The Ugliness of Satan

Satan has a very ugly appearance. This is something well-accepted by the mind. Allah compares the branches of the tree of Zuqqum in Hell to the heads of the devils. Allah says,

"Is it better as a welcome, or the tree of Zaqqum? Lo! we have appointed it a torment for wrong-doers. Lo! It is a tree that springs in the heart of hell. Its crop is as it were the heads of the devils'' (al-Saffaat 62-65)

Christians of the middle Ages used to picture satan as a black man with a pointed beard, raised eyebrows, a mouth that emits flames, horns and hoofs
and a tail.'

Satan has two horns

In sahih Muslim, it is recorded from Ibn Umar that the prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Do not seek to pray when the sun is rising or when it is setting, verily it rises [and sets] between the two horns of a devil.'' In al-Bukhari and Muslim, it is also recorded that the prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"If the sun is setting then leave the prayers until it disappears. And do not wait for your prayers until the sun is rising, nor while it is setting.For veri;y it sets and rises between the two horns of satan.'' These hadith are referring to the polytheists of the Arabs who used to worship the sun and would prostrate to it when it would set or rise, for that reason satan would establish himself in that direction so that their worship could be directed towards him. 

The prophet (peace be upon him) has forbidden us to pray during that time . Actually, the correct opinion is that prayer during that time is permissible if there is someone reason for it, such as the prayers upon entering the mosque. it is not allowed, thought, if there is no reasons for it, such as simply a supererogatory prayer,"

The meaning of the prophet's words is that one should not intentionally set that time for prayer. And from among the other narrations that mention the horn of satan is the following hadith that is recorded in sahih al-Bukhari: Ibn Umar related that he saw the prophet ( peace be upon him) pointing to the east and state,

"Verily the trial will come from here, the calamity will come from here, Where the horn of satan raises." The latter statement is referring to the East.

Their ability and strength

Allah has given the jinn power and ability that He has not given humans. Allah has informed  us of some of their ability, including great speed and movement.

One of the afreet of satanic jinn promised solomon that he would be able to bring the throne of sheba to jerusalem in a period of time that was so short that a man would not be able to stand from his place of sitting. But one who had knowledge of the Book said, "I will bring it before your gaze returns to you." Allah has described this incident in the Quran with the following verses,

"A stalwart of the jinn said : I will bring it to you before you can rise from your place. Lo ! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. One with whome was knowledge of the scripture said : I will bring it to you before your gaze returns to you. And when he saw it set in his presence and he said, 'This is from the bounties of my Lord." ( al-Naml 39-40).

They preceded mankind in matters related to space

The jinn used to go the lowest heaven to eavesdrop on the inhabitants of the heavens in order to find out what event would occur in the future. When the prophet was sent with his message the number of "guards" in the heaven were increased. Allah says, in the Quran,

"And (the jinn who had listened to the Quran said): we had sought the heavens but had found it filled with strong warders and meteors. And we used but had found it filled with strong warders and meteors. And we used to sit on places (high) therein to listen. But he who listens now finds a flame in wait for him" (al-Jinn S-9).

The prophet ( peace be upon him) himself described how the jinn tried to steal the messages in the heaven. Abu Huraira reported that the prophet (peace be upon him) informed him, "when Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels move their wings in submission to His word which is like a chain on a smooth stone. When their hearts are delivered from fear they say, 'What did you Lord say?' and receive the reply, 'That which He said is the truth and He is the most High and the Most Great.' 

Then those who listen by stealth hear it (i.e., he jinn), and they are like this, some above others ( and Sufyan, a narrator, illustrated  this point by turning his hand over and separating the fingers). Then one who hear the word passes it on to the one below him, and so forth until one of them passes it to the tongue of a soothsayer or diviner. 

Often a flame catches him before he is able to pass it on. He then mixes with it one hundred lies. people then ask, 'Isn't it true  that he not made such a statement on a specific date,' and he is believed because of that onc word which was heard from the heavens." ( Recorded by al-Bukhari in his sahih.)

Superstitions during the period of ignorance

Knowledge of the reason why they were being pelted with meteors put an end to superstitious belief that the people of ignorance used to pass on. Ibn Abbas narrated from one of the companions of the prophet (peace be upon him), from among the Ansar, who said that they were with the prophet one night and they witnessed a shooting star. 

The prophet asked them, What did you say during the days of ignorance concerning a shooting star like that? They said, "Allah and His Messenger know best. We used to say that on that night an important person was born or an important person had died." The prophet said, "It does not do so because of the death or birth of anyone. But when Allah decides an affair, the inhabitants who carry the Throne sing His praise, and so do the ones of the next heaven and so forth until the lowest heaven. 

Then those are close to those who carry the Throne say to those who carry the Throne, "What did your Lord say?' And they are then informed about what Allah has decreed. And they pass this news to the next heaven and so forth until it reaches the lowest heaven. Then the jinn listen in and pass on the word to their servants.  When they angels notice them they attack them with meteors. If all that they [ the jinn] would relate is only that which they actually had heard, they would be truthful; but, instead, they mix it with lies and make additions to it." ( This hadith was recorded in sahih Muslim.)

Their knowledge in building and other crafts

Allah has informed us that the jinn which were subjected to the control of the prophet solomon performed many feat which were evidence of their physical ability, intelligence and skill. Allah says in Quran, "And (we gave him) certain of the jinn who worked before him by permission of his Lord. And such of them as deviated from our command, them we caused to taste the punishment of flaming fire. They made for him what he willed: Synagogues and statues, basin like wells and boiler built into the ground" ( Saba 12-13). 

And, perhaps, they also had the ability to communicate between locations and reach places in a way similar to radios and televisions. Ibn taimiya stated that one of the shaikhs who had contact with the jinn told him that the jinn showed them something sparkling like water or glass. And they showed him therein whatever thev wanted of news [ apparently it was some thing like a crystal ball] The one reporting this to ibn taimiya said, "They would bring the speech of the one who was seeking my help to me and i would respond and they would  take my speech back to that person." perhaps they were able to discover things, like the technology of radios and televisions, a long time ago.

