ASALAAM ALAIKUM WA RAHMATULLAHI WA BARAKATUH…
I PRAY THIS MESSAGE FINDS EVERYONE IN THE BEST OF HEALTH,
HAPPINESS AND INCREASING IMAAN. I KNOW THIS MAIL IS LONG, BUT YOU HAVE TO READ THIS…IT IS A STORY ABOUT THE PROPHET SALLALAHU ALAIHIWASALLAM’S ENCOUNTER W/ THE SHAITAN
IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS COMPANIONS WHILE THEY WERE SITTING IN A CONGREGATION
AT ABU AYYUB’S (RA) HOUSE…ASALAAM ALAIKUM WA RAHMATULLAHI WA BARKATUH
THE STORY OF THE VISIT OF SATAN, THE ACCURSED
This story reaches us from two sources. In our Efendi’s
Irshad is a
hadith
through Hazrat Anas ibn Malik (RA). In the last chapter of
Hazrat
muhyiddin
ibn Arabi’s book Shajarat al-kawn, “The Tree of Being”, is a
version
derived
from a hadith related by Mu’adh ibn Jabal from Hazrat Anas.
It is given
below, supplemented by additional information from Hazrat
Anas’ report.Sayyid Sharif Jurjani interprets Sharjarah in the title of
Hazrat Ibn
Arabi’s book as “The Perfect Man” and kawn as “the scale of
Being to
which
all beings should be compared for their qualification.” The
work
describes
the Perfect Man, Allah’s Beloved and ours, the Light of
Creation,
Prophet
Mohammad (Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam). InshaAllah one day it
will be
translated for the benefit and growth of my ikhwan and the
family of
the Path
and Islam. In the meantime, this story with which we are
partly
familiar
seemed to me most instructive. May Allah forgive me if I
verbalize
wrongly
but it seemed to me as if it is giving the raw material to
the ones who
wish
and hope to become perfect men.From us the humble retelling, from Allah the Understanding.
One day a congregation was gathered at the home of one of
the Ansar
around
the Prophet(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam). (According to
Hazrat Anas it
was Abu
Ayyub) In the middle of a wonderful discourse an ugly voice
from
the outside was heard saying, “O the ones inside, (or , “O
Messenger of
Allah!”) would you permit me to enter? I have business with
you!”All looked at the Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam), who
said to
the ones
present, “Do you recognize the owner of this voice?”The Companions answered, “Allah and His Messenger know best”
The
Prophet
(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) said, “It is Satan the
Accursed.”On hearing that, Hazrat Umar (RA), who was present, pulling
his sword,
asked
“O Messenger of Allah, permit me to go and cut off his
head!” (“Let me
smash
his skull and free the people from his trouble!”)The Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) replied, “No Umar,
don’t you
know
that you cannot kill him? He has permission to exist until
Qiyaamah.”
Then he added, "Open the door and admit him, as he did not
come on his
own
but on Allah’s orders. (Or, “There is always an underlying
reason for
things.
Otherwise, he would not have come here. Listen to what he
says, and
try to
understand.”Then Rawi (RA), one of the Companions, relates the
tale. "They opened
the
door and he appeared ion front of us as an old man, cross-
eyed(or blind
in
one eye) and scant of beard, with only six or seven long
hairs hanging
from
his chin. He had a very big head, his crossed eyes close to
the top of
his
head, high on his forehead, with big thick hanging lips like
those of a
water
buffalo. He saluted the Prophet and the Companions, to which
the
Prophet(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) responded, ‘O Accursed,
the salaam
and
salutations belong to Allah Most high.’ Then he said, ‘I
heard you are
here
on business. What is it?’"Satan said, ‘I did not wish to come here, I was forced to -
an angel
came
to me from your Lord, who honors whom he wishes, and
said, “Allah Most
High
orders you to Muhammad, but you will go to him in humility
and
abasement, and
be submissive and tractable. You will tell him how you
seduce and
mislead
humankind. You are going to answer all his questions
truthfully,
without a
single lie.” And Allah said that if I lied to you He
would turn me into ashes and blow me away in the wind, and
my enemies
would
laugh at me. I come with such orders, O Muhammad.’"Then the Prophet asked the Devil, ‘Tell me, who in the
creation do
you hate
most?’"The Devil answered, ‘you O Muhammad! (“And all the
Prophets”) There
is no
one in the whole creation that I hate more. There is none
other like
you.’“The Messenger of Allah(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam)
(confirmed that the
Devil
was his own, and all the Prophets(Alayhimus Salaam) greatest
foe).
