The World of the Jinn and Devils

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Every act of disobedience towards Allah constitutes obedience to the Shaytaan

Allah says:

They (all those who Worship others than Allâh) invoke nothing but female deities besides Him (Allâh), and they invoke nothing but Shaytaan (Satan), a persistent rebel!

Allâh cursed Him. And he [Shaytaan (Satan)] said: "I will take an appointed portion of your slaves;

(Qur’aan, 4: 117-118)

Everyone who worships something other than Allah – be it an idol, a statue, the sun, the moon, whims and desires, a person or a principle – is worshipping the Shaytaan, whether he likes it or not, because the Shaytaan is the one who commands and encourages that. Hence those who worship the angels are in fact worshipping the Shaytaan:

And (remember) the Day when He will gather them all together, and then will say to the angels: "Was it you that these people used to worship?"

They (angels) will say: "Glorified be You! You are our Walî (Lord) instead of them. Nay, but they used to Worship the jinns; Most of them were believers in them."

(Qur’aan, 34: 40-41)

i.e., the angels did not tell them to do that; rather it was the jinn who told them to do that, so that they would be worshipping the devils who appered to them, just as there devils around the idols.

 

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Conclusion:

What we may note here is that the Shaytaan enjoins and encourages all kinds of evil, and he forbids all kinds of good and tries to scare people away from them, so that they will do evil and ignore good.

As Allah says:

Shaytaan (Satan) threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahshaa (evil deeds, illegal sexual relations, sins); whereas Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and bounty.

(Qur’aan, 2: 268)

The Shaytaan threatens them with poverty and says: if you spend your wealth (in charity), you will become poor. The fahshaa’ which he enjoins upon us includes every evil immoral action, such as miserliness, zinaa (fornication or adultery), etc.

 

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(i) The touch of Shaytaan (demonic possession)

Ibn Taymiyah (Majmoo’ Fataawa Shaykh al-Isla, 24/276) said:

"The fact that the jinn may enter the human body is well established according to the consensus of the imaams of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah.

Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala) says:

'Those who eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity.'

(Qur'aan, 2: 275)

Bukhaari narrated that the Prophet said:

'Shaytaan flows through man's veins like blood.'

(Bukhaari, 6/336, no. 3281; Muslim, 4/1712, no. 2175)

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,

O' my son, they are lying, and the jinn speaks through the mouth of that person.'"

Ibn Taymiyah also said:

"What he said is well known, for he (the jinn) causes a man to have a fit, then he speaks in a foreign language that he does not know; mighty blows may be delivered to him, which would fell a camel, but despite that the person who is suffering the fit does not feel the blows and is unaware of the words he is speaking. The possessed person may be dragged, along with other people and the carpet on which he is sitting, and furniture may be moved about, and other things may take place. Whoever witnesses such things will realise that the one who is speaking on the lips of a human and who is moving these bodies, is of another nature that is not human."

And he said (rahimahullaah):

"There is no one among the imaams of the Muslims who denies that the jinn may enter the body of the one who is possessed and other. Whoever denies that and claims that Islam denies that, is telling lies against Islam. There is nothing in the evidence of Islam to deny that."

He mentioned that among those who denied that the jinn enter the body of the one who is possessed was a group among the Mu'tazilah such as Al-Jabaa'i and Abu Bakr ar-Raazi.

 

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4 – The means used by the Shaytaan to misguide people

The Shaytaan does not come to people and say:

“Leave these good things and do these bad things so that you will be doomed in this world and in the Hereafter,”

- because if he did that no one would obey him. Rather he uses many ways and means to deceive the slaves of Allah.

 

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(1) Making falsehood appear attractive

This is the way which the Shaytaan used and is still using to misguide people. So he makes falsehood appear in the guise of truth, and truth in the guise of falsehood. He is still making falsehood appear attractive and truth appear off-putting, so that people will be motivated to do evil actions and turn away from the truth. As the accursed one said to the Lord of Glory:

(Iblees (Satan) said: ‘O’ my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead them all.

Except Your chosen, (guided) slaves among them.’

(Qur’aan, 15: 39-40)

Ibn al-Qayyim said in this context:

“One of his plots is that he always bewitches people’s minds until they are deceived, and no one is saved from his sorcery except those whom Allah wills. He makes attractive to the mind that which will harm it, until a person thinks that this is one of the most beneficial of things, and he puts him off doing that which is most beneficial for him, until he thinks that that will harm him. Laa ilaaha ill-Allah, how many people have been tempted by this sorcery! How often has it prevented a person from turning to Islam and developing faith (eemaan) and ihsaan. How often has he presented falsehood in the most beautiful image and distorted the truth to make it appear ugly, and spoilt its beautiful image. How often has he cheated those who have knowledge and passed off counterfeit thoughts to those who should know better.

He is the one who bewitches people’s minds until their owners are led into various whims and desires and different corrupt views and opinions. He misleads them in all kinds of ways and throw them into one path of destruction after another. He made the worship of idols, breaking ties of kinship, burying baby girls alive and committing incest with their own mothers attractive to them, and he promised them Paradise in spite of their disbelief in attributes of their Lord, in His being exalted and that He spoke the Books which He revealed to His Prophets. He is the one who caused them to say that in the context of declaring Allah to be above any resemblance to His creation. And he made them give up enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil on the grounds of being nice to people, treating them kindly and following the aayah, Take care of your ownselves (Qur’aan, 5: 105). He makes them turn away from that which the Messenger brought, on the grounds of following their leaders, and he makes them content with the word of one who is more knowledgeable than them, and he causes them to be hypocrites and to compromise in the religion of Allah on the basis of knowing how to deal with people so that one can earn a living.”