Their ability to taken on other shapes

The jinn have the ability to take on the shapes of humans or animals. On the day of the Battle of Badr, satan approached the polytheists in the form of a man called suraaqa ibn Malik and he promised the polytheists aid and victory on that day. Concerning this event, Allah has revealed the following,

 "And when satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said: No one of mankind can conquer you this day, for iam your protector." (al-Anfaal48) But when the armies met and satan saw the angels descending from the sky, he fled.[ The above verse continues:]

"But when the armies came in sight of one another. he took flight, saying: Lo! I am innocent of you. Lo ! I see that which you do not . Lo! I fear Allah. And Allah is severe in punishment" (al-Anfaal 48).

Abu Huraira has related the following incident that was recorded in sahih al-Bukhari and other books. Abu Huraira said that the prophet had put him in charge of guarding the zakat of ramadhaan. He related, "Someone came to me and began to take portions of the food. I caught him and told him that i was going to take him to the messenger of Allah. The man complained, 'I am in great need and i have children dependent on me.' 

Therefore I let him go. In the morning the prophet (peace be upon him) asked me, ' What happened to the one you caught last night, Abu Huraira?' I replied, 'Oh Messenger of Allah, he pleaded with me concerning his great need and hid dependent children, so i felt pity for him and let him go.' The prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'He lied to you and he will be back.' I knew that he would therefore return because the prophet ( peace be upon him) had said so. I waited for him. 

When he came, he again began to take loads of food. I caught him again and again told him that i was going to take him to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). But when he pleaded, 'Let me go. I am in great need and have children dependent on me, I again had mercy on him and let him go. In the morning, the Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) again asked me, 'Oh Abu Huraira, What happened to your prisoner last night?"  I replied, 'Oh messenger of Allah, he complained to me of his great need and dependent children so I let him go again.' 

The prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'He has lied to you and he will return.' I again waited for him and again he came and began to take loads of food. I caught him once again. I told him, this time i will definitely take you to the Messenger of Allah. This is the third time you have done such an act.' This time the man said to me , 

'If You let me go I will teach you some words by which Allah will greatly benefit you ! When you go to your bed recite the verse of the throne [al-Baqara 255], from, "Allah, there is no  god but He, the living, the Eternal " to the end of the verse. If you do so a guardian from Allah will come and protect you from the devils until the morning.' 

I decided to let him go. In the morning, the Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) again asked me, 'What happened to your prisoner last night, Abu Huraira?' I answerd, 'He claimed that he would teach me some words that would benefit me greatly.' The prophet ( peace be upon him ) said, 'He has told the truth although he is a liar. Do you know who was that person you have been talking to for the last three nights?' 

'I replied in the negative. The prophet ( peace be upon him) told me, 'That was a devil." 'In this hadith it is clear that devil jinn took the from of a human being. They may also take the from of certain animals, for example, camels, donkey. cows, dogs, or cats. But, in particular, they take the from of a black dog. The prophet ( peace be upon him ) has said that the black dog interrupts the prayer and he gave the reason for that it is a devil. Ibn Taimiya said, "The black dog is the devil of the dogs. And the jinn often take its from. Similarly, they take the from of a black cat.' The colour black has the greatest strength for the devils as opposed to other colours; in it is the power of the heat.''

The jinn of the houses

The jinn take the forms of snakes and appear in front of humans. It is for this reason that the prophet (peace be upon him) has forbidden the killing of the snakes found in the houses, out of fear that they may be jinn that have embraced Islam. It is recorded in sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Saeed al-Khudri that the prophet (peace be upon him) said,

                     

" A group of jinn in Madina have embraced Islam. So he who sees anyone of them, should warn it three times. And if it appears after that it should be killed, for it must be a devil."

 One of the companions of the prophet ( peace be upon him) killed one of the snakes in the houses houses and this led to his death. Muslim has recorded it in this sahih that Abu-Saib went to abu saeed's house and found him praying. Abu al-Saib was waiting for him to finish his prayer when he heard some rumbling in the bundles of wood which were lying in the corner of the house. He looked and he found it was a snake. 

He was about kill it when Abu Saeed gestured to him to sit down. After the prayer, Abu Saeed pointed to a room and he said, "Do you see this room?" "Yes." answered al-Saib. Abu Saeed said, "There was once a man who was a newlywed and we went to participate with the prophet (peace be upon him) in the Battle of the Trench. He used to ask the prophet's permission to go to his wife and the prophet cautioned him to take along his weapons for he feared [ an attack from behind by] the tribe Quraidha. 

The man took his weapons and when he returned to his family he found his wife standing between the doors of the apartment. He was enraged from jealousy and took a stab at her with his spear. She told him to keep his spear away and to enter the house to see what had made her go outside. He entered and found a big snake on the bed. He struck it with his spear and pierced it. He was bent upon taking it outside, but the snake had enough strength to bite him. 

No one knows who died first from that incident, the snake or the man. The people made mention of this incident to Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) , asking him to ask Allah bring that man back to life. Instead, the prophet  (peace be upon him ) said,  "Ask forgiveness for our companion. In Madina there are jinn that embraced Islam. If any of you should see one of them [ that is, a snake], he should give him warning for three days. If it appears after that, it should be killed because it is, therefore, a devil."

Divining Arrows

Satan does not come to the human and say, "Leave this good deed and do this evil deed in order to make your life in this world and the next a miserable one." If he behaved in that manner no one would follow him. Instead, he uses many ways to deceive the slaves of Allah, including:

(1) Making evil look good: This is the way that Satan used and still uses to mislead mankind. He makes the false appear in the form of truth. And he makes what is true appear like falsehood. He will always try to make humans
like falsehood and dislike truth until the human is pushed to doing evil deeds and turning away from the truth. As Satan himself to the Lord, "He said: My Lord! Because you have sent me astray, I verily shall adorn the path of error for them in the earth, and shall mislead every one of them, save such of them as are Your perfectly devoted slaves" (al-Hijr 39-40).

