Satan vs Mankind

The reason behind the enmity, its history, and its severity The enmity between humans and Satan is rooted in an incident that took place a long time ago. One must go back to the day that Allah formed Adam, before He breathed His spirit into him. satan went around him and said, "[Adam,] if you are given mastery over me, I will surely disobey you. And if I am given mastery over you, I will destroy you."

It is recorded in sahih Muslim on the authority of Anas that the prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When Allah fashioned Adam in paradise, He left him as long as He wished to leave him. Then Iblees roamed around him to see what he actually was and when Iblees found him to be hollow from within, he recognized that the new creature had been created with a disposition such that it would not have control over itself.''

When Allah breathed into Adam his spirit, he ordered the angels to prostrate to Adam. Iblees used to worship Allah with the angels so the order was also addressed to him. But Iblees considered himself too great and, out of pride, he refused to prostrate to Adam. He cried, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and you created him from clay."

Then when Adam opened his eyes he found a great and generous gesture: the angels bowing down to him. But he also found a great enemy waiting for him that would try to lead him and his descendants to destruction and misguidanced. Satan was cast out of paradise due to his pride but he took a promise from Allah to be left alive until the day of judgement. "He said: Reprieve me till the day when they are raised (from the dead). He said: Lo ! You are of those who are reprieved" (al-Araaf 14-15). Then the accursed one made a promise and vow to himself that he would mislead the offspring of Adam and plot against them.

"He said: Now, because you have sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on your right path. Then I sahll come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right and from their left, and you will not find most of them beholden (to you) (al-Araaf 15-16). This latter statement of his shows how great will be his struggle to mislesd the offspring of Adam. He will take every path he can against them, on their right, left, in front of them and behind them. 

He will attack them from every direction. Al-Zamakhshari said in his commentary to this verse, "He will come to them from all four directions as the enemy usually does, such as his 'sneaking whispers' to them. He will entice them in every way that he can. As in the [Quranic] statement, 'And excite any of them whom you can with your voice, and urge your horse and foot against them, and be a partner in their wealth and children, and promise them. Satan promise them only to deceive' (al-Israa 64)."

 Allah warning to us concerning satan

The Quran warns us at lenght about satan since he is such a great test for humanity. Allah warns humans about Satan's misguidance and his desire to mislead people. Allah says, "O children of Adam ! Let not satan seduce you..." (al-Araaf 27). And, "Lo' The devil is an enemy for you, so treat him as an enemy" (Faatir 6). Again, "Whoever chooses satan for an ally instead of Allah is vereily a loser and his loss is manifest" (al-Nisaa 119).

The enmity from satan will not change or vanish. This is because satan sees the father of the humans, Adam, as the cause for his satan. There is no doubt that he will seek revenge from Adam and his offspring. "He said: Do you see this (creation) that you have honoured above me ? If you give me grace until the Day of Resurrection I will verily seize this seed, save but a few" (al-Israa 62).

The scholars who ideal in matters related to behaviour and conduct often discuss the shortcomings and weakness of humans' souls but they do not put enough stress on this fierce enemy, although Allah warns us against him at many different places in the Quran. And He orders us to seek refuge from him while Allah does not order us to seek refuge from our souls anywhere. Only in the opening to an oratory did the prophet (peace be upon him)  state about the evil in the souls, "And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil in our souls and the evil of our deeds."

The goals or the aims of satan

Long-term Goal: Satan has one long term goal. This is his ultimate ambition. This goal is to see humans thrown into the hell-fire and prevented from entering paradise. "He only summons his faction to be owners of the flaming Fire" (Faatir 6).

Short-term Goals: The above is satan's long-term goal. But he has many short-term goals including:

1. To get the slave involved in disbelief and idolatry. This is done by calling people to worship beings or idols other than Allah. Satan calls the people to disbelief in Allah and to disobey His commands. "Or the likeness of Satan when he tells man to disbelieve, but when he disbelievers, he says, 'Verily, i am innocent of you"' (al-Hashr 16). Imam Muslim records in his sahih on the authority of Iyaadh ibn Hamaar that the prophet (peace be upon him) addressed them saying, "O people, Allah has commanded me to teach you that which you do not know which He has taugh me today. (It is that) any bounty which I have conferred upon them is lawful for them. I have created my servants with a natural inclination toward My worship but the Devils turn them away from the right religion and he makes the things that are unlawful to be lawful and he orders them to make partners with Me although they have no authority to do so."