In these ways, the accursed Iblees deceived Adam, when he made the idea of eating from the tree from which Allah had forbidden him to eat appear attractive to him. He kept claiming that this was the tree of eternal life, and that eating from it would make him live forever in Paradise, or would make him one of the angels, until he obeyed him, and was subsequently expelled from Paradise.

Look at the friends and supporters of the Shaytaan today, how they use the same means to mislead people: those who adhere to and promote communism and socialism claim that these are the only ways which will rid mankind of confusion, anxiety, ruin and hunger; those who call for women to come out clothed but naked in the name of freedom, and those who call for facile acting which stamps on people’s honour and morals, and violates sacred limits in the name of art; these poisonous ideas which promote depositing money in interest-based banks in order to earn profits in the name of development and high profits; and those who claim that adhering to religion constitutes backwardness and stagnation, and who described those who call people to Islam as crazy or agents of the east and west, etc.

All of that is an extension of the ways and means in which the Shaytaan deceived Adam from time immemorial. This is making falsehood appear attractive and making the truth appear abhorrent and off-putting to people:

By Allah, We indeed sent (Messengers) to the nations before you (O’ Muhammad ), but Shaytaan (Satan) made their deeds fair-seeming to them.

(Qur’aan, 16: 63)

This, by Allah, is a dangerous path, for if falsehood is make to appear attractive to a person he will pursue it with all his strength, to achieve that which he thinks is right, even if it will lead to his doom:

Say (O’ Muhammad): ‘Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds?

Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.’

(Qur’aan, 18: 103-104)

They strive their utmost to divert people from the religion of Allah and to fight the friends of Allah. They think that they are following truth and guidance.

And verily, the Satan (devils) hinder them from the path (of Allah), but they think that they are guided aright!

(Qur’aan, 43: 37)

This is the reason why the kuffaar prefer this world, and turn away from the Hereafter, as Allah says:

And We have assigned them (devils) intimate companions (in This world), who have made fair-seeming to them, what was before them (evil deeds which they were doing In the present worldly life and disbelief In the reckoning and the Resurrection, etc.) and what was behind them (denial of the matters In the coming life of the Hereafter as regards punishment or Reward, etc.).

(Qur’aan, 41: 25)

 

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Calling forbidden things by attractive names

One of the ways in which the Shaytaan deceives man and makes falsehood attractive to him is calling forbidden things, which are acts of disobedience towards Allah, by attractive names to deceive people and confuse them about what is really true, as he called the forbidden tree the tree of eternal life, so as to make the thought of eating from it attractive to
Adam.

Then Shaytaan (Satan) whispered to him, saying: ‘O’ Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?’

(Qur’aan, 20: 120)

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“From him his followers learned the method of calling haraam things by names which people find attractive. So they called wine the mother of joy, and they called intoxicants morsels of delight, and they called ribaa (usury) business dealings, and they called taxes the rights of the authorities, and so on...”

Today they call ribaa interest, and they call dancing, singing, acting and making statues art.

 

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(2) - Exaggerations vs negligence

Ibn Al-Qayyim said concerning this matter:

“There is nothing that Allah has enjoined, but the Shaytaan has ways of dealing with it, either falling short and negligence, or excess and exaggeration. He does not care which of these two mistakes a person who makes. So he may come to a person’s heart and check it out, and if he finds that he is lazy, negligent and looking for concessions, then he goes along with that. He folds him back and stops him from doing things; he makes him lazy, indifferent and negligent, and encourages him to seek alternative interpretations and hope for forgiveness etc., until a person may give up doing all things that have been enjoined.

But if he finds that a person is cautious and serious, and that he is enthusiastic and capable, he despairs of succeeding with him on that front; so he urges him to strive to excess, and makes him think that this is not sufficient, and that he has higher ambitions than that, and that he has to do more than others. So he tells them, do not go to sleep when they go to sleep; do not break your fast when their fast; do not flag when they flag; if one of them washes his hands and face three times, then you should wash them seven times; if he does wudoo’ for prayer then you should go ghusl for it, and other kinds of exaggeration and excess. He makes him go to extremes and go beyond the straight path, just as he makes the first person fall short and not come anywhere near it.

His aim in both cases is to steer both of them away from the straight path, the one by not letting him approach it or come anywhere near it, and the other by making him go too far and overstep the mark. In this way most people have been tempted and nothing can save a person from that except deeply rooted knowledge, faith and the power to resist him and adhere to the middle course. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek.”

(Al-Waabil al-Sayyib, p. 19)

 

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(3) Preventing people from doing good deeds, making them procrastinate and be lazy

He has ways and means of doing this. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah said:

“The Shaytaan ties three knots on the back of the head of any one of you whilst he is asleep, and he strikes the location of each knot (saying),

‘You have a long night ahead of you, so sleep.’

If, when he wakes up, he remembers Allah, one knot is loosened. If he does wudoo’, another knot is loosened. If he prays, the (last) knot is loosened. Then he starts his day feeling energetic and of good cheer, otherwise he starts his day in a bad mood and feeling lazy.”

