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We believe that a true and comprehensive understanding of Islam would not be possible without careful recognition of the Prophetic Tradition and the Prophet's Household. And Allah is the Source of Strength.
 

The Devil Is In The Detail

If only you could have had a life worth thousands of years so that you could have worshipped Allah in the spirit of his Tauheed, and how amazing would it have been if Allah spoke to you directly and you spoke to Allah without a curtain in between you and him, you could witness the splendor of your creator. And if you would have been with the angels, then your faith would have been rigid in the oneness of Allah and in the Akhirat and nothing could cast a doubt in your heart and you would have been pinnacle of belief. This is the description of not one of the prophets of God, but of Iblis himself.

And say: O my Lord! I seek refuge in Thee from the evil suggestions of the Shaitans;
Quran [23:97]

The Iblis, the arch devil, the satan, the azazil, that we all seek refuge from probably every day, is not a hypocrite, or a mushrik, or a kaafir, or an atheist or a tyrant. Although we all know it, we all do not realize it. He is one of us muslims, who believes in Tawheed and akhirat;

He (Allah) said: O Iblis! what excuse have you that you are not with those who make obeisance? He (Iblis) said: I am not such that I should make obeisance to a mortal whom Thou hast created of the essence of black mud fashioned in shape.
Quran [15:32-33]

Allah spoke to Iblis and Iblis spoke to Allah. Therefore there was not a doubt in Iblis' mind or faith that Allah existed, or was the ultimate authority or was Waahid.

Iblis was also a firm believer in Qayamat and Akhirat, he knew it will happen hence he asked for respite till then;

He (iBLIS) said: My Lord! then respite me to the day that they are raised.  He said: Surely you are of the respited ones, Till the period of the time made known.
Quran [38:79-81]

Iblis was also an ardent believer in the authority and power of Allah and knew that the only way to achieve something is to pray to Allah, hence he asked Allah for respite and wished that Allah listens to his prayers for giving him respite.

He (aLLAH) said: Then get out of it, for surely you are driven away: And surely on you is curse until the day of judgment. He (Iblis said: My Lord! then respite me till the time when they are raised. He said: So surely you are of the respited ones. Till the period of the time made known.
Quran [15:34-38]

Iblis was also a believer in the Adl of Allah and knew that despite his respite he will not be able to sway away those who Allah has chosen;

He said: My Lord! because Thou hast made life evil to me, I will certainly make (evil) fair-seeming to them on earth, and I will certainly cause them all to deviate . Except Thy servants from among them, the devoted ones.
Quran [15:39-40]

Finally, this Iblis strongly disagrees to us associating him with Allah as he is aware of the status and grandeur of his creator as well. What irony that even Iblis will be testifying against some of us.

And the Shaitan shall say after the affair is decided: Surely Allah promised you
the promise of truth, and I gave you promises, then failed to keep them to you, and I had
no authority over you, except that I called you and you obeyed me, therefore do not
blame me but blame yourselves: I cannot be your aider (now) nor can you be my aiders;
surely I disbelieved in your associating me with Allah before; surely it is the unjust that shall have the painful punishment.
Quran [14:22]

This Iblis who all muslims curse every day and seek refuge from, who we believe is the arch deceiver, who will burn in the fire of hell more than the AbuLahabs and the Firauns and Yazids and hitlers turns out to be a firm believer in oneness of Allah infact knows the oneness of Allah, asks help from Allah, believes in Adl of Allah, believes in the Akhirat.

It is a separate topic how this Iblis got the curse of Allah (by not accepting what Allah had chosen for everyone out of his will and authority). Iblis did not challenge the tawheed of Allah but the Authority of Allah by rejecting the representative Allah had opted for himself.

It is important to understand that this Iblis has stronger Islamic fundamentals than you and me. Why do we then try to find him in the mushriks and in the kuffars and in the munafiqs? This iblis is very much one of us because he shares the same faith and root as we do.

