Satan in The Battle of Badr - Mankind and Satan

Satan in The Battle of Badr

Let us shed light on the way Satan instigated the disbelievers to fight the believers during the Battle of Badr: the Noble Qur’an relates to us this story through the glorious Ayah saying (what means):

“And [remember] when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and said, ‘No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector.’ But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, ‘Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allah. And Allah is severe in penalty.’” [Al-Anfâl, 8: 48]

That was the role that Satan played during the Battle of Badr, he started by sowing the seeds of arrogance in the hearts of the disbelievers, telling them:You will defeat and triumph over the Muslims, you are great in number and powerfully equipped; compared to you they are few, you will definitely conquer them, and I am with you to champion you.

He kept on swelling their souls with vanity, beguiling them with the illusory belief that they are strong and that they are absolutely victorious, till they believed him and set off to fight the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the believers. 

When the disbelievers reached the battlefield and fighting became inevitable, Satan looked and saw the power of faith, and the mightiness of the believers, and the support that Allah gave them, thereof he scrammed away, leaving behind his allies, whom he promised before that none would overcome them. He thus fled fast and away, saying as the Noble Qu’an relates (what means):

“Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allah. And Allah is severe in penalty.” 
[Al-Anfâl, 8: 48]

Some say how come that the devil says: “I fear Allah”, and if he really does fear Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, why does he sin? And why this persistence in sinning? And what can scare Satan, while he is already shut out from the Mercy of Allah, damned, outcast, and dwelling eternally in Hell, together with all his followers?

The answer is that Satan fears the torment awaiting him in the Hereafter, such fear overwhelms him, despite all what he commits in worldly life. He disavows all sins committed through him; he tries to wash his hands of any responsibility for a sin before Allah. Therefore, The Truth, Blessed and Exalted is He, says (what means):

“[The hypocrites are] like the example of Satan when he says to man, ‘Disbelieve.’ But when he disbelieves, he says, ‘Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds.’” [Al-Hashr, 59: 16]

In this manner Satan would try to free himself of any responsibility for luring mankind into disbelief and sin. Even on Resurrection Day when Satan shall stand in the presence of Allah he will cast the blame on man, trying to shirk his responsibility. The Truth, all praise and glory is to Him, gives us a picture of this scene in His Saying (what means):

“And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, ‘Indeed, Allah had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with Allah] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment.’” [Ibrahîm, 14: 22]

Satan, who decks out fair to people committing all kinds of sins and atheism, comes on the Day of Judgment disavowing what he has done, trying to cast all the blame on man, saying: “I had no authority over you except that I called you, so you responded to me, and had not your selves been inclined to disbelieving and committing sins, I would not have been able to derive you into disobeying Allah. Hence blame me not, for you have no one to blame but yourselves, because you have given ears to my whisperings, while I had no subjugating power over you to force you to sin”, which is true, because the devil does not have the power to force man into disobeying Allah, Whose Majesty reigns Supreme.

Source: (Book) Mankind and Satan

The Difference Between The Two Whisperings - Mankind and Satan

The Difference Between The Two Whisperings

To know who is whispering to you, see if the one whispering only wishes that you fall into sin, regardless of what it is; if so then it is the devil, but if there is insistence on a certain sin you got used to, then it is from your self.

Satan always sneaks through the doors where there is weakness in abidance by the doctrine; if he finds man unyielding to temptation in a certain aspect, he finds his way through another aspect where man shows weakness. Hence, if man for instance adheres fast to praying, performing them at their due prescribed times, Satan creeps into him from the door of money, whispering to him not to pay the Zakah (Obligatory Charity), to be tightfisted, and to eat up other people’s money unjustly, deluding him into thinking that by such a way he would be rich, his money would grow, and he would be safely away from poverty. But the truth is otherwise, as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“Never would wealth decrease because of charity”,

because it is charity which makes money grow, and place the Blessings of Allah in it so that it increases. Wealth belongs to Allah, and we all leave it behind us upon departing from this worldly life, but the unbeliever is unaware of such a truth.

Hence, when Satan finds a man, who strictly guards the performance of prayers but loves money, he approaches him from this side, by stopping him from giving in charity, and all sorts of benevolent acts. Then, he starts to allure him with ill-gotten money, so sins starts to weave their threads around his heart little by little, till it smothers his heart wholly, preventing him from remembering Allah.