(Narrated by Bukhaari, 3/24; no. 1143)

In Bukhaari and Muslim it says:

“When one of you wakes up from his sleep and does wudoo’, then let him rinse his nose three times, for the Shaytaan spends the night on his nose.”

(Bukhaari, 6/339, no. 2295; also narrated by Muslim. 1/213, no. 238. This version narrated by Bukhaari)

In Saheeh al-Bukhaari it says that mention was made in the presence of the Messenger of Allah of a man who slept a whole night until morning.

He said,

“That is a man whose ear the Shaytaan has urinated.”

(Narrated by Bukhaari, 3/28, no. 1144)

What we have mentioned is the means by which the Shaytaan makes a person lazy by his actions. But he may also keep a person from doing good deeds by means of waswasah (insinuating whispers). How he does that is by making a person like to be lazy and to procrastinate, and by making him feel that he has plenty of time. Ibn al-Jawzi said concerning that:

“How many Christians and Jews felt inclined towards Islam, but the Shaytaan kept discouraging them by saying,

‘Don’t rush into it, think about it.’

So he made them delay entering Islam until they died in a state of kufr. Similarly he makes the sinner put off repenting, and he keeps him indulging in his desires, telling him that one day he could repent.

How many people who have resolved to strive hard has he made procrastinate, and how many people who want to reach some level of virtue has he discouraged from doing so! Perhaps a faqeeh intends to revise some topic, but he says, “Rest for a while,” or he sees a worshipper waking up at night to pray, and he tells him, “You have plenty of time.”

He keeps on making people like to be lazy, or put off doing good deeds, and he deceives them by telling them that they have plenty of time and a lot of hope.

So the one who wants to do some good deed should carry out his action with determination and resolve. Resolve means not wasting time and not delaying things. He should forget about the idea of having plenty of time, because the one who has been warned (of the punishment of Allah) should not be assured. What you miss, you cannot make up for. The reason for every shortcoming or inclination towards evil is the belief that there is plenty of time and a lot of hope, because man keeps thinking of giving up evil and turning towards good, but he procrastinates. No doubt whoever things that he has the whole day ahead of him will take his time, and whoever has the hope that he will still be there in the morning will do very little during the night, but the one who thinks of death as imminent will strive hard.

One of the salaf said: I warn you against sawfa (i.e., saying I will do... etc.) because it is one of the greatest troops of Iblees. The likeness of the one who strives resolutely and the one who is content with the idea that he has plenty of time is that of a group who are on a journey and enter a town. The one who is resolute goes and buys the supplies he needs to compete his journey and sits ready to resume his journey. The negligent one says, I will get ready, but probably we will stay here for a month (so I have plenty of time). So when the call to resume the journey comes, the one who was prepared is happy to move on, whilst the one who was negligent becomes very confused and distressed.

This is the likeness of people in this world. Some of them are prepared and alert, and when the angel of death comes they feel no regret, but the others who are deluded and procrastinate, will feel bitter regret at the times of departure. If it is in a person’s nature to like to procrastinate and feel that he has plenty of time, then Iblees comes and encourages the person to act in accordance with his nature, so it becomes difficult for him to strive. But the person who is concerned about himself knows that he is in a battlefield and that his enemy will not give up. Although he may appear to be leaving him alone for a while, in secret he is plotting against him and setting a trap for him.”

(Talbees Iblees, p. 458)

 

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(5) Appearing to be sincere towards man

The Shaytaan calls man to sin, but he claims to be sincerely advising him and wishing him well. He swore to our father (Adam) that he was being sincere towards him:

And he (Shaytaan (Satan)) swore by Allah to them both (saying): ‘Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for you both.’

(Qur’aan, 7: 21)

Wahb ibn Munabbih narrated this interesting story from the People of the Book –

(This story and similar reports from this Israa’eeliyyaat (reports from Jewish sources) can be neither believed nor rejected, but it is permissible to narrate them because the Prophet said: (Narrate from Bani Israa’eel (the Children of Israel), there is nothing wrong with that))).

- which we will quote in order to learn some of the ways in which the Shaytaan misleads people, so that we may beware of his “advice” and go against that to which he calls us.

Wahb said:

“There was a worshipper among the Children of Israel, who was one of the most devoted worshippers of his time. At that time there were three brothers, who had a sister who was a virgin, and they had no other sister. The call to arms came to all three of them, and they did not know with whom they should leave their sister, who they could trust to take care of her or where they should leave her.

Then they agreed to leave her with the most pious worshipper among the Children of Israel, whome they felt was trustworthy. So they came to him and asked him if they could leave her with him, so that she could remain under his protection and care until they came back from their compaign. But he refused to do that, and he sought refuge with Allah from them and from their sister. They kept insisting until he gave in to them, and he said, bring her and let her stay in a house near my cell. So they brought her there, then they went away and left her.

She stayed in the vicinity of that worshipper for some time, during which he gave her food from his cell, which he would place at the door of his cell, then he would lock the door and retreat to his cell, then tell her to come out of her house and take the food that had been placed there for her. But the Shaytaan kept telling him in a subtle way, urging him to do good and making him think that it was wrong for the girl to come out of her house during the day. He made him worried that someone might see her and be attracted to her, and told him, if you go and put the food at the door of her house, that will bring a greater reward. He kept telling him this until he took the food to her and placed it at her door, but he did not speak to her.

This continued for a while, then Iblees came to him and encouraged him to do good and seek reward, and said: if you go to her and put the food inside her house, this will being a greater reward. He kept telling him this until he took the food to her and put it inside her house.

