Silent Assassin

We face many challenges during our lives. We turn to Allah (S.W.T) at the time of need but sadly move away when we feel comfortable. We forget all the blessings given to us by Allah (S.W.T). Do we stop and think why this is? What makes our Imaan fluctuate? Who is diverting our attentions from following the teachings of Islam? Who is constantly whispering to us to achieve his goal? To prepare ourselves we need to know who we are fighting against.

Shaitaan (Iblis) is the sworn enemy of mankind. He has taken a solemn oath to misguide us. However his power over us is limited to whispered temptation and he can never negate our free will. Shaitaan launches his attacks on mankind from every direction. He is the silent assassin.

As the Quran says: He (Iblis) said: ‘Since you have led me astray, (I swear that) I will (also) sit on Your straight path (to waylay the children of Adam till I cause them to deviate from the path of truth).I will assuredly approach them from their front, from their rear, from their right and from their left, and (consequently) You will not find most of them grateful.’ [Surah Al Araf, Part 8, Ayah 16-17, Page 237]

Shaitaan’s exerts his influence on a person’s thoughts. He launches his assaults from various fronts, of which we mention a few:

He tries to deter people from worshipping Allah (S.W.T). He tempts people to act according to their personal desires and weaknesses. He influences a person's ability to think rationally so that instead of reaching conclusions based on Islamic teachings; a person starts to accept fallacies that only seem to be rational.

He distorts their understanding and convinces them to reject the possibility of understanding the truth. In this way, Shaitaan first corrupts one’s perception of reality, then his ability to comprehend reality, and finally his actions.

To fight against Shaitaan’s whispers we need to turn to the Holy Quran and teachings of our Beloved Prophet (S.A.W). We need to increase our knowledge by reading, reciting and reflecting on Quran and Sunnah. We also need to practice what we learn, pray daily, make Dua and repent sincerely.

When Shaitaan took his oath to lead mankind astray Allah (S.W.T) also made a promise. Iblis says “I shall continue to lead Thy servants astray as long as their spirits are in their bodies" and Allah (S.W.T) replied (Then) I shall continue to pardon them as long as they ask for my forgiveness." [Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 742]

Let us wage war against Shaitaan by devoting ourselves to increasing our Imaan. Remember Allah (S.W.T)'s promise and ask for forgiveness. We need to sincerely repent and avoid falling into the traps of Shaitaan.