Greed, Envy & Arrogance

Inevitability of Ignorance

The urge for knowledge can be irresistible. But knowledge is a rather unfathomable ocean, in its breadth and its depth. I can find myself , at times, diving too deep and ignoring the bigger picture, and at times flying too high to get the real sense of any dimension. It can seem like an impossible trade-off, with only one certain outcome which is the inevitability of my ignorance. As important it is for me to learn consciously with a set direction, it is equally important, if not more, that I realise and to some level commit to what I cannot learn. This is by virtue of limitations of my finite term in sheer contrast with the infinity of sea of knowledge.

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing” (Socrates 470-399 BC)

Who Was The First Believer? - Prophet Muhammad's Wives

Prophet Muhammad's Wives

Lady Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

Who Was The First Believer?

Khadijah's caravan would equal those of all the rest of Quraish put together.

This noble lady, known to us as Mother of the Believers and the first wife of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), was the first person ever to accept Islam after it had been revealed to him by Jibreel (Angel Gabriel).

This noble woman, too, would love and support the Prophet for the rest of her life, no matter what difficulties he faced and no matter what people said about him or about her. Her acceptance of Islam was total.

There is a truly beautiful story told by Yahya ibn `Afeef about an occasion when he visited Makkah to stay with Al-`Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, one of the uncles of the Prophet.

When the sun started rising, he said, "I saw a man who came out of a place not far from us, faced the Ka`bah, and started performing his prayers. He hardly started before being joined by a young boy who stood on his right side, then by a woman who stood behind them.

When he bowed down, the young boy and the woman bowed, and when he stood up straight, they, too, did likewise. When he prostrated himself, they, too, prostrated themselves." Then he expressed his amazement at that, saying to Al-`Abbas, "This is quite strange,  `Abbas!" "

Is it really?" retorted Al-`Abbas, who asked his guest if he knew who this man was and went on to tell him, "He is Muhammad ibn `Abdullah, my nephew.

Do you know who the young boy is?"

When Yahyha said that he didn't know, he was told, "He is `Ali ibn Abi Talib. Do you know who the woman is?" The answer came again in the negative, to which Al-`Abbas said, "She is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, my nephew's wife" (Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi).

Her story is important to us not just because she was one of the four most noble ladies ever to have lived (the others being her daughter Fatimah; Maryam, the mother of Jesus; and Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh, who saved the baby Moses), but because we can learn from her about how to accept Islam in our own lives, too.

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was born in 565 CE, and she belonged to the distinguished Makkah tribe of Banu Hashim. Both her parents were very wealthy and she inherited their wealth when they died. It does not concern us here to detail every moment of her life, but rather to describe her life in terms of her journey to Islam and her life as a Muslim, helping us to be better Muslims as a result.

Most unusually, in a society given over to idol worship, she never believed in idols or prayed to them. She was so upstanding a person and so respected among her people that she was one of the most distinguished ladies of Quraish. Khadijah was known as At-Tahirah (the Pure One).

She had twice been married, having lost both of her husbands in battle, and did not seek to marry a third time, lest she should lose this husband, too. At the time, Makkah was a great trading center and Khadijah was one of the wealthiest traders in the city. It is said, for example, that when the trading caravans used to gather to set off for Syria or Yemen, Khadijah's caravan would equal those of all the rest of the Quraish put together.

So it was that the noble lady Khadijah asked her very distant younger cousin,

Muhammad, to lead one of her caravans to Syria, on account of the trustworthiness of his character. The trading expedition was a great success, even though Muhammad knew nothing of trade. He impressed Khadijah by his character. Of all the men she could have chosen, Muhammad was the one she offered marriage to. Muhammad, 25 years old at the time, accepted, even though Khadijah was 15 years his senior.

The marriage was to last until Khadijah died. The couple were devoted to each other. She bore his children and she accompanied him in every endeavor. When the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad by Jibreel, Muhammad did not know what this new message could mean and he rushed back to his wife to find an answer. Was it that something terrible had happened to him, he thought. Khadijah's answer was clear: "Never," she told him. "I swear by Allah, Allah would never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your family, help the feeble and destitute, serve your guests generously, and assist those who deserve help."

She took Muhammad to see her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, an old and devout Christian man, who had left paganism for Christianity. The rest of the story is familiar to us. Waraqah confirmed that the messenger who had spoken to Muhammad was none other than Jibreel, who had spoken to Moses, and that Muhammad was Allah's Prophet.