2. If he is not able to lead them to disbelief, he leads them to sins
If he is not able to lead the slave to idolatry or disbelief, Satan does not despair. He then becomes pleased with things that are less than that, such as sins and disobedience to Allah. He also plants enmity and hatred in their ranks. Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah have recorded in their Sunans, with a hasan chain, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Verily, satan has despaired that he should ever be worshipped again in this land of yours. But he will be obeyed in some of your actions that you consider small. And he will be pleased by that." 

And it is recorded in sahih al-Bukhari and elsewhere, "Verily Satan despairs that he should ever be worshipped by the performers of prayer in the Arabian peninsula. But he will instigate between them." In other words, he will cause hatred and enmity to occur in their midst and he will incite them against each other. This is as Allah says in the Quran, "Satan seeks only to cast among you enmity and hatred by means of strong drink and game of chance..." (al-Maaidah 91). Satan enjoins every evil, "He enjoins  upon you only the evil and the foul, and that you should say concerning Allah that which you know not" (al-Baqara 169). In sum, any action that is loved by Allah is hated by satan and every act of disobedience that is hated by the Merciful is loved by satan.

3. Blocking the slave from obeying Allah. It is not sufficient for him to call people to disbelief, idolatry and evil deeds. He also tries to block the way to any good deed. There is no path of goodness that man may follow except that he sits there, lurking and waiting to turn mankind away. It is stated in a hadith, "Satan  sits in all the paths of the children of Adam. He sits in the path to Islam and says, 'Will you embrace Islam and leave the religion of your father and grandfathers?' The man disobeys him and embraces Islam. Then he sits in the path to migration (hijra) and says, 'Will you migrate and leave your native land? The emigrant is like one on an arduous journey ' The man disobeys him and migrates. 

Then Satan sits in the path to jihad and says, 'The struggle is with your life and wealth. If you fight you will killed and your wives will marry others and your wealth will be distributed.' He disobeys him and makes jihad. Whoever does that has the right upon Allah to enter paradise. And who killed has a right upon Allah to enter paradise. And whoever drowns has the right upon Allah to enter paradise. And whoever has his neck broken by his animal has the right upon Allah to enter paradise." The above hadith is confirmed by Allah's saying in the Quran concerning Satan,

"He said: Now, because You have sent me astray, Verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on your Right Path. Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right hands and from their left hands, and you will not find most of them beholden (to you)" (al-Araaf 16-17).
The statement, "I shall sit for them on your path," could either mean, "I shall cling to Your Path [ to misguide them], " "I shall keep them from your path," or " I shall make them deviate from it."

The early scholars have explained this right path in different ways but all of their explannations, though, are quite similar and consistent. Ibn Abbas said that it is the clear religion. Ibn Masood said it is the book of Allah. Jaabir called it Islam while Mujaahid said it is "the truth." Satan does not leave any path to good except that he sits there to turn people away from it.

4. Ruining the Acts of Obedience to Allah. If Satan is not able to block the way to acts of obedience, then he will do his best to ruin the act of obedience or worship by making it such that the person will not receive reward for the action. A companion came to the prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "verily satan comes between me and my prayer and my recitation of the Quran and confuses me." The prophet (peace be upon him) said, "That is a devil called khinzah. If you feel that occurring to you, seek refuge in Allah from him and spit (or blow*) on your left side three times." the companion said he did so and Allah took that devil away from him. ( This was recorded by Muslim in his sahih.) 

When the Muslim begins his prayer, satan comes to him and whispers to him and makes his mind busy with the affairs of this life rather than obedience to Allah. In sahih Muslim it is recorded that the prophet (peace be upon him) said, Definitely when Satan hears the call to prayer, he turns his back and flees, noisily breaking wind in order not to hear the call. fter the call is over he returns to whisper to those who are about to pray.