On this point, ibn al-Qayyim wrote, From his stratagem is that he always bewitches the mind until he can deceive the person. No one is safe from his
bewitching except whomsoever Allah wills. He makes good looking to him what harms him the most, until he imagines that it is the most beneficial act for himself. And he makes him flee from the most beneficial act until he thinks it is something harmful to him. Certainly, there is no god but Allah. 

How many humans have been tested by such sorcery. How many hearts have been kept from Islam, faith and goodness [by such sorcery]. And how many support and present falsehood in the best form and hate truth and present it in the worst form [because of his deception]. And how much falseness is adored and shown in a desirous manner to the alert. 

And how much falseness is spread even among the wise. He is the one who
bewitches the mind until it follows different desires and various evil opinions. He makes them follow every path of misguidance. He leads them to actions, one after another, that cause their destruction. He makes appealing to them
the worship of idols, the breaking of familial relations, the killing of daughters, marrying one's mother and so on. And he promises them the victory of paradise with their infidelity, wickedness and acts of disobedience.

He presents to them polytheism in the most honourable fashion. And he presents rejection of Allah's attributes, of His transcendence and of His speech in the guise of anti- anthropomorphism of Allah. He presents abandoning ordering good and eradicating evil in the guise of having Mercey For others  behaving with others in a good manner, and applying the verse,"O believers, you are in charge of your own souls. (al-Maaidah 105). 

And he presents turning away from what has come from the Messenger in
the guise of blindly following the Imams (taqleed)  and the sufficiency of following one who is more knowledgeable. And he presents hypocrisy and compromising with respect to Allah's religion in the guise of being flexible and
mixing admirably with the people.

In that way, the cursed Iblees plotted against Adam as he made the eating from the tree look like a good and beneficial act for Adam although Allah had prohibited that for him. Satan continually told Adam that it was the tree of eternity and that if he ate from it he would be able to live forever in paradise or become like one of the angels. He continued this deception until Adam finally ate from it and was, therefore, expelled from paradise.

We can look at the allies of Satan today to see how they use this same method to mislead the slaves of Allah. For example, the socialists and communists are calling people to their ideologies and claiming that their ideologies will put an end to confusion, perturbation, waste, hunger and so on. Similar they call women to come out of their houses, dressed but naked, in the name of freedom. 

And they call people to illicit movies and plays that insult honor and dignity and involve people in forbidden things, all in the name of art. It is this poisonous way of thinking that leads people to put their money in the banks and to take the interest from such money in the name of progress and profit. These people call being religious "backwardness."  "old fashioned" and "being behind." And they call Muslim preachers crazy and agents of the East and West. All of that is part of this strategy of Satan since the time of Adam. He makes the falsehood look beautiful and correct and distorts the truth to the point that people hate it.

"By Allah, We verily sent messengers unto the nations before you, but
the devil made their deeds fair-seeming unto them" (al-Nah163). This is a very serious threat to mankind. If a human sees falsehood as true and right, he then strives with all of his might to enforce that "truth" even though it may only lead to his destruction.

"Say: Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers by their works?Those whose effort goes astray in the life of the world, and yet they reckon that they do good work"(al-Kahf 103-l 04).

Such people do their best to prevent the others from the religion of Allah and they fight against the servants of Allah. They actually believe that they are following the truth and are rightly guided! "And Lo! They surely turn them from the way of Allah, and yet they deem that they are rightly guided" (al-Zukhruf 37). This deception is the reason that the unbelievers concern themselves only with this life and turn away from working for the hereafter. Allah says,

"And We assigned them comrades (in the world), who made their present and their past fair-seeming unto them"(Fusliat 25). The comrades are the devils. They make what is in front of them of this world very alluring so they are overcome by it. And they call them to deny the life of the hereafter. Satan makes that seem so pleasing and  correct to them that they reject notions of resurrection, accountability, paradise and hell.

Giving pleasing names to forbidden things "[But Satan whispered to him, saying,] 'Oh Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality and power that wastes not away?" (Taha 120). Ibn al-QaAmong the deceptions of Satan is that he names the evil actions with names that are very pleasing to the human to entice him to take part in them. In this way, he dupes the human and makes a forgery of the reality of the situation. For example, Satan called the tree that was forbidden to Adam, .the tree of everlasting life. in order to make it appealing to Adam:

Ibn al-Qayyim stated, "From Satan, his followers inherited this trait of using names that are loved by the soul for forbidden objects. For example, wine is called .the mother of glee,' interest is called a 'business transaction,' and taxes and tolls are called .the right of the government." Today interest is referred to as profit; dancing, music and plays are called art.

(2) Going to extremes: Ibn al-Qayyim beautifully elaborated this point when he wrote, Allah never orders anything except that Satan takes two contradictory stances towards it: either shortcoming and negligence or overzealousness and exaggeration. It does not matter [to him] by which of these two mistakes he becomes victorious over the slave. He comes to the heart of the slave and examines it. If he finds in it listlessness and looking for loopholes, he deals with him from that vantage. He impedes him and makes him sit. He strikes him with laziness, listlessness and lethargy. He opens for him the door to reinterpretations (taweel),  hopes and so forth until the slave may not fulfill anything of what he is commanded.

If he finds in the slave.s heart alertness, seriousness, desire to work and potential, Satan despairs from attacking him through the above means. Instead, he orders him to strive even harder. He convinces him that what he
is doing is not sufficient for him. His ambition is to be greater than that. He must work more than the other workers. He should not sleep when they sleep. He should not break his fast when they break their fasts. 

He should not rest when they rest. If one of them washes his hands and face three times, he should was them seven times. If one makes wudhu for prayer, he must make ghusl. [He orders him to] similar other acts of exaggeration and extremism. He makes him go to extremes and beyond the limits. He makes him stray from the straight path in the same way that he makes the first person [described above] fall short of the straight path and not approach it. Satan's intention for both is to keep them from the straight path: the first by making him not come close or near to it and the second by making him pass it and go beyond it. Many of creation are misled by these two strategies. There is no escape from them except deep knowledge, faith and the strength to fight Satan and stay along the middle path.'

