Part 22

Satan’s mockery of the people who neglect night prayer

When a person sleeps all night and never wakes to offer any rak‘ah for night prayer (salah al-Qiyam), Satan increases his attack on him. This is highlighted in a narration by Abdullah bin Mas‘ud 2 who said: “It was mentioned before the Prophet that a person had slept the whole

! Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. 2 Recorded by Abu Dawud. 3 Authenticated by al-Hakim and agreed by al-Dhahabi.

night until the morning — and never got up for prayer — so he # said: ‘Satan urinated in his ears’”'.

Al-Hafidh said that there were different opinions with regards to Satan’s urine:

Al-Qurtubi and others said the urine is real, because it was confirmed that Satan eats, drinks, has sexual intercourse, so there is nothing to prevent him from urinating.

It also means that Satan blocks the ears of the person in his sleep to prevent him from hearing adhan (the call for prayer).

It was also said that Satan whispers falsehood anid wrong doctrines in the ears of the sleeping person to prevent him from listening to the call for prayer.

Disturbing the Muslim’s sleep and saddening him

Among Satan’s evil acts — may Allah protect us from them — are nightmares he makes a Muslim see in his sleep to give him grief and pain. It was narrated that Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah # said: “A man came to the Prophet and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have seen in a dream that I was beheaded, and I was following it (the severed head)’. The Prophet # reprimanded him saying: ‘Do not inform about the vain sporting of the devil with you during the night.”””

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet 4 said: “There are three types of dream: A good true dream which is good tidings from Allah; what is suggested by Satan to frighten the dreamer, and the reflection of one’s thoughts and experiences. So if someone has a dream which he dislikes, he should not tell it to another, but should get up and offer a prayer.”?

' Recorded by al-Bukhari. ? Recorded by Muslim and Ibn Majah. > Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Abu Qatadah # said: “The Prophet % said: ‘A good vision is glad tidings from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan. So whoever sees something he dislikes in his dream, he should spit three times to his left, and seek refuge in Allah from Satan, so it will not harm him”'.

We understand from this Hadith that there are some recommended tules to be followed by the Muslim with regards to dreams:

If it is a good true dream, then he/she should praise Allah 8 for it, and may tell people he/she loves and not the ones he/she loathes.

If it is a bad dream, he/she should seek refuge in Allah 4¢ from its evil and from the evil of Satan; he/she should spit three times to his/her left; he should not mention it fo anyone, and it is recommended that he/she gets up to offer prayer.

Satan mocks the yawning person

Because yawning causes drowsiness and laziness, the person in this state is unable to offer religious obligations properly. Satan laughs at the yawning person because he/she usually does not look nice; the Prophet 4 said: “Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning, so if someone sneezes and then praises Allah, then it is obligatory on every Muslim who heard him to say: ‘May Allah be merciful to you (varhamuka-lah). But as regards yawning, it is from Satan, so one must try one’s best to stop it; if one says ‘Ha’ when yawning, Satan .

will laugh at him’?.

Abu Hurayrah @ reported that the Prophet # said: “When anyone of you starts yawning, he should put his hand to his mouth and avoid any

‘howling’ because Satan will laugh at him’.

Al-Hafidh said: “The Prophet 4 compared the sound that follows yawning with a dog’s howling to make it look so unpleasant, because the dog lifts his head, opens his mouth and howls; and the yawning ‘ Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

? Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. + Sunan Ibn Majah (1/310).

person, if he exceeds in yawning, he would resemble a dog in that state. This is the joke of Satan on mankind when he tums them into a doglike state.

Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri said: “The Prophet #% said: ‘When one of you yawns, he should try to restrain it with the help if his hand, since it is the Satan that enters therein”.

Al-Hafidh said: “It is possible that it is a true entry of Satan — i.e. although Satan circulates in the body of human like their bloodstream, he is still unable to control them as long as they are remembering Allah 48; but in the case of the yawning person, he is not remembering Allah at that state, so Satan is really able to enter his body...”?.

It is nice to mention in this context the Hadith, transmitted (Mursal)* by Yazid ibn al-Asam: “The Prophet 3 never ever yawned.”*

Where does Satan settle at night?

Abu Hurairah 2 said: “The Prophet # said: ‘When any one of you wakes up, he should clean his nostrils three times (with water), for Satan settles in them at night’.

Al-Hafidh said: “The surface meaning of this Hadith is that it happens to anyone who goes to bed; however, it might be for people who do not use prayer as a shield from the devil, as in the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah, or the one about mentioning Ayat al-Kursi: “...and Satan will not come near you”,

' Recorded by Muslim,

? Fath al-bari (10/612).

