never seen! I want to go under the soil and remain underneath till the Day of Resurrection! Then I stand by the hands of Allah the Almighty, fearing that He would ask me: Oh, Habib! Tell me about one time you praised Me in sixty year where Satan has not interfered in it (the praise)?"

"What should I say, I am helpless?! I say: O Lord, here I am, my hands are tied up to my neck!" Abdul-Wahid said: "This is the slave of Allah, who has been busy for sixty years praising Him, and he has never been concerned with worldly matters, then what is our situation?! O Allah, help us"

O sinner! Do not you want to escape from the plots of Satan?!

O sinner! Defeating Satan is vanquishing sins, and the defeat of Satan is healing for the hearts! Whoever commits himself to sins is in the reign of Satan and his power, O sinner have you thought of the dreaded power of the cursed Satan?!

Among the reasons for Survival: The addiction of worship

Nothing teases Satan more than performing acts of worship! It was narrated that Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I saw the cursed Satan in a dream bowing his head, I was about to hit him with a cane when he said to me: O Abu Sa'id, did you not know that I do not fear the cane, or the weapons! Sa'id said:" I said to him: O damned one, what do you fear?! He said: I fear two things: one: when people seek refuge in Allah, and the second: the ray of knowledge of the faithful! "

Among the reasons for Survival: the mentioning of Allah

Ibn al-Jawzi said: "Know that the case of Satan with the pious and the semi pious is like the case of a man sitting with food in his hands, a dog passes by him, he says to the dog: "Be gone", and it goes away, it passes by another man, in front of him there is food and meat, whenever he pushes it away, the dog would not leave, the former is like the pious when passed by Satan, mentioning Allah is sufficient for his expulsion, and the latter is like the semi pious, Satan would not leave him because he has mixed a deed that was righteous with another that was evil. We seek refuge with Allah from Satan. "

Among the reasons for Survival: The invocation of Allah and seeking His refuge

It was narrated that some of the ancestors asked his student: "What would you do with Satan if he whispers into you to commit sins?" The student said: "I fight him". He said: if he came back?! The student said: I fight him". He said: if he came back?!" he said: I fight him." The ancestor said: "This will take a long time, what if you passed by a flock of sheep and its dog barked on you, or prevented you from crossing, what should you do?" the student answered: "I struggle and try to stop it as hard as I can". He said: This will take too long for you, but take refuge in the owner of the sheep, he will restrain it "!

And finally

O sinner! Obeying the most Gracious is behind every good and happiness, and obeying Satan is behind all evil and misery! Choose for yourself!

Some people said: "how strange that some would disobey the benevolent after knowing his benevolence, and obey the cursed after learning about his evil!"

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: "there are two concerns that dwell in the heart: one from Allah the Almighty, and one from the enemy (Satan), Allah have mercy on His slave who stands by His concern, what was from Allah the Almighty, he would obey, and what was from the enemy he would fight."

O sinner, beware of Satan, do not let it fool you, he may adorn a sin you are already committing, and distract you from repentance. So you will be surprised by death while you are not repenting! Oh we seek refuge in Allah from misguidance.

Praise be to Allah the Almighty and peace and blessings be on the Prophet, his household and companions.


Author: Azhari Ahmad Mahmoud
Publisher: Dar ibn Khuzaymah

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Translated by Wathakker.info website