(3) Satan hinders the slave from acting by means of procrastination and laziness: Concerning this point, Satan has many ways and means. It is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "During your sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back of your necks. He breathes the following into them, .The night is long so keep on sleeping.' If the person wakes and praises Allah, then one of the knots is unfastened. And if he performs ablution, the second knot is unfastened. When he prays, all of the knots are unfastened. After that he will be energetic and happy in the morning. Otherwise he would get up listless and grouchy."

It is also recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that he said, "When one of you rises from you sleep he should make ablution. He should rinse his nose three times. For Satan stays i n the upper part of one.s nose during the night." Al-Bukhari also records that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about a man who sleeps until the morning comes, that is, after
the time of the dawn prayer. He said, "That is a man whom Satan has urinated into his two ears." 

What we have mentioned is from among the ways that Satan hinders the human from doing some actions. He also whispers into the human a love for laziness, postponing or procrastinating actions and thinking about what a long period of time one has for such and such action or work. Ibn al-Jauzi has written on this topic, stating,

How many of the Jews or Christians have considered in their hearts love for Islam. But Iblees always hinders them." He says to them, .Do not be hasty. Look closer into the matter.. And they postpone their conversion until they
die as unbelievers. In the same way the one who is disobedient to Allah postpones his repentance. 

He sets his sights on his desires and he hopes he will repent later. But, as the poet said, "Do not rush to perform the sins you desire and think about the period of repentance beforehand." How many are determined to do something and then they postpone it. Perhaps a scholar is determined to return to his study. Satan says, "Rest for a while." Or a servant is alerted to the prayer at night and he says to him,"You have plenty of time." He will not stop making people love laziness and postponing of actions and he
makes the person rely on hopes and dreams.

It is necessary for the energetic person to take matters into his own hand and act upon his energy. The energetic finds the time to do things and does not procrastinate and he turns away from just dreaming. The one who has a real
fear of Allah does not feel safe of punishment.. The soul never stops in its dispute about evil and facing the good. But it always expects that it will have plenty of time to complete the good. 

One of the early scholars said,"Beware of procrastinating. It is the greatest of the soldiers of Satan" The serious, non-procrastinating person and the one who rests on his hopes and puts off working are like two who are passing through a city while journeying. The serious, energetic one buys his provisions early and waits for his traveling out of the city. The procrastinator says, "I will wait, as perhaps we will stay here a month,. and continues to put off buying his provisions and preparing for his departure, until the last minute wherein he becomes rushed and mistake prone. 

This is how people are in this world. Some prepared and alert. When the angel of death comes, he is not sorrowful. Others are deceived by thinking they can procrastinate and they will despair when the time to move on comes. It is part of one.s nature to love laziness and dreams but then Iblees comes and builds upon that. This makes it difficult to struggle against him in that matter. But the one who is alert knows that he is in the middle of a battle. He knows that his enemy does not rest. And if it seems that he is resting, it is actually just part of his strategy.

(4) Promises and hopes: Satan makes false promises to humans and gives them sweet dreams  in order to mislead them.  Allah says, "He promises them and stirs up desires in them, and Satan promises them only to beguile"(al-Nisaa 120).

In their battle against the believers, he promised the disbelievers aid, honor and victory. Then he fled from them and left them by themselves. "And when Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said: No one of mankind can conquer you this day, for I am your protector. But when the armies came in sight of one another, he took flight, saying, 'Lo! I am innocent of you." (al-Anfaal 48).

He also promises the wealthy among the unbelievers more wealth and possessions in the life after this one. One of them said, "I think not that the Hour will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back unto my Lord I surely shall find better than this as a resort." (al-Kahf 36). Allah destroyed his garden in this life and he realized that he had been deceived.

The human becomes busy with sweet dreams concerning which there is no possibility of fulfilment in this life. Therefore, he does not take part in the beneficial and fruitful deeds. Instead, he becomes pleased with dreaming and hoping, and he does nothing.

(5) Satan appears as a sincere advisor to humans: Satan calls man to disobedience of Allah and he alleges that he is giving him sincere advice and he only desires the best for him. He swore to Adam that he was only giving him sincere advice: "And he swore unto them (saying): Lo! I am a sincere adviser unto you" (al-Araaf 21).

Wahb ibn Munabbih has related the following lengthy story from the people of the book.' We present it here to show the way of Satan in his attempt to mislead mankind. The story warns humans about Satan's "sincere advice"One must oppose the thing that Satan is calling to. Wahb said, There was a pious worshipper of the tribe of Israel. He was the most pious person of his time. During his time, there were three brothers who had a sister. She was a virgin. And they had no sister other than her. They were all about to leave the town to go to war. They did not know with whom to leave their sister and who they could trust to look after her. They all agreed to leave her with that pious person. They all trusted him. 

They went to him and asked if they could leave her with him. She would be in the building next to him until they return from the fighting. He refused their request and sought refuge in Allah from them and their sister. They persisted until he finally acquiesced. He said, .Put her in the house next to my place of worship.. So they put her in that house and they left, leaving her there. She remained living next to that pious person for some time. He would put food for her in front of his building of worship. 

Then he would lock the door and return to his place of worship. He would then tell her to come out of her house and take the food. Then Satan approached him softly. He encouraged him to treat her kindly. He told him that it was not good to make the woman come out of her house during the day as someone may come upon her. If he took the food directly to her door that would mean a greater reward for him,

He continued for some time to go to her door and place the food at the front of her door without speaking to her. Then Iblees came again and encouraged him to do good and get more reward. He said, .If you took her the food and placed it in the house for her, you would get a greater reward." He continued to encourage him. So he started to take the food into her house. He continued like that for some time.

Then Iblees came again and again encouraged him to do good. He said, "If you talk to her for a while she will be put to ease by your conversation as she is in a state of fear and she is all alone." He then started talking to her from
atop his place of worship.

