(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.