When the second call (al-iqaama) is made, he again flees and noisily breaks wind in order not to hear the call. Again, when the call is over, he returns to
(the people praying) and whispers to them (to distract them from the prayer).. And in another narration, .When the call is finished, he turns back and comes between the person and his soul, saying to him, .Remember this and remember that,. which the man did not think of before [the prayer] until he does not know how much he has prayed.. (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Every disobedience to the Merciful is obedience to Satan

 Allah says in Quran, They invoke in His stead only females; they pray to none other than Satan, a rebel whom Allah cursed, and he said; Surely I will take of Your bondsmen an appointed portion. (al-Nisaa 117-l IS). 

Therefore, everything that is worshipped instead of Allah, be it statues, idols,
sun, the moon, one.s desires, another human, some ideology or whatever,
is actually the worship of Satan. This is true whether the person is pleased with that fact or denies it, because it was Satan that ordered and sought that action. For example, the worshippers of the angels are actually worshipping Satan. 

Allah says in the Quran, ".And on the day when He will gather them all together, He will say unto the angels: Did these worship you? They will say: Be You glorified. You are our Protector from them! Nay, but they worshipped the jinn, most of them were believers in them. (Saba 40-41). So the angels never asked the people to worship them, but it was the jinn that ordered them to do so in order to have them worship the devils who appeared to them and led them. Similarly, every idol has devils [encouraging others to it].

Conclusion: What one can conclude is that Satan orders and encourages
every evil and strives his best for evil; he tries to forbid every good and,
in fact, he fears every good deed. He wants the person to do the former
and to leave the latter. Allah says,

"The devil promises you destitution and enjoins upon you lewdness. But
Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself with bounty. (al-Baqara
268). Satan makes humans fear poverty. He says to them, .If you spend
your wealth in the way of Allah you will become poor.. And he orders
humans to acts of lewdness. He leads humans to every evil and lewd act,
from being miserly to adultery and so on.

5. Psychologically and physically harming humans. In the same way that it is the goal of Satan to mislead mankindby disbelief and sins, it is also his goal to physically and psychologically harm the Muslim. The following are some of what is known concerning,

such attacks:

a. Attacking the Prophet: Later we shall present a hadith in which Satan attacked the Prophet (peace be upon him) by trying to throw a flame of fire into his face.

b. The dreams from Satan: Satan has the ability to bring dreams of the human while he is sleeping to molest and distress the person in order to worry and harm him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has stated that dreams in sleep
are of three types: from the Most Merciful, of anguish from Satan, and
from the person himself.. In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is recorded that the
Prophet (peace be upon him) said. ".If one of you sees a dream that he likes, it is from Allah. He should praise Allah for it and he should relate it to others. If he sees what he dislikes, it is from Satan. He should seek refuge in Allah from it and not mention it to anyone. Thereby, it will not harm him."

c.Burning down houses: Satan may use animals that he spurs on for this purpose. Abu Dawud has recorded in his Sunan and ibn Hibbaan in his Sahih, with a sahih chain, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When you sleep at night, extinguish your lamps for Satan guides like this (mouse) to one like this (lamp) and they burn your place down."

d. Satan fights and plays with the human at the time of death The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek refuge in Allah from that. He used to say, .Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from death through falling. I seek refuge in You from my house falling on me. I seek refuge in You from falling into a ditch, drowning, burning and decrepitude. I seek refuge in You from the devil harming me at the time of my death.' I seek refuge in You from dying while fleeing from the enemy. I seek refuge in You from dying from a poisonous sting"
e. Harming the child at the time of its birth: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Every child of Adam is touched by Satan on the day that his mother
gives birth to him except Mary and her son". (Recorded by Musim.)

And in Sahih al-Bukhari it is recorded that, .When any human is born, Satan touches him at both sides of the body with his two fingers, except in the case of Jesus, the son of Mary. Satan tried to do so but failed and touched the placenta instead." In another hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, the following is stated, "There is no one born among the offspring of Adam except that Satan
touches it. The child cries loudly at birth, therefore, from the touch of
Satan. except Mary and her child." The reason that Mary and her child
were exempted from such an action was the supplication that the mother
of Mary made, "[My Lord, I have vowed to You that which is in my belly as a
consecrated (offspring)...] and lo! I crave Your protection for her and for
her offspring from Satan the outcast."(ali-Imraan 36). 

