Page 33 - Satan: The Sworn Enemy of Mankind
P. 33

Satan's Tactics
             • Does he have any doubts or concerns regarding himself or an-
         other believer?
             • Is he failing to put his trust in Allah due to some perceived in-
         justice?
             • Does he wish his personal sacrifice to be recognized by oth-
         ers?
             • Is he merely offering up excuses so as not to give up some-
         thing dear to him?
             • Does he have an inordinate passion for anything of this
         world?
             • Does he fear for the future?
             • Is he unable to bear a warning pronounced to him in the light
         of the Qur'an?
             • Has he developed a love for or bond with an enemy of Allah?
             • Has he put off reading the Qur'an, praying or performing
         good deeds for some invalid excuse?
             If the problem he faces derives from any such or similar condi-
         tions, then he is being assailed by Satan. All of such thoughts, which
         he otherwise believes to issue from his own self, are actually words
         whispered into his heart by Satan.
             Satan, though, employs different tactics when dealing with dif-
         ferent people. Against one who lives in a manner far removed from
         the teachings of the Qur'an, for instance, he will employ tactics de-
         signed to entrench that person further into that particular lifestyle.
         He will tempt such people to become immersed in the life of this
         world, distract them with its temporal adornments, and, thus, keep
         them from the truth of the religion.
             Imam Ghazali offered the following, in his book titled Ihya'
         `Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences):
           The mutual repelling of the soldiers of the angels and the devils is constant

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