the whispering of shatan

[julie]

Whispering of Shytaan, The Accursed

Fatawa Arkanul Islam
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Uthaymeen (Rahimallah) Pgs. 55-60

Question:
There is a man who suffers from the whisperings of Shaytan. He whispers things to him that are great sins, concerning Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful and he is very much afraid of this; what is the advice of your eminence?
Answer:
Regarding what has been mentioned concerning the problem of the questioner, which is that he fears the result of it, I say to him: Rejoice at the good news that there will be no result from it except a good result. This is the whispering by which Shaytan assails the believers in order to upset the sound belief in their hearts and to cause them sprirtual and mental agitation and disturb the serenity of their faith, indeed the serenity of their lives, if they are believers.

He is not the 1st among the people of faith to be confronted by this situation, nor is he the last, for it will continue as long as there is a believer in the world; and this same situation confronted the Sahabahs ( radiallahu anhum), for it was reported o n the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radiallahu anhu) that he said:

“Some people from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah came to the Rasool ( alayhi salatul wasalam) and said to him, ‘Verily we perceive in our minds that which every o ne of us considers too grave to express’.

He (alayhi salatul wasalam) said:
“Do you really perceive it?

“They said: “Yes”. Upon this he (alayhi salatul wasalam) remarked:
“That is true faith.” *

* [(It was reported by Muslim in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter of Explanation of the (evil) whispering regarding Faith (132)]

In the Two Sahihs , it is also narrated from Abu Hurayrah ( radiallahu anhu) that the Rasool (alayhi salatul wasalam) said:

“Satan may come to anyone of you and say: ‘Who created such and such? Who created such and such?’ until he says, ‘Who created your Lord?’ So, when he inspires such a question, o ne should seek refuge w/Allah and give up such thoughts.” *

* (Reported by Bukhari in the Book of Beginning of Creation, in the Chapter: The description of Iblis and his Legions (3276) and it was reported by Muslim in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter o n the Description of the (evil) Whispering regarding Faith (134).

It is reported o n the authority of Ibn Abbas (radiallahu anhu) that a man came to the Rasool (alayhi salatul wasalam) and said: “Oh, Messenger of Allah! o ne of us has thoughts of such a nature that he would rather be reduced to charcoal than speak about them.” The Rasool ( alayhi salatul wasalam) said:
“All praise and thanks be to Allah who has reduced his matter (shaytan’s guile) to (evil) whispering.” *

*(It was reported by Abu Dawud in the Book of Good Manners, in the Chapter: Regarding the response to (evil) Whispering (5112) and by Imam Ahmed in Al-Musnad (1:340)

Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah (rahimallah ) said in the Book of Faith:
“The believer is put to trial by the whispering of Satan, the whispering of kufr which causes him distress, as the Companions (radiallahu anhum) said: “Oh Messenger of Allah! o ne of us has thoughts within himself of such a nature that he would rather fall down from the heaven than speak of them.” The Rasool ( alayhi salatul wasalam) said:

“That is true faith”

And in another narration: “he considers it too grave to express.” He (alayhi salatul wasalam) said:

“All praise and thanks are Allah’s who has reduced his (shaytan) intrigue to (evil) whispering)”

That is, the occurence of his whispering along with this great hatred for it and repelling it from the heart is a part of true faith, like the warrior in Allah’s Cause who met the enemy and fought him until he overcame him, for that is a great Jihad up to his words.

This why the seekers of knowledge and worship are assailed by whispering and uncertainty which do not afflict another, b/c he (the other) does not follow the Law of Allah and His way; rather, he follows his own desires, heedless of the rememberance of his Lord and this is the goal of Shaytan, as opposed to those who turn towards their Lord with knowledge and (acts of ) worship, for he is their enemy and he seeks to prevent them from (worshipping) Allah, the Most High.

So, I say to this questioner: o nce it is clear to you that this whispering is from Shaytan, then you must struggle and stand against it, know that it will never harm you as long as you undertake the necessary struggle, reject it and cease thinking about it. The Rasool (alayhi salatul wasalam) said:

“Allah has forgiven what is whispered in the hearts of my followers, unless they put it into action or utter it.” *

*(Reported by Bukhari in the Book of Manumission, in the Chapter: Error and Forgetfulness in Manumission and Divorce (2528) and by Muslim in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter: Allah has forgiven what is whispered in heart (127)

And if it is said to you:

Do you believe what is whispered to you? And do you think it is the truth? And is it possible to describe Allah, the Most Glorified by it? You would say: It is not for us to speak of this; Glorified are You (Oh Allah), this is a great lie! You would reject it with your heart and by your words; and of the people, you would flee further than any of them from it. Then it is, o nly whispering and perils displayed to your heart, and a window to polythesim from Shaytan, who courses throughout the human body as blood courses through it, in order to destroy and obscure your deen for you.

