The Trickery of Shaytaan
Tuesday 21st July 2020 30th Dhu al-Qi’dah 1441
نحمده و نصلى على رسوله الكريم، قال الله تعالى ىف القرآن المجيد، أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ٍِّّّّّٰ
إن الله وملکتہ یصلون على النىب يا أيها الذين آمنوا صلوا عليه و سلموا تسليما إ
ّ اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد معدن الجود والکرم
ّ اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمدو الہ ألف الف م ّرة
ّ اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد وآله وأصحابه وبارك وسلم
أما بعد
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ٍَََََََََََََََََََََُُُُُُُُُِِِّّٰۡۡۡۖۡۡۡۡۡ ََُۡ فأَزلَّهما ٱلشيطن عنها فأَخرجهما ِمما كَنا فِيهِ وق ۡلنا ٱهبطوا بعضكم ِلِعض عدو ّٞۖولَكم فِ ٱ ۡلَۡرۡ ِض مستقَر
ََٰٰ َوَمَتٌعإَلَ ِحين
ِ
But Shaytaan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said, "Go down, [all of you], some of you the enemies of others, and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time.”
(Surah Al Baqarah, verse 36)
Hadhrat Adam alayhi salaam and Hadhrat Hawwa alayhi salaam were living together in Jannah. Through His infinite generosity, Allah subhana wa ta’ala provided them with all the comforts they desired, fulfilled all of their requirements and blessed them with happiness and tranquillity. They were told that they had permission to go wherever they wanted in Jannah and eat whatever they desired apart from the fruit of the forbidden tree.
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When Shaytaan realised that Adam alayhi salaam had everything he wanted at his disposal including a wife and was happily enjoying the pleasures of life in Jannah, he began to remember his own life when he also had a status. Allah had given him a great status in the past and now Shaytaan had become spiteful and blamed Adam alayhi salaam for his own loss. It was hard for him to see and even harder for him to accept. Shaytaan became vengeful and plotted against Adam alayhi salaam. He made a plan to exact his revenge and evil ideas began to fill his mind.
It is worth remembering that Shaytaan is the fountain of all sins. No matter what sin there is, whether small or grave, each and every sin is encouraged by Shaytaan. Shaytaan has made it his mission to mislead mankind. He exhorts each and every sin with full fervour. All the sins we see in this world are sourced by Shaytaan and his knowledge regarding sins is extensive. His vast experience of inviting people towards evil makes him an extremely dangerous enemy to mankind.
Mankind, however should not despair, because in opposition to Shaytaan we have Almighty Allah and His beautiful, magnificent Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Such that all goodness in the world that we see, whether it be small or great emanate from the fountain of blessings and goodness, our Master sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Hence there are two groups. The first group are those who advance towards sin and the second group are those who advance towards good deeds. This second group is known as the ‘party of Allah’ whereas the group that advances towards evil is known as ‘Hizb-ush- shaytaan’ (the party of Shaytaan).
Shaytaan became a sworn enemy of Adam alayhi salaam and wanted to take revenge. Shaytaan’s first sin was arrogance, and now this arrogance was joined by another wretched sin known as hasad (spiteful envy) which is an extremely impure sin. It has been related in a Hadeeth that a person will incur more loss at the hands of malicious and envious people than if he is alone and surrounded by of a pack of wild hungry wolves. This is how vile a sin it is. Remember that the hatred that is produced by envy is a trait of Shaytaan.
When he saw the status and the beautiful life of Adam alayhi salaam, his first feeling was one of hasad. He could not bear it nor accept it. And the main reason for his hasad was because he thought that he had incurred this great loss because of a creation that was inferior to him in his opinion. He had been totally stripped of all the ranks that he had held prior to the creation of Adam alayhi salaam. In fact he had such a great status that in the first heaven he was known by the name of ‘Abid’ (worshipper), in the second heaven he was known as ‘Zahid’ (devout), in third heaven he was known as ‘Arif’ (knowledgable), in the fourth heaven he was known as ‘wali’, in the fifth heaven he was known as ‘Muttaqi’, In the sixth heaven he was known as ‘Isra’eel’, and in the Lauh-e-mahfooz his name was Iblees. He was universally recognised for his piety and devout worship of Allah.
Due to his arrogance, he lost all of this and it was a great loss indeed. And the person (Adam alayhi salaam) regarding whom he thought he was better was now enjoying the status and rank that he so much desired.
What was this status of Adam alayhi salaam that made Shaytaan so jealous and spiteful? Now it is worth noting that Shaytaan’s hasad has different levels and his envy is greater towards some people than others. Whom does he hate the most? When is Shaytaan
most envious? Remember that Shaytaan does not get jealous of man’s material possessions. He is not envious of people’s wealth or their material success in this world. These things do not bother him. It does not bother him if someone has a successful business or is a millionaire. In fact he encourages man to chase after those things. He encourages man to crave fame, material gain and worldly status.
So what is it that man has that makes Shaytaan so jealous and spiteful? He is not envious of those who crave fame and fortune in fact he befriends them and uses them to advance in his mission.
He is extremely jealous of those people who have real status and glory. And what is this status? True glory is to have a life with which Allah is pleased. It is painful for Shaytaan, when Allah is pleased with a person. Subhanallah, true magnificence and grandeur belongs to those people with whom Allah is pleased. It does not matter if they are poor and have very little to eat, if Allah is pleased with them they are more important and have a greater status than the kings of this world.
My Hadhrat Sheikh rahmatullah alayhi would often have only a bowl full of yoghurt and some dry bread to eat with his family. He lived in poverty yet at the same time he was a glorious human being. His wealth was in his spiritual status. Many renowned personalities would come and seek out his company in search of blessings. Ministers, judges, and people with worldly clout would sit quietly in respect and awe of his presence. He possessed a grandeur that no worldly man could possess. And despite having all of this respect from the people, he never ever sought to obtain any worldly gain from those that visited him and continued to live an impoverished life. And this is the kind of person regarding whom Shaytaan is most jealous.
The more Allah loves a person the more Shaytaan becomes his enemy. In fact Shaytaan applies full effort on such a person. He works very hard on trying to mislead that person. Shaytaan instructs his associates and followers to go and try to disrupt this person. He attacks his prayer etc. but the friends of Allah are firm and do not get defeated by Shaytaan. These good men of Allah are those people worthy of being called the children of Adam alayhi salaam.
Since Shaytaan battles with those men and women who are close to Allah, I would like to mention a point of self-rectification as this is a gathering of Tasawwuf. If a person is steadfast in his acts of worship and is careful in refraining from sins, then he is a very wealthy person. It is this wealth that makes Shaytaan burn inside and he will try to use all the tools and methods at his disposal to try and destroy what that person has gained.
That person who goes into the company of a Sheikh, repents to Allah for his sins, stops his sins, rectifies and improves himself must wake up and realise that he has created an enemy in Shaytaan who will try and attack his newly found wealth. Shaytaan will concentrate on trying to destroy what that person has gained. He will try to make that person slip up and fail, by whispering thoughts in that person’s Nafs. He will keep trying to make them leave the Deen of Allah. And unfortunately in my life I have seen many people turn their backs on this wealth after Allah had given them the taufeeq of Taubah. They listened to Shaytaan and abandoned piety to return to a life of sins. Some spent years working on improving
themselves, but eventually they listened to Shaytaan and lost the status that Allah had given them.
