Satan and Man: Goal and Means

All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, His guidance, and His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah — blessed and exalted — from the evils of ourselves and the wickedness of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray; whomever He leads astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner — His is the dominion, and to Him is the praise; in His hand are the keys of the heavens and the earth, and He is over all things capable. And I bear witness that our master and Prophet Muḥammad is the servant of Allah and His Prophet and Messenger — His chosen one and beloved among His creation — who conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, sincerely counseled the Ummah, and through whom Allah lifted the darkness. May Allah reward him on our behalf and on behalf of the Ummah of Islam with the best of reward.

To proceed:

I wanted to continue a conversation I began yesterday — not here, but with our youth at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). It was striking that a number of young people at this age requested a special talk about the entry points of Satan; it has become a frequent topic, almost commonplace. If you ask about the way the youth think, you'll find that they perhaps think differently than the ways used with older generations. And in the course of the conversation, you realize you are before minds truly capable of moving the future, of planning for it, and of working diligently in service of what they aim toward.

So today I wanted to share with you what was said in that gathering, that Allah — exalted is He — may complete for us its benefit, by His permission.

The Concept of Worship and Vicegerency

Islam is a comprehensive religion, and the concept of worship in Islam is not restricted to prayer, fasting, and remembrance alone — it is far broader. That you are a vicegerent of Allah on the earth is not opposed to the term "worship" — it is part of worship's general and complete definition. To sit here in the Friday sermon, to go out to the hospital or the factory or the school to complete your work, to sleep at night so you may wake in the morning at full strength — the features of worship encompass every detail of life.

Satan's Mission

What is Satan's mission? His mission is to lead you astray. He is in this entire life with one sole mission: to lead you astray. He has prepared for you what he has not prepared for others; he has no other aim. Do not imagine that one day you will slip and Satan will come and pat you on the back saying, "Alright, no problem — I won't do this with you again." On the contrary: he will bind you with what is more and what is harder, until he hurls the servant into ruin.

﴿I will surely lead them astray﴾ — a phrase of utmost power that expresses Satan's intent. Indeed, Satan was even more explicit when he declared that he would come at the children of Adam ﴿from before them, from behind them, and from their right and their left﴾. And he was even clearer about the ultimate goal: ﴿And You will not find most of them grateful﴾. He wants from you disbelief, error, misguidance, falsehood, evil, the circumvention of the law — he wants you to be other than what your Lord has commanded.

Satan's Entry Points: Greed and Miserliness

Since the resemblance among people is close, look for the maladies present in human beings. You find, for example, greed — this is a major banner. The concept of greed is one Satan enters through and uses inside you. You may say, "No, not all people are greedy." On the contrary: all people are greedy! How so, Shaykh? One is greedy for wealth, another is greedy for women, a third is greedy for more good deeds. The concept itself is present; what differs is the distribution of its objects from one person to another.

So Satan deploys his means and probes: what is the level of greed here? Like the physician who has the patient before him and begins examining the heart, the stomach, the colon, the brain, the eyes — he has ten or fifteen points he looks at, no more — but the level of resistance in one person is greater than in another. This man is weak in this area, that one is weak in that area, and so Satan searches for the points of weakness.

Then there is the matter of miserliness: there is a person who is miserly with his wealth, one who is miserly with his ideas, and one who is miserly with his feelings. The concept is present, but its distribution differs.

Comparisons: A Dangerous Entry Point

Then there are comparisons — among the most dangerous of entry points. Satan compared his state to that of the new creation (Adam, peace be upon him), but the problem is that the comparison was not built on true foundations. The comparison was from yourself, from your own mind, by your own taste. So when you compared, you compared according to your desire and what serves your interest. He said: ﴿I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay﴾. Fine — you took the side of one created from fire; why didn't you take the side of one created from light? The angels were created from light, so why didn't you side with those created from light? Because he sides with himself; he compares only in what serves his own interest.

We see the effects of these comparisons on the ground almost every day. For example: a woman gets married — praise be to Allah — and is very happy with her husband; her life is full of joy and delight. This happy marriage continues for a good while. Then what happens? Her younger sister gets married. And in a single moment, she compares her husband with her sister's husband, and suddenly her life is transformed. Imagine! Nothing changed in her life; nothing changed in her husband's character; but the comparison brought about this transformation.

Even with Pharaoh: The Gentle Word

And if you look at the highest degrees of tyranny and aggression, you find Allah — exalted is He — saying to Moses and Aaron: ﴿Go to Pharaoh, for he has transgressed. Then speak to him with a gentle word, that perhaps he may take heed or fear﴾. Our Lord knows that he transgressed; our Lord, glorified and exalted, knows that he transgressed — and yet He taught His two prophets the gentle word. If this is the matter with Pharaoh — the head of tyranny — then how much more so with what is below him? The path to hearts begins with gentleness and the kind word, not with harshness and arrogance.

Then reflect: Iblīs — who is Iblīs — before he became Satan, was with the angels, worshipping as they worshipped. But disobedience came through comparisons.

Bad Company: Another Entry Point

Then know that there is a greater affliction, and it is bad company. The Prophet ﷺ said: "A person is upon the religion of his close friend" — not only upon his manners or his habit. Many people's habits have changed because of their companions. A simple example: "By Allah, I never used to do this before!" What changed you? "I don't know… I befriended someone who drank a lot of coffee, so I began to drink like him." The habit transformed because of the company. Many of us use phrases that came from his household; many of us changed because of his companions. So look at whom you mingle with — and beware of associating with an envoy of Satan. Let your concern be to obey Allah.

Closing Counsels

A few small counsels to close with:

• Do not abandon the Fajr prayer, no matter what it costs you. There is a very simple app on the phone called "Athkar" — look it up and repeat the morning and evening remembrances. Because those who have made a habit of it have benefited greatly from it. Perhaps you cannot read while going to work in the morning, so you play the audio and hear: "We have entered upon the morning, and the dominion has entered upon the morning for Allah, and all praise is for Allah."

• And know that whoever abandons the prayer, Satan — from among his enemies — is given mastery over him and changes his religion. Because you are no longer free to pray and fast; you've become preoccupied with people: how do we fight, how do we pay, where do we go, what do we do? — and so your religion is changed upon you. Glory be to the One who taught us this.

Closing Supplication

O Allah, forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs, and make our feet firm upon the truth. O Allah, guide us in our paths. O Allah, give us our records in our right hands and do not give us our records in our left hands. O Allah, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from Your presence — indeed, You are the Bestower. Our Lord, forgive us what You know better than we know, accept our repentance, guide us, and set right our hearts, our minds, and our bodies. O Allah, sweeten our inner thoughts and prepare for us right guidance in our affair. And bless for us, O Allah, what You have provided us, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. And the last of our supplications is: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

(The recording ended before the sermon was complete — may Allah reward whoever transcribed and conveyed it.)