Page 30 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

28 WHY DO YOU DECEIVE YOURSELF?

riod he was granted as follows:
We created you and then formed you and then We said to the
angels, "Prostrate before Adam," and they prostrated – except
for Iblis. He was not among those who prostrated. He said,
"What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded
you to?" He replied, "I am better than him. You created me
from fire and You created him from clay." He said, "Descend
from Heaven. It is not for you to be arrogant in it. So get out!
You are one of the abased." He said, "Grant me a reprieve

until the day they are raised up." He said, "You are one of the
reprieved." He said, "By Your misguidance of me, I will lie in
ambush for them on your straight path. Then I will come at
them, from in front of them and behind them, from their
right and from their left. You will not find most of them
thankful." He said, "Get out of it, reviled and driven out. As
for those of them who follow you, I will fill up Hell with
every one of you." (Surat al-A'raf: 11-18)
After being condemned to the eternal torment of dismissal from
Allah's presence, Satan swore an oath to mislead people into his own
perverted ways and began his cunning operations. Allah made Satan's
activities a means of distinguishing between His faithful believers and
those who did not serve Him. Thus Satan's crafty games, traps and
schemes are aimed at every living person, that is, to everybody who is

still undergoing the test of life in this world. Satan will attempt to de-
ceive everybody, without exception. As a result, nobody should regard
himself as being immune to Satan's influence. If a person is aware of
this, he behaves with care and is able to detect even the smallest of
Satan's traps. However, if he regards Satan's influence as something
far away, he may very easily fall under this influence. Because of this,