My brothers, always protect yourself from Shaytaan. One of the most important principles of self-rectification and tazkiyaah is to remain alert to this danger. Be aware and stay alert to Shaytaan’s plotting and planning against those whom Allah has favoured with a life of Iman. And there is only one method to protect ourselves from the whisperings of Shaytaan. And that is to be firm on the instructions of your Sheikh. Whatever advice he gives you, follow it with steadfastness. Shaytaan will try to create doubts in the mind of a mureed regarding his Sheikh. Because he knows that if he can make him lose his aqeedat in his Sheikh then he will stray from the path. When a person loses his aqeedat in his Sheikh, he will even reject and criticise him. And then it becomes easy for Shaytaan to lead that person astray.
Remember that the greatest route to Allah is to meet a kamil Sheikh, to do Taubah at his hand and then to follow his instruction and this is Sulook. It is a great blessing and favour of Allah upon that person who is given the taufeeq to have a kamil Sheikh. And once meeting the Sheikh and doing Taubah, it becomes the mureeds responsibility to protect this wealth from Shaytaan. Remember the greater the wealth (of the Akhirah) that Allah gives you, the more your enemy (Shaytaan) will try to take it away from you.
When a saalik (seeker) starts the journey of Sulook he is immediately attacked by Shaytaan through his whisperings and incitements. Shaytaan will try his best to inject the saalik with negative thoughts regarding his Sheikh. He will try to make the mureed look for faults in his Sheikh. Shaytaan will even try to instill doubt in the mind of the mureed regarding any conversations of islaah (rectification) that he had with his Sheikh.
However, if you ignore Shaytaan and withstand his whisperings then you will be successful. It is essential for a mureed to strengthen the bond between himself and his Sheikh and this is what is called ‘raabtah’ (connection). Accept every advice and instruction of your Sheikh and then follow it with steadfastness. This raabtah is what will save you from Shaytaan. Even if your emotions and thoughts go against what you are doing, yet you continue to be steadfast on the instruction of your Sheikh. When Shaytaan sees this firm connection he begins to back off from that person. The first test in Tasawwuf is to endure and overcome the trickery of Shaytaan.
Shaytaan became the enemy of man due to his hasad of Adam alayhi salaam. He hated the fact that Allah ta’ala had favoured Adam alayhi salaam. Remember that all evil is found within Shaytaan. We cannot imagine the lengths and efforts that he will go to, to try and mislead a person. Despite his former status, his arrogance and envy caused him to become the most cursed and wretched of beings.
Now what was it that had given him such a rank before his fall? When Allah is pleased with an individual he is filled with an aura of light and sacredness but when a person turns away from Allah, then that same being begins to develop evil and darkness within himself. And the more a person sins, the more distant he continues to be from Allah. And it is a sign for us that when our habits and manners become bad, when we become foul mouthed and disrespectful then realise that we are moving away from Allah and must correct our
ways. Shaytaan advanced so much towards evil that he became the furthest from Allah than any other creation and is indeed the rejected one.
When a person moves away from the Deen and welcomes a multitude of sins into his life, he is in a very precarious situation. Someone who oppresses those around him, whether they be family or not. Someone who disregards the rights of those around him becomes a person liked by Shaytaan. Shaytaan is very happy when he sees people disobeying Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Those people who love those things that are loved by Shaytaan, move far away from Allah.
The further that Shaytaan the accursed, our sworn enemy, went from Allah, the more the evil increased within him. He increased in his trickery due to his intense hasad. His jealousy, and envy increased very mauch that he became very spiteful. So much so that he sought to take revenge on Adam alayhi salaam. He plotted and schemed of ways to get this revenge.
My friends, as I have explained, hasad is a very bad thing. And its dangers have been mentioned in Ahadeeth.
عن أَبِ هريرة رضى الله عنه قال: قال رسول اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إياكم والْسد, فإن الْسد ِِِ
ََََََََُُّ َََُّ ََ َُ ََََََََّ
َََََََََُُُّ يأكُلاَلْسنا ِت, َكماتَأكُلاَلناراَلْطب
Abu Hurairah radhiallah anhu narrated that Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Avoid envy, for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours firewood.”
(Sunan Abu Dawud)
Envy makes a person waste away his good deeds. Do not be envious of another person’s knowledge, beauty, their status in society, their piety or their wealth etc. And the sign of hasad is to burn inside upon seeing what other people have. Some people even struggle to speak when they hear of someone else’s success. Despite it not being any business of theirs, nor it affecting their own life in any way a person feels contempt inside his heart when he sees the success of others. And where does this all come from? It is Shaytaan who whispers this into the hearts and minds of people.
So Shaytaan wanted revenge on Adam alayhi salaam and not only on Adam alayhi salaam but upon all his offspring and descendants till the Day of Judgement.
Hence we must try our best to stop hasad from coming into our lives as it is a very destructive disease. We should pray to Allah to save us from this evil and there is indeed a cure for every spiritual illness. And the cure for envy, is that when you feel you are becoming jealous or envious of another person then, stop thinking things like, ‘O how did this person become so wealthy, why was it him and not me who could have become rich etc’ Stop developing hatred for someone just because they have something that you do not, as this can lead to more sins such as backbiting and slander etc. The best solution to save yourself from this terrible deed is to make a sincere dua for that person who is the focus of your envy. Make the dua by saying, “O Allah, give that person more of that thing regarding which I am envious of him.” It may feel hard to do but Alhamdulillah, if you do it, you will quickly release yourself from the chains of hasad and hatred. The power of dua will put out the fire of
envy that burns in your hearts. Allah is Most Generous, Most Merciful and when He sees His servant making this effort to rid himself of this spiritual disease, then the mercy of Allah will indeed come to his aid. In fact Allah will bestow you with whatever it was you were envious of. And this solution is so much better than living with hasad in our hearts.
Now Shaytaan was full of envy, hatred, vengeance and enmity towards Adam alayhi salaam. He plotted his revenge out of extreme spitefulness. He had an issue, and that was that Adam alayhi salaam and his wife were in Jannah, and Shaytaan was unable to enter Jannah. Just imagine how great a status he once had and how far he had fallen. My friends, the fall of Shaytaan is a great lesson for us. Allah subhana wa ta’ala teaches us by giving us the example of this event, that when He gives a person a high and lofty status and rank, then that person should never let pride and arrogance enter his heart. In fact the more status a person gets from Allah, the more humble he should become. For it is Allah who gives to whom He wills, and takes away from whom He wills.
This can also apply to worldly status and wealth. Do not ever consider yourself better than anyone because of your wealth, your job or your position in society.
Shaytaan was outside Jannah and burning with envy. He wanted to go into Jannah to try and corrupt Adam alayhi salaam and his wife. Each time he would try to enter Jannah the guards would deny him entry and he would be pushed back so he schemed a method. One of the guards was a jinn in the form of a huge serpent who had been close to Shaytaan during his pious times. They both had similar backgrounds as they were both jinn. Even to this day, some jinn will take the form of snakes when they come before people. It is a common form for jinn to take.
So Iblees approached his old friend and sought his help in getting him into Jannah. And Shaytaan convinced his old friend to aid him in his scheme. Remember, that friendship with evil will bring evil to you. The serpent said to him, that he will conceal Shaytaan in his mouth.
