The story of Shaitan has been mentioned several times throughout the Quran. Shaitan had a very humble beginning. Because of his devotion to Allah and his loyalty to him, he was exalted to a position where he could be in the presence of the angels. Hence, he was present when Allah commanded the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam. & while angels did not possess the ability to choose, Shaitan did. He proclaimed his supremacy over others. After all, he was made of fire, & in his mind, Adam was nothing more than a menial creature made of clay. He believed that he was better than Adam. Arrogance led him astray.
His dialogue with Allah is recorded in many chapters throughout the Quran. The conversation mentioned in Surah A’raf didn’t just include the fact that Allah asked Shaitan to descend from Heaven, but also the reason for doing so. It includes Shaitan waging his enmity against us and challenging Allah he’ll lead us astray. The dialogue is so important that it is the reason why we are in the company of Shaitan, who actively whispers to us, the angels who actively protect us, and the angels who record our actions at all times.
The inspiration of this story comes from the verses 22 of Surah Ibrahim:
وَقَالَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لَمَّا قُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ ۖ وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن سُلْطَـٰنٍ إِلَّآ أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِى ۖ فَلَا تَلُومُونِى وَلُومُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُم ۖ مَّآ أَنَا۠ بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُصْرِخِىَّ ۖ إِنِّى كَفَرْتُ بِمَآ أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِن قَبْلُ ۗ إِنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ
And Satan will say to his followers after the judgment has been passed, “Indeed, Allah has made you a true promise. I too made you a promise, but I failed you. I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves. I cannot save you, nor can you save me. Indeed, I denounce your previous association of me with Allah in loyalty. Surely the wrongdoers will suffer a painful punishment.”
We know that Satan promised and arrogantly declared to the Almighty that he would raise people’s hopes so high that they would turn away from Him. He would lead them away from the worship of the One God.
From this verse, we learn that Satan raises the hopes of human beings for long life in this world and, eventually, for good fortune in this life regardless of whether they obey the Almighty or not. So he promises them immortality together with immorality.
When the final judgment will be pronounced and God will show His might and His sovereignty, then is when people will recognise that Satan has deceived them, and Satan himself will confess… “I made a promise to you, and that was a false promise. But God made a promise to you, and that was the actual promise.”
But Shaitan will also defend himself against guilt and blame, as people then will be aware of how Shaitan influenced their actions in the world, and they will begin to condemn him, saying, “You were the one who misled us”, but Shaitan’s response to that will be “Do not blame me; blame yourselves. The extent of my work was only that I gave you this promise, which you obeyed and followed, so don’t blame me. Blame yourselves!” Even if you accuse Shaitan in the end, he will declare, “Today I am NOT able to attend to your screams, nor would you be able to respond to my calls”, and undoubtedly there is a severe punishment for the wrongdoers. On that day, the pain, betrayal, regret, and guilt felt by his followers will be incomprehensible.
This describes Shaitan. He embellishes the unlawful such that it not only appears legal, but also natural. It’s so important for us to realize that if something is forbidden by Allah, the trends, customs, and cultures of this world cannot make it permissible. Satan is a sworn enemy who has mastered mankind, and while he has no control over us, he will try to sway us, relentlessly, with a personalized approach for each of us. Basically Satan takes baby steps, leading us into forgetfulness, minor sins, and major sins. He then goes after his ultimate goal and asks us to disbelieve, and after all of that, On the Day of Judgement, he will disown us and say that he is innocent of our doings. He is a thief who has sworn to be our unrelenting enemy until the end of time. A thief who is giving his best in stealing our eternal soul and an everlasting ticket to Paradise.
If we devote ourselves to ALLAH, The Almighty, his whispers will make little or no impact as our connected hearts will always find their way to The Most Merciful. When describing the people of Paradise in Surah A’raf, Allah shows us that the Shaitan will fail in this mission with sincere believers. They will be in Paradise, praising Allah, and expressing gratitude for all of His favours. Rivers will flow beneath them. And they will say, “Praise be to God, who has guided us to this. Had God not guided us, we would never be guided. The messengers of our Lord did come with the truth.” And it will be proclaimed to them, “This is the Garden you are made to inherit, on account of what you used to do.” Allah will recognize their efforts because they recognized Allah’s blessings.
Indeed, Shaitan is an enemy to you; so take him as an Enemy. While we may struggle with multitasking on a daily basis, we must remember that Shaitan has just one job: to entice us. Whether you are conscious of his animosity or not, he has declared war on you and is constantly attempting to fulfil his vow.
Ya Rabb! Make it easier for us to maintain our faith and allow us to stay steadfast onto our deen.
Very true …
I seek refuge in Allah the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytan and his evil insinuations, breath and impurity.” Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.