Page 32 - Why Do You Deceive Yourself ?

30 WHY DO YOU DECEIVE YOURSELF?

people and those who do not have a sincere faith in Allah and reject the
truth of the Hereafter heed his call and harm themselves. We are told in
the following verse of the Qur'an that Satan himself will confess:
When the affair is decided Satan will say, "Allah made you a
promise, a promise of truth, and I made you a promise but
broke my promise. I had no authority over you, except that I
called you and you responded to me. Do not, therefore,
blame me but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your aid
nor you to mine. I reject the way you associated me with

Allah before." The wrongdoers will have a painful punish-
ment. (Surah Ibrahim: 22)
Just as Satan's deception is weak, protection against the influence
of his harmful wiles is very easy. Allah tells us the ways of escaping
this influence:
If an evil impulse from Satan provokes you, seek refuge in
Allah. He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. As for those who fear
Allah, when they are bothered by visitors from Satan, they
remember and immediately see clearly. (Surat al-A'raf: 200-
201)
As we can clearly see in these verses, it is impossible for Satan to
have any influence on believers. The way to escape the negative influ-
ence of Satan is to take refuge in Allah, the Possessor of infinite power,
and to reflect on what He has said in His Book. Aperson who can think

with a clear mind and see the truth without falling into error is ex-
tremely careful in the face of Satan's deception and instead of falling
into his trap he destroys it with his faith, determination and devotion
to Allah.
However, most people do not think that such a danger to them ex-
ists. For this reason, they cannot think of taking refuge in Allah when