She teaches us to love our Prophet as much as she did.

Of all people in the world, it was Khadijah who was the first to accept Islam. Without question, and trusting totally in the honesty and the sincerity of Muhammad, she declared her belief in the Oneness of Allah and that Muhammad was His Messenger.

It is beyond the scope of these few brief lines to say more about the noble Khadijah. Muhammad took no other wife while she was alive. At her death, she was buried outside Makkah in a grave dug by the Prophet himself.

The Prophet was later to remark of his beloved Khadijah that "she believed in me when all others disbelieved; she held me truthful when others called me a liar; she sheltered me when others abandoned me; she comforted me when others shunned me; and Allah granted me children by her while depriving me of children by other women."

Apart from the beauty of her character and her devout and pious life as a Muslim, Khadijah teaches us to submit totally to Allah. Her life asks us to accept without question the promptings of Allah in our own lives. She teaches us to love our Prophet as much as she did, and to be with him in all that we do. She touches our hearts with her tender love for the Prophet and by the way she sheltered him throughout life. Instead of mouthing words that cost nothing, she dedicated her life to Allah and to His Prophet.

As At-Tahirah, Khadijah invites us, too, to live lives that are pure and to become better Muslims, for Allah's sake. In sha' Allah, her life and example will inspire us to draw others to Islam.

Source: http://onislam.net

How I came to Islam

Yes, I'm Muslim. Deal with it

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.

HOW I CAME TO ISLAM..

I am a muslimah. How did I end up in Islam? It is a question I have been asked a few times and there is an answer of course, I’ve just been avoiding the question because it was all so “natural”. The short version is simply ; “Well, it just happened.” But here's the long version; the full story of my journey.

I was born a roman catholic to Portuguese immigrant parents, half descendent from clergy and half descending from a nobility long forgotten mixed in with some long deceased arabs from the Iberic peninsula.

A few things about my childhood strike me as pertinent now as I look back; my father’s strictness, for one, in my early childhood. My mother was not permitted to cut her hair or wear pants or make-up or go to work. He wasn't abusive; just strict! She finally convinced dad to permit her to teach from home, and this, apart from school and the few, very Portuguese family friends formed the basic pillars of my early social life. My sister and I were to be perfectly well-behaved, perfectly groomed little portuguese Catholic girls who never spoke unless spoken to (around adults) and who were not permitted to socialize with boys or visit with any friends that did not fit in with the strict Portuguese immigrant upbringing. Only family friends were seen, on family outings.

I have to say I did my level best to be the perfect daughter and Masha-Allah my parents are quietly proud of me in most respects, although religion has always been a sore spot between us. “It’s the one area where you just don’t fit and I often wonder where you came from!?” my mom said in the long ago past. She now says "you were always a seeker, I'm not surprised you keep searching for closeness to God". As little girls, my sister and I were sent to Catholic Sunday School and as a child I argued with the teacher about why Jesus had to die. She called my parents after I disturbed the class with “theories” that God couldn’t be so cruel, and I was asked to complete my studies with my mom at home, for a while. Of course mom spoke to the priest and as long as I didn't "stir the pot" I was back in. I was 5 at the time. My mother didn’t fare much better with me as I refused to say the section of the Nicean creed where I declared the Roman Catholic Apostolic faith the only true faith. I remember standing there learning at her bedside and arguing with her as to where this came from - I remember her being really upset and saying that God was going to punish her for my lack of belief, and as the years went by I conformed, then rebelled, then conformed again, all along wanting to know Him.

I guess I’ve searched for HIM all my life.

Covering came naturally even as a child. At school I'd wear my summer uniform with my long sleeved vest and woolen socks. Everything had to go to the neck and to the ankles. Many things about Islam appear to have always been a part of me in a strange way... So much so, that if people tell me Islam is repressive to its woman, I want to flip a switch and display the image I have in my mind of my staunch Catholic upbringing–everything was starched in those days within South Africa – from clothes to prayers to alms giving – I can still smell the “Robin” spray..

In my teenage years of high school and singing in bands I became gradually interested in the Occult. But having studied about Wicca, I knew I'd not make a good witch because I refused to pray to a “horned God” and instead kept my bible on my Moon Ritual table as “protection” . But I admit I was curious and I dabbled, wanting to know what made things tick etc. etc. !.. I was excellent at telling the past and future, it seemed just natural - but standing there during a magic ritual one midnight with a high priest of a "macumba" brazilian cult, I remember seeing a demon and thinking; “Why’s he so afraid of me?” and telling him "you can't take my soul, that belongs to God!"