This continued for a while, then Iblees came to him and encouraged him to do good, and said, why don’t you talk to her and speak nicely to her, for she is alone and feels very lonely. He kept telling him this until he spoke to her for a while every day from the top of his cell.

Then Iblees came to him and said, why don’t you go down to her and sit at the door of your cell and talk to her, whilst she sits at the door of her house. If you speak to her that will be an act of kindness towards her. He kept telling him this until he went down and sat at the door of his cell and spoke to her, and she spoke to him, and the girl came out of her house to sit at her door.

They continued to talk to one another for a while, then Iblees came and encouraged him to seek more reward by the way in which he treated her. He said, why don’t you come out from the door of your cell and sit near her house and speak to her; that will be an act of kindness towards her. He kept telling him this until he did it.

This continued for a while, then Iblees came to him and said: why don’t you go into the house and talk to her, and not let her show her face to anyone – that will be even better. He kept telling him this until he entered the house and started to speak to her all day long, then when evening came he would go up to his cell.

Then Iblees came to him and kept making her appear attractive to him until he touched her on the thigh and kissed her. Iblees kept making appear attractive to him until he had relations with her and made her pregnant, and she bore him a child. Then Iblees came and said, what if the girl’s brothers come and she has a child from you – what will you do? You cannot be sure that you will not be exposed or that they will not expose you. Go and kill her son and bury him, for she will conceal that for fear of what her brothers will do if they find out what you did to her. So he did that.

Then he said to him: do you think that she will conceal what you did to her and that you killed her child? Take her and kill her, and bury her with her child. He kept telling him this until he killed her and threw her into the same ditch as her child, and covered them with a huge rock, and levelled the ground over them. Then he went up to his cell to worship, and stayed there for as long as Allah willed that he should stay, until the brothers came back from the way and asked about her, and he told them that she had died, praying for mercy for her and weeping for her. He said, she was the best of women, and this is her grave, go and see it. So her brothers went to her grave and wept for their sister, and prayed for mercy for her. They stayed by her grave for several days, then they went home to their own families.

When night fell and they had gone to bed, the Shaytaan appeared to them in their dreams in the form of a travelling man. He started with the oldest of them, asking him about their sister. He told him what the worshipper had said, that she had died and how he had prayed for mercy for her and how he had shown them the site of her grave. The Shaytaan said that this was a lie and said, he did not tell you the truth about your sister; he made your sister pregnant and she bore him a boy, then he killed him and her too, because he was afraid of you, and he threw them into a ditch that he dug behind the door of the house where she had lived, to the right of the entrance. You will find here there as I have told all of you. Then he came to the middle brother in a dream and told him the same, then he came to the youngest brother and told him too.

When the people woke up, they were all wondering about what they had seen. They went to one another and told one another about it, saying, I have seen something strange last night.

The eldest brother said, it is just a dream, it does not mean anything. Let us get on with our lives and ignore it. The youngest brother said, by Allah, I will not get on with my life until I go to that place and found out for myself.

So they all went to the house in which their had lived, and opened the door. They dug in the place that had been described to them in their dream, and they found their slain sister and her child buried in that hole, as they had been told. They asked the worshipper about her and he confirmed what Iblees had said concerning what he had done to her. So they told their king about him and he was brought down from his cell and taken out to be crucified.

When they tied him to the wood, the Shaytaan came to him and said, you know that I am the who tempted you with the woman until you made her pregnant, and killed her and her son. If you obey me today and disbelieve in Allah Who created you and formed, then I will save you from your predicament. So the worshipper disbelieved in Allah, and when he disbelieved in Allah, the Shaytaan forsook him and they came and crucified him.”

(Talbees Iblees, p. 39)

The story was mentioned by the mufassireen in their comments on the aayah:

(Their allies deceived them) like Shaytaan (Satan), when he says to man: ‘Disbelieve in Allah.’ But when (man) disbelieves in Allah, Shaytaan (Satan) says: ‘I am free of you.’

(Qur’aan, 69: 16)

They said that what is meant by ‘man’ here is this worshipper and people like him. And Allah knows best.

 

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(6) Gradually misleading people

From the story quoted above we know another of the methods used by the Shaytaan to misguide people, which is to lead a person step by step, never getting bored or tired. Whenever he gets him used to some sin, he leads him on to another, greater, sin, until he leads him to commit the greatest sin, thus causing his doom. This is the way of Allah with His slaves, that when they turn away, He gives the Shaytaan power over them, and turns their hearts away:

So when they turned away (from the path of Allah), Allah turned their hearts away (from the Right Path).

(Qur’aan, 61: 5)

 

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(9) He enters a person’s heart through that which he loves and desires

Ibn al-Qayyim said concerning this topic:

“The Shaytaan flows through the son of Adam like his blood, until it is as if he becomes part of him, so he finds out what he likes and prefers; once he knows that he uses it against a person and enters to him through this door. He also passes this information on to his brothers and allies among mankind, so that when they want to achieve their nefarious aims against one another they do so through means of that which people love and desire. Whoever tries to enter through this door will gain entry, and whoever tries to enter through any other way will find that the door is barred to him and he will not get what he wants.”

(Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/132)

In this manner the Shaytaan approached Adam and Eve and thus misled them, as Allah says:

He said: ‘Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals.’

