MAN'S ETERNAL ENEMY DEVIL

In the journey of human existence, few subjects are as profoundly consequential—yet as subtly understood—as the eternal struggle between mankind and its unseen adversary.

At the heart of this work lies a fundamental realization: human life on this earth is a purposeful testing ground. Unlike angels, whose nature is unyielding in obedience, or animals, who act on instinct without moral accountability, humanity is endowed with a unique and magnificent gift—free will. This freedom allows individuals to rise to heights surpassing the angels or fall to depths lower than the beasts. To calibrate this test, divine wisdom permitted the presence of Satan, an adversary whose hostility dates back to the creation of Adam.

Yet, this book is not merely a catalog of the adversary's stratagems; rather, it is a manual of spiritual awakening and empowerment. It meticulously examines how temptation operates not through coercion, but through whispers, appeals to the ego, and the exploitation of human vulnerabilities such as arrogance, haste, greed, and the fear of poverty. Crucially, the text reminds us that the stratagems of Satan are ultimately weak, possessing no real power over those who anchor themselves in divine protection, sincerity (ikhlas), and the guidance of the Prophetic tradition.

One of Satan's most dangerous stratagems is this: He confuses the imagination of disbelief with the affirmation of disbelief in some sensitive and pure-hearted people. He presents the conception of error as an affirmation of error. He shows them extremely ugly thoughts about holy figures and pure things. He presents inherent possibility as rational possibility, giving them a form of doubt that contradicts their certainty in faith. At that moment, that unfortunate, sensitive person imagines that they have fallen into error and disbelief, thinks that their certainty in faith has vanished, falls into despair, and becomes a plaything of Satan. Satan exploits both their despair, that weak point, and that confusion so much that they either go mad or say, "Whatever happens, happens," and fall into error.

We will briefly discuss here how baseless this stratagem of Satan is, as we have explained in some treatises. Just as the image of a snake in a mirror does not bite, the reflection of fire does not burn, and the image of filth does not defile, so too, in the mirror of imagination or thought, the reflections of disbelief and polytheism, the shadows of misguidance, and the images of foul and offensive words do not corrupt belief, alter faith, or violate respectful etiquette.

Because it is a well-known principle that: Imagining an insult is not an insult, just as imagining disbelief is not disbelief, and contemplating error is not error.

Sometimes, Satan, through the influence of his inner whispers on the heart, utters evil words about God. The person thinks that his heart is corrupted, which is why he says such things. He trembles. However, his trembling, fear, and lack of acceptance are proof that those words do not come from his heart, but rather from the influence of Satan, or are suggested and imagined by Satan.

Here is the refuge of the believer against the devil's earlier machinations: the truths of faith , whose boundaries are defined by the teachings of the pious and discerning scholars. And against his later machinations, it is to seek refuge in God and not give them importance. Because the more importance one gives them, the more they attract attention, grow, and swell. The antidote and balm for such spiritual wounds of the believer is the noble Sunnah.

For example, fire has a hundred beneficial consequences. However, some people, through their misuse of free will, make fire harmful to themselves, and therefore cannot say, "The creation of fire is evil."

Even though the creations of the devils, like the progress of humanity, have many wise consequences, one cannot say, "The creation of Satan is evil," simply because he was defeated by the devils through his own wrong choices and misguided actions. Rather, he brought evil upon himself through his own actions. Yes, since action is a partial involvement, it becomes the manifestation of a specific evil consequence; that evil action is evil. However, since creation looks at the general consequences, the creation of evil is not evil, but rather good.....

Just as the human ego prefers an immediate, readily available pleasure to a deferred, future, fleeting pleasure, it also fears an immediate slap more than a year of future torment. Furthermore, when emotions prevail in a person, they disregard the reasoning of the intellect. Desire and delusion rule, and they prefer the smallest, most insignificant immediate pleasure to a very great reward in the future. And they fear a small, immediate hardship more than a great, deferred torment in the future. This is because delusion, desire, and emotion do not see the future; perhaps they even deny it. Even if the ego assists, the heart and intellect, the seat of faith, remain silent and are defeated.

Therefore, committing major sins does not stem from a lack of faith, but rather from the triumph of feelings, desires, and delusions over reason and heart.

The path of evil and lust is very easy it leads to destruction. The devil, both human and jinn, quickly leads people down that path. It is truly astonishing that: while a light as small as a fly's wing in the eternal realm, according to the explicit hadith, is equivalent to all the pleasure and blessings a person receives from this world during their lifetime; some unfortunate people prefer the fleeting pleasures of this world to the pleasures of the eternal realm, which are worth more than this fleeting world, and follow Satan.

The essence of this truth is that devils, because they incite destruction, accomplish much evil with little effort. Therefore, those who walk the path of truth and guidance require great caution, intense avoidance, repeated warnings, and abundant support. For this reason, God Almighty, through these repetitions, offers His assistance to the believers with a thousand and one names, extending thousands of merciful hands to their aid. He does not diminish their honor, but rather protects it. 

God invites to eternal paradise and eternal happiness, while Satan invites to eternal unhappiness and eternal hell. If a person chooses what is good and right with the intellect and emotions given to them in this world, they will achieve beautiful results and begin to experience paradise even in this worldly life. Otherwise, if they choose the path of evil and disbelief, they will begin to experience hellish life even in this world. Notice those who are unhappy in this world; they are always those who follow the evil paths encouraged by Satan. Happy people, on the other hand, are those who have faith and possess the level of good morals recommended by Almighty God.