And now comes the tricky path, this Iblis speaks the truth and this Iblis wants the best for us.

And he (Iblis) swore to them both (Adam and Eve) : Most surely I am a sincere adviser to you.
Quran [7:21]

He wanted to stop Ibrahim (AS) from killing his son from his own hands for isnt it murder?.

(and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead;) means, "He turned him upside down on his face.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "When the rituals were enjoined upon Ibrahim, peace be upon him, the Shaytan appeared to him at the Mas`a and raced with him, but Ibrahim got there first. Then Jibril, upon him be peace, took him to Jamrat Al-`Aqabah and the Shaytan appeared to him, so he stoned him with seven pebbles until he disappeared. Then he appeared him at Al-Jamrah Al-Wusta and he stoned him with seven pebbles. Then he laid him prostrate on his face. Isma`il, peace be upon him, was wearing a white shirt, and he said, `O my father, I do not have any garment in which I can be shrouded apart from this; take it off me so that you can shroud me in it.'
Tafisr Ibn Kathir, Tafsir of Surah 37 Ayah 103

Iblis wanted Adam (AS) to have a long life and evade death;

But the Shaitan made an evil suggestion to them that he might make manifest to
them what had been hidden from them of their evil inclinations, and he said: Your Lord
has not forbidden you this tree except that you may not both become two angels or that you may (not) become of the immortals.
Quran [7:20]

When i said that Iblis speaks the truth, was infact a partial statement. Iblis and his likes speak 9 part of truth while mix it with 1 part of falsehood. Based on the truth that they say, the sneak in the falsehood which starts eating your faith. This is my way of explaining how Iblis confuses the believers.

Truth is not alien to Iblis. As we stated above his Islamic fundamentals are much stronger than any one of us who claims to be on Haq. Additionally, they do steal news of the unseen.

And certainly We have made strongholds (zodiac) in the heaven and We have made it fair seeming to the beholders. And We guard it against every accursed Shaitan, But he who steals a hearing, so there follows him a visible flame.
Quran [15:16-18]

Surely We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars, And (there is) a safeguard against every rebellious Shaitan. They cannot listen to the exalted assembly and they are thrown at from every side, Being driven off (from the heavens), and for them is a perpetual chastisement, Except him who snatches off but once, then there follows him a brightly shining flame (bolt) Then ask them whether they (demons) are stronger in creation or those (others) whom We have created. Surely We created them of firm clay.
Quran [37:6-11]

The devils can steal news from the skies, sometimes incomplete and mix this truth with their falsehood to make people believe in the falsehood that they have planted.

(When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His decree, a chain beating on a rock. And when the fear in their hearts subsides, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said'' They say: "The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.'' Then when the Jinn who are listening out, one above the other) -- and Sufyan illustrated this with a gesture, holding his hand vertically with his fingers outspread -- (when they hear this, they throw it down from one to another, until it is passed to the fortune-teller or soothsayer. The shooting star may strike the Jinn before he passes it on, or he may pass it on before he is struck, and he adds to it one hundred lies, thus it is said: "Did he not tell us that on such and such a day, such and such would happen'' So they believe him because of that one thing which was heard from the heavens.) This was recorded by Al-Bukhari. Al-Bukhari recorded from `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet said: (The angels speak in the clouds about some matter on earth, and the Shayatin overhear what they say, so they tell it to the fortune-teller, gurgling into his ear like (a liquid poured) from a glass bottle, and he adds to it one hundred lies.)
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Tafsir of Surah 26 Ayah 222

That is why the Prophet (SAW) said whoever believes in the soothsayer has disbelieved in anything that was revealed to the Prophet (SAW).