(Qur’aan, 7: 20)

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

“So the enemy of Allah senses what our parents liked, and felt that they wanted to live forever in that abode of joy. He knew that he could not reach them in any other way, so he swore to them by Allah that he was one of the sincere ones, and said:

‘Your Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of the immortals.’

(Qur’aan, 7: 20)

 

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(10) Instilling doubts

Another of his methods of leading people astray is to shake their belief by means of the doubts that he instills. The Messenger warned against some of the doubts that he tries to instill. According to a hadith narrated by Bukhaari and Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, the messenger of Allah said:

“The Shaytaan comes to one of you and says,

‘Who created such and such, who created such and such?’

- until he says,

‘Who created your Lord?’

If that happens, then seek refuge with Allah and stop these thoughts.”

(Narrated by Bukhaari, 6/336, no. 3277; Muslim, 1/120, no. 134)

The Sahaabah – may Allah be pleased with them – were not free of the doubts instilled by the Shaytaan. Some of them came to the Messenger complaining of the doubts and waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan) from which they were suffering. In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah said:

“Some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah came to the Prophet and said:

‘We find in ourselves something that is so terrible we cannot put it into words.’

He said,

‘Do you really find that?’

They said,

‘Yes.’

He said,

‘That is (a sign of) clear faith.’”

(Narrated by Muslim, 1/119, no. 132)

The sign of their clear faith was their resistance to the whispers of the Shaytaan, their hatred of that and their regarding it as something terrible. The Messenger was asked about waswasah and said,

“That is (the stage of) strong faith.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 1/119, no. 133)

Look at the intensity of the doubts suffered by the Sahaabah: Abu Dawood narrated in his Sunan that Ibn ‘Abbaas said:

“A man came to the Prophet and said,

‘O’ Messenger of Allah, one of us may find that certain thoughts cross his mind, and he would rather be turned to ashes than put those thoughts into words.’

He said,

‘Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, praise be to Allah Who has reduced the Shaytaan’s plot to mere whispering.’”

(Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, 3/964, no. 4271)

Among the doubts that he seeks to instill in people’s hearts is that of which Allah has told us:

Never did we send a Messenger or a Prophet before you, but; when He did recite the Revelation or narrated or spoke, Shaytaan (Satan) threw (some falsehood) In it. but Allâh abolishes that which Shaytaan (Satan) throws in. Then Allâh establishes his Revelations. and Allâh is All-Knower, All-Wise:

That He (Allâh) may make what is thrown In by Shaytaan (Satan) a trial for those In whose hearts is a disease (of hypocrisy and disbelief) and whose hearts are hardened. and Certainly, the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.) are In an opposition far-off (from the Truth against Allâh's Messenger and the believers).

And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it (this Qur'aan) is the Truth from Your Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may submit to it with humility. and Verily, Allâh is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path.

(Qur’aan, 22: 52-54)

What is referred to by tamanni (translated here as ‘recite the Revelation or narrated or spoke’, here is speaking tor thinking to himself, the Shaytaan threw (some falsehood) into those thoughts by way of trickery. So he would say,

‘Why don’t you ask Allah to give you booth so as to make the Muslims’, or he would tell him to wish that all of the people would believe... so Allah abolished the doubts that the Shaytaan had cast into the thoughts of the Prophet by drawing his attention to the truth and guiding him to that which Allah wanted. What has been said about aayah meaning that the Shaytaan introduced things into the Qur’aan which were not part of it is far-fetched, and is refuted by the fact that the Messenger was infallible in his conveying of the Message.

Shaqeeq says, describing some of the doubts which the Shaytaan may instil in a person’s heart: there is no morning on which the Shaytaan does not lie in wait for me in four places, in front of me, behind me, to my right and to my left. And he says, Do not fear, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

So I recite,

And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believe (in My Oneness, associates none in worship with me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his death).

(Qur’aan, 20: 82)

Or he comes from behind and makes me fear for those I may leave behind, so I recite:

And no moving (living) creature is there on earth but it provision is due from Allah.

(Qur’aan, 11: 6)

He comes from my right, to tempt me by means of women, so I recite: And the (blessed) end is for Muttaqoon (the pious).

(Qur’aan, 7: 128)

And he comes from my left to tempt me by means of desires, so I recite: And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire.

(Qur’aan, 34: 54)

 

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(15) Sihr (sorcery, witchcraft)

(Topic dealt with at length in ‘Aalaam al-Sihr wa’l-Sha’wadhah)

Another means by which the Shaytaan misleads the children of Adam is sihr, so they teach them this craft which causes harm and brings no benefits. This knowledge may a means of separating a man from his wife, and separating spouses is regarded by the Shaytaan as one of the greatest things that his troops can achieve, as we have mentioned above.

Allah says:

They followed what the Shayaateen (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaymaan (Solomon). Sulaymaan did not disbelieve, but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, "We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)." and from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allahs Leave. and they learn that which harms them and profits them not. and indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. and how bad indeed was that for which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew.

(Qur’aan, 2: 102)

 

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Is sihr real?

The scholars differed concerning this issue. Some of them say that it is an illusion and has no basis in reality:

Then behold! Their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast.

(Qur’aan, 20: 66)

Others said that it is real, as indicated by the aayah in Soorat al-Baqarah. The correct view is that it is of two types, a kind which is illusionary, which is based on scientific tricks and deft movements, and a kind which is real, which causes separation between a man and his wife and may cause harm.

