Who is Shaytan and how can we overcome him?
Who is shaytan(The Devil)?
A Shaytan(Devil) is anyone who diverts people from the obedience of God. A shaytan can refer to a human being(Evil person) or to a spiritual being(Evil spirit). Angels are dwellers of the spiritual realm who follow the commands of God and Devils (Evil spirits, Shayteen) are dwellers of the spiritual realm who disobey God. It is said that Adam is the forefather of mankind and Iblees is the forefather of Shayteens. Indeed It is Iblees who first disobeyed God and was sent out of paradise. Iblees was too proud to repent after misleading Adam whereas Adam repented. Shaytan is a trial and test to the slaves of God.“Surely Shaytan is an enemy to you, so treat him as an enemy.” (quran 35:6)
The tricks of Shaytan.
Shayteen surround the children of Adam and make them suggestions according to their emotions and desires. Shaytan will seduce someone to join partners with god(through practicing magic or invoking the dead or other forms of association ) because he knows that Allah hates Kufr.
Shaytan can also invite his followers to practice innovation in religion(Introducing practices forbidden by the quran or the sunna). Moreover shaytan might seduce the believer to commit major sins such as given up prayers or even minor sins. Another trick of Shaytan is to cast doubt in the mind of the believers thus they will sometimes doubt about the effectiveness and necessity of obeying God or doubt about the resurrection and the hereafter. Shaytan can also cause someone to be doing useless things that will neither profit nor harm him but prevent him from performing good deeds. When the believer still resists, the the shayteen may cause him to be persecuted or distorts his reputation. Since Shaytan is just a trial he can be easily defeated.
How to avoid Shaytan
Islam(submission to Allah ) is the only effective method against Shaytan. The expectation of instant
gratification makes us weak. Very few people are prepared to wait, work hard or suffer temporary hardship to achieve their goals. The are attracted by the world of wealth and power depicted on tv and in the movies. Moreover people believe that the stronger and the wealthier is the most powerful and happy and can destroy the weak. Psychological disorders and mental illnesses are a result of the exposition of the weak to this way of live. To overcome this the learning and sincere practicing of islam is an effective method. Learn to control anger and desire for shaytan uses anger and desires to enter the human mind. God said to Iblees when he avowed to mislead the children of Adam: “Certainly you shall have no authority over my slaves except those who follow you…”(quran 15:39-42). Shaytan has no power over true believers. “Verily he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord…”(quran 16:99)
Keep repenting and practicing Islam:
Whe Shaytan said to God: “I will keep trying to misguide your slaves so long as their souls are in their bodies.’ The Lord said, ‘By My Glory and Majesty, I will
continue to forgive them so long as they ask My forgiveness.’”
[Saheeh al-Jamee (2/32)]
Sincere repentance will always destroy the plan of the devil….