Since she was sincere in her request, Allah answered that supplication and protected Mary and her son from Satan. Ammaar ibn Yaasir was also protected by Allah from Satan. In Sahih al-Bukhari it is recorded that Abu ad-Darda said, "Is there among you the one that was protected from Satan according to what the Prophet said." Al-Mughira said, "The one who was protected from Satan
according to the tongue of His Prophet means Ammar."

f. Plague is from the jinn: The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, "The end of this nation would come through calumnies and plague. These are the pierces from the enemy of the humans of the jinn. And whoever dies due to this infliction has attained martyrdom... In al-Mustadrak of al-Haakim it is
recorded that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Plague is the piercing of your enemies from among the jinn. And for you it is martyrdom." Perhaps what occurred to the Prophet Job (peace be on him) was from the jinn, as it states in the Quran, "And make mention of Our bondsman Job, when he cried unto his Lord (saying): Lo! the devil does afflict (lit., touch) me with distress and
torment" (Saad 4 1).

g. Various other diseases: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, concerning the prolonged flow of blood that occurs to some women, "It is but a kick from the kicks of Satan."

h. They share in the food, drink and lodging of the humans. One of the ways by which Satan harms humans is by sharing in their food, drink and lodging. This occurs if the human contradicts the guidance of Allah or if he is unmindful of Him. If he sticks to the guidance of Allah or is constant in His remembrance, Satan would not have any path to his wealth or housing. It is not allowed for Satan to take any food unless it is .offered. to him by someone who has neglected to mention the name of Allah over it. If it has had the name of Allah mentioned over it, it is forbidden for Satan. 

In Sahih Muslim, it is related from Hudhaifa that they were attending a meal with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and they did not touch the meal until the Prophet (peace be upon him) did so. A girl came quickly as if chased and was about to grab some food when the Prophet (peace be upon him) caught her hand. Then a bedouin came and did similarly. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Satan is permitted that food which has not had the name of Allah pronounced over it. He brought this girl in order for the food to be
lawful for him. And he brought this bedouin in order for the food to be.

lawful for him. So I caught their hands. By the One in whose Hand is my
soul, his [Satan.s] hand is in my hand along with theirs. "The Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered us to protect our wealth from Satan by closing doors, covering vessels and mentioning the name of Allah upon them. That will protect them from Satan. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"Close the doors and make mention of Allah. For Satan does not open a
closed door. And tighten the mouths of the waterskins and mention the
name of Allah. Cover your utensils and mention the name of Allah even
though you may only put something over them. And extinguish your
lamps." (Recorded by Muslim.)

Also Satan drinks and eats with the human if he should drink or eat with his left hand. The same is the case if he drinks standing. In Musnad Ahmad
it is recorded on the authority of Aisha that the Prophet said, " Whoever eats with his left hand, Satan eats with him. Whoever drinks with his left hand, Satan drinks with him."

Also in the Musnad it is recorded on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man drinking while standing and said to him, "Qih," The man said, .Why do you say so?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Would you be pleased if a cat drank with you?. The man said,  "No" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Verily there is someone worse
than that drinking with you, and that is Satan"

Satan is repelled from one's place of residence when the person does not neglect to mention the name of Allah upon entering his home. The Prophet (peace be upon him) pointed that out to us. He said, "If a man enters his house and mentions the name of Allah upon entering and upon eating, Satan says, 'There is no lodging or food for us here.' If he enters without mentioning the name of Allah, Satan says, 'I have found lodging for you.' And if he does not mention Allah upon eating, Satan says,'I  have found lodging and food for you"  [Recorded by Muslim.]

i. The touch of Satan upon the humans [possession by jinn] Ibn Taimiya said,
The jinn entering the body of the humans is confirmed by the agreement of the leaders of the people of the sunna and the community (ahl wa al-jamaa). Allah says in the Quran, "Those who swallow usury cannot rise up save as he arises whom the devil has prostrated by his touch" (al-Baqara 275). And in the Sahih it is recorded on the authority of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Satan flows in the children of Adam like the flowing of the blood" Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, "I said to my father, 'Some people say that the jinn does not enter the body of the possessed.' He said, 'Oh my son, they are lying. It is that which speaks by his tongue." 