Then Iblees came again. He said, "If you were to come down and talk to her while she sits at her door and talks to you, that would be even more comforting for her." He continued to encourage him until he came down and sat at his door and would talk to her. The girl would come out of her building and sit at her door and they would talk for a while.

Then Iblees came again and encouraged him to get great rewards for treating her well. He said, "If you were to go from the door of your place of worship and sit close to her door, that would be even more comforting for her." He
continued exhorting him until he did so. He continued that act for a while. Then Iblees came again. This time he said, "If you enter her house and talk to her, and not make her show her face in public it would be even better for you."
He continued exhorting him until he entered her house and spent the whole day talking to her. Then when night fell, he returned to his place of worship.

Then Iblees came to him after that and continued to make her more appealing to him. Until the worshipper got upon her and kissed her. And Iblees continued to make her look nice in his eyes and desire her until he finally had sex with her. 

She got pregnant and gave birth to a boy. Then Iblees came and told the worshipper, "Do you not realize what the brothers of the girl will do to you when they see she has given birth to your son? You will not be safe if your matter becomes clear. You should go to the boy and kill it and bury it, that way you can conceal your affair and they will not do anything to you for what you did to her."Then he said to him, "Do you think she will conceal from her brothers what you did to her and your killing of her son. Take her, kill her and bury her with her son." 

He continued spurring him on until he killed her and threw her in the ditch with her son. Then he put a large rock over them and leveled it. Then he returned to his place of worship and worshipped therein. He stayed in that state for as long as Allah willed until the brothers came back from the fighting. They came to him and asked him about their sister. He mourned her loss and started to cry. He said, "She was the best of women and that is her grave." The brothers came to the grave and cried over their sister and asked Allah to have mercy on her. 

They stayed at her grave for a few days and then went to their families. When the night overtook them and they went to their beds, Satan came to them in their sleep in the form of a traveler. He started with the eldest and asked him about their sister. The brother told him what the pious man had stated and how they were shown her grave. Satan told him that the pious man had lied. He said, "He did not tell you the truth about your sister. He got her pregnant and she had his son and then he killed and buried her out of fear of you. 

Then he threw them in a ditch he dug behind the door of the house she was staying in, to the right of the entrance. Go and enter the house in which she stayed and on the right of the entrance you will find everything I told you about.. Then he went to the middle brother and did the same. Then he went to the youngest brother and did the same. When they woke, they were all surprised at what they had seen. When they met each other, they all said, "I saw an amazing thing last night," and they informed each other of what they had seen.

The eldest said, .That dream has nothing to it so just ignore it" The youngest said, "I will not leave it until I go and look at that place.. They all went until they reached the door of the place where there sister stayed. They opened the door and looked for the place that was described to them in their dreams. They found their sister and her son buried in a ditch, as they were told. They
asked the worshipper about it and he confirmed what Iblees had told them. They then took him and were about to crucify him. 

When they had him on the wooden cross, Satan said to him, "You know that I am your companion who tempted you by the woman until you got her pregnant and you killed her and her son. If you obey me today and deny Allah, who formed and shaped you, I will rescue you from your predicament.. The worshipper then belied Allah. When he belied Allah, Satan left from being between him and the others and they were able to crucify him.' Many scholars related this story in their commentary to the following verse,Qoted in ibn al-Jauzi, Talbees Iblees, "Or the likeness of Satan when he tells man to disbelieve, then, when he disbelieves, says to him, 'Lo ! I am innocent of you. Lo! I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds'"( al-Hashr 16). 

They mention that this verse refers to this worshipper and to others similar to him. Allah knows best.(6) He uses a step-by-step approach to misguide mankind From the previous story we can note one of the methods that Satan uses to mislead mankind. He takes the human step by step, not all at one time, to misguidance. He neither over does it nor does he bore the person. Every time the person is pleased by a step, he takes the human to a greater act of disobedience. This continues until he can take him to the greatest sin and the person's destruction. This is Allah's pattern with respect to His slaves. If they deviate from Allah.s path, He allows Satan to gain control over them. "So when they went astray, Allah sent their hearts astray." (al-Saff 5).

(7) The slave of Allah is made to forget what is good and best for him Satan whispered to Adam until he forgot what Allah had commanded him. "And verily We made a covenant of old with Adam, but he forgot, and We found no constancy in him. (Taha 115). And the companion of Moses said to him, "I forgot the fish and none but Satan caused me to forget to mention
it" (al-Kahf 63)

Allah prohibited His messenger and his Companions from sitting in any meeting in which mockery was being made of the signs of Allah but Satan makes humans forget what their Lord wants from them and they sit with those people who mock the religion. "And when you see those who meddle with Our revelations, withdraw from them until they meddle with another topic. And if Satan causes you to forget, sit not, after the remembrance, with the congregation of wrongdoers" (al-Anaam 68).

When the Prophet Joseph was in the prison he told his companion, whom Joseph knew would be released from prison, to mention his to the ruler. But Saran made the other forget and, therefore, Joseph stayed in the prison for a number of years. "And he said unto him of the two who he knew would be released: Mention me in the presence of your lord. But Satan caused him to forget to mention it to his lord, so he (Joseph) stayed in prison for some years" (yusaf 42).

If Satan gains complete control over the human, he will make the
human forget Allah completely. "Satan has engrossed them and so he has caused them to forget the remembrance of Allah. They are the devil's party. Lo! is it not the devil's party who will be the losers?" (al-Mujaadala 19). This verse is referring to the hypocrites, as is clear from the verses that precede it. The way to remember is by the remembrance of Allah which repels Satan: "And remember your Lord when you forget" (al-Kahf 24).

