The Whispering of Shaytan and the People of Taqwa

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Always bear in mind that you have an enemy whose only aim is to keep you far from Allah, His religion and the Qur'an. He does not relent from his plot even for a moment; lying in ambush, he awaits the opportunity to fulfill his task. He is able to see you from where you cannot see him and tries thousands of methods to entrap you. One of his characteristics is that he is stealthy. His methods, tactics and tricks may vary from one person to next. The tactics he employs may also depend on the time, place and conditions.

إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿٥...

... Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy. (5) [Qur'an, Yusuf 12:5]

Shaytan will catch you when you are in a vulnerable moment, when you least expect it. But if you have that consistent relationship with Allah, obeying His orders, and avoid what He forbade, you will eventually overcome that impulse (evil thought, or anger, or the whispers of Shaytan cross their mind, or intend to err, or commit an error) and you become aware of the error of your ways. Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful and He will reward you with that taqwa.

Remember and memorize this ayah of the Qur'an,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِّنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُ‌وا فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُ‌ونَ ﴿٢٠١

Indeed, those who fear Allah (taqwa)- when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight. (201) [Qur'an, Al-'Araf 7:201-202]

Story Of A Young Man Who Spoke From The Grave

During the caliphate of Umar ibn Khattab (radi Allah ‘anhu) there was a young man who used to spend his time worshiping and praying in masjid. Umar (radi Allah ‘anhu) was very happy with him. The man used to perform 'isha (night) prayers and used to come back to his old father. On this way, there was a house of a woman who liked this young man. The woman used to stand on his way. One day the woman ensnared the young man and he followed her. When they both reached at the door of the woman’s house, the young man started remembering Allah. The following verses came out from his tongue: [Qur'an, Al-'Araf 7:201]

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِّنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ

The young man became unconscious and fell down. The woman called her maid; they both lifted the young man and dropped him at his door. The family members of the young man lifted him and took him inside the house. At late night the man became conscious. When his father inquired him about the incidence, the young man narrated the entire incidence. The father asked him: O my son! Which verses (ayah) did you recite? The man repeated the verse and again became unconscious and fell down. The family members tried to revoke his consciousness, but he was dead. They washed his dead body and buried him. In the morning when the news reached Umar(radi Allah ‘anhu) he came to his father for condolence and asked as to why was he not informed? The father told him that as it was night, they did not inform. Umar (radi Allah ‘anhu) said: “Take me to his grave”. Umar (radi Allah ‘anhu) and his companions reached at the grave of that young man.

Umar (radi Allah ‘amhu) said: “ O young man! ولمن خاف مقام ربه جنتان (Whosoever feared to stand in front of his Lord then there are two gardens for him (Surah Ar-Rahman 55:46) The young man replied two times from his grave: O Umar! My Lord has given me two gardens, inside garden.

This narration has been recorded by the following hadith masters:

Hafiz Ibn Kathir [d.774 AH] ( Tafsir, under Sura Al Araf, ayat 201)
Imam Suyuti [d.911 AH] (Sharh al Sudur bi Sharh hal al Mawta wa al Qubur)
Imam Ali ibn Husamud-Din al-Muttaqi al-Hindi [d.975 AH] ( Kanzul Ummal,4634)

May Allah grant us taqwa and increase us in taqwa until we meet Him. Ameen.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

Wassalaam