From the Desk of a Layman: Nasir Ali.
JINN OF THE UNSEEN WORLD, PART 4:
After having discussed the creation of Jinn
and Man and the purpose for their creation, and the punishments in Hell of all
those evil Jinn and human beings, let’s throw some more light on Iblis the
Cursed.
Hafiz Ibn Hajr has alluded in his
monumental Fath al-Bari that the disbelieving Jinn are Shayateen, i.e.
when the word Shaitan is used it means an evil disbelieving jinn. [Fath
al-Bari [6:344] and [8:675]
There is only one Iblis who
has many followers among Jinn and human beings who are Shayateen. Iblis and his malevolent jinn can have a
phenomenal effect on humans whose sworn enemy Iblis is. The Shayateen
can go to the extent of driving their victims insane or instigating them to
commit suicide or some other ghastly and blasphemous deeds. A devil has the powers to cast evil
suggestions or a whisper (Waswasa) into the breasts of believing men, women,
and Jinn in order to carry out his nefarious plans. However, since the Shaitan slinks
away and recoils from the heart that remembers Allah, it is up to human beings
to decide whether to follow the suggested evil path or not. The “Waswasa”
of Shaitan is not to be taken lightly for it was with this evil
deception that Iblis successfully contrived the way for the banishment of Adam
and Eve from Paradise.
Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
Thus have We appointed unto every prophet
an adversary - devils of humankind and jinn who inspire in one another
plausible discourse through guile. If thy Lord willed, they
would not do so; so leave them alone with their devising (Surah al-An’am 6:112)
The Shaitan himself has also come physically for attempting
to lead our prophets (a.s.) astray. To enumerate just a few incidents in brief:
Ibrahim (a.s.) was commanded by Allah Almighty to sacrifice his son Ismail (a.s.). While he was on his way to carry out this commandment, Shaitan Iblis attempted to dissuade him at three places upon which Angel Gabriel instructed Ibrahim (a.s.) to throw pebbles at the Shaitan.
Original pillars in the shape of obelisks.
.
This incident is commemorated as an important ritual of
Hajj where pilgrims throw pebbles at the pillars located at Jamarat.
Again, we find that this evil foe Iblis and his aides
making physical appearances during the lifetime of Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam): As the Quraish debated on the
best means to silence the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) forever, they were interrupted by an old man
who introduced himself as a well-wisher from the tribe of Najd. This old man
was Iblis himself, and he was readily admitted in the meeting owing to his
smooth talk! Thus he, too, was present when the Quraish plotted the murder of
Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam).
Allah (swt) warned the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) of their
plans. While Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi
Wasallam) was leaving his abode for migrating to Madinah, Allah (swt)
temporarily blinded the assassins who had surrounded the house.
Badr is the subject of Sura 3: Al-Imran, Sura 8:
Al-Anfal, Sura 22: Hajj of the Quran al-Kareem as well as some ahadith
Shareef. To state very shortly, Shaitan
Iblis came in the form of a man from the Bani Mudlaj by the name of Suraqah bin
Malik bin Ju’shum to motivate the polytheists for the battle. In the battle itself, Iblis carried their
banner along with the army and a group of Shayateen. To the Mushrikuun
(polytheists) Iblis said: “None of mankind is able to defeat you this day,
and I am your protector.” So at the time
those men assembled, Rasulullaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
gathered a handful of dust and threw it into the faces of the Mushrikuun
which forced them to retreat. When
Jibra’il (a.s.) came, Iblis saw him, and releasing his hold on the Mushrikuun
he ran away together with his followers. Those who had been in his grip called
out: “O Suraqah! You agreed to protect us.”
Iblis answered: “Indeed I see what you do not see and I am scared of
Allah, and Allah is hard in His punishment.”
In Part 2 of our Article, we have already mentioned the
ahadith of encounter by the Messenger of Allah (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam)
with Iblis and his group of evil jinn as narrated by Abu Hurairah ® and
reported in {Sahih Muslim Book 4 Chapter 52 Hadith 1104 & (Muslim Book 5
Hadith 49}; as also related by an-Nasa’i on the authority of Aisha ® and Related
by Ahmad and Abu Dawud on the authority of Abu Sa`id with the wordings: I
kept strangling him with my hand until I felt his saliva between my two
fingers: the thumb and the index.}
Ibn 'Umar (R)reported: "We were sitting with the
Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) and a man came in. He was the ugliest, dirtiest, and one who had
the foulest odour coming from him. He
was impolite and started walking through the people until he sat before the
Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). He
asked the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam): "Who created you?" He
(s) replied: "Allah." He asked him again: "Who created heaven?" He (s) replied: "Allah." "Who created the
earth?" He (s) said: "Allah." He asked again: "Who created
Allah?" The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said: "Subhan
Allah," and he held his forehead and lowered his head. The man stood up
and left. The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) raised his head and said: "Bring me the man." We went to
fetch him but he had disappeared as if he had never existed. The Prophet (Sal
Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: "That was Iblis. He came to cast doubts in
your hearts about your religion." (al-Baihaqi's Dala'il an-Nabuwwah)
In his tafsir in Ruh
al-Bayan, Shaykh Isma`il Haqqi relates the following hadith
from Ibn `Abbas (r) :
One time, the Prophet (s) went
out of the masjid, and as he went out, he saw Iblis approaching. The Prophet
(s) said, “What brought you to the door of my masjid?”