Now, it has been stated that Shaytaan has been given the time and freedom to try and mislead us. His trickery is so powerful that it has been stated in a Hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim:
عن َأنسقالقالرسولاللهِصلىاللهعليهِوسلمإنالشيطانيَري ِمنالْنسانمَرىالِم ٍِِِ
ََََََََََََُ َ َ َََََََََُُ َََ
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Anas ibn Malik radhiallah anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Indeed, Shaytaan flows through the human being like the flowing of blood.”
Now despite Shaytaan’s ability to attack us from all angles, it would be wrong for us to claim that we cannot do good deeds and refrain from sin, because we are hopeless in the face of Shaytaan and our own desires. Because this is certainly not the case. We cannot use this as an excuse for turning to evil because despite all his power, Allah has created man with the potential to be stronger than Shaytaan. Allah has given the human being such a great power that countless jinns will not be able to harm him if he utilises that power.
These jinn that are the allies of Shaytaan will attack that person who does Taubah and turns to Allah. Their mission is to try and divert that person from the straight path and make him fail in the test of life.
As I was saying despite this, Allah has given the human being a great power to ward of Shaytaan if he utilises it correctly. And when a person becomes a beloved of Allah through his piety, he becomes a friend of Allah, then Shaytaan becomes totally helpless in front of that person.
Shaytaan will try to attack a person during every good deed and action that he is doing. For example he will try and join in all your actions whether you are putting on your shoes or drinking water, he is keen to partake in it. When you eat food or change clothes he will try to join you at all these times, in fact he wants to disrupt you whenever and wherever he can and that is his way of influencing man towards evil. He has a vast network of Shayateen and hence the reason why we must find protection from him.
Allah subhana wa ta’ala has given us a very powerful method for warding off the attacks of Shaytaan. It is the blessed Sunnah of the blessed Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Subhanallah, for protection from Shaytaan Allah has given us the best and most effective of methods as it is stated in the Qur’an:
ُ
َّلقَد َكَن لَكم فِ رسول ٱللهِ أسوة حسنة لِمن َكَن يرجوا ٱلله وٱ ۡلۡوم ٱلۡأٓ ِخر وذ َكر ٱلله َكثِيرا ِِ
ٌَََََََََََََََََََََُُُّّّۡۡۡۡۡٗ َ
Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and does the dhikr of Allah in abundance.
(Surah Al-Ahzaab, verse 21)
Allah tells us that every action, every Sunnah of His Beloved sallallahu alayhi wa allam is excellent, great and so powerful that it can defeat an attack of hundreds of thousands of shayateen. For example, when you change your clothes, Shaytaan will come to join you, but if you were to at that time change your clothes in the manner of the Sunnah and also recite the dua for changing clothes, then Shaytaan will not be able to come near us.
Today, many people trivialise the Sunnah, by pushing the view that the Sunnah is not a necessary part of Islam. But the Qur’an and Ahadeeth tell us otherwise. In fact the Sunnah is a vital form of protection from Shaytaan. Remember that Shaytaan tries to join you and your family in all your activities such as eating, sleeping and changing clothes etc. When you enter your homes he tries to enter with you and he also tries to be with you when you are lying with your wives. Even for that there are duas from the Sunnah and if we ignore these Sunnahs we will bear children that have been influenced by Shaytaan. Children that are disobedient and rude to their parents due to the negligence of the Sunnah.
Every action from the Sunnah whether it be in the home or outside is important. The Mothers of the Believers, the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us of the habits of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and informed us of those things that were his Sunnah in his private life. It was done for the benefit of the Ummah.
Just as the Qur’an has been preserved, the Sunnahs of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have also been persevered through the efforts of the great scholars of Islam who memorised countless Ahadeeth and shared them with the people. These scholars would travel thousands of miles just to gain one Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And then they would apply strict rules in determining whether they should accept the Hadeeth as
being Saheeh, as they were petrified of attributing something to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that was not true.
These scholars were blessed by Allah. He gave them the strength, the intelligence, the commitment and the skills required to preserve the Sunnahs of His Habeeb sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And because Shaytaan is free to roam the earth misleading people, we too have been given a vast ocean of protection from Shaytaan, which is the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Allah ta’ala has given us a great weapon to protect our Deen and if we do not utilise this then note that we are under the influence of Shaytaan twenty-four hours a day. A husband and wife may be sat together peacefully but within five minutes and argument could occur and lead to divorce. Afterwards they will both think, ‘What just happened? We were in no mood to fight or argue.” But Shaytaan filled their minds with bad thought regarding each other and it resulted in them fighting. Causing discord and enmity between a husband and wife is one of Shaytaan’s top targets. When he sits on his seat at night with all his helpers and cronies around him, he asks them what they did in the day, and they all tell him of the mischief they caused until one of them says that he incited a husband against his wife and the wife against her husband until their argument led to divorce. On hearing this Shaytaan gets very happy and says to his follower, “You have done the deed that has made me the most happiest.”
So the one cure for all this is the implementation of the Sunnah in our lives. When you enter the homes in the manner of the Sunnah then the Shayateen will not enter with you and will not be able to incite you against your spouses etc. Some Auliya’Allah have even seen these shayateen with their own eyes entering the homes of people. They have seen the shayateen stopping people from going to the masjid by inciting them, and they incite those who are far from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The friends of Allah have seen these shayataan diverting people away from the masjid. This protection that Allah has given us is in the form of the Sunnah.
So Shaytaan had immense hatred for Adam alayhi salaam. He wanted to lead him astray and take away from him all that he had. So the big serpent entered into Jannah passing the guards with Shaytaan inside his mouth. Shaytaan then dismounted when he was inside and then searched for and found Adam alayhi salaam. He approached Adam alayhi salaam and spoke to him. Shaytaan put on an act and when he approached Hadhrat Adam alayhi salaam and his wife, he began to cry. In the Hadeeth it is stated that he cried so much to the extent that it was as if he was wailing in agony.
There are a group of people that act like this each year at a certain time of year, putting on an act of wailing and sorrow giving an excuse that they are remembering those who died. To put on an act of such wild mourning is forbidden in Islam as it is not a genuine show of sorrow.
So Shaytaan put on a show, by crying and lamenting, and he did this because he knew that Adam alayhi salaam was a good man and that he would feel sorry for him if he put on such an act. Both Adam alayhi salaam and his wife felt some sympathy for him as he had acted his insincere drama so well. They asked him why he was so sorrowful and that it had also made them upset. He replied that he was not crying because of himself but because of
them and because of the event that happened to them. They said that they did not know what he was talking about. He said that he was sad because they were such good people but did they not know that they would both die and will lose this Jannah they were living in. Shaytaan told them that he had so much knowledge regarding Jannah that they did not know and that he had come to tell them this and to try and help them. Both of them became sad on hearing all this from him and from the way he was telling them. And then he pretended to be their friend and tried to calm them. This was Shaytaan’s method and this was his trickery. Then Shaytaan advanced in his trickery and played a game with them. He said to them that he had a solution for their predicament, and he told them that he knew that tree very well indeed and were they to eat from that tree they would attain an eternal life and never die.