Little things that man can give thanks for is better than plenty that man can not tolerate, for the devil may exploit the love of money within the heart of one of the servants of Allah to shun him away from obedience and the Law of Allah, thus he may abstain from paying Zakah (Obligatory Charity) driving him into sinning, and ingratitude. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, says (which means):

“And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah, [saying], ‘If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous.’ But when he gave them from His bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they refused. So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they will meet Him – because they failed Allah in what they promised Him and because they [habitually] used to lie.” (At-Tawbah, 9: 75-77)

There are many examples for satanic ways, for he searches for the weak points in man in order to penetrate to him through them. His endeavors never abate, till he entraps man in his snares and drives him out of the Doctrine of Allah.

Source: (Book) Mankind and Satan

Jihad against the hypocrites

Praise be to Allaah.   

Undoubtedly this is a problem from which the ummah suffers from time to time, especially when it is faced with trials and tribulations and these hypocrites feel secure and feel that they will not be punished if they attack the foundations of this religion and try to spread division and tribulation.

Undoubtedly the damage that these people do is greater than that caused by the kuffaar whose kufr is obvious, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They are the enemies, so beware of them. May Allaah curse them! How are they denying (or deviating from) the Right Path?”[al-Munaafiqoon 63:4] 

Because of that, it is prescribed to wage jihad against them and to treat them harshly. 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said concerning the Nusayris, among whom were some who expressed their kufr and heresy openly and others who made a hypocritical show of loving Ahl al-Bayt (the members of the Prophet’s household):

Undoubtedly waging jihad against these people and carrying out the hadd punishments against them is one of the greatest acts of obedience and most important obligatory actions. It is better than waging jihad against those mushrikeen and people of the Book who do not fight the Muslims, for waging jihad against these comes under the same heading as waging jihad against the apostates. Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq and all the Sahaabah started with jihad against the apostates before they engaged in jihad against the kuffaar of the people of the Book, for jihad against these (the apostates) is a means to protect the lands that are already under Muslim rule, and to deter anyone who wants to apostatize. Jihad against the mushrikeen and people of the Book who are not fighting us is an additional manifestation of the power of this religion. Protecting the capital takes precedence over making profit.

Moreover the harm that these people (hypocrites) cause to the Muslims is greater than that caused by others (kaafirs), indeed their harm is like that caused by the mushrikeen and people of the Book who fight the Muslims. The damage that they do to the religious commitment of many people is worse than the damage done by those mushrikeen and people of the Book who wage war on us. Every Muslim must do as much as he can of his duty. It is not permissible for anyone to keep quiet about anything that he knows about them, rather he must broadcast it so that the Muslims will know what they really are. It is not permissible for anyone to help them to remain among the troops and government employees, or for anyone to keep quiet and refrain from carrying out against them that which Allaah and His Messenger have enjoined. It is not permissible for anyone to speak against carrying out what Allaah and His Messenger have enjoined. This is one of the greatest types of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and of striving in jihad for the sake of Allaah.

 Allaah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning): 

“O Prophet (Muhammad)! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them” [al-Tawbah 9:73] 

These people are included in this phrase “the disbelievers and the hypocrites”. 

The one who helps to put a stop to their evil and to guide them as much as he can will have of reward that which is known only to Allaah, for the primary purpose is to guide them as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“You (true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:110] 

Abu Hurayrah said: You are the best of people for people, you bring them in chains and fetters until they enter Islam. (al-Bukhaari, 4557).

The purpose of jihad and of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, is to guide people to what is best for them in this world and in the Hereafter, as much as possible; then whomsoever Allaah guides will find happiness in this world and in the Hereafter, and whomsoever He does not guide, his evil will be contained. 

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 35/159-160

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

The Muslim ummah must respond in kind when it is attacked. So with regard to those who fight Islam with ideas and words, we must explain the falseness of what they say using rational evidence as well as shar’i evidence, so that the falseness of what they say will become apparent. 

With regard to those who fight Islam by economic means, we must ward them off and attack them if possible, by using the same means with which they attack Islam. We must explain that the best way to strengthen the economy in a just manner is the Islamic way.

With regard to those who attack Islam with weapons, we must resist them in a similar fashion. Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O Prophet (Muhammad)! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them, their abode is Hell, — and worst indeed is that destination”[al-Tawbah 9:73] 

It is well known that jihad against the hypocrites is not like jihad against the kuffaar, because jihad against the hypocrites is fought with knowledge and argument, whilst jihad against the kuffaar is fought with swords and arrows. 

Fataawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haraam, p. 1733.

We ask Allaah to help the Muslims against their enemies. 

And Allaah knows best.

Source: Islam Q&A