Enmity Between Satan and Mankind
Source: Email I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan (Satan)
Shaytaan is the fountainhead of evil and harm. He is a leader for the destruction of this life and the next. He raises his banner at every incident and every place, waiting to deceive man and misguide him. He calls people to disbelief and disobedience of The Merciful - the sins for which he himself is guilty of. There is great wisdom behind the creation of Shaytaan, for the existence and test of mankind would be incomplete without him.
Who is Shaytaan?
In order to understand the enmity between man and Shaytaan, it is necessary firstly to know who Shaytaan is, and secondly, to recount the events which lead to this enmity. Shaytaan, which Allah mentioned to us many times in the Quran, is from the world of the Jinn.
" He was one of the jinn " [Al-Quran 18:50]
The Jinn are created from "smokeless fire" [55:15]. Allah also mentions in the Quran that "We created the jinn before from the fire of hot wind" [5:27]. Allah has given the jinn including Shaytaan the power and ability that He has not given to humans, such as great speed and movement without restriction of time and space, physical ability, intelligence and skill (for instance their knowledge in building other crafts; see Surah Saba, verses 12-13, and also the ability to take on other shapes and forms. He has a mind, ability to understand, he moves and so forth. Allah compares the branches of the tree of Zaqum in Hell to the head of devils. It is mentioned before that he is one of Allah's creation. In Sahih Muslim it is mentioned that Satan has two horns.
Another very important fact about the creation of Jinn is the purpose for which Allah created them.
" And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind
except that they should worship Me (Alone) " [Al-Quran 51:56]
From this ayah we realize that the purpose of the existence of Jinn is the very same purpose for which man was created: to worship Allah. We also know that Shaytaan was an obedient Jinn who used to worship Allah so much that he was permitted the company of the angels in the skies. "He entered Paradise", but very soon afterwards he was expelled from Jannah due to an act of bold and outrageous disobedience to Allah which we will discuss later, Insha Allah.
The jinn, like mankind, have been given the right and freedom to choose to obey or disobey Allah. It is this very freedom that Shaytaan misused which resulted in his mis-directed hostility towards man. This behaviour of his was the reason why Allah cursed him. A deeper look into the event follows.
The Enmity Between Shaytaan and Mankind
The enmity between humans and Shaytaan is rooted in an incident that took place a long time ago. One must go back to the day that Allah created Adam. After Allah fashioned Adam and breathed into him His spirit, He commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam (a.s). Iblees was worshipping Allah with the angels so he was included in the command. But he refused and was haughty and was not of those who prostrated. When Allah asked him why he had refused to prostrate, he replied, 'I am better than him. You created me from fire and You created him from clay.' He was arrogant and he was cast out of Paradise due to his pride but he took a promise from Allah to be left alive till the Day of Judgement so that he could prove his superiority over mankind by leading them astray and plotting against them. Here is the hidden reason why there is an enmity between Satan and man. Allah clearly warns man:
" Verily, Shaitan is to man an open enemy! " [Al-Quran 12:5]
We can read about the story of Adam (a.s) and Iblees in Surah Al-'Araaf from verse 11 onwards and in Surah Al-Baqarah verses 30 to 39 (and also at various other places in the Quran).
What is his Goal or Aim?
The goals of Shaytaan can be divided in two:
- Long term goal.
- Short term goal.
Shaytaan's Long-term Goal:
Shaytaan has one long-term goal. It is his ultimate ambition. This goal is to see humans thrown into Hellfire and that they are prevented from entering The Paradise.
" He (Shaytaan) only invites his Hizb (followers) that they
may become dwellers of the blazing Fire " [Al-Quran 35:6]
Shaytaan's Short-term Goals:
To get the slave involved in disbelief and idolatry
This is done by calling people to worship beings or idols other than Allah. Shaytaan calls the people to worship to disbelief in Allah and to disobey His commands.
" (Their allies deceived them) Like Shaytaan, when he says to man: 'Disbelieve' (in Allah). But when (man) disbelieves (in Allah), Shaytaan says: 'Verily, I am free of you, I fear Allah, the Lord of the Alamin!' (mankind, jinn and all that exists)" [Al-Quran 59:16]
The consequences of this goal are the same as that of the previous goal if a person should die in a state of unbelief.
If Shaytaan cannot involve the person in unbelief, he leads him to innovations and heresies
Sufiyaan Ath-Thawree stated, "Heresy is more beloved to Shaytaan than sins." This is because heresies involve disobedience towards Allah as well as the firm belief that the person (who is doing these innovations or heresy think that he) is doing something good. This is a very dangerous combination, as it then becomes very difficult to take that person away from that innovation. [Jamaal-al-Din Zarabozo: "Innovations and Islaam 1: The meaning of Bid'ah", Al-Basheer Magazine, (Vol.1, No.4, November 1987)]
If he is not able to lead them to disbelief, he leads them to sins
If he is not able to lead the servant to idolatry or disbelief, Shaytaan does not despair. He then becomes pleased with things that are less than that, such as sins and disobedience to Allah. He will cause enmity and hatred to occur between humans and he will incite them against each other. In Surah Al-Baqarah verse 169 Allah mentions that Shaytaan enjoins every evil,
" He (Shaytaan) enjoins upon you only the evil and the foul, and that you should say concerning Allah that which you know not " [Al-Quran 2:169]
In sum , Shaytaan hates any action that is loved by Allah and Shaytaan loves every act of disobedience that is hated by Allah The Merciful.
