The Deceptions of Satan

As for the sacred way of the people of guidance—and foremost the people of prophethood, and at their head the Noble Messenger (saw), the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds—it contains important principles such as affirmation, establishment, restoration, action, uprightness within the prescribed bounds, consideration of the final outcome, worship, and breaking the pharaonic self-assertion and lawlessness of the commanding nafs. For this reason, the hypocrites of that time in Madinah al-Munawwarah closed their eyes like bats before that Radiant Sun, were caught by a satanic force of repulsion in the face of that immense attraction, and remained in misguidance.

If it is asked: The Noble Messenger (saw) is the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds; the Qur’an in his hand is the truth, and the reality upon his tongue is the truth. Part of the soldiers in his army are angels. With a single handful of water, he gives an entire army to drink. With four handfuls of wheat and the meat of a young goat, he provides a feast that feeds a thousand men. When he casts a handful of earth at the eyes of the army of unbelievers, a handful of earth enters the eye of every unbeliever from that single handful, and they flee. How is it, then, that such a divinely guided commander, the possessor of thousands of miracles like these, suffered defeat at the end of Uhud and at the beginning of Hunayn?

The Answer: The Noble Messenger (saw) was sent as an example, imam, and guide for mankind, so that the human race might learn from him the principles governing social and personal life, become accustomed to obeying the laws of Hakīm-i Dhul-Kamāl, and act in conformity with the principles of His wisdom.

If the Prophet (saw) had constantly relied upon extraordinary events and miracles in his social and personal life, he could not have been, in all his actions, the absolute imam and supreme guide for mankind.

It is for this reason that, in order to confirm his prophethood and to refute the denial of the unbelievers, he displayed miracles, by Allah’s permission, only when they were needed. Throughout his life, he lived with complete care in accordance with the commands of Allah, and more than anyone else he observed and obeyed the laws of Divine custom established by His wisdom and will. For example, he armed himself against enemies and encouraged his Companions to do the same. He was wounded and underwent hardship, thereby showing how he obeyed, in this world, the laws established by His wisdom and will.

The Tenth Sign

One of Satan’s most important deceptions is to make those who follow him deny his very existence. Since, in our time, those whose minds have been clouded by materialist philosophy show hesitation concerning this self-evident truth, we shall say a few words against this deception of Satan. It is as follows:

Just as there are, visibly among human beings, wicked spirits clothed in bodies who perform the function of Satan, so too it is equally certain that among the jinn there are wicked spirits without physical bodies. If they were to clothe themselves in material bodies, they would be exactly like these wicked human beings. And if these human devils, who appear in human form, were able to cast off their bodies, they would become those devils from among the jinn. It is even because of this close relation between the two that a false school came to the mistaken conclusion: “The exceedingly wicked spirits of evil human beings become devils after death.”