My friends, there is big lesson in this for us today. Whenever Shaytaan wants to take a person towards haram and sin, his tact is to present that sin as something good and tries to make you think that it will be very beneficial for you. Shaytaan plays with the nature of man and coats the poison with sugar and presents it to you as something delicious and worth having. And in this way haraam actions are promoted as halaal, not only by Shaytaan but also by people who have listened to him. For example, he presents music as something nice and relaxing and beneficial, he presents the drinking of alcohol as something to help us relax and enjoy our evenings, he presents ribaa (usury) as a necessity and tells us we cannot be successful without it, he presents nakedness and immodesty in a positive manner, and tells us that it will make us popular, famous and liked. He presents zinaa as something very enjoyable and harmless. He tells us that we only live once so we should just enjoy this life and not worry about any rules and makes us forget the consequences of our actions. Hence all that Allah has forbidden, he presents those things as things that we should do and that they will benefit us. Remember that this is Shaytaan’s biggest trick that he plays with mankind. And he will never promote the benefits of those things that are halaal. He will present you with multiple benefits for doing haram things. For example he will say, ‘Take off your hijab , a woman is free without it and you will feel better.” He will say, “Cut your beard, you will look more handsome and will be easy for you find a job. And you will increase in respect.” He will tell you to avoid going to the Masjid and that it is easier just to stay at home. He will say, “Open an off-licence, sell alcohol, you will make much more profit if you do, and it’s not as though you are drinking it yourself.”
So in this way he presented that forbidden tree to Adam alayhi salaam as something very beneficial, he told them that they would be crazy not to eat from it and get eternal life. He told them that if they eat that fruit they would live happily forever in Jannah. In this way he played with their thoughts and told them to just extend their arms, take the fruit and just eat it.
Then they both began to think that we have been told to refrain from that tree, yet he is telling us to go to it. Now this is called a ‘waswasa’ (a whisper) and this is what Shaytaan injects into the minds of people. He advises people towards evil in this manner, So they both began to think and because their existed in them the light of Iman they said, ‘no, no we cannot accept this, this very difficult for us to do.”
When Shaytaan realised that his drama did not work, he applied a second scheme as he has many plots and schemes up his sleeve. He said, “Ok, it’s up to you but let me show
you what death is. Because you will die like this if you do not eat from that tree.” So he took the form of an animal since he was of those jinn that can take the form of other creatures.
Do remember that Shayateen will always give you advice against the Qur’an and Sunnah no matter what form they take. Some magicians will use the help of Shayateen to perform their magic tricks. And they do so for worldly fame and opulence. And their association with these jinn is a haram action within itself.
So Shaytaan took the form of an animal and then laid down in front of them and pretended to die before them and made it look like a painful death. Even though it was all just an act, it frightened them because his sketch of death was horrifying to see. And this is the second ploy of Shaytaan, he tries to scare mankind by telling them that if they don’t indulge in haram then they will go hungry and will not be able to succeed in this world. He sows a seed of fear in their hearts. He makes them fear that they will not be able to afford to live and not meet their expenses. He feeds the fear of hunger and poverty in a person. He will make a person think that he will become a destitute if he does not indulge in haram.
And it was this fear that he fed them that made him succeed. My brothers there is a big lesson in this for us. We should never allow Shaytaan to defeat us in our lives as we have the best weapon to protect ourselves and that is the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I swear by Allah that if you bring the Sunnah completely into your lives then no attack of Shaytaan can harm you, he will not be able influence your hearts with his whispers. He will remain unsuccessful as long as we are adherent to the Sunnah.
Shaytaan however continues in his evil efforts and those people who have done Taubah must be more alert and vigilant because Shaytaan targets such people. No matter what happens in life do not abandon the Sunnah as this will be the source to your success. Shaytaan can drag a person from a very high level to the dirt.
If you have a kaamil Sheikh then follow his instructions with steadfastness as he will guide you upon the Sunnah. This event of Adam alayhi salaam is a huge lesson for the whole of the human race. That Shaytaan will continue to chase the Children of Adam with his evil schemes. And one might think, why Allah gave Shaytaan this freedom to try and mislead mankind. It is because the more a person shuns and ignores Shaytaan the greater a status he gains before Allah. Jannah and its pleasures await those who do not succumb to the incitements of Shaytaan and win the battle against the wrongful desires of their Nafs. Such people will become beloveds of Allah and their rewards will be unimaginable.
To be successful, Allah has provided us with methods to get close to Him. Remember that this earth is a testing ground. It is the venue of an examination, and in this examination we have a few tasks to do and a few to refrain from. And if we do both these things to the best of our abilities then the greater will be the reward. Alhamdulillah the month of Dhul Hijjah has just started, there ten very great days ahead. This month started today after Maghrib, and any good deed done in these days carries so much reward that we would be unable to quantify it. And this uncountable reward is on every good deed. Remember that for the next nine nights whatever good deed you do and whatever dua you make will be momentous in reward and power.
Allah has opened the doors of mercy and forgiveness to His creation. The Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger is the best action for us, and regarding this month there is Hadeeth in Ahmad and At-Tabarani:
Ibn 'Umar radhiallah anhu narrates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "There is no day more honorable in Allah's sight and no acts more beloved therein to Allah than those in these ten days. So say tahlil (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah: La ilaha ill-Allah), takbir (Allah is the greatest: Allahu Akbar) and tahmid (All praise is due to Allah: alhumdulillah) in abundance."
Subhanallah, the Messenger of Allah informed us to do abundant dhikr in these days. The greatest deed in these nights is the dhikr of Allah. The most beloved action in these days, that will make you a beloved of Allah is the dhikr of Allah.
Now do we listen to the advice of Shaytaan or do we protect the wealth that Allah has given us? Shaytaan will try his best to take you away from the remembrance of Allah by telling you that it is not important and not necessary.
Remember what I say when I say that you should follow your Sheikh with steadfastness and without hesitation. Do not listen to Shaytaan who will encourage you towards neglecting those things that make you closer to Allah.
If we spend the next ten days and nights in the dhikr of Allah then the reward that we can accumulate is unimaginable. A person can get a whole years reward for one good deed in these days. So let us make sincere repentance in these days and then do abundant dhikr, the worship of Allah and refrain from sins. This is not an opportunity to be lost.
If you embrace the Sunnah you will certainly defeat Shaytaan. The doors of Dhul Hijjah are now open so do not miss these gatherings of dhikr. Such gatherings may not come to you again.
We are so fortunate that we can join these gatherings from the comfort of our homes and this is a great blessing. Yet we still make excuses to avoid it by citing that we are tired or too busy. It is a great loss for those people who lose these opportunities when they are on their doorsteps and so easy to attain.
Remember that a human being who is steadfast upon the dhikr and the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam cannot be influenced by Shaytaan and Shaytaan becomes powerless in front of such people. On the other hand, if we are distant from the Sunnah, then Shaytaan will join us in all our daily actions. Shaytaan is waiting and ready to pounce upon his opportunities to mislead mankind and he employs his offspring to carry out his evil mission.
So Adam alayhi salaam and Hawwa alayhi salaam were deceived through the trickery of Shaytaan and in the next Dars we will look at what happened to them and their condition after this event.