Ibn Taimiya said, What he [Ahmad] said is well-known. The possessed person speaks a language that he himself does not understand. And his body may be struck with a ferocious beating, such that it would leave a great mark on a camel. The possessed person does not perceive the strike nor does he perceive the words that he is speaking. The possessed may lift others heavier than him. He may pull out the carpet he is sitting upon... and other such things that have been witnessed and reported by reliable sources. He speaks with the tongue of the human and he moves with that body but he is a specie other than a human.

And ibn Taimiya also wrote, "None of the leaders of the Muslims reject
the notion that the jinn enters into the body of the possessed and others.
Those who reject it and claim that the Islamic law states it to be false are stating a lie concerning Islamic law, as there is no proof therein that
denies its occurrence"

Ibn Taimiya also mentioned that some of those who deny that the jinn enter the body of the possessed include Mutazilahs such as al-Jubbai and Abu Bakr al-Raazi.' We shall return to this point and discuss it in more detail in the
fifth chapter.

The leader of the Battle

Iblees is the one who lays out the strategy of the battle against
humans and is the leader. From his seat, he sends his troops and armies
to different places for different purposes. He meets with his troops and
reviews what they have accomplished. He praises those who created a
great deal of mischief and misguidance among the people. Imam Muslim
records in his Sahih on the authority of Jabir that the Prophet (peace be
upon him) said,

"Iblees sets his throne on the water. From there, he sends out his troops
to tempt mankind. The one whom he regards as closest to him is the one
who causes the greatest temptation. One of them returns to him and says,
'I stayed with so and so and did not leave him until he did such and such,. and he is told, .You have done nothing.' Then one comes and reports, 'I did not leave him until he separated from his wife.'Iblees then brings him near to him and says, 'How fine you are."

In Musnad it is recorded that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to ibn Sa-id (concerning whom he had a suspicion that he was the anti-Christ), "What do you see?" He replied,"I see a throne upon the sea and around it are serpents." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "He has told the truth. That is the throne of Iblees." Satan is very well versed in the ways of misguidance. He has well-conceived plans and works of deception. And he will continue to
live and will not cease in this adventure as long as humans are alive,
until the day of Judgement. 

The Quran says, "He [Satan] said: My Lord reprieve me till the Day when they are raised. He [Allah] said: Then lo! you are of those reprieved" (al-Araaf 14-15). He made a vow to urge until evil as manv of mankind as he can. He does
not give up nor does he get bored. There is a hadith that states, "Verily, Satan has said, 'By your Honor and Grandeur [0 Allah], my enticements will not depart from your slaves as long as their souls are in their bodies.' And the Lord said, 'By  My Honor and My Grandeur, I will not cease forgiving those who ask for my forgiveness."*

The Soldiers: He has two types of soldiers: one from among jinn and one from
among humans. His soldiers from the jinn Satan has supporters and soldiers from among the jinn. We have already mentioned the hadith that states that he sends his troops out from his throne. And it says in the Quran, "And excite any of them whom you can with your voice, and urge your horse and foot against them" (al-Israa 64). 

He has soldiers that attack while riding and on foot. He sends them against Allah.s slaves to incite them to evil, "Do you not see that we have set the devils on the disbelievers to confound them with confusion?".(Maryam 83).

Every human has a partner

Every human has a devil with him that never leaves him. Muslim
recorded that Aisha narrated that one night the Prophet (peace be upon
him) left her room and she felt jealous. When he returned he saw her
upset. He said to her, "Oh Aisha, what has happened to you? Are you
jealous?. She responded, .How could it be that a woman like myself
would not be jealous with respect to a man like yourself?. He told her,
"It was your devil that came to you." She asked, "Oh Messenger of
Allah, is there a devil with me?"  He said, "Yes, She asked, .Is there a
devil attached to everyone?. He said, "Yes, She again asked, .Oh
Messenger of Allah, even with you?. He answered, "Yes, but my Lord
has aided me against him and, therefore, I am absolutely safe from his
actions."

It is also recorded in Sahih Muslim and Musnad Ahmad  that the Prophet (peace be on him) said, "There is none among you except that he has a partner entrusted to him from among the jinn." The companions asked, "You too, Oh Messenger of Allah?"  He responded, "Yes, but Allah aids me against him so I am safe from him and he only orders me to do good."

In the Quran it states, "And he whose sight is dim to the remembrance of the Beneficent, We assign unto him a devil who becomes his comrade" (al-Zukhruf 36).And in another verse, "And We assigned them comrades, who made their present and their past fair seeming unto them"(Fusilat 25).

