Being wary of Shaytaan: Allah, Man and Shaytaan - The Relationship (Masjid Quba - 2/18/11)

Qala Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala fil kitabil kareem...

(Al-Fatihah 1:2)

الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

All praise due to Allah, the Sustainer of the Worlds

(Al-Fatir - 35:6)

إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا

“Verily Shaytaan is to you an enemy, so treat him as an enemy”

(Ar-Rad - 13:11)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ

“Truly Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.”

Hadith on the relevance of the heart and what we need to work on while on earth:

Purifying the heart - Tazkiyyatun nafs

The most important part of the body is the heart as has been mentioned by our noble Prophet Muhammed - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - in his saying, “Indeed there is a piece of flesh in your body that, if it be sound, then the whole body will be sound and if it be corrupt then the whole body will be corrupt. Indeed it is the heart.” - Sahih al-Bukhari [1/49] & Sahih al-Muslim [1599]

Part I:

Brothers and sisters, I started my khutbah today with 3 verses that seem totally unrelated to each other. However, it is my contention, that not only are they intimately related to each other but, but they form the crux of our understanding of who we are, why we are here, what we need to be wary of, and what we need to do to succeed in this life and the next. To do all of these things correctly, we need to build character. There are 3 main players in this whole plan: Allah (swt), Man (Allah’s vicegerent), Shaytaan (Ar-Rajeem). What is the relationship among all the players? How do we grow closer to Allah while resisting and battling shaytaan?

The Prophet (saws), the best of mankind, was sent to teach us two main things: How to worship Allah as He (swt) should be worshipped and how to build character in a manner that we are worthy to be called calipha or vicegerents. However, to be conscious of how we build character and how we achieve this success, we need to be mindful of what we are up against and who we are battling. I want to take some time to paint a clear portrait of what is in store for those of us who call ourselves Muslims, or if you are really brave, Mu’mins or Muhsins.

Let us look at how Allah informs us about Shaytan:

Allah’s warning:

O children of Adam! Do not allow Satan to seduce you in the same way as he caused your ancestors to be driven out of the garden: he deprived them of their garment [of God-consciousness] in order to make them aware of their nakedness. Verily, he and his tribe are lying in wait for you where you cannot perceive them! Verily, We have placed [all manner of] Satanic forces near unto those who do not [truly] believe (Al-Araf - 7:27)

Enemy:

O MANKIND! Partake of what is lawful and good on earth, and follow not Satan's footsteps: for, verily, he is your open foe (2:168)

O you who have attained to faith! Surrender yourselves wholly unto God, and follow not Satan's footsteps, for, verily, he is your open foe. (2:208)

Let’s really think of what an enemy is. The enemy hates us. Does not want ANY victory for us. He will deceive us. He will threaten us. He will incite us to do evil things.

Surely, Satan is an enemy to you, so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his "hizb" (followers) that they may become the dwellers of the Blazing Fire. Qur'an 35:6

Are we treating shaytan as an enemy? How do you treat enemies? You keep them at a distance... You ward them off... You are on the lookout for them. Allah and His Prophet gave us Salatul khawf when engaged in battle. Some soldiers pray while others fast, some pray while on the battlefied in various positions, etc. This is a fight among men, and Allah and His messenger have given us tools and strategies. We are in a constant war with shaytaan; what tools and strategies do we have? What are we employing to battle the persistent onslaught of shaytaan?

Leads to ingratitude:

Shaytan expects that we are ungrateful (our weakness to exploit) - He said: "Because you have thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on your straight way: Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor will you find, in most of them, gratitude (for your mercies)." (Al-Araf, 17)

What is wrong with ingratitude:

Favors - And remember! Your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): "If you are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you; But if you show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed." (Abraham, 7)

Exploits the weaknesses in us and makes promises that fuel our own desires:

Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on the day when the two hosts met in battle - Satan caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done. But now God has effaced this sin of theirs: verily, God is much-forgiving, forbearing (3:155)

He (shaytaan) holds out promises to them, and fills them with vain desires: yet whatever Satan promises them is but meant to delude the mind (4:120)

Thereupon Satan whispered unto the two with a view to making them conscious of their nakedness, of which [hitherto] they had been unaware; and he said: "Your Sustainer has but forbidden you this tree lest you two become .[as] angels, or lest you live forever." (7:20 - Adam and Eve)