The specialty of the devils as mentioned in the Quran is as follows;

  1. he/they will give promises and excite vain desires - Quran 4:120
  2. he/they will cause enmity and hatred amongst people - Quran 5:91
  3. he/they kept the ad and samood away from haq despite ad and samood having skill and intelligence - Quran 29:38
  4. he/they taught people sorcery (which can as a matter of fact only hurt by Allah's permission) - Quran 2:102
  5. he/they encourage usury - Quran 2:275
  6. he/they causes to forget (something which is beneficial or in Allah's way) - Quran 12:42
  7. he/they threaten with poverty and encourages niggardly - Quran 2:268

The forte of Iblis and his likes remains to mix the truth with the falsehood.

And thus did We make for every prophet an enemy, the Shaitans from among
men and jinn, some of them suggesting to others varnished falsehood to deceive (them), and had your Lord pleased they would not have done it, therefore leave them and that
which they forge.
Quran [6:112]

Iblis will camouflage the falsehood with truth. As you will not be able to differentiate the two, you will fall prey to this cursed.

Therefore even Allah warns us to seek refuge from the shaitan even when we recite his kalaam;

So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan,
Quran [16:98]

This dces not mean that one should merely repeat the Arabic words: (I seek Allah's refuge against the accursed Satan). It means that one should have a sincere desire and do one's utmost to guard against Satan's evil suggestions when one is reciting the Holy Qur'an and should not allow wrong and irrelevant doubts and suspicions to enter one's heart.
Tafheem ul Quran by Abul Aala Maududi, Tafsir of Surah 16 Ayah 98

The works of Iblis in mixing truth with falsehood are so specialized, if Allah does not bless us we will never realize it.

And most surely they (shaitans) turn them away from the path, and they think that
they are guided aright:
Quran [43:37]

That is why you will find the Qari sahab who will be teaching Quran to the kids and then he will also rape/abuse them. You will find pious syed families whose prayers are always accepted because of their blood lineage, not giving inheritance to their women (and marrying them to Quran) to keep property within the family. You will find muslims doing jihad in the name of Allah entering the Army public school in Pindi and kill children. You will find the most pious people who have done hajj and not committed a sin in their life rise in the ranks of arrogance.  You will find lovers of Ali Ibn Abu Talib (AS) consider him god-like (Nuseryat). You will find Namazis coming to kill Syed ash-Shabaab Ahlul Jannah (prince of youth of paradise) Imam Hussain (AS). You will find the Siddiqs coming out against the Siddiqa Tahera (AS) to confront for Fadak and you will not be able to distinguish the truthful ones from the liars.

To save yourself from the fitnah of the Iblis, it is utmost important to distinguish the truth that he mixes with the falsehood to present you. Remembrance of Allah is the key.

Shall I inform you (of him) upon whom the Shaitans descend? They descend upon every lying, sinful one, They incline their ears, and most of them are liars. And as to the poets, those who go astray follow them. Do you not see that they wander about bewildered in every valley? And that they say that which they do not do, Except those who believe and do good and remember Allah much, and defend themselves after they are oppressed; and they who act unjustly shall know to what final place of turning they shall turn back.
Quran [26:221-227]

Creation of man and appointment of one Adam (AS) as khalif on earth not only uncovered Iblis from the ranks of worshippers and the prestigious, also showed concerns the angels had. Men would make mischief and shed blood while the angels would continue to praise Allah;

And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a khalif,
they said: What! wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood,
and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said: Surely I know what you do
not know.
Quran [2:30]

Allah responded to this challenge; that He knew what the angels did not. Are we what the angels warned about and the devil challenged for, or are we what Allah knew which the angels did not and neither the devil had the authority over?

To get rid of the devil we must segregate the truth from the falsehood he has sown together and presented before us. The Quran does not say be with the truth, for truth in itself is not recognizable, Quran says to be with the true ones, for once you recognize them only then you can recognize the truth.

O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah and be with the true ones.
Quran [9:119]

Salat on its own does not establish truth. It is not true to pray salat in the camp of Umer Bin Saad (Captain of Yazids army who shot the first arrow at the camp of Imam Hussain (AS)). It is true to pray salat in the camp of Imam Hussain (AS). Praying salat is an isolated act of truth which changes its intrinsic value if it is attached with non truthful people.

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