“O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” (Surah Baqara, verse 153)
“O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” (Surah Baqara, verse 153)
While reading the meaning of Surah Baqara and reflecting upon it, it suddenly dawned on me that both man and Satan have been granted free will. The difference between man and animal is clear – the ability to think. But man and Satan are equal in that they both can think and plan.
The difference lies in the fact that Satan uses all his abilities towards creating evil and fulfilling his promise of misleading man, whereas man has a choice. Man can either follow Satan and adopt the route of evil or put in efforts to stick to the right path marked by Allah.
Allah created this life’s journey full of tests and tribulations, and choosing the right road would make the journey worth it when we reach the destination. The best way to do this is by taking life one day at a time.
Every day when we wake up, we begin our life on a fresh note. The day is like a blank canvas, we choose how to fill it and what activities to do. We usually populate it with our work and things that are important to us.
Allah has already laid out a structure for our day in the form of daily prayers. There are also a set of supplications that Prophet Mohammed (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) recited every morning and evening to seek Allah’s mercy and protection against Satan. These daily prayers and supplications are powerful tools that make our day productive in this world and beneficial for our hereafter.
We have the free will to decide how to spend our day but remember so does Satan. Satan starts his day and his eternal efforts of misleading man by encouraging negative thoughts. As the universal law goes, efforts pay, whether you put your efforts in positive work or negative, it provides results. This law is true for Satan as well. So, if not stopped he succeeds in his effort of misguiding man and leading him to hellfire.
Prayers and supplications are a way of annulling the efforts of Satan. If every morning we start off by calling out to Allah and handing in our affairs of the day to him, we are protected from Satan.
For example, when the following dua is recited while leaving the house, an angel announces, ‘You are protected!’ and ‘You are guided!’. And Satan says, ‘Alas! Now what can I do with him.’
Here is a dua when leaving the house:
Anas ibn Maalik (Radhi Allah Anh) reported: Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, “Whoever says upon leaving his house:
ِا هّللََِّل بَِّوةَ إَوََل َحْو َل َوََل قُُت َعلَى هّٰللاِ،َْو َّكلْسِم هّٰللاِ، تَِب
Bismillaahi, tawakkaltu ‘alallaahi, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah In the Name of Allah, I have placed my trust in Allah; there is no might and no power except by Allah. It will be said to him: ‘You are guided, defended and protected.’ The devil will go far away from him.”
Abu Dawud reports it with this addition: “One devil will say to another: ‘How can you deal with a man who has been guided, defended and protected?’”
[Abu Dawud 4/325, At-Tirmithi 5/490 and An-Nasa’i. See also Al-Albani, Sahih At-Tirmithi 3/151]
Think of it this way, assume you work in a team and there are other teams working alongside you. Each team has a manager who assigns work and takes care of his team. All teams must collaborate to complete a project, but there is this one team that is over-ambitious, and they do not bother the means they use to complete their work, including intimidating and pushing their work to other teams.
How would you avoid being bullied by this team? Let’s assume that your manager is a good leader – although this is not the case always in the real world. If you start your day by directly reporting to the manager, updating him about your plan for the day, and getting assigned the tasks he wants completed, you will have a well-defined set of tasks and the support of your manager. You are well equipped to avoid any bullying attempts by the other team.
This is the same with Satan and man. If man remembers Allah before starting each day entrusting him with his affairs and uses the shields Allah has provided in the form of prayer and supplications, he is surely protected from Satan’s bullying.
Satan has three traits that make him formidable and powerful:
- He is extremely good at persuading man to do negative acts. He can show logic and reasoning in negative behaviour making man believes he is right in his thinking and actions.
- He is super consistent. He does not take days off or go on vacation. He will visit you every single day, he does not accept defeat.
- He is a great opportunist. He waits for you to put your guard down and attacks you the moment you do so.
Satan not only creates negativity inside us but around us as well through the people we deal with. Our reactions to people and situations are our real test. I have found silence, humour, patience, and positive behaviour as the best weapons in this kind of test.
Allah says in Surah Baqara, verse 153:
O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.
Prayer strengthens our inner self and patience makes us stronger to deal with negative situations.
Evading Satan’s attacks lies in understanding the fact that Satan can plan and prepare. He continuously evolves his tactics, which means every day is a new start full of opportunities for both man and Satan. So always remember to face the day equipped with the right weapons and defenses.