“...and thus he led them on with deluding thoughts. But as soon as the two had tasted [the fruit] of the tree, they became conscious of their nakedness; and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden. And their Sustainer called unto them: "Did I not forbid that tree unto you and tell you, `Verily, Satan is your open foe'?" (7:22)

Incites to Anger:

It is narrated that the Prophet (saws) said: Anger comes from the devil, the devil was created of fire, and fire is extinguished only with water; so when one of you becomes angry, he should perform ablution.” [Abu Daud; Book 41, No. 4766]

“Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress their anger, and who pardon men, verily, Allah loves the al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).” [Surah Al-Imran (3) : Ayah 133-134]

Deceives and encourages deception:

And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, "No one can overcome you this day, for, behold, I shall be your protector !" but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he turned on his heels and said, "Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I fear God-for God is severe in retribution ! (Al-Anfal - 8:48)

In Pakistan recently, areas in the Middle East, 11 years ago in New York, etc., we have many individuals who are harming people in the name of their perverted interpretation of their religion. Islam is not the only religion that does that. How do you rectify that? How do you claim that it is OK to take the life of an innocent person? Where is that sanctioned in ANY sacred text? But this is global. That picture might be too big because some might say that there are political reasonings behind it. OK, let’s make it local. Remember, Shaytaan is the deceiver; he makes the wrong appear right.

You are a contractor, working on a job. You see someone has a piece of machinery they are not using, and it looks like they may throw it away. You are not sure, but you think they might. You ask them how long it has been there. All they say is that it has been there for years, but they never use it and never will. When your job is done, you take it and leave. It that right? It is just? Is it fair?

Or, you get angry with someone who has insulted your mother, your father, your wife and kids. You then decide to harm them in the same way, by attacking their family as well... Like for like... Is that right? Is it just? Remember, Shaytaan’s job is to make the wrong seem right.

Harboring ill-feelings: Anger, jealousy, hate, envy

We often confuse these being normative emotions we feel with the idea that it is “OK” to have these feelings. Saying that these feelings are natural is one thing. Saying that they are OK to have is another thing. The minute we say it is OK to have the feelings, we are normalizing some of the behaviors and mental processes associated with these feelings.

For example. It is normal to feel anger rise in you if someone cheats you. However, if you say that it is OK to feel angry, then you start being more comfortable with the feeling of anger. In so doing, we open the door for the attitudes, actions and responses associated with that

Instills fear:

It is but Satan who instils [into you] fear of his allies: so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [truly] believers! (3:175)

Threatens with Poverty:

Satan threatens you with the prospect of poverty and bids you to be niggardly, whereas God promises you His forgiveness and bounty; and God is infinite, all-knowing (2:268)

For many years, people from all over the city, country and the world have stood in this masjid and urged you to support the insitution and the school, however, we still have yet to understand the importance of this. We do not understand the promise of Allah.

Bills Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffet - Pledged to give away most of their wealth before their death. Who are these people? These are the same ones many of us will quickly call “unbelievers.” They are at the top of the financial pyramid. These are 3 of the richest men in the world, who live in the country that many of us want to decry. Please, and do not write-off what I am saying with the weak “foreigner” argument. Oh, he is a foreigner, he does not understand. I know there are issues in this society that need to be rectified. But if these men, who have amassed wealth are saying that the main aim of it is to give it away, then what are we doing? Is this not what Allah and His Messenger are calling us toward?

Lies and incites lying:

And he swore unto them, “Verily I am of those who wish you well indeed!” And thus he led them on with deluding thoughts (Al-Araf - 7:201)

Sows dissension among men:

And say to My servants (that) they should (only) speak that which is the best; (Because) Shaitan verily sows dissensions among them. Surely, Shaitan is an open enemy to man." [Surah Al-Isra' (17) : Ayah 53]

Allah looks at the hearts

The heart is thus the port where all actions stem, whether good or evil. If the heart is good then the actions will be good and if the heart is corrupt then the actions will be bad. The heart is the place where Allah scans, as the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - says, “Allah does not look at your bodies nor your faces but he scans your heart and actions.” - Sahih al-Muslim [4/6221]

From Anas, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say: "Allah the Almighty has said: 'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me, and hope in Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds in the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I shall forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with an earthful of sins and were you then to face Me, without having associated anything with Me, I shall grant you an earthful of pardon.'" (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi)

Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "Do not be envious of one another; do not artificially inflate prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not shun one another; and do not undercut one another in business transactions; and be as fellow-brothers and servants of Allah. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down upon him. Piety is here - and he pointed to his chest three times. It is evil enough for a Muslim to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All things of a Muslim are inviolable for another Muslim: his blood, his property and his honour." [Muslim]

It was related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "Whosoever relieves from a believer some grief pertaining to this world, Allah will relieve from him some grief pertaining to the Hereafter. Whosoever alleviates the difficulties of a needy person who cannot pay his debt, Allah will alleviate his difficulties in both this world and the Hereafter. Whosoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter. Allah will aid a servant (of His) so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah makes mention of them amongst those who are in His presence. Whosoever is slowed down by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage." [Muslim]

Incites to pride and riyaa/Hidden Shirk:

And [God does not love] those who spend their possessions on others [only] to be seen and praised by men, the while they believe neither in God nor in the Last Day; and he who has Satan for a soul-mate, how evil a soul-mate has he! (4:38)

Leads us to hardened hearts:

yet when the misfortune decreed by Us befell them, they did not humble themselves, but rather their hearts grew hard, for Satan had made all their doings seem goodly to them

(Again, he - Ar-rajeem - makes our bad deeds seem OK to us. The more we harbor these bad deeds, the harder our hearts become and the more we close off ourselves from Allah’s mercy)

Causes us to forget:

Now, whenever thou meet such as indulge in [blasphemous] talk about Our messages, turn thy back upon them until they begin to talk of other things and if Satan should ever cause thee to forget [thyself], remain not, after recollection, in the company of such evildoing folk. (6:68)

Shaytaan hates: loving families, believing communities, pious and god-conscious individuals, tiemly prayers, etc...

I need us to understand that giving into Shaytaan (Ar-rajeem) destroys three significant things:

1. Iman
2. Families and Communities
3. Our Bodies

May Allah (swt) grant us forgiveness, guidance and mercy...

Part II:

Recap

Brothers and sisters, we know that Allah exists and He (swt) has placed us here for a reason. We know that Allah (swt) has placed Shaytaan here for a reason. My contention is we keep getting caught up, trapped and stuck because we believe in Allah, but do not BELIEVE Allah. What do I mean? I mean that believe in Allah’s existence, but we do not believe in His promises. It is a breakdown of Tawhid Al-Ulohiyyah, Ar-Rububiyyah and Al Asma wa Siffat. (Al-Mu’min, Al-Muhaimin, Al-Fatir - Originator, Al-Wahhab - The Bestower, Al-Adl, Al-Kareem, Al-Mujeed - Responsive One who answers, Al-Wadud - The loving, Ar-Rahman - The Merciful, Al-Haqq, Al-Wakeel - The trustee, Al-Waliyy - The Protector...) There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things). Qur'an [42:11]

In “Believing Allah” is where our success lie... In believing Allah is how we battle and fight shaytaan... So, how do we do that?

Action Plan:

We work towards improving 3 things. If we work toward improving these 3 things, we will be working toward warding off Shaytaan and in the process will work toward purifying our hearts and rectifying the ills in our families and communities:

• Healthy iman
• Healthy Families and Communities
• Healthy Bodies

Moving toward healthy Iman

Remember Allah often:

فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ

So remember Me-I will remember you. (2:152)

• Seek His forgiveness
• Fast (Ramadhan, Dhul Hijjah, etc)
• Make istighfar
• Make tauba
• Read Qur’an - in English if you don’t know Arabic... Be intimate with it... It is a living book...
• Pray for patience
• If you are up in the middle of the night studying, make 2 rakats
• If you have a chance to perform an extra prayer, do it... It will not hurt

Be grateful - Shaytan hates those who are patient with Allah’s decree:

• Say “Alhamdulillah” often
• Keep tongues wet with gratitude
• Those who show gratitude to others, Allah shows gratitude to them
• Behold, the squanderers are, indeed, of the ilk of the Satans - inasmuch as Satan has indeed proved most ungrateful to his Sustainer (17:27)

Give charity:

• Purifies wealth
• Increases wealth
• You earn the love and respect of Allah’s creation
• It is a shield from the hellfie
• It is a relief from distress

How to do these things? Put a reminder on your Blackberry, iPhone, Android, whatever... You help you! You makes changes in you. You make and effort and Allah will help you. Allah will not change your condition until YOU change what is ailing you.

