Page 64 - Satan: The Sworn Enemy of Mankind

SATAN: THE SWORN ENEMY OF MANKIND
Satan should ever cause you to forget, once you remember,
do not stay sitting with the wrongdoers. (Surat al-An`am, 68)
Another stipulation recalls that it is only possible to do some-
thing if Allah has so ordained it:
Never say about anything, "I am doing that tomorrow,"
without adding "If Allah wills." Remember your Lord when
you forget, and say, "Hopefully my Lord will guide me to
something closer to right guidance than this." (Surat al-
Kahf, 23-24)
Another example is provided with the story of the Prophet
Musa (as). The verse describes that Satan had been the instigator
when a young assistant who traveled with the Prophet Musa (as)
forgot a fish they were supposed to bring along with them:
He [Musa's servant] said, "Do you see what has happened?
When we went to find shelter at the rock, I forgot the fish.
No one made me forget to remember it except Satan. It
found its way into the sea in an amazing way." (Surat al-
Kahf, 63)
Believers must be on their guard against forgetfulness and the
factors which give rise to it. There is no place in the thought of a be-
liever for absent-mindedness, hypothetical scenarios that distract
needlessly, or daydreaming of trivialities. Because, one distracted by
these tendencies cannot then expend the appropriate effort in the
cause of Allah. Caught up in the distractions of his day-to-day exis-
tence, such a person forgets his ultimate duty, and the only true rea-
son for his existence, that is, to serve Allah:
You who believe! Fear Allah and let each self look to what
it has sent forward for Tomorrow. Fear Allah. Allah is
aware of what you do. Do not be like those who forgot
Allah so He made them forget themselves. Such people are

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