I sought understanding among mediums who could understand what it was like to be able to "know" what was going on in a person's life without being there. To see things others didn't. But I wasn’t much good at the spiritualist church thing either. I laughed through too many of their “mediumship” nights. I recall being singled out during one "service" and told to please wait outside because my light was disturbing the ensemble, and then being called up to the “pulpit” after and told I didn’t belong there because I was a "fairy with too much light". My poor mom accompanied me rather than see me go down a wayward path, despite her staunch catholic upbringing, and watched my searching and shook her head. We never went back.

(Years later, all doors to the occult my Allah shut tight. Long after the smoke went up on the new-age items that I set ablaze in an attempt to purge myself of what I felt was a very, very wrong path. (The priest said it harmed no-one that I could predict things somehow, yet I was not convinced and I had not heard of  "inspiration" as it is explained in Islam, and "jinn" as they are explained, so I struck that match anyway). I've asked forgiveness of my Allah for my curiosity which lead me down some strange paths in my search for HIM.)

In those growing years, my mother thought I was spiritually strange and despite her starched catholic upbringing took me to a "house of spiritual healing" where another set of mediums were supposedly exorcising harmful spirits through a process in portuguese known as "passes" or laying of the hands. Supposedly.

Yep, I had some very strange experiences that would probably put hair on a golf ball - but I remained rebellious, remained searching, until I eventually “settled” into my discomfort...

How? ...I married an atheist of course! I then attended an "alpha course" at the local catholic church, but became really upset during one service in which everybody prayed ONLY to Mary. It was some celebration of Mary and so instead of the usual "lord hear us, Lord graciously hear us" recited after the priest's prayers, we the congregation were asked to say "Mary hear us, Mary graciously Hear us." That was the last time I set foot in a catholic church I was SO upset! How could they, when they claimed that only GOD answers prayer, and when they said that Mary told people "do whatever he tells you to do "(referring to Jesus, who in turn said go to the father, which in those days' hebrew meant Creator). I visited a Christian church looking for a spiritual home, and here I had my second water baptism the day before my son was born - as I stepped out, baby decided it was time to out.

For a while, I was at peace. Then the church held a service where it began this "name it and claim it" rubbish - It basically taught that if you want something in life you “decree” it, or “claim” it because as a "child of God" you are owed it and because "Jesus died for you" there is no sin in wanting more because "by his stripes you are healed" so nevermind the illness God allows to teach you something, you just tell it to go away (yes that was sarcastic, read it again.) It’s called Prosperity teaching.

I remember the pastor’s words; “Draw the line in the sand. Why shouldn't you have a Ferrarri on earth? You certainly won’t need it in heaven!!” It didn’t sit well with me; Was I to go around making demands of Almighty God? No, no, no! Not all churches are like this of course, but this one was a peach! For instance if you were sick, you claimed healing in Jesus name. (pbuh) and were to get out of bed and behave as though you did NOT have the flu until it went away.(There were a few people hospitalized with pneumonia that year). Needless to say, God allows this type of crap for only so long before he "smites you" and "tests you". Case in point - I was glad to have left that church when shortly after leaving I heard the headpastor had developed incurable cancer. Apparently they didn't claim hard enough!

Understand me nicely; I did not take Christianity lightly. I searched within my then faith for answers first. It was everything I was, I identified myself as a Christian first and foremost and had my share of "battles won" notches with Jehovah’s witnesses under my belt. I might have saught elsewhere for short periods of teenage haziness, but I returned to the "home" of christianity every time.

One night, in 2001 - 11th September - I came home from bible readings to the news that the world trade center had been bombed by Islamic terrorists. 9/11 was the pits. People were enraptured by the death and destruction of the towers, and the world was suddenly set ablaze by anti-islamic feelings. Me? I kept wondering about the bombers!- I watched that footage over and over, and I kept thinking; what drives someone to that point? I remembered Early Christians standing in ampitheatres awaiting the lions that would kill them and nobody I knew had the guts to stand up to anything much for their faith, certainly not in an ampitheatre, apart from the IRA and their never ending battle. No, this reaked of a people pushed to the limit and it smacked of conspiracy. What was the cause behind the 9/11 murders? Who dunnit?!