His patrons from among the humans

Satan is man's first enemy who rushes to take him to his eternal destruction. Although that is the case, most humans take him as their friend and ally. They follow in his footsteps. They are pleased with his thoughts. Allah says, "Will you choose him and his seed for your protecting friends instead of
Me, when they are an enemy unto you? Calamitous is the exchange of
evildoers" (al-Kahf 50).

The one who takes him as an ally will suffer a great loss due to that choice. Allah says, "Whosoever chooses Satan for an ally instead of Allah is verily a loser and his loss is manifest" (al-Nisaa 119). They lose because Satan misguides and ruins their souls; he prohibits them from the bounty of
guidance; and he throws at them misguidance and doubts.

 Allah says, "As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are false deities. They bring them out of light into darkness. Such are the rightful owners of the Fire.
They will abide therein. (al-Baqara 257). And they will lose because he
will lead them to the fire on the Day of Resurrection. "He only summons his faction to be owners of the Flaming Fire" (Faatir 6). Those patrons of Satan are used by him as his troops in order to carry out his plans and to meet his goals.

He deceives and disappoints his patrons: Many humans follow and support Satan. He is deceiving them and leading them to what will end in their ultimate destruction and ruin. He will, in the end, abandon them and forsake them. He even laughs at them. Furthermore, he will point them out and even expose them. He orders them to steal, kill, commit adultery, and so on, and then he discloses their acts to others and disgraces them. He did that to the
unbelievers at the battle of Badr when he came to them in the shape of
Suraaqa ibn Maalik. He had promised them succour and victory by saying, "No one of mankind can conquer you today for I am your protector" (al-Anfaal 48).

When he saw the angels coming to aid the believers, Satan fled the battlefield and he left the unbelievers to be defeated. Hassaan ibn Thabit said (in words of poetry), "He guided them by deception and then he left them. The evil person is the one who follows him out of deception." He did the same thing to the monk who killed the woman and her child. It was Satan who ordered him to commit fornication with her and then to kill her. Then Satan pointed him out to her family and disclosed what he had done. Then he ordered the man to prostrate to him. When he did so, he fled from him and left him. We shall present that story later. On the day of Resurrection, he will say to his patrons after he and all of them have entered the fire,

"[And Satan says, when the matter has been decided, 'Lo! Allah
promised you a promise of truth; and I promised you, then failed you.
And I had no power over you save that I called unto you and you obeyed
me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can
you help me.] Lo! I disbelieved in that which you before ascribed to
me." (Ib rahim 22). 

First, he encouraged them to every evil and then he claimed complete innocence of them. We shall present the story later of the Channeler who claimed to know the world of the spirits. Satan left him after he became very
famous. Finally, he was left lost and disgraced, not knowing what to do.

Satan uses his patrons as troops to serve him and to help him in his battle against the believers Humans are of two groups: allies and servants of Allah, the Most Merciful, and allies of Satan. The patrons of Satan are all of the
unbelievers, regardless of what group they belong to or what affiliation
they may profess. 

Allah says, "Lo! We have made the devils protecting friends for those who believe not. Araaf 27). Satan gets power over them to mislead the believers by way of doubts and skepticism. Allah says, "Lo! The devils do inspire their followers to dispute with you" (al-Anaam 121). The doubts and misconceptions that the Orientalists, missionaries, Jews, atheists and others spread are of this nature. He urges them to psychologically injure the believers. Allah

"Lo! Secret talks and conspiracy . are only of Satan, that he may vex those
who believe"(al-Mujaadala IO). He incited the polytheists to speak secretly among themselves whenever the Muslims were close by so the Muslims would think that they were conspiring against them.

He also urges the unbelievers to fight against the believers. Allah says,
"Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who
disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols. So fight the friends of Satan.
Lo! Satan.s strategy is ever weak" (al-Nisaa 76).

And he always tries to put the fear of his patrons into the believers. "It is only Satan who would make (men) fear his allies. Fear them not; fear Me, if you are truly believers" (ali-Imraan 175). And his patrons and supporters are large in number, "And Satan indeed found his calculation true concerning them [humans], for they follow him, all save a group of true believers" (saba 20).