(8) Making the believers fear his supporters: Included among his means is causing the believers to fear his supporters and soldiers. The believer finds himself not fighting against them, not ordering them to do good and not ordering them to abstain from evil [due to some fear that he possesses of them]. This is one of his greatest plots against faith. Allah has told us about that in His statement, "It is the devil who would make (men) fear his allies. Fear them not; fear Me, if you are truly believers" (ali-Imraan 175). In other words, he is feared by way of his patrons. Qataada said, "Their status is raised in the hearts of men. For that reason Allah said do not fear them but fear Me if you are truly believers. Whenever the faith of anyone is increased, the fear of the allies of Satan is removed from his heart. Whenever the faith
of a person decreases, his fear of Satan's supporters increases"

(9) He gets to the person through what the person loves or desires: On this topic, ibn al-Qayyim wrote, Satan flows in humans like blood to the point that he meets with the human's soul and mixes with it. He asks it what it loves and what affects it. When he gets that knowledge, he uses it against the person. He gets to him through those means. Similarly, he informs his brothers and devotees. Among humans, when they desire their evil from each other, they get to each other through what they love and desire. For the one who enters through this door, it is a gate through which he will never be dissatisfied. If someone attempts to get to him through other means, the
door will be closed to him. And he will be on a path that is closed in front of him.'

From this way Satan was able to approach Adam and Eve in paradise. As Allah says, "He said: Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest you should
become angels or become of the immortals" (al-Araaf 20). Ibn al-Qayyim stated, "The enemy of Allah examined the two parents [Adam and Eve]. He sensed from them that they were inclined to and pleased with staying forever in the world of bounties. He knew that this would be the only way he could get to them. He swore by Allah to them that he was a sincere well-wisher for them. And he told them, 'Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest you should become angels or become of the immortals' (al-Araaf 20)''

(10) Casting doubts in the person's mind: Part of the plan of Satan to mislead mankind is to shake their faith by confusing humans with doubts and suspicions. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned us about some of those doubts. In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim it is recorded on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Satan comes to you and says, created such and such? "Who created such and such?' repeatedly,
until he asks, 'Who created your Lord?. So when he inspires such a thought. one should seek refuge in Allah and turn away from such thoughts."

Even the Companions of the Prophet were not safe from such thoughts occurring to them. Some of them went to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
upon him) to complain about the notions that kept creeping inti their minds. In Sahih Muslim  it is recorded on the authority of Abu Huraira that some people came to the Prophet and said, .

We find in our mind great things that we cannot dare talk about!" He asked them,"Does it really occur to you?" They said, "Yes." And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This is the clear faith.. He meant by that latter statement that to reject and dislike such thoughts and whispers from Satan and to consider such thoughts a grave matter is part of the clear and true faith. We can see how hard this was on the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Abu Dawud records in his sunan on the authority of ibn Abbas that a man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "My soul says something to me concerning which I would rather be turned to ashes rather than convey it to others." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"All praise is due to Allah who rejects the orders of the whisperer." Allah has informed us about such occurrences, in general, with His statement, "Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before you but when he recited (the message), Satan attempted to throw some falsehood into it. But Allah abolishes that which Satan proposes. Allah is Knower, Wise. That He may make that which Satan proposes a temptation for those in whose hearts is a disease, and those whose hearts are hardened- Lo! the evildoers are in open schism. And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth from your Lord, so that they may believe therein and their hearts may submit humbly unto Him. Lo! Allah verily is guiding those who believe unto a right path" (al-Hajj 52-54).

What is meant in the above verse is the thought within one's own soul. This means that Satan tried to use a stratagem of whispering to the Prophet some thoughts, for example, if you ask Allah for more war bounties it would be sufficient for the Muslims, or asking Allah for all the people to embrace Islam and so on. But Allah wiped out whatever Satan tried to whisper to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and He alerted him to the truth and only the truth. Those who say that the meaning of the verse is that Satan entered some things into the Quran have strayed far from the correct position. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has been protected by Allah from making any sin or mistake in propagating and teaching the message.

Shaqeeq, a well-known scholar, was clarifying the doubts that Satan creates in the soul of the person. He said, "No morning occurs except that it finds Satan setting an ambush for me in four places: in front of me, behind me, on my left and on my right. He says, 'Do not fear for Allah is the Forgiving, the Merciful!. So I read to him, 'And lo! verily I am Forgiving toward him who repents and believes and does good, and afterward walks aright' (Taha 82). Those behind me try to frustrate me by making me think that I will not sustain those whom I leave behind. I read to them, 'And there is not a beast in the earth but the
sustenance thereof depends on Allah. (Hood 6). And from the right they
approach me in the form of women and I read, .And lo! the sequel is for
those who keep their duty to Allah. (al-Araaf 128). And from the left
they approach me in the form of desires. I read to those, 'And a gulf is
set between them and that which they desire' (Saba 54)."

(1 l-14) Alcohol, games of chance, idols and divining arrows: Allah says in the Quran, "0 you who believe, strong drink and games of chance and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan.s handiwork. Leave it aside in order that you may succeed. Satan seeks only to cast among you
enmity and hatred by means of strong drink and games of chance, and to turn you from the remembrance of Allah and from (His) worship" (al-Maaida 90-9 I) "
Strong drink. is anything that intoxicates. "Games of chance. refers to gambling. .Idols. are anything that are worshipped besides Allah, such as stones, trees, statues, graves, and so on. "Divining arrows." were objects used to determine what course of action should be followed. They could be spears, arrows, pebbles or whatever. On one of the arrows they would have written, "My Lord orders this to be done" while another may say, .My Lord orders that you do not do such an action." If someone wanted to marry or travel, he would reach and grab one of the arrows.If it said to do the act, he would do it; otherwise, he would leave the act.

Satan persuades humans to do these four evil acts because they are types of misguidance in themselves. They intermingle with and become part and parcel of the person.s character and lead to evil results. They all leave an evil effect on the person. For example, alcohol makes the person lose his senses. When he loses his senses, he does forbidden acts and he leaves the obedience to Allah and he harms other Muslims. Ibn Katheer, in his commentary to the Quran, quotes the following statement from Uthman ibn Affan, "Stay away from alcohol as it is the mother of all evils. There was a man in previous times who separated from his people in order to worship Allah. 