ََُِِْْ وآخردعواناا ِناْلحمدلِلَّهِر ِّباْلعالمين َََََََُ
The Trickery of Shaytaan
Tuesday 21st July 2020 30th Dhu al-Qi’dah 1441
نحمده و نصلى على رسوله الكريم، قال الله تعالى ىف القرآن المجيد، أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ٍِّّّّّٰ
إن الله وملکتہ یصلون على النىب يا أيها الذين آمنوا صلوا عليه و سلموا تسليما إ
ّ اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد معدن الجود والکرم
ّ اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمدو الہ ألف الف م ّرة
ّ اللهم صلى على سيدنا ومولانا محمد وآله وأصحابه وبارك وسلم
أما بعد
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
ٍَََََََََََََََََََََُُُُُُُُُِِِّّٰۡۡۡۖۡۡۡۡۡ ََُۡ فأَزلَّهما ٱلشيطن عنها فأَخرجهما ِمما كَنا فِيهِ وق ۡلنا ٱهبطوا بعضكم ِلِعض عدو ّٞۖولَكم فِ ٱ ۡلَۡرۡ ِض مستقَر
ََٰٰ َوَمَتٌعإَلَ ِحين
ِ
But Shaytaan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said, "Go down, [all of you], some of you the enemies of others, and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time.”
(Surah Al Baqarah, verse 36)
Hadhrat Adam alayhi salaam and Hadhrat Hawwa alayhi salaam were living together in Jannah. Through His infinite generosity, Allah subhana wa ta’ala provided them with all the comforts they desired, fulfilled all of their requirements and blessed them with happiness and tranquillity. They were told that they had permission to go wherever they wanted in Jannah and eat whatever they desired apart from the fruit of the forbidden tree.
ٖ
When Shaytaan realised that Adam alayhi salaam had everything he wanted at his disposal including a wife and was happily enjoying the pleasures of life in Jannah, he began to remember his own life when he also had a status. Allah had given him a great status in the past and now Shaytaan had become spiteful and blamed Adam alayhi salaam for his own loss. It was hard for him to see and even harder for him to accept. Shaytaan became vengeful and plotted against Adam alayhi salaam. He made a plan to exact his revenge and evil ideas began to fill his mind.
It is worth remembering that Shaytaan is the fountain of all sins. No matter what sin there is, whether small or grave, each and every sin is encouraged by Shaytaan. Shaytaan has made it his mission to mislead mankind. He exhorts each and every sin with full fervour. All the sins we see in this world are sourced by Shaytaan and his knowledge regarding sins is extensive. His vast experience of inviting people towards evil makes him an extremely dangerous enemy to mankind.
Mankind, however should not despair, because in opposition to Shaytaan we have Almighty Allah and His beautiful, magnificent Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Such that all goodness in the world that we see, whether it be small or great emanate from the fountain of blessings and goodness, our Master sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Hence there are two groups. The first group are those who advance towards sin and the second group are those who advance towards good deeds. This second group is known as the ‘party of Allah’ whereas the group that advances towards evil is known as ‘Hizb-ush- shaytaan’ (the party of Shaytaan).
Shaytaan became a sworn enemy of Adam alayhi salaam and wanted to take revenge. Shaytaan’s first sin was arrogance, and now this arrogance was joined by another wretched sin known as hasad (spiteful envy) which is an extremely impure sin. It has been related in a Hadeeth that a person will incur more loss at the hands of malicious and envious people than if he is alone and surrounded by of a pack of wild hungry wolves. This is how vile a sin it is. Remember that the hatred that is produced by envy is a trait of Shaytaan.
When he saw the status and the beautiful life of Adam alayhi salaam, his first feeling was one of hasad. He could not bear it nor accept it. And the main reason for his hasad was because he thought that he had incurred this great loss because of a creation that was inferior to him in his opinion. He had been totally stripped of all the ranks that he had held prior to the creation of Adam alayhi salaam. In fact he had such a great status that in the first heaven he was known by the name of ‘Abid’ (worshipper), in the second heaven he was known as ‘Zahid’ (devout), in third heaven he was known as ‘Arif’ (knowledgable), in the fourth heaven he was known as ‘wali’, in the fifth heaven he was known as ‘Muttaqi’, In the sixth heaven he was known as ‘Isra’eel’, and in the Lauh-e-mahfooz his name was Iblees. He was universally recognised for his piety and devout worship of Allah.
Due to his arrogance, he lost all of this and it was a great loss indeed. And the person (Adam alayhi salaam) regarding whom he thought he was better was now enjoying the status and rank that he so much desired.
What was this status of Adam alayhi salaam that made Shaytaan so jealous and spiteful? Now it is worth noting that Shaytaan’s hasad has different levels and his envy is greater towards some people than others. Whom does he hate the most? When is Shaytaan
most envious? Remember that Shaytaan does not get jealous of man’s material possessions. He is not envious of people’s wealth or their material success in this world. These things do not bother him. It does not bother him if someone has a successful business or is a millionaire. In fact he encourages man to chase after those things. He encourages man to crave fame, material gain and worldly status.
So what is it that man has that makes Shaytaan so jealous and spiteful? He is not envious of those who crave fame and fortune in fact he befriends them and uses them to advance in his mission.
He is extremely jealous of those people who have real status and glory. And what is this status? True glory is to have a life with which Allah is pleased. It is painful for Shaytaan, when Allah is pleased with a person. Subhanallah, true magnificence and grandeur belongs to those people with whom Allah is pleased. It does not matter if they are poor and have very little to eat, if Allah is pleased with them they are more important and have a greater status than the kings of this world.
My Hadhrat Sheikh rahmatullah alayhi would often have only a bowl full of yoghurt and some dry bread to eat with his family. He lived in poverty yet at the same time he was a glorious human being. His wealth was in his spiritual status. Many renowned personalities would come and seek out his company in search of blessings. Ministers, judges, and people with worldly clout would sit quietly in respect and awe of his presence. He possessed a grandeur that no worldly man could possess. And despite having all of this respect from the people, he never ever sought to obtain any worldly gain from those that visited him and continued to live an impoverished life. And this is the kind of person regarding whom Shaytaan is most jealous.
The more Allah loves a person the more Shaytaan becomes his enemy. In fact Shaytaan applies full effort on such a person. He works very hard on trying to mislead that person. Shaytaan instructs his associates and followers to go and try to disrupt this person. He attacks his prayer etc. but the friends of Allah are firm and do not get defeated by Shaytaan. These good men of Allah are those people worthy of being called the children of Adam alayhi salaam.
Since Shaytaan battles with those men and women who are close to Allah, I would like to mention a point of self-rectification as this is a gathering of Tasawwuf. If a person is steadfast in his acts of worship and is careful in refraining from sins, then he is a very wealthy person. It is this wealth that makes Shaytaan burn inside and he will try to use all the tools and methods at his disposal to try and destroy what that person has gained.
That person who goes into the company of a Sheikh, repents to Allah for his sins, stops his sins, rectifies and improves himself must wake up and realise that he has created an enemy in Shaytaan who will try and attack his newly found wealth. Shaytaan will concentrate on trying to destroy what that person has gained. He will try to make that person slip up and fail, by whispering thoughts in that person’s Nafs. He will keep trying to make them leave the Deen of Allah. And unfortunately in my life I have seen many people turn their backs on this wealth after Allah had given them the taufeeq of Taubah. They listened to Shaytaan and abandoned piety to return to a life of sins. Some spent years working on improving
themselves, but eventually they listened to Shaytaan and lost the status that Allah had given them.
