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Sunday 24 October 2010

Whispers from the Shaytaan

A waswasa is disturbing that maybe the rules of shirk which apply in this world do not apply in the universe. Somewhere else in the universe there might be a place where the dead can hear and help, where going to the graves is a form of worship etc. Please help me with to fight this waswasa.

Praise be to Allaah.
One of the means that the Shaytaan uses to misguide people is by casting doubts and whispers (waswaas) into their hearts. The Messenger of Allaah peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has warned us against some of these things. It says in the hadeeth: “The Shaytaan comes to any 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 to you, seek refuge with Allaah and give up these thoughts.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 3277

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught us two important things:
1 – To turn to Allaah and seek His protection, and to beseech Him, for He is the most Generous:
“And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytaan (Satan), then seek refuge with Allaah”
[al-A’raaf 7:200 – interpretation of the meaning]
2 – To put a stop to this matter and turn away from it, and to keep ourselves busy with other, useful things.

The companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to him complaining about the doubts and waswaas that they were suffering. In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Some of the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to him and said, ‘We find in our hearts things that none of us dares utter.’ He said, ‘Do you really find that?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘That is clear faith.’” (2/153).

What is meant by his saying ‘That is clear faith’ is that their hatred of that waswasah and their rejecting it was a clear sign of faith.
The Shaytaan only whispers to people of faith; as for the kaafir he comes to him however he wants and does not limit himself to waswaas, rather he toys with him however he wishes.

The belief concerning which there can be no doubt is that the entire universe, from its heights to its depths, is in a state of submission to Allaah and no one in the universe possesses any power. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say: (O Muhammad to polytheists, pagans) Call upon those whom you assert (to be associate gods) besides Allaah, they possess not even an atom’s (or a small ant’s) weight either in the heavens or on the earth, nor have they any share in either, nor there is for Him any supporter from among them.

Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits”
[Saba’ 34:22-23]
This crafty enemy is keen to misguide people and to make them doubt. The more you seek the help of Allaah, learn about your enemy and be prepared to face him, the more you will be victorious over him. If you know your true enemy, the following are the weapons at your disposal.

Firstly:
Adherence to the Qur’aan and Sunnah in word and deed, and keeping away from the paths of misguidance, for on every path there is a devil calling people to it. So you should follow the beliefs, words, acts of worship and laws that have come from Allaah and abstain from that which He has forbidden. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Enter perfectly in Islam (by obeying all the rules and regulations of the Islamic religion)”
[al-Baqarah 2:208]
Silm (translated here as Islam) refers to Islam. Muqaatil interpreted it as doing all kinds of good and righteous deeds.
Whoever gives up any part of Islam has followed in some of the footsteps of the Shaytaan.

Adhering to the Qur’aan and Sunnah in word and deed expels the Shaytaan annoys him greatly. Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah: “When the son of Adam recites a verse of sajdah and prostrates, the Shaytaan withdraws weeping, saying, ‘Woe to me, the son of Adam was commanded to prostrate, and he prostrated, so Paradise will be his; I was commanded to prostrate and I disobeyed, so Hell will be mine.’” Narrated by Muslim, no. 133.

Secondly:
Seeking refuge with Allaah from all kinds of evil and turning to Him. Islam teaches us to seek refuge with Allaah in certain situations, such as the following:
When entering the washroom: “Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika min al-khubthi wa’l-khabaa’ith (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from the male and female devils).”
When one is angry: “A’oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan).”

When having intercourse: “Bismillaah Allaahumma jannibna al-shaytaan wa jannib al-shaytaana ma razaqtana (In the name of Allaah, O Allaah, keep the Shaytaan away from us and keep the Shaytaan away from that which You may bless us with).”
When stopping in a place: “A’oodhu bi kalimaat-Allaah il-taammah min sharri ma khalaqa (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from the evil of that which He has created).”

When hearing the braying of a donkey: “A’oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan).”
When starting to read Qur’aan: “A’oodhu Billaah il-samee’ il-‘aleem min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytaan).”

After starting to pray: “A’oodhu Billaah il-samee’ il-‘aleem min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem wa min hamzihi wa nafakhihi wa nafthihi (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytaan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry).”

The best words with which we may seek refuge with Allaah are al-Mi’wadhatayn i.e., Soorat al-Falaq and Soorat al-Naas. It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you not see the verses that were revealed to me tonight, the like of which have never been seen? Qul ‘aoodhu bi Rabb il-falaq and Qul ‘aoodhi bi rabb il-naas.” Narrated by Muslim, 814.

Thirdly:
Keeping busy with dhikr, for this is the greatest thing that may protect a person. In the hadeeth it says that Allaah commanded Yahya (peace be upon him) to enjoin five things upon the Children of Israel, one of which was: “I command you to remember Allaah, for this is like a man who is being pursued by the enemy, then he comes to a strong fortress and saves himself from them. Similarly a man cannot save himself from his enemy except by means of dhikr.” Narrated by al-Haafiz Abu Moosa al-Madani in al-Targheeb fi’l-Khisaal al-Hameedah wa’l-Tarheeb min al-Khilaal al-Murdiyyah. Ibn al-Qayyim said: Shaykh al-Islam used to regard this hadeeth highly, and I heard that he used to say: “The evidence for its being sound is quote clear.” al-Waabil al-Sayyib, 60.

Fourthly:
Adhering to the main body of the Muslims (the jamaa’ah) by living in a Muslim land and choosing righteous friends who will help him to do good. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever among you wants to attain the best part of Paradise, let him adhere to the main body of the Muslims, for the Shaytaan is with the one who is alone but he is farther away from two.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2254. Al-Qaari’ said: its isnaad is saheeh. Al-Mubaarakfoori said: The entire hadeeth is either saheeh or hasan. Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 6/320.

Fifthly:
Opposing the Shaytaan, for he may come in the form of someone offering sincere advice, so we must go against him. For if he were really good he would be good to himself first, but he has caused himself to be doomed to Hell. So if he comes to you whilst you are praying, and says, “You are showing off (so cut your prayer short),” then make your prayer lengthy. If he says, “You have broken your wudoo’,” say, “You are lying”. If he says to you that the dead can hear you and benefit you or harm you, tell him, “You are lying.” When you eat, be different from him and eat and drink with your right hand, and take food with your right hand. This even applies to taking a siesta, as it says in the hadeeth: “Take a siesta for the devils do not take a siesta.” Narrated by Abu Na’eem with a saheeh isnaad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4/147.

Even with regard to a piece of food that falls to the ground, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Pick it up and do not leave it for the Shaytaan…” Narrated by Muslim, 12, al-Adaab.

Sixthly:
Repenting and seeking Allaah’s forgiveness. According to the hadeeth the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Shaytaan said to the Lord of Glory: ‘By Your Glory O Lord, I will keep trying to misguide Your slaves so long as their souls are in their bodies.’ The Lord said, ‘By My Glory and Majesty, I will continue to forgive them so long as they ask My forgiveness.’” Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2/32
So man should always be in a state of repentance and turning to Allaah. They have an example in their father Adam (peace be upon him):
“Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers”
[al-A’raaf 7:23 – interpretation of the meaning]

These are some of the means that will help you to ward off this waswaas. We ask Allaah the Almighty, by His most beautiful names and sublime attributes to grant us refuge from the madness of the devils and from their traps and whispers. Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds.

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