The Traps of Shaytan
“Surely, Shaytan is an enemy to you, so take (take) him as an enemy.”[Al-Fatir (35): 6]
Although Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) have warned us numerous times about the evil plots of Shaytan, we as human continue to fall victim to evil schemes. Why is it hard for some of us to avoid the one who tries to make us disobey our Creator. How is it that it becomes easy to obey our enemy and disobey the One Who loves us, cares for us, provides us, protects us, bestows on us His vast mercy…etc. ? Why is he able to make us fall into his traps while Allah says in the Quran : “Indeed, the plot of Satan is ever weak. (4:76)
Let’s take a brief look at how Shaytan plays with our minds and what we can do to protect ourselves from his evil whispers.
Allah says in the Quran; “…and follow not the footsteps of Shaytan (Satan). Surely he is to you an open enemy.” (6:142)
If you noticed, Allah did not say…” follow not Shaytan”, but rather, follow not his FOOTSTEPS. He doesn’t come to us at once. but he lures us one by one until he gets us to fulfill his ultimate goal which is to misguide us in any way he can. This is how he expelled our parents Adam and Hawa from Jannah. He did not approach them at once and tell them to eat from the forbidden tree. No. Rather, he lured them gradually, one by one. He approached to them time and time again. He decorated his words to make it seem that eating from the tree was no big deal. He swore to them and said he was from the sincere wishers and only wanted good for them.
Similarly, Shaytan tries to enter our inner souls to drive it to slowly and subtly towards sin and transgression. He wants to corrupt our hearts and minds by making false promises, giving us false hopes and attempting to beautify our sins. He is determined to lead us astray so we can be from his companions in the Hell fire. He said to Allah: “…I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You).” (7:17)
So what are the steps he takes to deviate us :
1. His main goal is to have all of mankind to disbelieve in their Creator. He will cause doubts in their hearts and in their religion until they disbelieve in the existence of Allah.
2. If he doesn’t succeed, he will cause them to commit Shirk by worshipping and associating others with Allah. He will convince them that Allah can only be worshiped through his creation. Ex. taking a son, worshipping animals, planets, humans ..etc.
3. For the believers, he will cause them to commit shirk and innovations in the religion (bidah) – he will make them talk to those in the graves, swear on others than Allah, celebrate Milad An Nabi, birthdays, Non-religious holidays, add extra worship not taught by the Prophet (peace be upon him) or his companions. He will make them worship their wealth, their status, jobs…etc.
4. If he’s unable, he will entice them to commit major sins. He will make them skip prayers, disobey parents, fornicate, steal, indulge in witchcraft, riba (usury), backbiting, slandering…etc.
5. Then he’ll tempt them with the piling up of minor sins until it leads to destruction. He will make them look at unlawful things, listen to music, shake hands with non Mahrams, mix and chat with the opposite gender, use bad language..etc.
6. He will then corrupt their acts of worship by causing doubt and insincerity in his heart. He will make them show off and want praise for their good deeds.
7. If not, then he will make them busy with wasting time so they have no time for gaining any reward. He will make them waste time on games, non-beneficial videos/shows, sleeping, scrolling on social media…etc.
So what steps can you take to protect yourself from Satan:
1. Adhere to the Quran and Sunnah and seek Allah’s help and guidance
2. Always seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan
3. Keep yourself busy with Quran, Dhikr and good deeds
4. Keep good companionship and avoid being alone
5. Avoid sinful environments
6. Constantly seek forgiveness
7. Resist the Shaytan. Fight his whispers and inner self and don’t surrender to his plots
Shaytan never tires, he comes to a person through his weakness, he will cause despair, hatred, he will make one neglect his obligations or exaggerate in the religion. He will attack and irritate you until he reaches his goal. But good tidings to those who hold firm to their deed and follow the straight path. Glad tidings to those who can defeat Shaytan’s weak schemes: “Verily! My slaves (the true believers of Islamic Monotheism), you have no authority over them. And All-Sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian.” (17:65)