The more I read, the more I smelt a rat. I became convinced that the bombing was a very carefully orchestrated plot to discredit Islam, and nothing else, and I wondered "but why"!! Is it all about the oil, is it about the resources, or are they just a "convenient fall guy" -what was it about these muslims - what do they have that could be such a threat to a super power or those who govern it? Reading what the people of America said and thought and the nebulae about the event, as I searched I realised that the victims of 9/11 and their families and those who to this day feel the repercussions were victims of greed and deception, and lies, not so much victims of islamic jihad. I had by then learnt that refers to an inner battle against carnal issues and issues of the flesh which is pretty much what christianity is supposed to advocate, right? To me, 9/11 wasn't about the hatred of backward group of Bedouin-descent desert people high on the opium of religious zeal.

As I read up on a miryad of  conspiracies, I learnt that truth often lies buried in the rubble of political mirror games, so I began to look into everything I could to do with the middle east crisis. 

It was at this point that I began conversing with a young muslim man – aptly named Mohammed. (Who says Allah doesn’t have a sense of humour?!) who felt as I did about 9/11 and who could answer some questions about Islam. He told me stories from the Quran, the Bukhari, and other Islamic sources. He advised me, rather simplistically, simply to “read”. The more I looked at the middle east crisis and the more I researched, the more I read about Islam. And slowly, the number of books on the Knights of Templar and the Illuminati decreased, the articles on 9/11 made sense and I closed that chapter, knowing that questions needed answers that didn't lie in "jihad" And so, the books on Islam began to pile up. 

I was given a copy of the Quran by a lady I met at my child's school which I couldn’t put down and I devoured everything I could find on the subject of Islam, it’s history, it’s practice and it’s Nabi. (pbuh)  I felt guilty as a catholic reading the Quran - I did! Especially since it's written in the first person - that person being God himself! I was accustomed to divinely inspired and humanly manipulated scripture - the very word of GOD was rather scary! But everything was beautiful to me about Islam; the pictures, the architecture, the history, and the image of a man in sandles with his hands behind his back, quietly living in subservience to Allah whilst managing a nation of mixed peoples. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) became someone of special interest to me and I asked many questions of any muslim I met!

Through Mohammed and those books, Allah touched my heart and my mind and inspired me to find the truth. I asked my then preacher about a few things that I found contradictory which were so clear through the eyes of Islam, and the answers were simply not satisfactory. I was frustrated, I was confused, I was irritated. When the church had no answers for me, they told me not to fall into "condemnation" and called my seeking “demonic lies”. When I told them I’d started praying 5 times a day, they applauded me for getting to know God and encouraged me to turn this “pagan friend” into a Christian.

There came a day alone in my bedroom one night, when I could not pretend to be what I was either, I felt different, I knew I was different. There was no going back to a previous path because that path simply had crumbled. What I believed I just didn't believe anymore. I stopped attending church as well as bible study and instead one night, in a moment of complete self-denial, I lay flat on the ground and wept out loud to God right there on my bed. (Who knew you had to prostrate on the ground?) I remember crying “ I don’t know if this is East or West Lord, I don’t know if you are Jehovah or Allah, and I'm a mess and confused but I Need to KNOW you personally. You could be Allah and Jehovah rolled into one, but whatever and whoever you are I MUST know and YOU made me so YOU tell me. Not through some saint or even through your son (that was my prayer then), I want to know DIRECTLY from you. You created me. Jesus said pray to YOU, so why should I be told by others to pray to anyone else? Lord, YOU are the truth, YOU are the light, so YOU show me the way.” and I continued praying through that night. I remembered how Mohammed had mentioned the early hours of the morning where God descended to the lowest heavens to answer prayer, so I woke in the early hours after I’d fallen asleep with this image in my mind of angels looking for people who were seeking GOD, and I reached out and asked. "you have not because you ask not" is a bible verse that came to mind. So I asked.

I prostrated again, prayed myself to sleep, and continued reading the next day. I read the bible, I read the Quran. I started taking what I read seriously, and asking Allah about everything I read, without exception, when I had a doubt. Many things happened parallel to this, but the most relevant to my walk in Islam were these.