He asked, ‘Whom else do you detest besides me?’” Satan
said. 'The
young ones
who have given up their pleasures and themselves for Allah’s
sake; the
men of
knowledge who act upon their knowledge and who decline all
that is
doubtful;
the ones who are clean. So clean that they wash thrice that
which they
wish
to cleanse. Then the patient poor, who neither ask from
others the
things
they need, nor complain. Then the thankful rich, who give
alms lawfully
and
spend lawfully.(Hazrat Anas lists fourteen enemies after the
prophets(Alayhimus
Salaam): the knowledgeable who act on what they know;
readers of the
Quran
who pattern themselves on it; those who call to prayer for
Allah’s
sake; the
satisfied poor; the compassionate; the generous; those who
perform the
morning prayer on time; advisors and reformers; abstainers
from
unlawful food
and sexual relations; those who are always in ablution; the
modest;
those who
place their trust in Allah; benefiters of the poor; the
devout busy in Allah’s service.)"Then the Prophet(Salallahu Alayhi Wa Salaam) asked, ‘What
happens to
you, O
Accursed One, when my people do their prayers?’I shake and tremble as if stricken with malaria because I
see your
people
raised in blessing and power each time they prostrate.’"What happens to you, O Accursed, when my people fast?’
"I have my hands and feet tied until they break their
fast.’ "What
happens
when they all meet on the Hajj at the house of their
Lord?’ "I lose my
wits,
I go mad’"What happens to you when they recite the Holy Quran?’
"I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid in the fire.’"And when they pay alms?’
"I am torn to pieces, as if the generous donor took a saw
and sawed me
into
four pieces. Because there are four beatitudes which the
donor
receives- the
blessing of abundance, love and respect from Allah’s
creatures, a
shield from
hellfire, and relief from distress and troubles.’"Then the Messenger of Allah(Salallahu Alahi Wa Salaam)
asked the
Devil what
he thought of his beloved Companions. About Hazrat Abu Bakr
(RA) he
said, ‘I
hate him. Even before Islam he refused to obey, nay! Even to
hear me.
How can
he now listen to me?’ About Hazrat Umar ibn Kattab(RA) he
said, ‘I run
away
whenever I see him!’ About Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan(RA) he
said, ‘I am
ashamed
in front of him. Even the angels of mercy are ashamed in
front of him.’
And
about Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib(RA) he said, ‘O if I could
just be safe
from
him, if he would just let me be, I would let him be. But he
will not
leave me
alone!’“Having heard the answers of the accursed Satan the Prophet
(Salallahu
Alaihi
Wa Salaam) thanked Allah and said, 'Praise be to Allah Who
has blessed
my
people with such felicity and cursed you with such
negativity until
that
appointed time.”"When the Devil heard that, he said, ‘Alas, alas for you,
what
felicity for
your people? How can you feel there is safety for them as
long as I
exist? I
enter their very veins, their very flesh, and they cannot
even suspect,
let
alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah Who has given me time
until
Qiyammah
that I will seduce them all, the intelligent and the
simpleminded, the
learned as well as the ignorant, the devout as well as the
sinner. None
will
be safe from me expect the true servants of Allah.’"The Prophet(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) asked, ‘Who are
the true
servants
of Allah, according to you?’“The Devil said, 'You know well, O Muhammad, that
whomsoever loves his
money
and his property Allah does not count among his servants.
Whenever I see someone who does not say “mine” and “me” who
does not
love
either money or flattery, I know he is truly a servant of
Allah and I
run
away from him. As long as one loves money, property,
flattery, he obeys
me,
he is my servant. I need many servants and I have many
servants. I am
not
alone. I have 70,000 children, each of them with his
assigned duties.
Each of my 70,000 children has 70,000 satans serving him,
all assigned
to
different posts. Many are with the young people and older
women, and
with the
theologians and preachers and shykhs. There are almost no
differences
of
opinion between your young people and my devils, and your
children play
happily with my children. And some of the devout and some of
the pious
get
along very well with my people! My devils lead the
imagination of the
pious
from one height to another. Arrogant, they leave the
sincerity of their
devotions. Soon they fight with each other, and they don’t
even know
what is
happening to them. Then I whisper to them,'Disbelieve!”, but
when they
disbelieve, I say, “I am free of you. Surely I fear Allah,
the Lord of
the
Worlds.” (Surah al-Hashr, 16).’"Then the accursed Devil told how he profited from habits
of man which
he
liked. About lying he said, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that
lying is
from me
and that I am the first liar? Whoever lies is my best
friend; whoever
swears
to the truth of his lies is my beloved. You know, O Muhammad
that I
swore by
Allah and lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to them
both, “Surely I am a
sincere
advisor to you.”(Surah al-Araf, 21) I also love rejection
and gossip.
