Satan

Satan, also known as the Devil, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as either a fallen angel or a jinn, who used to possess great piety and beauty, but rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. In Judaism, Satan is typically regarded as a metaphor for the yetzer hara, or "evil inclination", or as an agent subservient to God.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 3 weeks ago

Whispering of Shaitan does not need his physical presence in front of us, as Shaitan is able to whisper to us from far and we don't see him. Shaitan whispered to Adam and Eve and Talal oath that he is advising them for their benefit. They never thought that anyone can take a false oath. They did not commit any sin by eating from the tree because they were never been ordered but just been advised. Doing against an advice is not a sin but it was better to avoid it.

'Wassalam.

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Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 1 month ago

It may not be Shaytan. You would need some evidence of that. It may be because, when you pray, sometimes you suspend the actively thinking part of your mind. Your mind relaxes in some sense. If you feel a yawn coming try to slow down in your actions slightly, close your mouth, breathe slowly in through your nose and regulate your breathing before continuing.

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Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb, Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He used to be a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa... Answer updated 2 months ago

Satan was not created a Satan as he is now with the devilish power. For many years he was a companion and associate of the the angels. He misused his position and power, and began to rebel against goodness and truth, and started doing wrong and evil and finally turned to what it is now. On the other hand; SATAN can systematically not harm or seduce a

believer unless he is obeyed. As for those who wish to tread the path of truth SATAN is a means of manifesting, and bringing to action the possibilities and hidden power of man; for evolution always establishes through contraction and conflicts.

So creation of Satan as a Jinn who used to worship Allah for a long time before creation of Adam has nothing to do with Injustice.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 3 months ago

1. Not all Jinns are bad but there are among Jinns believers as well as non believers as we read in Quran :( There are among us some righteous and some contrary, we are groups having different ways). Sura Al-Jinn, verse 11.

2. Shaytan (Satan) does not like us obeying Allah, but he can not freely harm us just because of our worshiping Allah as far as we seek help and protection from Allah (SWT). Ahlul Bayt (AS) and their families were the most devout servants of Allah (SWT) ,yet Shayan could not harm them.

3. Sleep disturbance might have different reasons but we have in the authentic narrations guidelines for avoiding disturbance like: 1. Performing Wudhu before going to bed. 2. Reciting Ayatul Kursi and Sura Falaq and Sura Naas before sleeping.

3. Reciting Tasdeeq of Fatimah (AS) before sleeping.

4. Reciting Estighfaar and Salawaat.

5. Reciting يفعل الله ما يشاء بقدرته ويُحكِم ما يريد بعزَّته

YAF'ALOLLAH MAA YASHAA BIQODRATIH WA YUHKIMU MAA YUREEDU BI'IZZATIH.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 6 months ago

Waswas is from Shaitan and no way to get rid of it but to drive Shaitan away. You need to focus on the fact that it is from your worst enemy (Shaitan) and seek help from Allah, The Most Exalted, to protect you from Shaitan.
Repeating Estighfaar, and Salawaat and LA HAWLA WALA QOWWATA ILLA BILLAH  can be very helpful.

'Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 8 months ago

Yes, we are allowed to use any useful technology even if some persons who are involved in it are doing wrong. We should avoid doing wrong and use the technology in the lawful way. Knowledge is for all human beings no matter who invented any specific technology.

'Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

The expression من ليس له شيخ شيخه الشيطان is not found in the extant hadith collections. It is attributed to some Sufis.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

Allah, The Glorious, Has granted human beings the intellect (Aql) which makes them know right and wrong and upon following the right and avoiding the wrong, Allah grants them happiness and reward. Allah Does not force people to do right or avoid wrong because He gave them the indicator and the ability to do good and avoid wrong. Forcing them to do good and avoid wrong is against the Justice of Allah, because there then be no difference between good people and wrong people. Satan is our worst enemy as Allah Has informed us in Quran and Allah Has ordered us to take Satan as our enemy. Those who use their senses obey Allah, while those who do not use their senses obey Satan ignoring that he is their worst enemy.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 2 years ago

Thinking about good things and intending to do good acts is a cause of reward even if we fail to do it for unavoidable reasons. Intending to do a sinful act then not doing it, saves the person from the sin because he did not commit the sin despite of thinking about it.