My brothers, always protect yourself from Shaytaan. One of the most important principles of self-rectification and tazkiyaah is to remain alert to this danger. Be aware and stay alert to Shaytaan’s plotting and planning against those whom Allah has favoured with a life of Iman. And there is only one method to protect ourselves from the whisperings of Shaytaan. And that is to be firm on the instructions of your Sheikh. Whatever advice he gives you, follow it with steadfastness. Shaytaan will try to create doubts in the mind of a mureed regarding his Sheikh. Because he knows that if he can make him lose his aqeedat in his Sheikh then he will stray from the path. When a person loses his aqeedat in his Sheikh, he will even reject and criticise him. And then it becomes easy for Shaytaan to lead that person astray.
Remember that the greatest route to Allah is to meet a kamil Sheikh, to do Taubah at his hand and then to follow his instruction and this is Sulook. It is a great blessing and favour of Allah upon that person who is given the taufeeq to have a kamil Sheikh. And once meeting the Sheikh and doing Taubah, it becomes the mureeds responsibility to protect this wealth from Shaytaan. Remember the greater the wealth (of the Akhirah) that Allah gives you, the more your enemy (Shaytaan) will try to take it away from you.
When a saalik (seeker) starts the journey of Sulook he is immediately attacked by Shaytaan through his whisperings and incitements. Shaytaan will try his best to inject the saalik with negative thoughts regarding his Sheikh. He will try to make the mureed look for faults in his Sheikh. Shaytaan will even try to instill doubt in the mind of the mureed regarding any conversations of islaah (rectification) that he had with his Sheikh.
However, if you ignore Shaytaan and withstand his whisperings then you will be successful. It is essential for a mureed to strengthen the bond between himself and his Sheikh and this is what is called ‘raabtah’ (connection). Accept every advice and instruction of your Sheikh and then follow it with steadfastness. This raabtah is what will save you from Shaytaan. Even if your emotions and thoughts go against what you are doing, yet you continue to be steadfast on the instruction of your Sheikh. When Shaytaan sees this firm connection he begins to back off from that person. The first test in Tasawwuf is to endure and overcome the trickery of Shaytaan.
Shaytaan became the enemy of man due to his hasad of Adam alayhi salaam. He hated the fact that Allah ta’ala had favoured Adam alayhi salaam. Remember that all evil is found within Shaytaan. We cannot imagine the lengths and efforts that he will go to, to try and mislead a person. Despite his former status, his arrogance and envy caused him to become the most cursed and wretched of beings.
Now what was it that had given him such a rank before his fall? When Allah is pleased with an individual he is filled with an aura of light and sacredness but when a person turns away from Allah, then that same being begins to develop evil and darkness within himself. And the more a person sins, the more distant he continues to be from Allah. And it is a sign for us that when our habits and manners become bad, when we become foul mouthed and disrespectful then realise that we are moving away from Allah and must correct our
ways. Shaytaan advanced so much towards evil that he became the furthest from Allah than any other creation and is indeed the rejected one.
When a person moves away from the Deen and welcomes a multitude of sins into his life, he is in a very precarious situation. Someone who oppresses those around him, whether they be family or not. Someone who disregards the rights of those around him becomes a person liked by Shaytaan. Shaytaan is very happy when he sees people disobeying Allah and His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Those people who love those things that are loved by Shaytaan, move far away from Allah.
The further that Shaytaan the accursed, our sworn enemy, went from Allah, the more the evil increased within him. He increased in his trickery due to his intense hasad. His jealousy, and envy increased very mauch that he became very spiteful. So much so that he sought to take revenge on Adam alayhi salaam. He plotted and schemed of ways to get this revenge.
My friends, as I have explained, hasad is a very bad thing. And its dangers have been mentioned in Ahadeeth.
عن أَبِ هريرة رضى الله عنه قال: قال رسول اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إياكم والْسد, فإن الْسد ِِِ
ََََََََُُّ َََُّ ََ َُ ََََََََّ
َََََََََُُُّ يأكُلاَلْسنا ِت, َكماتَأكُلاَلناراَلْطب
Abu Hurairah radhiallah anhu narrated that Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Avoid envy, for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours firewood.”
(Sunan Abu Dawud)
Envy makes a person waste away his good deeds. Do not be envious of another person’s knowledge, beauty, their status in society, their piety or their wealth etc. And the sign of hasad is to burn inside upon seeing what other people have. Some people even struggle to speak when they hear of someone else’s success. Despite it not being any business of theirs, nor it affecting their own life in any way a person feels contempt inside his heart when he sees the success of others. And where does this all come from? It is Shaytaan who whispers this into the hearts and minds of people.
So Shaytaan wanted revenge on Adam alayhi salaam and not only on Adam alayhi salaam but upon all his offspring and descendants till the Day of Judgement.
Hence we must try our best to stop hasad from coming into our lives as it is a very destructive disease. We should pray to Allah to save us from this evil and there is indeed a cure for every spiritual illness. And the cure for envy, is that when you feel you are becoming jealous or envious of another person then, stop thinking things like, ‘O how did this person become so wealthy, why was it him and not me who could have become rich etc’ Stop developing hatred for someone just because they have something that you do not, as this can lead to more sins such as backbiting and slander etc. The best solution to save yourself from this terrible deed is to make a sincere dua for that person who is the focus of your envy. Make the dua by saying, “O Allah, give that person more of that thing regarding which I am envious of him.” It may feel hard to do but Alhamdulillah, if you do it, you will quickly release yourself from the chains of hasad and hatred. The power of dua will put out the fire of
envy that burns in your hearts. Allah is Most Generous, Most Merciful and when He sees His servant making this effort to rid himself of this spiritual disease, then the mercy of Allah will indeed come to his aid. In fact Allah will bestow you with whatever it was you were envious of. And this solution is so much better than living with hasad in our hearts.
Now Shaytaan was full of envy, hatred, vengeance and enmity towards Adam alayhi salaam. He plotted his revenge out of extreme spitefulness. He had an issue, and that was that Adam alayhi salaam and his wife were in Jannah, and Shaytaan was unable to enter Jannah. Just imagine how great a status he once had and how far he had fallen. My friends, the fall of Shaytaan is a great lesson for us. Allah subhana wa ta’ala teaches us by giving us the example of this event, that when He gives a person a high and lofty status and rank, then that person should never let pride and arrogance enter his heart. In fact the more status a person gets from Allah, the more humble he should become. For it is Allah who gives to whom He wills, and takes away from whom He wills.
This can also apply to worldly status and wealth. Do not ever consider yourself better than anyone because of your wealth, your job or your position in society.
Shaytaan was outside Jannah and burning with envy. He wanted to go into Jannah to try and corrupt Adam alayhi salaam and his wife. Each time he would try to enter Jannah the guards would deny him entry and he would be pushed back so he schemed a method. One of the guards was a jinn in the form of a huge serpent who had been close to Shaytaan during his pious times. They both had similar backgrounds as they were both jinn. Even to this day, some jinn will take the form of snakes when they come before people. It is a common form for jinn to take.
So Iblees approached his old friend and sought his help in getting him into Jannah. And Shaytaan convinced his old friend to aid him in his scheme. Remember, that friendship with evil will bring evil to you. The serpent said to him, that he will conceal Shaytaan in his mouth.