They
are my delightful fruits. I detest loving families. If they
think of
rejecting each other, separating from each other, and talk
about
divorce,
even if just once, the marriage bond in Allah’s view is
dissolved. The
wife
will be unlawful to the husband. When they sleep together,
they will e
adulterers. If they have a child he will be a bastard. I
love all that."‘O Muhammad, let me tell you about my friends who abandon
prayers or
delay
them. When it is time for prayer I make them imagine that
there is
still
time, that they are busy. They should enjoy what they are
doing, they
can
always pray later! I hope they will die before doing their
next prayer,
and
some of them do. Even when they do their prayers late, their
devotions
are
thrown in their faces. If I cannot succeed myself, I send
them a human
satan
who will prevent them from their devotions. If I don’t
succeed again, I
enter
into their prayers. I tell them, “Look to the right, look to
the left!
Think
of the past, plan your future!” And when they do I caress
their cheeks
and
kiss their foreheads and take the peace from their hearts.
You know, O
Muhammad, that the prayers of those whose attention is
outside of them
or who
are imagining things which do not belong in the presence of
Allah are
also
rejected and thrown in their faces. And if I am not
successful in that,
I
order them !
to do their prayers fast, and they look like hens picking at
grain. If
I
still don’t succeed, I follow them to the congregational
prayers and
put
bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift their heads from the
prostration
before the imam, and I push their heads down before the imam
touches
his head
to the ground, and I am overjoyed to remember that Allah
will turn
those
unruly heads into donkeys’ heads on the Day of Judgment. If
I am still
not
successful, I try at least to make them crack their fingers
while they
are
making prayers. Then they will be among those who make my
tasbih
instead of
Allah’s tasbih. Or at least I will blow into their noses and
make them
yawn,
and if they open their mouths a little devil will enter into
them
through
their mouths and increase their love and ambition for this
world.
The one who loves and is ambitious for this world becomes
my soldier;
he
obeys me and does as he is ordered."O Muhammad, if I have told a single lie, may scorpions
bite me, and
ask
from Allah that he turn me into ashes. O Muhammad, do not be
sure of
your
people. I have already converted a sixth of them, who have
left their
religion.’"Then the Messenger of Allah(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam)
asked, ‘O
Accursed
One, with whom do you most like to spend your time?’
"The usurer.’"And your best friend?’
"The adulterer.’"With whom do you share your bed?’
"The drunkard.’"Who are your guests?’
"The thieves.’"Who are your representatives?’
"The magicians and soothsayers.’"What pleases you most?’
“Divorce”"Whom do you love most?’
"Those who abandon their Friday prayers.’(Hazrat Anas(RA) gives ten friends of Satan: tyrants and
oppressors;
the
arrogant; servile scholars who hide the truth for the
benefit of
tyrants;
dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of alcohol; dealers in fraud;
slanderers;
those
who stir up trouble among friends.)"Then the Prophet(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) asked, 'What
breaks your
heart, O Accursed One?"‘The determination and the firm footsteps of those who
march against
the
enemies of Allah for Allah’s sake.’"What gives you pain?’
"The repentance of the penitent.’"What makes you grimace?’
"The alms given in secret.’"What makes your eyes blind?’
"The tahajjud prayer in the middle of the night.’
"What makes you bow your head?’"Prayer done in congregation.’
"The Prophet(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) continued
asking: ‘O Satan,
according to you, who are the happiest among people?’
"The ones who purposefully abandon their prayers.’"And the best among people?’
"The miser.’"What prevents you from doing your job?’
"The gathering of men of knowledge and their discourses.’"How do you eat your food?’
"With my left hand and the tips of my fingers.’"When the sun is hot, where do you seek shade?’
"Under people’s dirty fingernails.’"Then the Messenger of Allah(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam)
asked, ‘What
did
you ask from my Lord on the day you were rejected from his
presence?’
"I had ten requests which were accorded.’"What were they, O Accursed One?’
"I asked Allah to make me a partner in the properties and
children of
the children of Adam. He gave that to me, and He said, “And
incite
whom thou
canst with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and
thy foot,
and
share with them in wealth and children, and promise them.
And the Devil
promises them only to deceive.”(Surah Bani Isra’il, 64). I
eat from the
meat
of animals killed without the basmalah and from the food
bought by
money
gained through interest, injustice, and tyranny. I am the
shareholder
of the
property whose owner does not take refuge in Allah from me.