> A Hadith in which a man in the generation after the Companions quotes directly from the Prophet without mentioning the Comapnions from whom he received it. 4 Recorded by Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Bukhari in “al-tarikh” (History).

> Recorded by Muslim.

Some of Satan’s evil plans

Tbn Mas‘ud # said: “Satan went about many Muslim gatherings (people remembering Allah and discussing Islamic issues) and tried to create fitnah among them, but he failed; so he visited a gathering of people who were discussing worldly affairs, and caused a dispute between them until they fought each other. The people who remembered Allah 8 rose up and restrained them, so they dispersed.”"

Satan dispatches his army to create tribulation among people

Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah 4 said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Iblis places his throne on water and sends his detachments (to different parts) in order to put people on trial, and the most important figure in his eyes is one who is most notorious in sowing the seeds of dissension.””?

Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari # said: “In the morning, Satan sends his soldiers to the earth saying: He who misguides a Muslim person, I will crown him. A soldier would say: ‘I stayed with this man until he divorced his wife.’ Satan says: “He is about to marry again.’ A soldier would say: ‘I remained with this man until he fornicated.’ Satan replies: ‘You.’ A soldier would say: ‘I remained with this man until he drank wine.’ Satan replies: ‘You.’ A soldier would say: ‘I remained with this man until committed murder.’ Thereupon, Satan replies: ‘You, you.”?

Waswasah’ is a proof of Satan’s impotence

Satan deceives the disbeliever and guides him/her to commit all sorts of wrong-doings on earth, yet he fails to achieve the same with a true

' Recorded by Imam Ahmad.

? Recorded by Muslim.

* Transmitted by Ahmad, ibn Hibban and authenticated by al-Albani.

‘ Whispering which is done by Shaytan (Satan) when he tries to make people deviate.

believer. Therefore he can only whisper to him/her to make him/her deviate. When the Prophet 4 was asked about evil prompting; he % replied: “It is pure faith’.

Al-Nawawi said: “This means that the fact the Companions found it really difficult to talk about what their enticements (coming from the whispering of Satan) and their fear of it — let alone believing in it — is indeed a sign of the pure and complete faith in their hearts, without doubt.’?

Abu al-‘Ala’ said that ‘Uthman ibn Abi al-‘As came to the Prophet # and said: “Messenger of Allah, Satan intervenes between me and my prayer and my reciting of the Qur’an and confounds me’. Thereupon, the Prophet # said: ‘That is the doing of Satan, known by the name of Khinzab, so when you perceive its effect, seek refuge in Allah from it and spit three times to your left.’ I did that and Allah dispelled that

Abu Hurayrah 2 said: “The Prophet 4 said: ‘When one of you stands to offer prayer, Satan would come to him to confuse him until he would not know how many raka‘at he had offered; if anyone of you has such a thing, he should offer two prostrations of sahu (i.e. forgetfulness) while sitting (i.e. before giving salutations)”.

You should know that there are two entrances for Satan into your salah:

The first one is anything regarding the senses; like someone offering salah while hearing a loud voice or sound which distracts his/her mind, or looking at something that pleases you such as ofnaments and decorations, etc. This could be dealt with by removing them before you start salah; it was narrated by ‘Aishah 2 that the Prophet % once

Recorded by Muslim, on the authority of Abdullah bin Mas’ud #. 2 Sharh Muslim (2/154).

3 Recorded by Muslim

* Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim

offered prayer while he was wearing a khamis (shirt) that had printed marks. He looked at its marks and when he finished prayer, he said: “Take this khamis to Abu Jahm, for it has just now diverted my attention from my prayer, and bring to me the anbijania (plain thick sheet) of Abu Jahm.”!

Ibn ‘Abbas .& reported that the Prophet 3 was standing at the pulpit with a ring in his hands, so he threw it, saying to the audience: “It distracts me; I was making one look at you and one look at it.” Al-‘Traqi said that the Hadith’s chain of authorities is sound.

It is for this reason that the scholars disliked adoring the mosques because it distracts worshippers in their salah. Ibn Khuzayma reported that ‘Umar bin al-Khattab # ordered the construction of mosques and said: “Shelter people from rain, but do not use any colouring, because it would distract people and cause a fitnah during their salah.” Imam Ahmad added: “And nothing should be written in the Qiblah lest it would distract the heart of people offering prayer.

The second one concerns the heart; whoever allows himself to be absorbed by the love of worldly life, he would not be able to free himself from thinking of it, neither in salah nor in any other situation, because whoever loves something dearly, he is naturally pondering about it excessively. You would see him offering salah; standing, sitting and prostrating while his heart is fully distracted with his love for life, at the mercy of the devil who is taking him from one river to another, and from one idea to another.