Warding off satanic influences and whispers

Shaitan’s (also referred to as Satan) enmity with man started when Allah (SWT) created the first man, Adam (alaihis salaam). Satan was from amongst the “jinn” who have been created with the ability to obscure themselves from human sight, and who constitute a world of their own. He has such confidence in ensnaring his victims that he openly declares his strategy of approaching them from all sides and making them succumb to his temptations.
He has decided to make the world appear beautiful and attractive and works on ways to lure man, limit his perspective to the gains, pleasures and enjoyment of this world alone, and make him forget the path that Allah (SWT) has chalked out for all human beings during their stay here.
Satan’s ultimate goal is to make people go astray and eventually to turn them into disbelievers, or polytheists at a minimum. The manner in which Satan pursues that goal varies in accordance with the interests and inclinations of his victims. For example, he uses piety to attack the pious; scholarly disciplines to attack scholars; false reasoning and logic for those who take pride in being knowledgeable, and ignorance to attack the ignorant.
The remedy – ways to protect ourselves
Allah says in the Quran:
“(Iblis (Satan)) said: ‘By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all. Except Your chosen slaves amongst them (i.e. faithful, obedient, true believers of Islamic Monotheism).’” (Quran, Saad: 82-83).
The following are some of the defences that we can use to keep Satan from exerting his influence over us.
Ignore Satanic whispers (waswaas) – One of the effective ways to ignore Satanic whispers is to first be aware of them and then once recognized, to ignore them. So, we should be quick to recognize that when we feel being driven by our temptations to do bad or succumb to a feeling of laziness or procrastination to do good, we should ignore that waswaas.It is worth quoting here what Ibn Hajar al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said about dealing with waswasah in his book al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra (1/149).
This is what he said: “He was asked about the problem of waswasah (insinuating whispers from the Shaitan), and whether there is a remedy for it. He replied that there is an effective remedy for it, which is to ignore them completely, no matter how frequently they may come to mind. When these whispers are ignored, they do not become established; rather they go away after a short time, as many people have experienced. But for those who pay attention to them and act upon them, they increase until they make him like one who is insane or even worse, as we see among many of those who have suffered from them and paid attention to them and to the devil whose task it is to insinuate these whispers, whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) warned us against…, as was explained in Sharh Mishkaat al-Anwaar.
In al-Saheehayn, there is a report which supports what has been mentioned above, which is that whoever suffers from waswaas should seek refuge with Allah and turn away from the waswaas. So think about this effective remedy which was taught by the one who does not speak of his own whims and desires to his ummah, and understand that whoever is deprived of this is deprived of all goodness, because waswasah comes from Satan, according to scholarly consensus, and Satan has no other desire than to make the believers go astray, make them confused, make their life a misery, and cause them distress to the extent that they leave Islam without realizing it.
Faith and Trust in Allah – Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Verily! He (Satan) has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord (Allah)” (Quran, An-Nahl: 99). The message, therefore, is clear and that is to direct our attention not to what works in helping Satan in his goals but to do what our Creator wants for us. Allah says in the Holy Quran: “And whoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (of every difficulty). And he will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine” (Quran, At-Talaq: 2-3).
Fearing Allah and not His Creation – Another weapon used by Satan is that of inducing fear in the hearts of weak human beings. He tries to frighten the believers with apprehension of various consequences and difficulties in following the Straight Path. Allah tells us in the Quran: “Shaitan (Satan) threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahsha (evil deeds, sins, illegal sexual activities, etc.) whereas Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and Bounty, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His creature’s needs, All-Knower” (Quran, al- Baqarah: 268). Allah warns us that one of Satan’s tactics is to make us fear His creation. He says in the Quran: “It is only Shaitan (Satan) that suggests to you the fear of his Auliya’ (supporters and friends (polytheists, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger Muhammad); so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers” (Quran, Aal-e-Imran: 175).
Recite Dhikr – We should use Allah’s remembrance (Dhikr-Allah) to ward off waswaas. Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said that “…when the Shaitan hears dhikr (remembrance of Allah) he slinks away, and Laa ilaaha ill-Allah is the best of dhikr, and the most effective remedy for warding off waswasah is to remember Allah a great deal.”
Obtaining Islamic knowledge (from the Right Sources) –Taking heed of Satan’s ways and becoming aware of his plans and goal can help us to be alert to his influence or persuasion and keep our defences up. For this, it is essential to acquire Islamic knowledge from the right sources. It is very difficult for Satan to approach those dedicated to learning. Let us reflect upon what Imam Shafai said: “All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep except those who do good deeds; and those who do good deeds are deceived except those who are sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.”
Taking refuge and shelter in Allah – Allah says in the Holy Quran:”And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaitan (Satan), then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All- Knower”(Quran, Al-Aaraf: 200). One of the other ways to seek refuge from Satan is to recite the last two chapters of the Holy Quran, namely Surat Al- Falaq (The Daybreak) and Surat An- Nas (Mankind), by supplicating for Allah’s Protection, and seeking the Most Merciful’s forgiveness for one’s sins constantly.
Being thankful to Allah for the gift of Eeman and seeking His Protection for it – Let us remember that the confidence Satan expressed in his success to mislead people stems from his assurance that most people are ungrateful to their Creator, Lord and Master, Allah, the All Mighty. Allah says in the Quran that Satan claimed: “. . . and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You).” (Quran, Al-Aaraf: 17). It is, therefore, man’s ingratitude to Allah that Satan banks upon in getting man off track. So one of the antidotes to Satanic whispers is to be in a state of constant consciousness of Allah (SWT), and thankfulness for all His Blessings upon us.
To conclude, as and when we fall to our temptations to commit the wrong, let’s remind ourselves that even Satan knows the truth, yet he is determined to make us earn Allah’s anger. However, at the end – on the Day of Judgment – he will simply say, “…So blame me not, but blame yourselves.”