Shaytan said, “I came by [order of] Allah (swt).”
Note here that even Iblis
believes in Allah (swt) and he is a unitarian (muwahhid). If Iblis
is a believer, why then did he not make prostration (sajdah) to
Adam (as)? It was because he refused to accept prostrating himself before
anyone. From pride and arrogance, he disobeyed, and for that reason Allah (swt)
cursed him. But though Iblis disobeyed Allah, it did not alter his belief in
Allah (swt). He was muwahhid and he remains one.
He knows that Allah (swt) is the Creator of all, without a partner.
After Iblis said to Sayyidina Muhammad (s), “I came by [order of] Allah (swt).” The Prophet asked, “Why?” Shaytan replied,. “In order for you to ask me whatever you like.”
This
means here that Allah (swt) ordered him to come to the Prophet (s), and put
himself at the Prophet’s (s) disposal. He believed that Muhammad (s) is the
Prophet (s) of Allah.
Ibn
Abbas (ra) continues the hadith:
The first thing that the Prophet
(s) asked about was Salat, the prayers. The Prophet
(s) said to Iblis, “Why do you prevent my ummah from praying in the congregation?”
Iblis said, “If your ummah, your nation, your believers, come to the prayer, I
will develop a fever in me that causes me to lose myself. That humma,
that fever, does not leave me until the believers part.” The Prophet (s) asked, “Why
do you prevent my ummah from studying Islamic knowledge and from making du`a?”
Iblis said, “When they make du`a and raise their hands to
Allah (swt), I become deaf and blind.”
See
here how Shaytan tries to prevent the believers from making invocation by
gossiping in their ears, confusing them. He tells them “Don’t believe.” He does
this because their prayers cause him to become ill.
Ibn
`Abbas continued:
The Prophet (s) asked, “Why do
you prevent my ummah from reciting Qur’an?” Iblis replied, “when they recite
Qur’an, I melt the way lead melts.” So he tries to stop them in any way that he
can. Sayyidina Muhammad (s) asked, “Why do you prevent my ummah from jihad?”
Iblis replied, “When they go for jihad, my feet are chained until they return.”
“And if they go to hajj, I am wrapped in chains until they come back.” “And
when they want to give sadaqah Allah makes saws that
come to cut my head”.
That is why people’s hands
tremble when they give money in the way of Allah. Shaytan is after them. That
is yet another reason we say “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem.”
Iblis, ash-Shaytan
ir-rajeem, constantly seeks to cause trouble and that is why Allah
ordered, “So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from
Shaytan, the accursed” [16: 98] All the descriptions of
Iblis’s actions described in the hadith are contained within the attribute
of ar-Rajeem. Allah (swt) sent him to answer the
Prophet’s (s) question in order to clarify his role for the ummah.
Shaytan’s role is none less than
to mislead the ummah and make them leave the path of Allah (swt). Allah has
warned mankind against him so there is no hope that the cause of his enmity
will pass away. He tells him to disbelieve. Failing this, he causes him to have
doubts about his faith. Failing this, he causes him to commit acts of
disobedience. Failing this, he hinders him from acts of obedience and service.
If the believer is saved from all that, he spoils his actions by involving him
in showing off (riya’) and conceit (`ujub)
in his acts of obedience.
In a hadith reported on the
authority of Anas ibn Malik (r) that the Prophet (s) said, “Indeed Shaytan
circulates in the body like the circulation of blood” (Sahih
Muslim, Book 26,#5405.)
Shaykh Isma`il al-Haqqi explains
this hadith saying, “Ash-Shaytan musallat `ala tabi`yyati
Bani Adam” – “Shaytan is always there, controlling the nature of
human beings.” He controls them with two things: the desire for eating (shahw
al-mubattan), and, and the desire for sex (shahwat
al-mufarsh). These are the only ways that Shaytan has influence.
For this reason the Prophet (s) said, “man yadman lee ma bayna qaihi wa ma bayna
fakhayhi, fa adman lahu al-janna” – “whoever will guarantee
for me what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I will guarantee
him Paradise.” (Bukhari)
The desire for eating is appeased
through one’s mouth. The eyes move the tongue [with craving] as the nose smells
food, and the hand moves to grab what it desires. This is shahwal
mubattan –the lust for food. We fight for food to eat. Here
is one meaning of the importance of keeping the tongue safe. Food is tasted by
the tongue only from its tip to the back of the throat. Once past the throat, all food is the same. Some hospital patients can only be fed using an
intravenous transfusion that dispenses food into their system directly. It has
no taste, but the patient lives. The patient feels no hunger pains. The desire
is located in the tongue within the mouth.
