Part 6

- 46 - remembrance of Allah. They are the party of Shaytan…" [surah alMujadilah (58): 19] But as soon as we remember, we should abandon that which distracted us, as the Qur'aan commands us, "If Shaytan causes you to forget, then do not sit after the remembrance in the company of the wrong-doers.' [surah al-An'am (6): 68]

Fate of Shaytan and those who follow him will be the worst and most horrible. Allah tells us that His Curse is upon Shaytan until the Day of Resurrection, and that He will fill Hell with him and his followers. Allah said, "(to Iblees), 'Get out from this (Paradise), disgraced and expelled. Whoever of them (mankind) will follow you, then surely, I will fill Hell with you all." [(7): 18]

- 47 - Adhering to the Straight Path means adhering to the Qur'aan and the Sunnah in words and deeds is the greatest means of protection against Shaytan. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal recorded that Abdullah bin Mas'ood said, "The Messenger of Allah r drew a line with his hand (in the sand) and said, 'This is Allah's Path, leading straight.' He then drew lines to the right and left of that line and said, 'These are the other paths, on each path there is a Shaytan who calls to it.' He then recited, 'And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path.'" [surah al-An'am (6): 153] A man asked Ibn Mas'ood, 'What is as-Sirat al-Mustaqim (the straight path).' Ibn Mas'ood replied, 'Muhammad r left us at its lower end and its other end is in Paradise. To the right of this Path are other paths, and to the left of it are other paths, and there are men (on these paths) calling those who pass by them. Whoever goes on the other paths will end up in the Fire. Whoever takes the Straight Path, will end up in Paradise.' Ibn Mas'ood then recited the (above mentioned) verse (6):153.' [Musnad Ahmad] Imam Ahmad also recorded that An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an said that the Messenger of Allah r said, 'Allah has given a parable of the Straight Path, and on the two sides of this Path, there are two walls containing door ways. On these doorways, there are curtains that are lowered down. On the gate of this path, there is a caller

- 50 - and do not divide.' There is also another caller that heralds from above the path, who says when a person wants to remove the curtain on any of these doors, 'Woe to you! Do not open this door, for if you open it, you will enter it. The (straight) path is Islam, the two walls are Allah's set limits, the open doors lead to Allah's prohibitions, the caller on the gate of the path is Allah's Book (the Qur'aan), while the caller from above the path is Allah's admonition in the heart of every Muslim.'" [At-Tirmidhee said, 'hasan gharib']

2 Allah has instructed us to seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytan and his evils in the Qur'aan, "And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan, then seek refuge with Allah." [surah al-A'raf (7): 200] "And say, 'My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions) of the Shayateen. And I seek refuge with You, My Lord! lest they may attend (or come near) me." [surah al-Mu'minun (23): 97-98] Imam Ibn Katheer writes, 'Isti'adhah (seeking refuge) means, 'I seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Shaytan so that he is prevented from affecting my religious or worldly affairs, or hindering me from adhering to what I was commanded, or luring me into what I was prohibited from.' Indeed, only Allah is able to prevent the evil of Shaytan from touching the son of Adam. This is why Allah allowed us to be lenient

- 51 - nature might cause him to refrain from the evil he is indulging in. However, Allah required us to seek refuge with Him from the evil of Shaytan because he neither accepts bribe nor does kindness affect him because he is pure evil. Thus, only He, Who created Shaytan, is able to stop his evil." [See, Tafseer Ibn Katheer] Islam teaches us to seek refuge with Allah in certain situations, such as those mentioned in the following few pages:

The Messenger of Allah r said, "Whoever says in the morning,

"None has the right to be worshiped except Allah alone. He has no partners. To Him belongs the Dominion, to Him belongs all praise and He is over all things Omnipotent." ...has indeed gained the reward of freeing ten slaves from the children of Isma'eel and ten of his sins are wiped away and he is raised ten degrees and he has found a safe retreat from the Shaytan until evening. Similarly, if he says in the evening, he will be protected until the morning." [sahih Ibn Majah]

- 52 - turn your houses into graves. Indeed, Shaytan flees from a house in which surah al-Baqarah is recited." [sahih Muslim]

Sulayman ibn Sard t said, "I was sitting with Allah's Messenger r and two men were abusing each other. The face of one of them became red (out of anger) and his veins had became inflated. Allah's Messenger r said, "I know a word which, if he was to say, his anger would leave him. If he said,

"I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan - the Accursed," his anger would leave him." [Agreed upon]

- 53 - house and remembers Allah, the Exalted, upon entering and before eating, Shaytan says, 'There is no place for you to spend the night and there is no supper for you.' When he enters the house and does not remember Allah, Shaytan says, 'You have found a place to spend the night' and when he does not remember Allah upon eating his food, Shaytan says, 'You have found a place to stay and some supper.'" [sahih Muslim] The Messenger of Allah r has commanded us to protect our wealth by mentioning the name of Allah while locking doors and covering vessels. In sahih Muslim, it is narrated that Jabir ibn Abdullah (radhi allahu anhuma) said that the Messenger of Allah r said, "Lock your doors and mention the name of Allah, for the Shaytan cannot open a locked door. Seal your water skins and mention the name of Allah. Cover your vessels and mention the name of Allah, even if you lay something across the top of it, and extinguish your lamps."[sahih Muslim (3/1594, no. 2012)] Also, one should drink whilst