I knew my history of searching and I knew that THIS TIME - this was a decision I would not be able to “hop out of” if I took it. It’s like all the other religious inclinations and "taste tests" were rides on a fairground, but I knew that if I chose Islam, I’d be boarding a train that I would not get off until the end of the world.

Eventually, I said my Shahadah to my friend Mohammed on December 8th 2006, when he was telling me how easy it was to say the words; “La Ilaha Il Allah”… I didn't think he'd heard me say them at the time - and I know he didn’t immediately realize I’d just taken my Shahadah, but in later talks he remembered and it had sat with him that indeed I HAD taken my shahada (statement of faith).

I’d just returned from a short holiday to think life through. On this trip I’d found myself walking along a pier and reading the story of Rabia of Basri. Near to me on the pier was a woman in Hijab, her husband in a Khurta. We struck up a conversation and discovered she was from close by to where I currently live. So a few weeks after saying my Shahadah with Mohammed, I was led in it again with my new muslimah friend, one whom I asked God for; one who became like a mother to me, and a beloved sister who taught me so much about Islam and about LIFE - a sister who's last lesson was herself, her body ; which was to become the first I gave ghusl to only a few short years later when she passed away. I lost a mother and a father that day she passed, as I could no longer communicate with her husband, a Moulana who had inspired me to think and pray and keep to the siraat ul mustaqeem. (straight path) My Fathima Mula was my dear friend and I will always remember her contribution in the times when I needed a woman to talk to about Islam.

As long as I live I will still be asking questions and I will be seeking to draw even nearer - to be a friend of Allah. So long as I keep asking Allah, I find people bring me the answers, like Mohammed, that dear brother who Allah used to help me take the first steps of understanding. How we argued about Islam and christianity - how we debated!! Answers still come, alhamdolilah, in books, in words, in testimonies. I am grateful for the huge lesson I learnt as a Christian to “take EVERYTHING to God”.

Islam is the missing piece of my existential puzzle because whereas I was taking everything to God, I had not yet learnt to “ACCEPT everything from God ONLY.” (that "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD" lesson of christianity only really settled inside me as a muslim).

As a new Muslimah I see what’s happening in the middle east with new eyes. Now those suffering people are my people, the breath that flows from Allah through each dot in the Ummah that forms His Blessed Name.

Islam meant that EVERYTHING had to change. You name it, it changed. Clothing. Food. Home. Family. Outllook. Routine. Habits. How to wash, how to eat, I mean EVERYTHING. My band days and stage days had to go. Relationships that were ungodly had to go. Friends turned away from me, abandoned me for leaving the faith. Everything had to go. Talk about the TWIN towers - talk about melting SILVER!! I had to learn to speak again, learn to pray, learn to walk, learn how to address people, and in everything the prophet (saw) became my role model. Everything was truly broken down to be rebuilt as different. I mean EVERYTHING. What muslims take for granted like saying "bismillah" when you eat, I did not know and had to learn.

So Islam and ALLAH have given me all i have now. What do I bring to Islam after this walk in the desert of spiritual searching? I think that in my time of initial searching, I discovered the immensity of Allah’s love though I knew him as Jehovah or God; it was as a Muslimah that I found my Allah as the consistently present Almighty that he is, and I found the other side of loving Him –those structures of Islam that keep my house of faith standing, even if it is shaky at times – like Salaat, and Durood, and the Quran, and so many other little building bricks of Imaan. Responsibility for praising Him and discipline in how I love Him is new for me, sometimes comforting, sometimes a battle, but I am human afterall. DISCIPLINE was the greatest lesson. Discipline about my thoughts, my actions, my walk. I became opinionated but in a good way I think because I have this strength alhamdolilah that comes from knowing I am nothing without ALLAH!

There are many obstacles I face as a Muslimah living in an area where there are very few Muslims; not the least of which is what I call Islamic Isolation!..

So that’s how I came to Islam. It’s a difficult story to tell in a short space of time, and I think that’s because I didn’t come to Islam. It came to me. Slowly knocking on my heart. I remember muslim friends from way back when. I thought them strange, but they were just an example that Allah used to lead the way. I think that Islam has been with me since the day I was born, as I look back on my life and my searching and the many, many signs. I just didn’t know it was there until I was ready to welcome it into me.

Thankfully our Allah is the only Illah of Subr too, and as the epitomy of patience He is giving me as much time as I need to change..  because change is a constant and no-one is ever "complete". He knows these changes have been very hard for me as well as for those around me. I was not born into a muslim family, so that means i needed to change more things than most born muslims think are things that have to be changed (because they are things that come naturally to them).

