The Objectives of Shaitan (Satan)

Allah, the Exalted, says:

"They (all those who worship others than Allah) invoke nothing but female deities besides Him (Allah), and they invoke nothing but Shaitan (Satan), a persistent rebel! Allah cursed him. And he [Shaitan (Satan)] said:

'I will take an appointed portion of your slaves. Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allah'

..." (4:117-119)

"Behold! We said to the angels: “Prostrate unto Adam”: They prostrated except Iblis (Satan): He said, “Shall I prostrate to one whom Thou didst create from clay?” He said: “Seest Thou? This is the one whom Thou hast honored above me! If Thou wilt but respite me to the Day of Judgment, I will surely bring his descendants under my sway – all but a few!” 

(17: 61–62)

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "When any one of you sleeps, Satan ties three knots at the back of his neck. He recites this incantation at every knot: 'You have a long night, so sleep.' If he awakes and remembers Allah, one knot is loosened. If he performs Wudu', the (second) knot is loosened; and if he performs prayer, (all) knots are loosened. He begins his morning in a happy and refreshed mood; otherwise, he gets up in bad spirits and sluggish state."

Khushoo in Salah

Salah is the first pillar and an important practice of Islam. To do this practice Muslims are encouraged to perform it with concentration (Khushoo). Iblees, the enemy of Islam has made it his mission to divert Muslims from the right path. The best way he uses is to whisper immoral thoughts (waswass) to believers when they are standing in front of Allah during salah.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning) in the holy Quran: “Successful indeed are the believers, those who offer their salah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness.” [Al-Mu’minoon 23:1-2]

Khushoo’ means calmness, serenity, tranquility, dignity and humility. It is the fear of Allah and the sense that He is watching your every step. As the ayat says that salah requires full submissiveness and earnestness in its performance and those who do this are the most successful believers. Obedience, humbleness, solemnest or submissiveness all combine to form i.e. khushoo. Khushoo lies in the heart and its effect is seen in the physical practice. Heart can be a home of many vile articles. It can be corrupted by negligence or insinuating whispers from Satan. The heart is like a king and the faculties are like his troops who follow his orders and go where they are commanded. If the king is deposed, his followers are lost, which is like what happens when the heart does not worship properly.

Our feelings, emotions, carnal desires and wishes are objects that deviate our attention. We think about worldly matters and forget what we are supposed to do actually. We and Satan are to blame partly for this behavior. Satan deviates us and we carelessly let him do it. If we keep ourselves focused then it might not be a problem at all. Khushoo is not hard to obtain. It can be obtained with patience and help from Quran and Hadith. 

Islam after Ramadan

Ramadanhas a spiritual sense of holiness that makes a Muslim spend it in prayers, supplications and doing good deeds. But the tough part starts right after Ramzan when the Satan is unleashed. Satan starts performing its duty to mislead believers from the right path and engaging them in evil and vile acts. It’s easy to observe salat or any form of worship in congregation. Unfortunately, for some Muslims Islam ends with Ramzan. It’s difficult to maintain the improvements and practices made in Ramzan throughout the year but following certain guidelines we do so willingly and zesty.

·         Fast the six days of Shawwal. Fasting in this month is like fasting for the whole year. Make up your mind and remind yourself about the benefits of doing yourself. Ask your family or friends to fast with you; the more the merrier.

·         Don’t quit the habit of offering salat five times a day. At the time of any salah tell yourself that the world will go on even without you, this time for the particular salah will not come again; remind yourself that you prayed in the Ramzan you can do it again.

·         Women’s should up keep their makeup fasts as soon as possible. Make up fasts should be delayed throughout the year. The longer you delay, the harder it gets.

·         Read Quran just like you did in Ramzan. Don’t by any chance miss this habit. If the daily chores are making it harder then read it little daily.

·         Continue listening to Islamic lectures and don’t opt for music instead.

·         Stay away from evil deeds by reminding yourself that next Ramzan has yet to come and I have to keep myself clean from sins.

Ramadan is gone, but our practice should not come to an end.  We are held accountable for our actions all year round. We need to remember this and keep our focus on Allah no matter what the month is.