 

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How the Jews practiced sihr against the Messenger

Bukhaari narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (radhiyAllaahu anha) said:

“A man from among Bani Zurayq, whose name was Labeed ibn al-A’sam, cast a spell on the Messenger of Allah , which made him think that he had done something when he had not done it.

(This lasted) until one day, or one night, when he was with me, he prayed and prayed, then he said,

‘O’ ‘Aa’ishah, do you know that Allah has answered me concerning the matter I asked Him about? Two men came to me and one them sat near my head and the other sat near my feet.

One of them said to the other,

“What is wrong with this man?”

The latter replied,

“He is under the effect of magic.”

The first one asked,

“Who has worked magic on him?”

The other replied,

“Labeed bin al-A’sam.”

The first one asked,

“What material did he use?”

The other replied,

“A comb and the hair stuck to it, and a skin of pollen of a male date palm tree.”

The first one asked,

“Where is it?”

The other one replied,

“It is in the well of Dharwaan.’”

So the Prophet went to that well with a group of his companions, and when he came back he said,

‘O’ ‘Aa’ishah, the water of that well looked like the infusion of henna leave and its date-palm trees looked like the heads of devils.’

I said,

‘O’ Messenger of Allah, why did you not undo it?’

He said,

‘Allah has cured me from it and I dislike that evil should spread among my people.’

And he commanded that (those things) should be buried.”

(Bukhaari, 10/221, no. 5763)

It cannot be said that the magic which affected the Prophet led to any confusion in the Message. Because the effects of the magic did not go beyond the exterior of his body; they did not reach his heart and mind. This was like any other disease to which he was exposed, and the shari’ah is protected by Allah.

Allah says:

Verily, We it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).

(Qur’aan, 15: 9)

 

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5 – How the Shaytaan makes his whispers reach the heart of man

(1) Waswasah (insinuating whispers)
​

The Shaytaan is able to reach man’s heart and mind in a way which we do not know or understand. The nature with which he is created enables him to do that. This is what is called waswasah. Allah has told us of that when
He said:

From the evil of the whisperer (devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in one’s heart after one remembers Allah).

Who whispers in the breasts of mankind.

(Qur’aan, 114: 4-5)

Ibn Katheer said in his commentary: ‘the whisperer who withdraws’ is the Shaytaan who sits on the heart of the son of Adam, and when he forgets and is negligent, he whispers to him, but when he remembers Allah, he withdraws.

It is narrated in Saheehayn (Bukhaari and Muslim) from Anas that the Messenger said:

“The Shaytaan flows through the son of Adam like blood.”

(Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 1/26, no. 68)

By this waswasah he led Adam astray and tempted him to eat from that tree:

Then Shaytaan (Satan) whispered to him, saying: ‘O’ Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?’

(Qur’aan, 20: 120)

The devils may appear in human form, and they may speak to a person or make him hear voices, telling him to do something or not to do something, as we shall see below.

 

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(2) Taking physical shapes

Sometimes the devils come to a person not through waswasah, but by appearing to him in human form. Or he may hear voices but not see any physical form. Or they may appear in strange forms... Sometimes they come to people and tell them that they are from among the jinn, or sometimes they tell lies and claim that they are angels. Sometimes they call themselves “men of the unseen”, of they claim to come from the spirit world.

In all these cases they speak to people, either directly or through a person whom they call a medium, whom they take over and speak through his mouth. Or they may respond via writing.

They may do even more than that. They may pick a person up and make him fly through the air, moving him from one place to another. They may bring him things that he asks for, but they only do these things to those who are misguided, who disbelieve in Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, or who do evil things and sins that doom a person to Hell.

These people may pretend to be righteous and pious, but in fact they are among the most misguided and rebellious of people. Many stories of such people have been told in the past and in the present; which cannot be rejected or denied because they are so well known and widespread.

For example, Ibn Taymiyah described Al-Hallaaj as being:

“A practitioner of ‘natural magic’ who was sometimes served by devils. Some of his followers were with him on the mountain of Abu Qubays, and they asked him for some sweets. He went to a nearby place and brought a tray of sweets. They investigated the matter and found out that it had been stolen from a sweet-shop in Yemen, and brought by the devil of that place.”

And he said:

“Things of this nature happen often to people other than Al-Hallaaj, to those who are following in the footsteps of the devils. We know of many such people in our own times and from other times. For example there is a person who is now (at Ibn Taymiyah’s time) in Damascus; the Shaytaan used to carry him from the mountain of Al-Saalihiyyah to a village near Damascus. He would bring him through the air to a small window high up in the house, and he would enter whilst they were watching. He used to come at night to Baab al-Sagheer (one of the six gates of Damascus at that time), and cross it, him and his companion. And he was one of the most immoral of people.

Another one lived in Shawbak (a fortified citadel in the outlying regions of Syria), and came from a village called Al-Shaahidah. He flew through the air to the top of a mountain whilst the people were watching, carried by a devil. He was a bandit.

Most of them are evil “shaykhs”. One of them was called Al-Booshi Abu’l-Mujeeb. They used to set up a place for him on a dark night, and make bread as an act of worship. They did not remember Allah or any book in which there is mention of Allah. Then that Al-Booshi used to be lifted up in the air whilst they were watching, and they would hear what he said to the devil and what the devil said to him. If anyone laughed or stole some of the bread, he would be hit with a stick but they would not see who was hitting him.