A coveting woman was after him. She sent her slave girl to him to ask him to come and be a witness. When he came, every time he entered a room, the door was locked behind him. Until he came to a room in which there was a woman with a small boy and a casket of wine. She said, 'By Allah, I did not call you here to bear witness but I called you here to have intercourse with me, or to kill this boy or to drink this alcohol.. He took a glass and drank it.
Afterwards, he said, .Give me more.. And he did not finish until he had
intercourse with her and had killed the boy. Verily that (alcohol) and
faith can never combine in a person except that one of them will soon
leave the person." (Al-Baihaqi recorded it and ibn Katheer said its chain
is sahih.)

Muslim' and the authors of the Sunan works record that one of the Ansaar made a dinner for some of the Companions. He gave them some alcohol to drink [since] it was before its prohibition. When they got drunk, they began to boast. They then fought. Saad ibn Abu Waqqas was injured in the fighting. He was stuck with a camel.s jawbone and scarred for the rest of his life. And one of the Companions stood to lead the others in prayer while he was drunk, before the prohibition of alcohol, and he read, "Say: 0 unbelievers, I worship that which you worship. [instead of "I worship not that which you worship"].
Therefore, Allah revealed, "Oh you who believe, draw not near to prayer
when you are drunken, until you know that which you utter. ( al-Nisaa 43)

We have seen elderly respectable people being turned into such crazy fools by alcohol that the young and old alike have to laugh at their behavior. Gambling is also a serious disease like alcohol. If one gets involved in it, it becomes very difficult to free one's self from it. It is a way of wasting time and wealth, it harbors feelings of hatred and pushes the person to forbidden acts.

Satan encourages the building of altars, statues and tombs in order for them to be later taken as objects of worship other than Allah. The worship of statues and idols has been widespread in the past and is currently still widespread. Devils always accompany such statues. Sometimes, they address the worshippers. 

They sometimes show them things that make the worshippers more convinced [of the correctness of their worship]. The worshippers come to them with their needs. They pray to them during times of hardship. They seek their aid during wars. They present offerings and sacrifices to them. They dance and chant around them. They have festivals and holidays at their sites. Many people are misled by such acts, as is clear in the prayer of Ibrahim to his Lord,

"[My Lord,] keep me and my sons from serving idols. My Lord, lo, they have led many of mankind astray" (Ibraheem 35-36). The worship of graves is still widespread among Muslims. They pray to those buried there, circumambulate their graves and make sacrifices to them. A new innovation has occurred today- that must make Satan laugh at humans and this is what is called the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." They say it represents the soldier who was killed. They honor it with presents, flowers and respect. Every time a leader visits the country, he visits the tomb and gives it an offering. All of that is a kind of worship of idols that is of the deeds of Satan.

Divining Arrows: The events of the future are kept hidden and are something that only Allah knows. For this reason the Prophet (peace be upon him) has instructed Muslims to pray Salat al-istikhaarah and to pray to Allah for Him to guide them in the right manner for any traveling, marriage or any deed he plans to do in the future. We pray that Allah will guide us to the best action.

Attempting to know the future by such means as divining arrows is futile because arrows and spears do not know wherein lies good. Consulting them is a sign of a lack of intelligence. Similar to that is the one who takes a bird as an omen when he is about to embark on a trip. When he leaves his house and he sees the bird fly to the right, it is a good omen. If it flies to the left, it is taken as a bad omen. All of that is misguidance and delusion.

(15) Magic: From the things that Satan uses to mislead mankind is magic. The devils teach this knowledge that contains no benefit but only harm. This knowledge can be used to separate a man from his wife. This is one of the most favored deeds to Satan, as was described earlier in a hadith.

Allah says, "And they follow that which the devils falsely related against the
kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind magic and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut.  Nor did they (the two angels) teach it to anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not (in the guidance of Allah). And from these two (angels) people learn that by which they cause division between man and wife; but they injure thereby none save by Allah.s leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And surely they do know that he who traffics therein will have no portion in the Hereafter; and surely evil is the price for which they sell their souls, if they but knew" (al-Baqara 102) .

Is magic real? There is a difference of opinion among the scholars on this
point. Some say it is only a deception and is not real. "[Moses] said, "No, you throw.' Then lo! their cords and their staves, by their magic, appeared to him as though they ran" (Taha 66). While others say it is real as the verse from al-Baqara above shows. In fact, magic is of two kinds: (a) a kind of illusion which is basically where "the hand is quicker than the eye," and (b) the true magic that can do actual harm and, for example, causes a man to separate from his wife.

The spell of the Jew on the Prophet (peace be upon him) Aisha narrated that magic was worked on the Prophet (peace be upon him) by a Jew from the tribe of Zuraiq. His name was Labeed ibn Al-Asam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) began to imagine that he did something while, in reality, he did not. 

One day he supplicated to Allah over and over and said, "I feel that Allah has shown me the cure to my problem. Two persons came to me in a dream and sat, one by my head and one by my feet. One asked, 'What is the problem with this man?. The other one answered, 'He is bewitched.' The other man asked then, .Who has bewitched him?. The other answered, 'Labeed ibn al-Asam.' The man again asked, .What did he use?' The other said, 'A comb with
hair gathered on it and the outer skin of the pollen of a male date-palm.'
The other man then asked, 'Where is it?' The other answered, "It is in a well of Dhi-Arwan." SO the Prophet (peace be upon him) went to that well and returned and said to Aisha, "Its water was like yellow henna and its date-palms were like the heads of devils." She asked, "Did You take out those things that caused the spell?" He said, .No, because I have been cured by Allah and I feared that such an action would cause evil among the people. I only ordered the well to be filled"  (This hadith was recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

This magic had no affect on him as a Prophet and Messenger as the affects of magic cannot go beyond his body and affect the heart or mind. But it was like all the other diseases that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was inflicted with and protected from. As for the Quran, sunnah or Islamic law in general, they are guarded from any distortion by Allah. Allah says, "Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We are its Guardian" (al-Hijr 9).