Now, it has been stated that Shaytaan has been given the time and freedom to try and mislead us. His trickery is so powerful that it has been stated in a Hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim:
عن َأنسقالقالرسولاللهِصلىاللهعليهِوسلمإنالشيطانيَري ِمنالْنسانمَرىالِم ٍِِِ
ََََََََََََُ َ َ َََََََََُُ َََ
ِ
Anas ibn Malik radhiallah anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Indeed, Shaytaan flows through the human being like the flowing of blood.”
Now despite Shaytaan’s ability to attack us from all angles, it would be wrong for us to claim that we cannot do good deeds and refrain from sin, because we are hopeless in the face of Shaytaan and our own desires. Because this is certainly not the case. We cannot use this as an excuse for turning to evil because despite all his power, Allah has created man with the potential to be stronger than Shaytaan. Allah has given the human being such a great power that countless jinns will not be able to harm him if he utilises that power.
These jinn that are the allies of Shaytaan will attack that person who does Taubah and turns to Allah. Their mission is to try and divert that person from the straight path and make him fail in the test of life.
As I was saying despite this, Allah has given the human being a great power to ward of Shaytaan if he utilises it correctly. And when a person becomes a beloved of Allah through his piety, he becomes a friend of Allah, then Shaytaan becomes totally helpless in front of that person.
Shaytaan will try to attack a person during every good deed and action that he is doing. For example he will try and join in all your actions whether you are putting on your shoes or drinking water, he is keen to partake in it. When you eat food or change clothes he will try to join you at all these times, in fact he wants to disrupt you whenever and wherever he can and that is his way of influencing man towards evil. He has a vast network of Shayateen and hence the reason why we must find protection from him.
Allah subhana wa ta’ala has given us a very powerful method for warding off the attacks of Shaytaan. It is the blessed Sunnah of the blessed Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Subhanallah, for protection from Shaytaan Allah has given us the best and most effective of methods as it is stated in the Qur’an:
ُ
َّلقَد َكَن لَكم فِ رسول ٱللهِ أسوة حسنة لِمن َكَن يرجوا ٱلله وٱ ۡلۡوم ٱلۡأٓ ِخر وذ َكر ٱلله َكثِيرا ِِ
ٌَََََََََََََََََََََُُُّّّۡۡۡۡۡٗ َ
Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and does the dhikr of Allah in abundance.
(Surah Al-Ahzaab, verse 21)
Allah tells us that every action, every Sunnah of His Beloved sallallahu alayhi wa allam is excellent, great and so powerful that it can defeat an attack of hundreds of thousands of shayateen. For example, when you change your clothes, Shaytaan will come to join you, but if you were to at that time change your clothes in the manner of the Sunnah and also recite the dua for changing clothes, then Shaytaan will not be able to come near us.
Today, many people trivialise the Sunnah, by pushing the view that the Sunnah is not a necessary part of Islam. But the Qur’an and Ahadeeth tell us otherwise. In fact the Sunnah is a vital form of protection from Shaytaan. Remember that Shaytaan tries to join you and your family in all your activities such as eating, sleeping and changing clothes etc. When you enter your homes he tries to enter with you and he also tries to be with you when you are lying with your wives. Even for that there are duas from the Sunnah and if we ignore these Sunnahs we will bear children that have been influenced by Shaytaan. Children that are disobedient and rude to their parents due to the negligence of the Sunnah.
Every action from the Sunnah whether it be in the home or outside is important. The Mothers of the Believers, the wives of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us of the habits of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and informed us of those things that were his Sunnah in his private life. It was done for the benefit of the Ummah.
Just as the Qur’an has been preserved, the Sunnahs of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam have also been persevered through the efforts of the great scholars of Islam who memorised countless Ahadeeth and shared them with the people. These scholars would travel thousands of miles just to gain one Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And then they would apply strict rules in determining whether they should accept the Hadeeth as
being Saheeh, as they were petrified of attributing something to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that was not true.
These scholars were blessed by Allah. He gave them the strength, the intelligence, the commitment and the skills required to preserve the Sunnahs of His Habeeb sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And because Shaytaan is free to roam the earth misleading people, we too have been given a vast ocean of protection from Shaytaan, which is the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Allah ta’ala has given us a great weapon to protect our Deen and if we do not utilise this then note that we are under the influence of Shaytaan twenty-four hours a day. A husband and wife may be sat together peacefully but within five minutes and argument could occur and lead to divorce. Afterwards they will both think, ‘What just happened? We were in no mood to fight or argue.” But Shaytaan filled their minds with bad thought regarding each other and it resulted in them fighting. Causing discord and enmity between a husband and wife is one of Shaytaan’s top targets. When he sits on his seat at night with all his helpers and cronies around him, he asks them what they did in the day, and they all tell him of the mischief they caused until one of them says that he incited a husband against his wife and the wife against her husband until their argument led to divorce. On hearing this Shaytaan gets very happy and says to his follower, “You have done the deed that has made me the most happiest.”
So the one cure for all this is the implementation of the Sunnah in our lives. When you enter the homes in the manner of the Sunnah then the Shayateen will not enter with you and will not be able to incite you against your spouses etc. Some Auliya’Allah have even seen these shayateen with their own eyes entering the homes of people. They have seen the shayateen stopping people from going to the masjid by inciting them, and they incite those who are far from the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The friends of Allah have seen these shayataan diverting people away from the masjid. This protection that Allah has given us is in the form of the Sunnah.
So Shaytaan had immense hatred for Adam alayhi salaam. He wanted to lead him astray and take away from him all that he had. So the big serpent entered into Jannah passing the guards with Shaytaan inside his mouth. Shaytaan then dismounted when he was inside and then searched for and found Adam alayhi salaam. He approached Adam alayhi salaam and spoke to him. Shaytaan put on an act and when he approached Hadhrat Adam alayhi salaam and his wife, he began to cry. In the Hadeeth it is stated that he cried so much to the extent that it was as if he was wailing in agony.
There are a group of people that act like this each year at a certain time of year, putting on an act of wailing and sorrow giving an excuse that they are remembering those who died. To put on an act of such wild mourning is forbidden in Islam as it is not a genuine show of sorrow.
So Shaytaan put on a show, by crying and lamenting, and he did this because he knew that Adam alayhi salaam was a good man and that he would feel sorry for him if he put on such an act. Both Adam alayhi salaam and his wife felt some sympathy for him as he had acted his insincere drama so well. They asked him why he was so sorrowful and that it had also made them upset. He replied that he was not crying because of himself but because of
them and because of the event that happened to them. They said that they did not know what he was talking about. He said that he was sad because they were such good people but did they not know that they would both die and will lose this Jannah they were living in. Shaytaan told them that he had so much knowledge regarding Jannah that they did not know and that he had come to tell them this and to try and help them. Both of them became sad on hearing all this from him and from the way he was telling them. And then he pretended to be their friend and tried to calm them. This was Shaytaan’s method and this was his trickery. Then Shaytaan advanced in his trickery and played a game with them. He said to them that he had a solution for their predicament, and he told them that he knew that tree very well indeed and were they to eat from that tree they would attain an eternal life and never die.