- 54 - up. It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet r saw a man drinking standing up. He said to him, "Hah!" The man asked, "What's the matter?" He said, "Would you like it if a cat drank with you?" He said, "No." He said, "Someone worse than that was drinking with you, the Shaytan." [As-Saheehah (1/175)] "When you are about to eat, you should say,

'In the Name of Allah (I begin)' …and if you forget to say it before starting, Then you should say (when you remember):

'In the Name of Allah in it's beginning and the end.' [See, sahih atTirmidhee (2/167)]

Jabir t said, "I heard the Prophet r say, "The Shaytan is present with one of you in everything that he does, even when he is eating. So if he drops a piece of food, let him remove any dirt that may be on it, then eat it, and not leave it for the Shaytan. And when he has finished eating, let him lick his fingers, for he does not know in which part of his food the blessing is." [sahih Muslim]

- 55 - kursi (surah 2: 255) till the end of the verse for there will remain over you a protection from Allah and no Shaytan will draw near to you until morning." [sahih al-Bukharee]

The Messenger of Allah r informed us, "Dreams are of three kinds; glad tidings from the Most Merciful, those which come from ones own self, and frightening (dreams) from Shaytan." [sahih ibn Majah (1/340, no.3154)] So, "If anyone of you has a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, so let him praise Allah for it and tell others about it. If he has something other than that, which he dislikes, that is from

- 56 - mention it to anyone, for it will not harm him." [sahih al-Bukharee] Abu Salamah said, "I used to see in my dream which would make me concerned until I heard Abu Qatadah say, "I used to have dreams which would make me ill until I heard Allah's Messenger r say, "The righteous dream is from Allah. If one of you sees what he loves then let him not inform anyone about it except one whom he loves. And if he sees what he dislikes, let him not inform anyone about it. Let him spit (drily) on his left three times and let him seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the accursed from the evil of what he saw and it will not harm him." [See, sahih Muslim (4/1772)]

Ibn Abbas t reports that the Prophet r said, "If one of you says, when approaching his wife (for intercourse),

"In the Name of Allah. O Allah! Make us distant from Shaytan and make Shaytan distant from what you bestow upon us." …then if it is decreed that they should have a child as a result of that, the Shaytan will never be able to harm it (i.e. the offspring)." [Agreed upon]

- 57 - "These places are inhabited by devils, so when any one of you enters the washroom, let him say,

"O Allah I see refuge with you from the male and female devils." [sahih Sunan Abu Dawood (1/4, no.4)]

Abdullah ibn Umar t said, "When the Prophet r used to enter the mosque he would say,

"I seek refuge with Allah the Mighty, with His Noble Face and with His Eternal Authority from Shaytan, the Accursed." He then said, "When (a man) says this, Shaytan says, 'He has been protected from me for the whole day.'" [sahih Abu Dawood]

- 58 - comes between me and my prayer and recitation of the Qur'aan, and he is confusing me." The Messenger r said, "that is a devil called Khinzab. If you notice that, then seek refuge with Allah from him, and spit drily to your left three times." (Uthman ibn abil-Aas) said, "I did that, and Allah took him away from me." [sahih Muslim]

Shaytan enters into the gaps in the rows and creates enmity between Muslims. The Prophet r said, "Stand close together, close the gaps and line up your shoulders, because, by Him who has my soul in His Hands, I see the Shaytan coming into the gaps between the rows, like a missile." [Abu Dawood] Know, that straightening of the rows in done by joining shoulder to shoulder and ankle to ankle as is known from Nu'man bin Basheer t who said, "The Prophet r turned around to the people and said, 'Straighten you rows (3 times) and Allah will bring together your ranks or (else) Allah will put differences into your hearts.' He said, 'I then saw a man putting his shoulder next to the shoulder of his companion, his knee to the knee of his companion and his ankle to his ankle." [Abu Dawood]

- 59 - Sa'eed al-Khudree on a Friday, praying towards something that screened him from the people. A young man from Bani Abi Mu'eet wanted to pass directly in front of him, and Abu Sa'eed pushed him in the chest. The young man looked but he did not find any way through except directly in front of Abu Sa'eed, so he tried again, and Abu Sa'eed again pushed him. Then Marwan came in and (the young man) complained about the treatment he had received from Abu Sa'eed. Abu Sa'eed met Marwan behind him and Marwan said, 'What is going on between you and your brother's son, O Abu Sa'eed?' He said, 'I heard the Messenger of Allah r say, 'If anyone of you prays towards something that screens him from the people, and someone wants to pass directly in front of him, let him push him back. If he insists then fight him, for he is nothing but a devil.' [sahih al-Bukharee (1/582, no.509)] Ibn Hajr said explained, "For he is nothing but a devil" "It may be that the meaning is that the one who is making him do that is a devil." Something similar is narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Ibn Umar where it says, "…for he has qareen (jinn-companion) with him." [Fath al-Baree (1/584)]