Then the devil would tell them about some of the things they were asking about, and would tell them to sacrifice cows or horses to him, etc, and to strangle them and not to mention the name of Allah over them; if they did that, he would fulfil their needs.

Ibn Taymiyah also tells of a “shaykh” who admitted that he used to commit fornication with women and sodomy with young bous. He used to say, “A black dog with two white spots between its eyes comes to me and tells me, ‘So and so has vowed to offer something to you, and he will bring it to you tomorrow.’ The next day that person would bring that vow, and this kaafir ‘shaykh’ would tell him things about himself.”

It is narrated that this “shaykh” said: “If someone asked me to get him some resin (a sticky substance used as a perfume and as medicine), I would say, ‘I will do that when I enter a trance,’ then the resin would appear in my hand or in my mouth, and I would not know who put it there.”

And he said, “I would be walking and in front of me there would be a black pillar on which was light.”

Ibn Taymiyah said: when this shaykh repented and started to pray and fast, and avoid haraam things, the dog disappeared, and no resin or anything else was brought to him.

He tells us of another “shaykh” who had devils whom he used to send to cause epilepsy in some people. The family of the person afflicted would come to the “shaykh” to ask him to heal him. He would send word to his followers (the devils) and they would depart from the person who was afflicted, and the family would give that “shaykh” a lot of money.

Sometimes the jinn would bring him money and food which they had stolen from people. Some people had figs stored in vessels; when the “shaykh” asked his devils for figs they would bring them to him, and when the owners of the vessels looked for the figs, they would find that they had gone.

Another person was striving hard to seek knowledge, then the devils came to him and tempted him, saying, “We will excuse you from praying and we will bring you whatever you want.” They brought him sweets, until he went to a shaykh who knew the Sunnah. He told him to repent, and then he paid the sweet-makers for the sweets he had eaten when he was tempted by (Jaami’ al-Rasaa’il by Ibn Taymiyah, 9. 190-194) the devils.

Shaykh al-Islam explained some of the ways in which the Shaytaan may trick people. He said: (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 11/300)

“I know a person to whom plants spoke and told him of their beneficial qualities, but it was the Shaytaan speaking to him from inside the plants.

I know another to whom trees and rocks spoke and said,

‘Congratulations O’ friend of Allah.’

He recited Aayat al-Kursiy and that disappeared. I know someone who went out to hunt birds, and the birds and others spoke to him and said,

‘Take me so that the poor can eat me,’ but it was the Shaytaan who had entered them as he enters people and speaks through them. Some of them may be in a house with the doors locked, but he sees himself outside the house even though the door was locked, or vice versa. But when he recited Aayat al-Kursiy time after time, all of that disappeared.”

And he said (rahimahullaah):

“I know someone who heard a voice speaking to him, saying, ‘I come by the command of Allah,’ and promising him that he was the Mahdi of whom the Messenger spoke. He showed him extraordinary feats, such as if it crossed his mind to control birds and locusts in the air, if the thought of the birds or locusts going to the right or to the left, they would go wherever he wished. If it crossed his mind to make some livestock stand up or fall asleep or go away, what he wanted would happen without any apparent movement on his part. They would take him to Makkah and bring him back. They would bring to him people whose appearance was beautiful and tell him, these are cherubim (‘angels’) who have come to visit you. He would wonder to himself, ‘Why do they appear in the form of beardless men?’ then when he raised his head he would see that they had beards. They said to him, ‘The sign that you are the Mahdi is that a mole will grow on your body’, then it would grow and he would see it, and other things, all of which were the plots of the Shaytaan.”

(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa li Shaykh al-Islam, 11/300)

And he explained:

“The followers of misguidance and bid’ah who practice asceticism and forms of worship which are not prescribed in Islam sometimes foretell the future or have a mysterious influence. They often go to the places where the devils are, where it is forbidden to pray, because the devils descend upon them there. The devils talk to them in the same way that they talk to the soothsayers, and as they used to enter the idols and speak to the idol-worshippers. They help them in some of their requests just as they help the sorcerers and they help the idol-worshippers and the worshippers of the sun and the moon and the stars, when they worship them in the ways which they think are appropriate, such as glorifying them, wearing special clothes, burning incense and so on. There descend upon them devils which are called the ‘spirits of the stars’, who may fulfil some of their needs.”

(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 19/41)

 

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Those whom the devils serve draw close to them by means of sin

Those who claim to be “saints”, when in fact they are served by the devils, have to draw close to them by means of things that the devils like, such as kufr and shirk, so that they will fulfil some of their desires. Ibn Taymiyah (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 19/35) mentioned that many of them write the words of Allah with impure substances, and they may reverse the letters of Allahs words, either the letters of Al-Faatihah or the letters of “Qul Huwa Allah ahad” (Soorat al-Ikhlaas), or of other soorahs. He said that they may write the words of Allah in blood or other impure substances, and they may write other things which the Shaytaan likes, or they may speak of such things.

If they say or write things that please the devils, they help them with some of their aims, either by making water disappear into the earth or carrying them through the air to some places, or bringing them the wealth of some people, stolen by the devils from the wealth of cheaters and those who did not mention the name of Allah over their wealth, and other things.

 

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“Men of the unseen” (rijaal al-ghayb)

The commentator on At-Tahhaawiyyah mentioned that “among the devils are those which people call ‘men of the unseen’; some people speak to them and they do extraordinary feats by which they claim to be friends of Allah (awliyaa’ or ‘saints’). Some of them help the mushrikeen against the Musalims, saying that the Messenger commanded them to fight the Muslims on the side of the mushrikeen, because the Muslims have disobeyed.”