My friends, there is big lesson in this for us today. Whenever Shaytaan wants to take a person towards haram and sin, his tact is to present that sin as something good and tries to make you think that it will be very beneficial for you. Shaytaan plays with the nature of man and coats the poison with sugar and presents it to you as something delicious and worth having. And in this way haraam actions are promoted as halaal, not only by Shaytaan but also by people who have listened to him. For example, he presents music as something nice and relaxing and beneficial, he presents the drinking of alcohol as something to help us relax and enjoy our evenings, he presents ribaa (usury) as a necessity and tells us we cannot be successful without it, he presents nakedness and immodesty in a positive manner, and tells us that it will make us popular, famous and liked. He presents zinaa as something very enjoyable and harmless. He tells us that we only live once so we should just enjoy this life and not worry about any rules and makes us forget the consequences of our actions. Hence all that Allah has forbidden, he presents those things as things that we should do and that they will benefit us. Remember that this is Shaytaan’s biggest trick that he plays with mankind. And he will never promote the benefits of those things that are halaal. He will present you with multiple benefits for doing haram things. For example he will say, ‘Take off your hijab , a woman is free without it and you will feel better.” He will say, “Cut your beard, you will look more handsome and will be easy for you find a job. And you will increase in respect.” He will tell you to avoid going to the Masjid and that it is easier just to stay at home. He will say, “Open an off-licence, sell alcohol, you will make much more profit if you do, and it’s not as though you are drinking it yourself.”
So in this way he presented that forbidden tree to Adam alayhi salaam as something very beneficial, he told them that they would be crazy not to eat from it and get eternal life. He told them that if they eat that fruit they would live happily forever in Jannah. In this way he played with their thoughts and told them to just extend their arms, take the fruit and just eat it.
Then they both began to think that we have been told to refrain from that tree, yet he is telling us to go to it. Now this is called a ‘waswasa’ (a whisper) and this is what Shaytaan injects into the minds of people. He advises people towards evil in this manner, So they both began to think and because their existed in them the light of Iman they said, ‘no, no we cannot accept this, this very difficult for us to do.”
When Shaytaan realised that his drama did not work, he applied a second scheme as he has many plots and schemes up his sleeve. He said, “Ok, it’s up to you but let me show
you what death is. Because you will die like this if you do not eat from that tree.” So he took the form of an animal since he was of those jinn that can take the form of other creatures.
Do remember that Shayateen will always give you advice against the Qur’an and Sunnah no matter what form they take. Some magicians will use the help of Shayateen to perform their magic tricks. And they do so for worldly fame and opulence. And their association with these jinn is a haram action within itself.
So Shaytaan took the form of an animal and then laid down in front of them and pretended to die before them and made it look like a painful death. Even though it was all just an act, it frightened them because his sketch of death was horrifying to see. And this is the second ploy of Shaytaan, he tries to scare mankind by telling them that if they don’t indulge in haram then they will go hungry and will not be able to succeed in this world. He sows a seed of fear in their hearts. He makes them fear that they will not be able to afford to live and not meet their expenses. He feeds the fear of hunger and poverty in a person. He will make a person think that he will become a destitute if he does not indulge in haram.
And it was this fear that he fed them that made him succeed. My brothers there is a big lesson in this for us. We should never allow Shaytaan to defeat us in our lives as we have the best weapon to protect ourselves and that is the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I swear by Allah that if you bring the Sunnah completely into your lives then no attack of Shaytaan can harm you, he will not be able influence your hearts with his whispers. He will remain unsuccessful as long as we are adherent to the Sunnah.
Shaytaan however continues in his evil efforts and those people who have done Taubah must be more alert and vigilant because Shaytaan targets such people. No matter what happens in life do not abandon the Sunnah as this will be the source to your success. Shaytaan can drag a person from a very high level to the dirt.
If you have a kaamil Sheikh then follow his instructions with steadfastness as he will guide you upon the Sunnah. This event of Adam alayhi salaam is a huge lesson for the whole of the human race. That Shaytaan will continue to chase the Children of Adam with his evil schemes. And one might think, why Allah gave Shaytaan this freedom to try and mislead mankind. It is because the more a person shuns and ignores Shaytaan the greater a status he gains before Allah. Jannah and its pleasures await those who do not succumb to the incitements of Shaytaan and win the battle against the wrongful desires of their Nafs. Such people will become beloveds of Allah and their rewards will be unimaginable.
To be successful, Allah has provided us with methods to get close to Him. Remember that this earth is a testing ground. It is the venue of an examination, and in this examination we have a few tasks to do and a few to refrain from. And if we do both these things to the best of our abilities then the greater will be the reward. Alhamdulillah the month of Dhul Hijjah has just started, there ten very great days ahead. This month started today after Maghrib, and any good deed done in these days carries so much reward that we would be unable to quantify it. And this uncountable reward is on every good deed. Remember that for the next nine nights whatever good deed you do and whatever dua you make will be momentous in reward and power.
Allah has opened the doors of mercy and forgiveness to His creation. The Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger is the best action for us, and regarding this month there is Hadeeth in Ahmad and At-Tabarani:
Ibn 'Umar radhiallah anhu narrates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "There is no day more honorable in Allah's sight and no acts more beloved therein to Allah than those in these ten days. So say tahlil (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah: La ilaha ill-Allah), takbir (Allah is the greatest: Allahu Akbar) and tahmid (All praise is due to Allah: alhumdulillah) in abundance."
Subhanallah, the Messenger of Allah informed us to do abundant dhikr in these days. The greatest deed in these nights is the dhikr of Allah. The most beloved action in these days, that will make you a beloved of Allah is the dhikr of Allah.
Now do we listen to the advice of Shaytaan or do we protect the wealth that Allah has given us? Shaytaan will try his best to take you away from the remembrance of Allah by telling you that it is not important and not necessary.
Remember what I say when I say that you should follow your Sheikh with steadfastness and without hesitation. Do not listen to Shaytaan who will encourage you towards neglecting those things that make you closer to Allah.
If we spend the next ten days and nights in the dhikr of Allah then the reward that we can accumulate is unimaginable. A person can get a whole years reward for one good deed in these days. So let us make sincere repentance in these days and then do abundant dhikr, the worship of Allah and refrain from sins. This is not an opportunity to be lost.
If you embrace the Sunnah you will certainly defeat Shaytaan. The doors of Dhul Hijjah are now open so do not miss these gatherings of dhikr. Such gatherings may not come to you again.
We are so fortunate that we can join these gatherings from the comfort of our homes and this is a great blessing. Yet we still make excuses to avoid it by citing that we are tired or too busy. It is a great loss for those people who lose these opportunities when they are on their doorsteps and so easy to attain.
Remember that a human being who is steadfast upon the dhikr and the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam cannot be influenced by Shaytaan and Shaytaan becomes powerless in front of such people. On the other hand, if we are distant from the Sunnah, then Shaytaan will join us in all our daily actions. Shaytaan is waiting and ready to pounce upon his opportunities to mislead mankind and he employs his offspring to carry out his evil mission.
So Adam alayhi salaam and Hawwa alayhi salaam were deceived through the trickery of Shaytaan and in the next Dars we will look at what happened to them and their condition after this event.
ََُِِْْ وآخردعواناا ِناْلحمدلِلَّهِر ِّباْلعالمين َََََََُ