This is why you find that Shaytan does not place doubt or rejection about trivial things in your heart, so you hear for example, of the existence of large and important cities filled w/residents and buildings in the east and west and yet doubt their existence never o*nce crossed your mind, nor regarding their faults, such as that their buildings are destroyed or are unfit for habitation or that there are no occupants in them and so o n. There is no goal for Shaytan in making man kind doubt such things. But Shaytan’s important great goal is destroying the faith of the believer, so he strives by his horse, and o n o n foot, to extinguish the light of knowledge and guidance in o ne’s heart and to cause him to fall into the darkness of doubt and uncertainty.

The Rasool (alayhi salatul wasalam) explained the beneficial medicine which contains a cure for this:

“Then let him seek refuge with Allah and cease doing it.”

If a person ceases doing that and continues to worship Allah, seeking & desiring that which is with Allah, it will stop troubling him, by Allah’s Power. So, avoid all suppositions which pass through your heart o n this subject and worship Allah, supplicate to Him and glorfiy Him, and if you heard anyone describing Him with what was whispered to him, you would kill him if you could. Therefore, what is whispered is not a fact; rather it is simply thoughts and whisperings which have no basis. Like in the case of someone wearing a clean garment which he has just washed and then he is assailed by thoughts that maybe it is impure, and maybe it is not permissble to pray in it, but he should pay no heed to this.

And my advice may be summarized as follows:

1. Seek protection with Allah and completely stop these suppositions as the Rasool (alayhi salatul wasalam) ordered us to do.

2. Mention Allah, the Most High and restrain yourself from this whisperings.

3. Wholehearted dedication to worship and acting in accordance with the Command of Allah and seeking His Pleasure, for when you give worship your undivided attention with earnestness and striving, you will forget about occupying yourself with this whispering, Inshallah.

4. Seeking refuge with Allah much and asking Him to protect you from this thing.And I ask Allah, the Most High for protection for you and safety from every evil and every destable thing.

[islamica]

Shaytaan has no power

Shaytaan has no power over the believers, but he is able to gain control over those who accept his ideas and who follow him willingly. Allah said to Iblees when he avowed to mislead the children of Adam, 'Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the Ghaawoon (Mushrikun and those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evildoers).' [Surah al-Hijr (15): 39-42] and it is mentioned in Surah an-Nahl (16): 99-100, 'Verily! He (Shaytaan) has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord (Allah). His power is only over those who obey and follow him (Shaytan), and those who join partners with Him (Allah).'

Shaytaan can, thus do no more than call people to misguidance and make it look attractive to them. He has no power over them to force them into doing what he wants. People who respond to his call do so because it suits their whims and desires. So blame is attached only to those who respond to him. Allah says, '(on the Day of Resurrection) His Qareen (jinn companion) will say, 'Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression, (in disbelief, oppression, and evil deeds), but he was himself in error far astray.' Allah will say, 'Dispute not in front of Me, I had already in advance sent you the threat. The Sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed, and I am not unjust to the slaves.' [Surah al-Qaaf (50): 27-29]

Ibn Katheer said, 'His companion (qareen) will say' Ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhu), Mujahid, Qatadah and others said, 'this refers to the Shaytaan who is appointed to accompany him. 'Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression' means, he will disown that person on the Day of Judgment, and will say, 'Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression' meaning, I did not lead him astray. 'but he was himself in error far astray' means, he was misguided in himself, receptive to falsehood and resistant to the truth as Allah says elsewhere, 'And Shaytan will say when the matter has been decided, 'Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except that I called you, and you responded to me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I deny your past acts of associating me as a partner with Allah (i.e., Shirk by obeying me in the life of the world). Verily, there is a painful torment for the Zaalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers).' [Surah Ibraheem (14): 22]

The phrase 'Dispute not in front of Me' refers to what Allah will say to the human and his companion from among the jinn, when they dispute before Him, and the human says, 'O Lord, this one led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me' and the devil will say, 'Our Lord! I did not push him to transgression, (in disbelief, oppression, and evil deeds), but he was himself in error far astray' i.e., from the path of truth. Allah will say, 'Dispute not in front of Me' meaning, in My presence. I had already in advance sent you the threat' means, I sent the warning on the lips of the Messengers, and I sent down the Books, so proof and evidence was established against you. 'The Sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed' Mujahid said, this means I have passed My judgment. 'and I am not unjust to the slaves' means, I do not punish anyone for the sin of another, and I only punish a person for his sin after proof has been established against him.' [Tafseer Ibn Katheer (4/227)]