In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Our worst enemy is shaytaan, but we don’t all know how to fight him.
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿٥ ...[Qur'an Yusuf 12:5]
...Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy. (5)
Literally, the word shaytaan means rebellious. It describes someone who is disrespectful and who seeks to divert people away from the obedience of Allah, whether he or she be jinn or human. In general, this term refers to Iblees, who is from the jinn and thus created from fire.
The All Wise has decreed that our father, Adam alayhissalaam, should be tested and that the children of Adam should be tested as well. To this end He determined that shaytaan should remain alive. In turn, if we struggle against shaytaan, we can achieve ranks we could never reach without shaytaan’s existence.
Allah al-Musawwir (the Fashioner) gave shaytaan the ability to flow through our body in a way we can’t understand. Allah’s Messenger salalaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that shaytaan flows through the sons of Adam like blood.sShaytaan can reach your heart and mind, whispering or tempting you to listen to or to look at haram (forbidden/unlawful) things or to commit immoral actions. This is called waswaas.
Shaytaan can do no more than calling you to misguidance and make it look attractive to you. So it is up to you whether or not you respond to his call.
The isti’adhah (or ta’awudh), A’udhu billaahi minash-shaytaanir-rajeem, is one of the most powerful tools given to us by Allah to fight shaytaan. It means seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed shaytaan.
It is actually a command from Allah,
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٠٠[Qur'an al-A'raf 7:200]
And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Satan, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing. (200)
Therefore, isti’adhah is a dhikr, a du'a and our weapon against shaytaan. Most of us go wrong by just saying it without thinking. To seek refuge in a truly productive way, you have to seek refuge repeatedly until the waswaas goes away.
Ibn al-Jawzi (rahimahullah) said, Know that the likeness of Iblees with one who is pious is like a man who is sitting with food and meat in front of him, and a dog comes near him. He tells it, ‘Get away!’ and it goes. Then it comes to another man who is weak in faith and every time he tries to shoo the dog away, it does not go. The former is like a pious man whom the shaytan approaches, and his dhikr is enough to banish him; the latter is like the one who is weak in faith; the Shaytan does not leave him because of his weakness of faith. We seek refuge with Allah from the shaytan.
So if you want to save yourself from the shaytaan and his waswaas, you have to work on strengthening your iman (faith) and with your heart and soul seeking the protection of your Lord, and turning to Him completely.
Stay away from situations that can land you into trouble very quickly -- TV, social websites/media (Facebook etc), music, youtube, too much news, computer games, backbiting sittings, mixed gender gatherings or locations, anger attacks, not waking up for Fajr prayer, sleep after Fajr, abandoning the Qur'an, staying away from Islamic study circle, not enthusiastic about seeking sacred knowledge, bickering, lying, bad company, and many more. Just look into your own life and decide.
If you recite the isti'adhah, but you don’t change the situation, location or position you are in and if your faith is weak, shaytaan won’t give up. Couple the isti’adhah with action. For example, the Prophet salalaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, advised us to make wudu' (ablution) if under the spell of anger, and Allah orders us to lower our gaze if it has mistakenly fallen.
If you feel that in spite of reciting the isti'adhah, your waswasa is not going away, then keep repeating it. You have to keep attacking him. Or move to another situation or location, e.g. get off the internet or turn off the TV and start reciting the Qur’an or do something else--clean the bathroom, mow the lawn, call your mom or a relative who you haven't talked with for ages, bake something for your neighbor, etc. If you are under the spell of anger, go and make wudu' immediately.
Shaytaan loves to cause dissension among humans, especially between husband and wife. And he likes to steal from our salah (prayer) and our Quran reading by whispering to us so we can’t concentrate and enjoy our prayer or benefit from the message of the Qur'an.
Next time before you stand in prayer or start reciting the Quran, say: A’udhu billaahi minash-shaytaanir-rajeem begging for Allah’s protection, completely turning your heart and body to your Lord, making Him the center of it all, so that you can truly absorb His Speech while reciting them.
Shaytaan is here to stay. You can't kill him. You can't convince him to stop attacking you. You can't give da'awah to him and you can't convert him. He is extremely smart and experienced in misguiding people since the time of Adam. The more he feels that the seeds of goodness are growing in your heart, the more he strives to corrupt your heart. Beware of his many tricks.
Every day iblees conducts a meeting and plans the worst possible actions that can be taken against humans. So we have to shield ourselves from the incumbent attacks with strong iman and use the weapon Allah which has given us, while turning completely towards Allah for help.
Verily the plotting of shaytaan is weak. If we take Allah’s refuge wholeheartedly and couple it with action, shaytaan stands no chance.
May Allah make us of those who seek refuge in Him sincerely and strengthen us through our isti’adhah and may He aid us in defeating the shaytaan in our daily lives. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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