Little things, big things, and even a few mountains, must keep changing, purifying, becoming more beautiful insh'ALlah as I seek my Allah as friend and beloved..  but with love and patience and time and faith, change they must and change they will Insha-Allah.. in His timing. In the meantime, I remain just Rabia, just another muslimah walking on the road of my Islam, singing "Labaik Allah, Ummah Labaik", and holding onto his rope in a million ways.

I will give my last breath for my Quran, my right to be a WOMAN and my right to be a Muslim. I pray that Allah may use whatever of me HE wills to serve and love him, and I ask all brothers and sisters who might happen upon this blog only one thing - Duahs.

I dedicate this blog to my husband, Mohammed, who is my soulmate and my journey's end each day, to my Nabi (saw) who is our example, and my Allah, who is our LORD and Creator, giver of life, sustainer, our one true hope, our source of solace and our source of joy, our provider, our protector, to whom there is no partner and no equal, and HE who is our beginning and our end.

On The Doors of Masjids - Mankind and Satan

On The Doors of Masjids

The devil sits on the doors of Masjids (mosques) and at the places of worship and remembering Allah. He tries to seduce people not to offer Salat, and when The Azan [the Call to Prayer] is pronounced he strives to allure mankind with every lure to divert them from going to Salat. He reminds man of worldly concerns and keeps whispering to him evil insinuations. He frightens him by insinuating that perhaps if he went to Salat he might lose a good bargain or money or benefit, suggesting that work is also an act of worship…etc. till he diverts him from remembering Allah and from Salat.

There is a story narrated on the authority of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah be pleased with him) who was known by issuing fatwas (legal rulings) concerning legal problems, thus a man once came to him and said: 
“I have lost my money, I buried it somewhere in the earth but the torrents poured down and hid the place of the money and removed the rock I have put as a sign to the place and I do not know what to do?”

Imam Abu Hanifah said: “How can I give you a legal opinion concerning this matter?”

But the man insisted, so Imam Abu Hanifah said to him: “Go tonight after the ‘Isha’ Prayer [Evening Prayer] and stand before your Lord and spend the night in prayer until the crack of dawn…. and then tell me what has happened.”

At the time of the Fajr [Dawn] Prayer the man came cheerful and said: “I have found my money.” Abu Hanifah asked him: “How?” The man said: “I was just about to stand up for Prayers when I remembered the place of the money and when did the flood pour down and how did it proceed. Thus I measured the distance and estimated it and thus I learned the location of the money.”  So, Abu Hanifah (may Allah be pleased with him) smiled and said: “By Allah I knew that the devil will never leave you spend the night in the company of Your Lord.”

                

Thus, when the devil learned that this man would spend the night offering Prayers before his Lord he hurried to guide him to the place of the money to prevent him from continuing his prayers and from keeping himself engaged in remembering Allah, and that is one of the meanings of the Ayah saying (what means):

“[Satan] said, ‘Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path.’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 16)

And that is what we shall discuss in the next chapter, if Allah wills, when talking in detail about the ways the devil employs in tempting mankind and how he waylays them in the Masjids and places of worship to distract their attention and hinder them from remembering Allah and from performing Salat.  

The Noble Qur’an continue to cite Satan’s words, who said what means:

“Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 17)

On contemplating this glorious Ayah we will find that the devil has specified four directions from which he can come to man: right and left, in front and behind. But directions are six: right and left, in front and behind, above and below (man), so why does the devil come to man from all directions and leaves two directions: from above and below?

The answer is that “above” is towards heaven, the place of the ascent of supplications and good deeds to Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, whereas “below” is the place of prostration and submission to Allah, The Most Exalted and Ever-Majestic, and Satan can never get near both. For Satan can never approach the place of prostration before Allah and submission to Him and also the place of the ascension of prayers and good deeds. For these are the two blessed places of every believer, surrounded by angels and are never approached by devils.

But we must pause before the part of the Ayah saying what means: “And You will not find most of them grateful.”

Who told Satan that most of the people will not be thankful to Allah for His Blessings and Grace upon them? Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says what means:

“And Allah is full of bounty to the people, but most of the people do not show gratitude.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 243)  

Was Satan given knowledge of the Unseen which made him learn that most of people would not be thankful? Or was he so sure of himself that he said such words?