Deal with your anger:

Change your position
Abu Dharr narrated: The Apostle of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said to us: "When one of you becomes angry while standing, he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good; otherwise he should lie down." [Abu Daud; Book 41, No. 4764]

Turn to Allah
And if it should happen that a prompting from Satan stirs thee up [to blind anger], seek refuge with God: behold, He is all-hearing, all-knowing (7:200) The Prophet (saws) said: I know a word, the saying of which will cause him to relax, if he does say it. If he says: 'I seek Refuge with Allah from Satan' then all his anger will go away." [Al-Bukhari; Vol. 4, No. 502]

I know a phrase which, if he repeated, he could get rid of this angry feeling." They asked: "What is it, Apostle of Allah?" He replied: "He should say: 'I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil.'” [Abu Daud; Book 41, No. 4762]

“Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress their anger, and who pardon men, verily, Allah loves the al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).” [Surah Al-Imran (3) : Ayah 133-134]

We train physically for marathons, to be fit, etc... Do we train to battle shaytan? You train when you are healthy in preparation for when things get rough. Give more when you have so that when you don’t have, this is already part of your character. Engage in generosity, kindness, calmness, modesty, patience and forgiving. Muhasabah

Make a conscious effort:

Make the cognitive shift from giving him a way in. A good friend from Nigeria, once told me that his sheikh said to him that shaytan will encourage you to do 99 good things, just so he can get you to do 1 wrong thing. What is the saying, the best place to hide a lie is among the truth?

We may start doing something that is good. Intention is clear. We prayed, it feels good, everything is cool. Then, we start to think that we and no one else was chosen for this task. We start getting puffed up with pride.

Remember Allah’s advice:

Anytime Shaytan whispers to you, remember what Allah has told you

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

Remember Allah’s promises:

• As for those who believe and do right actions, We will erase their bad actions and recompense them for the best of what they did. (Surat al-Ankabut, 7)
• He responds to those who believe and do right actions, and gives them increase from His favor. But the unbelievers will have a harsh punishment. (Surat ash-Shura, 26)
• Allah has promised those of you who believe and do right actions that He will make them successors in the land, as He made those before them successors, and will firmly establish for them their religion with which He is pleased and give them, in place of their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. Any who disbelieve after that, such people are deviators. (Surat an-Nur: 55)
• Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden [i.e., Paradise] as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the people who guard against evil: those who give in times of both ease and hardship, who control their rage and pardon other people - Allah loves the good-doers - those who, when they act indecently or wrong themselves, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their bad actions - and who can forgive bad actions except Allah? - and do not knowingly persist in what they were doing. Their recompense is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, forever. How excellent is the reward of those who act [righteously]! (Surah Al Imran, 133-136)
• Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord and to a Garden, whose breadth is like that of heaven and earth combined, made ready for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers. That is Allah's favor, which He gives to those whom He wills. Allah's Favor is indeed immense. (Surat al- Hadid, 21)
• O self at rest and at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleasing and well-pleased! Enter among My servants! Enter My Paradise! (Surat al-Fajr, 27-30)
• Favors - And remember! Your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): "If you are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you; But if you show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed." (Abraham, 7)
• And those who strive in Our [cause], - We will certainly guide them to Our paths (29:69).
• An excellent reward for those who do [good]! - those who persevere in patience, and put their trust in their Lord and Cherisher (29:58-59).
• But that which is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord (42:36).
• O believers! If you will aid [the cause of] Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly (47:7).

Brothers and sisters, we can go on for a very long time talking about our duty to Allah and how we are to be wary of shaytan and fight him on every turn. This is not an overstatement; if anything, it is an understatement. May Allah (swt) may our challenges easy for us and enable us to overcome to evil of our souls and our deeds.

Allah is doing His job - for sure. Shaytaan is doing his job - for sure. Are we doing our job? Are we making Shaytaan feel like a welcomed guest, or are we making it difficult for him to take up residence? Are we make it easy for him or are we making it so difficult, that he focuses on us so much, that he has to go rethink his strategies on how to approach us?