(16) Human weaknesses: Humans have many points of weakness. They are, in fact, types of diseases. Satan penetrates deeply into the weaknesses of the souls of humans. They are openings for Satan to affect humans. These weaknesses include, among many others, weakness, despair, discouragement, desperation, recklessness, being full of oneself, vanity, pride, disdain, anger, evil temperament, doubts, confusion, fear, haste, miserliness, greediness, ignorance, love of this live and wealth, heedlessness, oppression, arrogance, suspiciousness, miserliness, haughtiness and so on.

Islam asks the person to make his soul healthy and free of such diseases. This calls for struggle and patience. It calls for patience in the face of hardships on the road to Allah. Following the ."lower desires" and what
 soul the which orders evil inclines  to is a very easy path. The path to Allah is like that of one who is climbing to the top of a mountain. The path of the one who follows desires is like the path of the one descending a mountain. It is for this reason that many people respond to the call of Satan because they find his path very easy and the call of Allah difficult.

We shall relate some of what the early scholars have said about Satan and his use of these different weaknesses. Al-Mutamar ibn Sulaiman related that his father said, "It has been mentioned to me that the whispering Satan appears in the heart of the human when he anguishes or rejoices, If one mentions Allah, then Satan will withdraw." Wahb ibn Munabih reported that a monk once
asked Satan, "What characteristic in man is the most helpful for you against him?" Satan said, "His irascibility. 

If a slave is irascible, then we can turn him around like a young child spins a ball around."* Ibn al-Jauzi records that ibn Umar related that the Prophet Noah asked Satan about what characteristic he uses to destroy people. He said, "Envy and covetousness" This is similar to what Satan did to the brothers of Joseph when he planted in them jealousy of their brother. Joseph said, "He [Allah] was indeed good to me when He took me out of the prison and has brought you (i.e., his father) to me from the desert after Satan had made strife between me and my brothers" (Yusuf 100)

(17) Women and the love of this world: The Prophet (peace be upon him) has informed us that he has not  left men a greater trial than that of women. For this reason he ordered the women to cover all of their bodies save the face and palms, and men have been ordered to lower their gaze. He also prohibited men to be in privacy with women he is not related to. He said that if two such
people were alone, then Satan made the third of them. An-Nasai records
in his Sunan, with a sahih chain,

"The woman is to be concealed and when she goes out, Satan makes her
look beautiful to the men who look at her" In these days we have witnessed this calamity as the majority of women are going out of their houses in exactly the manner that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had described to us: they will be dressed but naked at the same time. Companies in the East and West have been established to show men and women undressed and in lewd acts in motion pictures and other forms of media in order to attract people to
such acts.

As for the love of this world, it is the root of every sin. The spilling of blood, wasting of wealth, exploitation, cutting off of the ties of relationship only occur because people covet this world and compete for its pleasures and limited, depleting resources. 

(18) Singing and music: Singing and music are two tools of Satan that are used to ruin the heart of the human and to destroy his soul. Ibn al- Qayyim has written that from the machinations of the enemy of Allah and snares that
he uses on those who are lacking in knowledge, intelligence and religion and by which he traps the hearts of the ignorant and foolish is by listening to clapping, whistling and singing to forbidden instruments that take the hearts away from the Quran and make them addicted to sins and lewdness. 

This is the "Quran" (reciting) of Satan and it keeps one from the Quran of the Merciful. It is the chant of the homosexuals and adulterers. Satan is able to deceive the wrongful souls by it. He makes it look good to them by way of deception. He inspires them with false thoughts to consider it something good. They accept his guidance and, therefore, neglect and avoid the Quran.'

One of the strangest phenomena is people using music and singing as a type of worship or a way of getting closer to Allah while at the same time they leave the recital of the Merciful for the recital of Satan.

Ibn al-Qayyim listed the following as terms used for such music: useless amusement, nonsense, futility, false speech, the invocation of adultery, the recital of Satan, the planting of hypocrisy in the heart, the sound of the foolish, the sound of the evil-doer, the sound of Satan and the psalms of Satan.* In that work by ibn al-Qayyim he clearly shows the evil of music
and he proves its forbidden status in Islamic law; the interested reader
should consult it.

(19) Making Muslims lackadaisical in fulfilling what they have been ordered to do If a Muslim always adheres to the teachings of Islam, Satan will have no way to misguide or toy with him. But if he becomes negligent or lazy in some of his acts, then Satan has a chance with him. Allah says, "O you who believe, come, all of you, into submission (unto Him); and follow not the footsteps of Satan. Lo! He is an open enemy for you" (al-Baqara 207). 

This means to enter into Islam completely in every affair. This will free the person from Satan. An example of this is to stand straight and next to each other in the rows of prayer. If this is followed, Satan is blocked; if it is not, it allows Satan to pass through the people who are praying. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Straighten your rows, [stand shoulder to shoulder, be flexible with respect to your brother,] and close up the gaps, for the devil enters through such gaps like the hadaf" He was asked, "What are the hadaf"?He answered, "Small black lambs found in Yemen." In another hadith he said, "Stand close together in your rows, bring them close to one another. By the one in whose hand is my soul, I can see Satan passing through the gaps in the rows like a bunch of small black sheep."How Does Satan Get to the Souls of Humans?

The secret whispering: Satan is able to reach the thought and the heart of the human. He does it in such a way that the human does not perceive it or recognize it. He has been helped in this manner by the nature in which he has been created. This is the thing known as the .whisper. or thought that enters a humans mind. Allah informs us of that when He calls him,

"The mischievous whisperer, who whispers into the hearts of mankind" (al-Naass 4-5). Ibn Katheer says in his commentary to this verse, "Satan perches and lurks at the heart of the human. If he is neglectful, Satan whispers into his heart. If he is remembers Allah, Satan withdraws."

And it is confirmed in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace
be upon him) said, "Satan flows in the children of Adam like the flowing of the blood." It was that secret whispering that misled and deceived Adam and
lead him to eat from the tree. "But Satan whispered to him, saying: 0 Adam! Shall I show you the tree of immortality and power that wastes not away?" (Taha 120). And also, Satan may take the shape of a human, and may talk to
humans and order them to do things or not to do things. We shall discuss
this presently.