Blocking the servant from obeying Allah
It is not sufficient for him to call people to disbelief, idolatry and evil deeds. He also tries to block the way to any good deed. There is no path of goodness that man may follow except that he sits there, lurking and waiting to turn mankind away.
It is stated in a Hadith that (the jist of which is), Shaytaan sits in all the paths of the children of Adam. He sits in the path to Islaam and says, ' Will you embrace Islaam and leave the religion of your fathers and grandfathers?' The man disobeys him and embraces Islaam. Then he sits in the path to migration (hijra) and says, ' Will you migrate and leave your native land? The emigrant is like one on an arduous journey.' The man disobeys him and migrates. Then Satan sits in the path to jihad and says, ' The struggle is with your life and wealth. If you will be killed and your wives will marry others and your wealth will be distributed.' He disobeys him and makes jihad. Whoever does that has the right upon Allah to enter Paradise. And who is killed has the right upon Allah to enter Paradise. And whoever drowns has the right upon Allah to enter Paradise. And whoever has his neck broken by his animal has the right upon Allah to enter Paradise. [Sahih Hadith, recorded by An-Nasai 3083, Ahmad 15392, and Ibn Habban]
The above mentioned Hadith is confirmed by Allah's saying in the Quran concerning Shaytaan, a translation of which is below :
" (Iblees) said: Because You have sent me astray, surely I shall lurk in ambush for them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them, and from their right and from their left, and You shall not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You) " [Al-Quran 7:16-17]
The statement, I shall sit for them on Your Path," could either mean, I shall cling to Your Path (to misguide them)," or "I shall keep them from Your Path," or "I shall make them deviate from it."
The early scholars have explained this Straight Path in different ways but all of their explanations, though, are quite similar and consistent. Ibn Abbas said that it is the clear religion. Ibn Mas'ood said it is the Book of Allah. Jabbir called it Islaam, while Mujahid said it is "The Truth".
Shaytaan does not leave any path to good except that he sits there to turn people away from it.
Ruining the Acts of Obedience to Allah
If Shaytaan is not able to block the way to acts of disobedience, then he will do his best to ruin the act of worship by making it such that the person will not receive any reward for that action.
A companion came to the Prophet (s.a.w) and said (a jist of which is), "Verily, Shaytaan comes between me and my prayer and my recitation of the Quran and confuses me." The Prophet said, "That is the Shaytaan/devil called Khanzab. If you feel that occurring to you, seek refuge in Allah from him and spit on your left side three times." The companion said he did so and Allah took the devil away from him. [Sahih Muslim, Kitab us Salam. Hadith No 4083]
When the Muslim begins his prayer, Shaytaan comes to him and whispers to him and makes his mind busy with the affairs of this life rather than obedience to Allah. In Sahih Muslim [Kitab As-Salah. Hadith No 585] it is recorded that the Prophet said (a jist of which is), Definitely when Shaytaan hears the call to prayer, he turns his back and flees, noisily breaking wind in order not to hear the call. After the call is over he returns to those who are about to pray. When the second call (al-iqaama) is made, he again flees and noisily breaks wind in order not to hear the call. Again when the call is over, he returns to (the people praying) and whispers to them (to distract them from prayer)."
Every Disobedience to The Merciful is Obedience to Shaytaan
Everything that is worshipped instead of Allah, be it statues, idols, the sun, the moon, one's desires, another human, some ideology or whatever, is actually the worship of Shaytaan. This is true whether the person is pleased with the fact or denies it, because it was Shaytaan that ordered and sought that action.
Conclusion
What we can conclude is that Shaytaan orders and encourages every evil and strives his best for evil; he tries to forbid every good and, in fact, he fears every good deed. Another significant deduction is that the enmity of Shaytaan will not change or abate because he is convinced that his curse and expulsion from the Garden was because of our father, Adam (a.s), and that he is bound to take revenge on Adam (a.s) and his descendants. We must remember that Shaytaan only whispers and suggests, he has no ability or power to force man to indulge in sin. What man must do is use his free will to choose to obey Allah and stay on guard not to fall prey to the deceptions of his enemy, Shaytaan.
Bibliography
Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan. Interpretation of the meanings of The Noble Qur'an.
Mustafa Ashour, The Jinn in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Dr. Umar Sulaiman Al-Ashqar, The World of the Jinn and Devils.
The Fountain Magazine. 1998, Vol.2, No.22, p.39.