I am part
father
of the child which comes from intercourse performed without
the
basmalah. I
am the traveling companion of the one who rides a vehicle
which is
going to
an unlawful destination."I asked Allah to give me a house, and He gave me the
public baths. I
asked
Allah to give me a temple, and He gave me the marketplaces
as my
temple. I
asked Allah to give me a book. He gave me the books of
poetry as my
book. I
asked for a call to prayer, and He gave me the dancing
music. I asked
for
someone to share my bed, and He gave me the drunkard. I
asked Allah for
helpers. Allah gave me those who believe in free will. I
asked Allah to
give
me brothers and sisters, and Allah gave me the squanderers
who spend
their
money on evil things. Allah said, “Surely the squanderers
are the
Devil’s
brethren” (Surah Bani Isra’il, 27). Then I asked Allah to be
able to
see the
children of Adam while they are unable to see me, and He
accorded that
to me.
I wished that the very veins of the children of Adam be my
routes, and
it was
given to me. So I flow in their veins as I wish and enter
their flesh.
All
these were given to me, and I am proud of what I have
received. And let
me
add, O M!
uhammad, that there are more with me than there are with
you, and until
Qiyammah there will be more with me than there are with you.’"Then the Prophet(Salallahu Alaihi Wa Salaam) said, ‘If you
had not
proven
what you said with the verses of Allah’s book, it would have
been hard
for me
to confirm what you say.’"The Devil continued, ‘Do you know, O Muhammad, that I have
a son
whose name
is Atam (in Arabic, the first third of the night)? He pisses
in the ear
of
the people who go to sleep without performing their night
prayers.
His urine puts them to sleep, otherwise no one could have
gone to bed
without finishing their prayers. Then I have a son whose
name is
Mutaqadi (in
Arabic, one who presses for payment). His duty is to
publicize the
prayers,
the devotions, the good deeds which are done in secret for
Allah’s
sake,
because Allah promises to reward the good deed done secretly
a hundred
fold.
When deeds are publicized and receive credit and praise from
the
creatures of
Allah, Allah takes away ninety-nine of the promised one
hundred
rewards. Then
I have a son whose name is Kuhayl (kohl). His duty is to put
kohl on
the eyes
of those in the presence of wise men or preachers. The ones
whose eyes
he has
touched start falling asleep. They are thus prevented from
hearing the
words
of Allah or receiving any benefit from them.’"The Devil talked about women. He said, ‘Whenever a woman
leaves her
seat a
devil sits in her place. On the lap of every woman sits a
satan who
makes her
desirable to whoever looks at her. Then he orders the woman
to open and
show
her arms, her legs, and her breasts, and with his claws
tears her veil
of
shame and decency.’"Then the Devil started to complain. He said, ‘O Muhammad,
in spite of
all
this I have no strength to take away the faith of the
faithful. I only
take
away their faith when they throw it away. If I were able,
there would
be no
one on the face of this world who could say LA ILAHA
ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD
RASULULLAH, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his
Messenger.”
I
would not leave a single one to pray or fast. All I can do
is to give
the
children of Adam imaginations, illusions and delusions, make
the ugly
appear
beautiful, the wrong, right, and the bad, good.
Neither do you have the power to give faith. You are only a
proof of
the
truth, because I know that if you were given the power to
give true
faith you
would not leave a single non-believer on the face of this
world.
The fortunate one who is a believer is fortunate in his
mother’s womb,
and
the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his mother’s womb. As
you are the
guide
of the fortunate, I am only the cause of sin of the ones who
are
destined to
sin. Allah is He Who renders one fortunate and another
rebellious.’
Then he recited form Surah Hud, ‘“And if thy Lord has
mercy, and for
this
did He create them. And the word of thy Lord is fulfilled. I
shall fill
Hell
with jinn and men altogether”(Surah Hud,118-119).’ He
recited from
Surah
Ahzab, ayat 38: ‘“And the command of Allah is a decree that
is made
absolute.”’"Then the Mercy upon the Universe told the Devil, O Father
of All
Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all possible for you to
repent and
return to
your Lord. I promise I would intercede for you.’“The Accursed One answered, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is
Allah’s
justice.
The ink on the pen which wrote the judgment is dry. What
will happen
will
happen until Qiyaamah. The One Who made you the master of
all the
Prophets,
the speaker for the inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who
chose you to
be the
beloved amongst all his creation, chose me to be the master
of sinners
and
the speaker for the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah, devoid
of all
lack. O
Muhammad, this which I have told you is my last word to you,
and I have
told
nothing but the truth.’”"All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds
which existed
before
and which will exist after, visible and invisible. And
Allah’s
blessings upon
our beloved master, the Beloved of Allah, Mercy upon the
Universe, and
upon
his household and progeny and companions and friends who are
loved by
him,
and upon the ones who love him.Tosun al-muhibb al-Jerrahi