The commentator on At-Tahhaawiyyah followed that by saying: ‘Those people are in fact the brothers of the mushrikeen, and the scholars are divided into three groups according to how they regard these ‘men of the unseen’:

1 – A group which denies that ‘men of the unseen’ exist; but people have seen them and it has been proven from those who have seen them, or trustworthy people have spoken of what they have seen. When they saw them and were certain that they exist, then they accepted the fact.

2 – A group which acknowledges that they exist, but they refer the matter to the decree of Allah, and believe that in the esoteric tradition there is a way to Allah other than the way of the Prophets.

3 – A group which does not accept that there could be any wali or ‘saint’ outside of the framework set up by the Prophet, and they say that Muhammad was the Messenger for both groups. They show great respect to the Messenger but they are ignorant of his religion and shari’ah.”

Then he explained the true nature of those ‘men’ and their followers:

“The truth is that these people are among the followers of the devils, and that the ‘men of the unseen’ are the jinn, but they are called ‘men’, just as Allah says:

And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males (lit. ‘men’) among the jinn, but they (jinn) increased them (mankind) in sin and transgression.

(Qur’aan, 72: 6)

Because humans are visible and can be seen. A human may disappear from sight for a while, but that cannot continue indefinitely. Whoever thinks that they (the ‘men of the unseen’) are human is mistaken and is ignorant.”

Then he explained that the reasons for this difference of opinion concerning them into these three groups was because of their failure to distinguish between the friends of the Shaytaan and the friends of the Most Merciful. He explained that people’s deeds and words must be measured against the Qur’aan and Sunnah: whatever is in accordance with them is good and whatever goes against them is in error. Whatever a person does or appears to be – even if he flies through the air or walks on water – he cannot be a believer or a friend of Allah unless he adheres to the Qur’aan and Sunnah.

(Sharh al-Aqeedah at-Tahhaawiyyah, 571-572)

A person has to have a standard whereby he can distinguish between the friends of the Most Merciful and the friends of the Shaytaan, between the righteous and the wicked, otherwise he will go astray and deviate, and think that the enemies of Allah are his friends. This standard is the Qur’aan and Sunnah. If a person adheres to them, all well and good, otherwise he is not following anything worthwhile, even if see him raise the dead and change base metals into precious metals.

Ibn Taymiyah said:

“Whoever does not distinguish between the characteristics of the followers of the Most Merciful and the characteristics of the followers of the Shaytaan, he will confuse truth with falsehood. If Allah does not illuminate a person’s heart with the true facts of faith and adherence to the Qur’aan, he will not be able to tell the path of truth from the path of falsehood. He will be in a state of confusion, just as people were confused by Musaylimah Al-Yamaamah and other liars who claimed to be prophets when in fact they were imposters.”

(Jaami’ al-Rasaa’il, p. 197)

Ibn Taymiyah wrote an important book which explains the huge difference between the friends of the Most Merciful and the friends of the Shaytaan in a manner which leaves you with no room for doubt as to who are the friends of the Shaytaan. This book is entitled Al-Furqaan bayna Awliyaa’ al-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa’ al-Shaytaan (The distinction between the friends of the Most Merciful and the friends of the Shaytaan).

 

[ditta]

The jinn are not subjugated to anyone after the Prophet of Allah Sulaymaan

Allah answered the prayer of His Prophet Sulaymaan and granted him power that was not allowed to anyone after him. So if the jinn obey any human that is not by means of subjugation, but by means of pleasing the jinn. Is that permissible?

Ibn Taymiyah (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 11/307) said:

“The relations between man and jinn may take different forms. If a human tells a jinn to do the things that Allah and His Messenger have enjoined such as worshipping Allah Alone and obeying His Prophet, and it is the human who enjoins that, then he is one of the best friends of Allah and in this regard he is a successor to and deputy of the Prophet .

Whoever uses the services of the jinn in permissible matters, is like one who uses the services of men in permissible matters. This is like telling them what they have to do and forbidding them to do that which is prohibited to them, and using their services in matters that are permissible. So he is like a king, for kings do things like that. If he happens to be one of the friends of Allah, then the most that he can achieve is to be a of Allah in general terms, like a Prophet-king as opposed to a Messenger-slave, like Sulaymaan and Yoosuf as opposed to Ibraaheem, Moosa, ‘Eesa and Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all).

Whoever uses the jinn in matters that Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, in matters of shirk, or of killing one whom it is prohibited to kill, or of committing aggression against them without killing them, such as making them sick or causing them to forget things they have learned, and other kinds of wrongdoing, or using them in matters of immorality, such as bringing the person with whom immoral actions are to be committed, then he is seeking their help to commit sin and transgression. If he seeks their help in committing kufr then he is a kaafir, and if he seeks their help in committing sin then he is disobedient, either a rebellious evildoer or a mere sinner who is not a rebellious evildoer.

If he does not have complete knowledge of shari’ah, and he asks them for help concerning something that he thinks is a miracle (that may be a sign of a wali or “saint”), such as asking them to help him perform Hajj, or to lift him into the air when he hears songs of bid’ah (innovation), or to carry him to ‘Arafaat, and he does not do Hajj as prescribed by Allah and His Messenger, or he asks them to carry him from one city to another, etc., then he is deceived and has been tricked by them.”