Page 63 - Faith: The Way to Happiness

Satan, the Voice of Misery

information and intelligence that he will need throughout his life in
the Qur'an, which is sent down by Allah to guide people and
t h e reby can acquire real intelligence. The clear intelligence which
Allah describes in the Qur'an as a characteristic of believers is a
powerful weapon which protects them against Satan's guile. By con-
trast, if a person acts according to his desires and emotions, he will
be unhappy.
In the verse, "... Say: 'I do not follow your whims and desires.
If I did I would go astray and not be among the guided.'" (Surat al-
An‘am: 56) Allah tells us that living according to the emotions of the
lower self diverts people from His path. The inescapable result of
this is that people suffer disappointment, long term depre s s i o n ,
trouble and stress. In this world, this brings nothing but misery.

Satan's Deception Is Weak
In previous sections we examined the effects of Satan on people
who are distanced from religion and consequently distanced
throughout their lives from the knowledge brought by faith in Allah
and how people are driven to sorrow by this means. However, in the
face of these deceptions, traps and provocations of Satan, there is an
important point which people should not forget. This is the degree
to which Satan can have a formative effect on people. In the first
place, Satan is not a power independent of Allah. Satan is also cre-
ated by Allah and he is the enemy of humanity only because Allah
wills it so. He can have no independent power over people unless
Allah wills it. Allah created Satan as a test for people. Those who fol-
low him will stray from the true path while those who listen to their
consciences and act according to Allah's wishes will achieve salva-
tion.

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