Page 103 - Satan: The Sworn Enemy of Mankind

Satan's Power is Weak
Believers are also able to more easily identify this group they
have been harboring within their midst. Moreover, the faith and
nearness to Allah felt by the believers, who were on their guard for
Satan's activities, and knew of his influence over the hypocrites, in-
creases when they witness the realization of what had been revealed
in the Qur'an:
[It is] so that He can make what Satan insinuates a trial for
those with sickness in their hearts and for those whose hearts
are hard—the wrongdoers are entrenched in hostility. And [it
is] so that those who have been given knowledge will know
it is the truth from their Lord and believe in it and their hearts
will be humbled to Him. Allah guides those who believe to a
straight path. (Surat al-Hajj, 53-54)
Thus the hypocrites act as a means to cleanse the community of
the believers. It represents part of the wisdom in Allah allotting a pe-
riod of time to Satan. Allah sets forth this truth in the Qur'an:
Iblis was correct in his assessment of them and they followed
him, except for a group of the believers. He had no authority
over them except to enable Us to know those who believe in
the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord
is the Preserver of all things. (Surah Saba´, 20-21)
Another point on which the society of the ignorant are unaware is
that Satan has no power to compel them. He can only make sugges-
tions. If a person has a sickness in his heart then he is vulnerable to
these insinuations. Other than that, Satan has no other power by which
to coerce people to do anything. He knows that those who obey him, or
even worship him, are actually faltering in complete ignorance. The ul-
timate avowal on the Day of Judgment that Satan will render onto
those who followed him is revealed in the Qur'an:
When the affair is decided Satan will say, "Allah made you a

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