Satan certainly does not know the Unseen nor was he given of knowledge what made him say that most of the servants of Allah would not be thankful. He also did not have the mastery that made him absolutely confident that this would happen because of his temptation of mankind.

The Noble Qur’an reveals to us how did Satan say such words. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says what means:

“And Iblees had already confirmed through them his assumption, so they followed him, except for a party of believers. And he had over them no authority except [it was decreed] that We might make evident who believes in the Hereafter from who is thereof in doubt. And your Lord, over all things, is Guardian.” (Saba’, 34: 20-21)

Hence, what Satan said was only a conjecture for he certainly did not possess any knowledge of the Unseen nor knew what would happen in the future.

Then came the Verdict of The Truth, all praise and glory is to Him, on Satan and those who follow him, as says the Lord of Honor and Sovereignty in His Noble Book what means:

“[Allah] said, ‘Get out of it, reproached and expelled. Whoever follows you among them – I will surely fill Hell with you, all together.’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 18)

Thus, Satan was expelled from Allah’s Mercy and from paradise or from any place where he can be near Allah. He became humiliated and accursed. Not only him but also whoever follows him from jinn and mankind. The destiny of them all would be eternity in Hellfire. Allah, The Most Exalted and EverMajestic, has prepared for each of His servant, from mankind and jinn, a place in Paradise and another in Hellfire. So that if all creatures disobeyed Hellfire would contain them all and if all creatures obeyed Paradise would be spacious enough for them all. On Resurrection Day the righteous people would inherit – above what Allah has prepared for them in Paradise – the places that were allotted to those upon whom Allah has passed the sentence of torment in Hellfire on Resurrection Day, we seek refuge with Allah from such an end.

After Allah has reprieved Satan till Resurrection Day, He wanted to fortify Adam and make him aware of the trial he was about to face. To show him how Satan is his foe and how he would lure him into sin, and how his promises are false and how he would never honor a promise. The Truth, Blessed and Exalted is He, willed to realize this through a practical experience that Adamand Eve (peace and blessings be upon them) would undergo, so that when they descend on the earth this experience would serve to immunize them against diabolic misleading and temptation. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says what means:

“And We said, ‘O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.’” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 35)

Thus, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, has prepared the place of trial to Adam and Eve in a garden provided with all means of comfortable living, without fatigue or toil. He gave them abundant food from various kinds of fruits and abundant drink, and opened before them all the blessings they might wish for. Allah allowed them all the fruits of that garden except one tree, which He forbade them to come near.

It was a comfortable life rich with endless lawful blessings and the forbidden was the least of all, only one forbidden tree. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, warned Adam and Eve against their enemy Satan and asked them not to listen to him because he only wishes them evil and never wishes them any goodness. Allah warned them saying what means:

“So We said, ‘O Adam, indeed this is an enemy to you and to your wife. Then let him not remove you from paradise so you would suffer.’” (Tâ-Hâ, 20: 117)

But what happened? In spite of all warnings and although the lawful things are many and the forbidden is only one tree, Satan succeeded by his temptation to cause Adam and Eve to fall into sin.

Some interpreters say that Eve was the one who first fell into sin then led Adam into it. That she was the reason behind Adam’s departure from the garden, is that true? Was Eve the one who bore the first sin that led to Adam’s departure from the garden, or is it false? What is the truth? And what did truly happen?

Before answering these questions we sum up what we have discussed in this chapter: Satan was blown up with pride and his conceited self made him reject the Command of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, and he said: “You created me from fire, and You created him from clay.” (Sâd, 38: 76) by which he wanted to alter the Command of Allah, thus Allah cursed him and cast him out of His Mercy and made him one of the dwellers of Hellfire together with all who follow him. But Satan pursued a doorway to tempt Adam and his offspring. His doorway is that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, is All-Mighty, All-Rich, beyond need of all His creatures, neither those who stray into wrong harm Him nor those who believe benefit Him.

Through that inlet Satan crept in to tempt the Children of Adam. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, made worldly life an abode of trial therefore temptation is a must so that Allah tests true faith and they become witnesses over themselves on Resurrection Day.

Allah willed that Adam should pass through a practical experience of satanic temptation and misguidance to warn him and teach him what he would confront in worldly life…so how did this experience go on?

Source: (Book) Mankind and Satan