Who is the Satan and in what ways he approaches human?

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The Satan is a kind of spiritual being that has no ability for goodness and
constantly does evil. We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind.
(Al-Hijr Surah, 15:27) The original name of Iblis (The Satan) was Azazeel. He has
the names of Iblis and the Satan after he rejected to prostrate to Adam (PBUH) and
did this deed just out of proud.

The greatest impediment before mans spiritual progress, in his performing the duty
of slavery for Allah (SWT), is the Satan. In the Holy Quran, the Satan is
characterized as aduvv-u mubin namely an evident foe. Allah Almighty in a number of
verses calls believers to take refuge in Allah (SWT) from the Satan.

The greatest aim of the Satan is to make people irreligious, atheist. If he cannot
achieve that, he leads them to polytheism. The Satan is not contented with making
them polytheists, makes them ruthless polytheists. Besides, he tries to make him a
man of cause who strives on this evil way constantly. This is his final goal. For
if a polytheist who is not a man of cause is his slave, those who are strictly
motivated on that are his close companions.

The Satan keeps adopting different ways for the believers who choose goodness. When
he understands that he cannot do harm to the faith of a believer, he tries to
tackle with his prayers this time and wishes him to be a believer who does not pray
as stated. If he cannot achieve that again, he wants him to be contended with farz
(the worship which is necessarily must be performed) and keep away from sunnah (the
deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and nafil (worship which is not
compulsory; voluntary). If he cannot achieve that either, he wants him to be
engaged in personal worship and stand away from telling others anything religious.
He instills this idea into believers that everybody is responsible for their
actions.

The Satan applies to a number of tricks to swerve them from the right path. Below
are some of these tricks and intrigues:

1. Lust and anger: These two are the greatest means for the Satan to be influential
on man. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) announced, The Satan circulates in
human body like the blood circulates in the body. Restrict his ways through hunger
(fasting). Because it is lust that the Satan is able to approach through. Hunger
kills lust.

2. Envy and greed: A greedy person becomes blind to see true and deaf to hear the
truth.

3. Desire: The Satan makes man love those, which he desire through hypocricy, and
tricks. Then things he aspires after become his god.

4. Hastiness: Man cannot find any occasion for contemplation. The Satan at that
moment can induce doubt into him.

5. The fear of poverty: This fear keeps man away from charity and encourages him to
pile up his property.

6. Bigotry: One of the gates that the Satan gets to the heart through is to show
contempt and make them cherish hatred towards the other Muslims who are not of the
same way of belief as himself.

7. Disagreement

8. Suspicion: One of the gates for the Satan is to get into the hearts of people,
of whom minds have been narrower because of their ignorance, heedlessness, and
committing sins, and is to make them suspicious about the religious matters that
they cannot comprehend.

9. To think ill of other people: When someone starts to think ill of somebody, the
Satan leads this person to backbiting about him or leads him not to follow his
rights. He (the Satan) makes him contemptuous of the other person.

The tricks, scruples, and the influence methods of the Satan certainly do not
consist of these we have counted above. They take quite different forms as to
persons, eras, and conditions.

16-05-2006 11:00:00