Waswasa of Shaytan is very bad, but no punishment before committing a bad act.

Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 2 years ago

This is unlikely and not substantiated in Qur'an and hadith.

Shaytan's job is to deceive us in this world, not at death. There would be no purpose for him to do that there.

Sometimes, when people are dying, they see their loved ones. This is also mentioned in some of the accounts of Karbala that are recited yearly regarding the shuhada'. Whether this is actually seeing them in the barzakh or some other metaphysical phenomenon, God knows best. But it is unlikley to be Shaytan. 

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 2 years ago

According to the Qur'an, God has absolute power over all things.

Satan, as a created being, is under God's power and only has some capability to influence or affect people because God has allowed this for the duration of this world or universe.

God has given Satan free will, just as God has given free will to human beings and other jinn. (According to most Muslim exegetes, Satan is one of the jinn, not an angel or fallen angel.) However, this free will is not absolute: while we are responsible for our decisions in the hereafter, and lead ourselves to heaven or hell, we cannot always do everything we want since sometimes the divine decree/destiny affects what happens in our lives. So, we are still under the power of God, even if we have free will in how we respond to matters that are fated.

Therefore, Satan is not an equal contender to God and there is no cosmic battle between good and evil, even if sometimes an individual person may go back and forth towards or against Satan.

(However, the idea of a cosmic battle between good and evil predates Islam, and has hence influenced some cultures, and also seems to be part of the human psyche, so you will sometimes hear Muslims framing things like that. But that is not theologically correct according to the Qur'an.)

Some scriptural references from the Qur'an:

* Satan has no powerful over the faithful who seek refuge with their Lord (16:22).
* On Judgment Day, Satan will tell people, "God made promises that were true, and I made promises to you that I did not keep. I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you obeyed me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves. I cannot aid you now, and you cannot aid me now. I disassociate myself from the way you associated partners with God." (14:22) 
* The story of when Adam is created, God orders Satan to bow to him. Satan refuses, and God expels him from the celestial realms. Satan swears to misguide humanity, so God allows him to do that for the duration of this world or universe, after which time Satan and those who choose to obey him will enter hell. (7:11-7:18, and elsewhere in the Qur'an)
* Satan's power is to whisper and delude. (4:120)
* Satan's plots are weak. (4:76)
* People choose by their own free will to obey (and hence worship, since obedience is considered a form of worship) Satan and are held accountable for it. (36:59-63)

These sections of the Qur'an can be read further at quran.al-islam.org or other websites if one does not have a printed copy of the Qur'an.

However, insofar as Satan's power in this world among humanity is proportional to how many people choose to support, follow, or obey him, one could say that, to some degree, Satan's power depends on people's choices. This is similar to a country which has a president who has full authority to exert his/her will (for instance, a military and police force which will do what he says), but where the people follow what a social influencer says. He may allow this and be the ultimate authority, and could shut down the influencer if he wanted, but, in practice, the social media influencer is asserting some authority due to the people's choice. 

So, from this angle, one could say that sometimes Satan's influence is greater or lesser, depending on where one is, what era one is living in, etc. Certainly there has been a lot of evil in the world in the 20th century, however, it is also quite possible that Satan was not behind this and is simply standing there smiling and laughing as human beings make a mess of things themselves.

Some of this is apparently also due to human choice, especially the move away from the divine and the sacred in some heavily secular ideologies; the Qur'an says: "They forgot God, so God forgot them". (8:67) People can do this with or without Satan.

Still, the Qur'an says: Had it not been for the grace and mercy of God Allah upon you, you would have followed Satan, except a few of you (4:83). So this reiterates the idea that God is the ultimate authority, not Satan.

I also like to think that, despite the evils of the world, most people are ultimately good at heart and want for things to go aright; we are just going through a difficult time.

Hope that helps!

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Satan will try anything. There was a story of a mystic where Satan came to him at prayer time and tell him to pray just so that a he may be confused into obeying him. The mystic said I am praying but not because you told me and continued his worship. The best way to deal with Satan is to ignore your doubts and to be sure of what you are doing and why you are doing it.

May you always be successful