Desire is whatever comes and goes
from the mouth and whatever proceeds from sexual desire, shahwat
al-haram, desire for the forbidden. To control desire, hawa,
is the struggle against the self – jihad an-nafs. Your self will
never allow you to control it. It is in constant combat with you. The tongue
desires the best food – bread, meat, and rice.
Thus the first step in struggling with the self is to fight the desire for food. You desire the best kind of food of varying types and flavors. If you have ten varieties, you desire twelve. The eyes are always hungry. For that our Grandshaykh used to say, “the only thing which will fill the greed of the eyes is dust” – meaning that desire continues until you enter the grave. Thus the eyes become the hole through which desire enters and looking, here and there, is the means by which dissatisfaction and envy are fed. Keeping the eyes from wandering and looking at what is around you is a powerful method for controlling the desire of the tongue." Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Tafsir Surat al-Fatiha)
There are other prophetic traditions as well relating to such visits of Iblis. Additionally, that Satan visited Musa (a.s.) and ‘Isa (a.s.) are also found among some traditions. Quranic verses such as Surah Anbiya (83-84) and Surah Sad (41-46)extol Ayyub (a.s.) for his patience in the face of very severe adversity and tests plotted by Shaitan to lure him away from worshipping and his love of Allah.
Muslim reported that 'Uthman ibn Abi'l-'As ® said, "I went to the Prophet, (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) and said, 'Messenger of Allah, Shaitan comes between me and my prayer and recitation and confuses me.' He (s) said, "That is a Shaitan called Khinzab. When you feel that, seek refuge in Allah from him and spit to your left three times.' I did that and Allah removed it from me."
When Abu Hurairah ® was put in charge of guarding the zakah of Ramadan, the Shaitan came to him thrice in human form claiming to be poor and in need - which hadith is narrated by al-Bukhaari (3101) in a mu‘allaq report; an-Nasaa’i in ‘Aml al-Yawm wa al-Laylah (p. 533) and is not reproduced here for want of space. Those among the Jinn who are chained during Ramadan are the most rebellious devils (Maarid).
The above incidents prove that Shaitan is man’s
worst enemy and even those most beloved to Allah (swt) are not spared from his
plots to misguide. However, it is only
after being permitted by Allah (swt) that the Shaitan can visit Prophets (a.s.)
and the pious people!
Allah (swt) assures Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam):
And if a whisper from the devil reaches thee (O Muhammad)
then seek refuge in Allah. Lo! He is the Hearer, the Knower. (Qur'an, 41:36)
Several Ahadith Sharif show that the Prophet (Sal Allahu
Alayhi Wasallam) said:
Allah has accepted my invocation to forgive what whispers
in the hearts of my followers unless they put it into action or utter it.
Shortly stated:
In order to corrupt mankind and to drive people away from
following the way of Allah, Shaitan of the Jinn whispers, incites, makes false promises, and instigates persons toward the commission of major sins
such as despairing of Allah’s Mercy and hope, polytheism, and Kufr, or
infidelity. The Shaitans of men actually translate the devilish suggestions into actions without any remorse or contrition so that evil men give up Allah and follow the various forms of Satanic cults and black magic, shedding the blood
of innocent human beings by genocides and murders, trafficking in humans/drugs and
child sex trade, indulging in homosexuality, fornication, adultery, incest, transvestism, gender
dysphoria, consuming usury (Riba), adopting apostasy, disrespecting parents, slandering
a chaste woman, bearing false witness, swindling orphans’ money, betrayal of
trust, judging unjustly, committing suicide, drinking, gambling, showing pride and conceit,
exploiting those helpless fugitives who are trying to escape persecutions in
their own countries, or raping and kidnapping women and children who have lost their family members and
homes owing to the ravages of wars and terrorism, and who have been taking shelters in makeshifts camps put up in
neighbouring lands; playing God by creating manmade famines, amassing weapons of destruction, triggering of volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and earthquakes, through electromagnetic psychotronic weapons both on Earth and in space, creating and spreading infectious diseases leading to global pandemic to wipe out what they consider as "Useless Eaters" and unwanted human population, etc., etc. All these aspects of devilish deeds of abhorrence the evil human beings commit, rather than creating sustainability technologies for the betterment of the human race. All of this cannot be dwelled upon here as it is beyond the scope of
our limited subject.
No doubt, the pious Mālik ibn Dīnār was reported to have said: “The satan among men is harder for me than the satan of the jinn. If I seek refuge by reciting the ta ‘awwudh, namely, أَعُوْذُ بِاللّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْم (‘I seek Allah’s protection from the accursed satan’), the satan of the jinn will run away, but of men will stay.” Imām al-Ghazālī said that it is the duty of Muslims to know the temptation of Satan, should free themselves from the satan of the jinn, and beware of the satan of man.
Nothing is surprising though. The Seal of the Prophets and Messenger of Allah [Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam] told us that a group of people would come ahead
“Indeed, Allah had promised
you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do
not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you
be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with Allah] before.
Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment.” Surah Ibrahim, Ayah 22 (14:22)
Continued in Part 5.