Q. Does Shaitaan know
what crosses our minds of ideas which no one knows except Allaah & thus
whisper to us what is in accordance with our thoughts?
A. Praise be to Allaah.
The sound evidence indicates that the Shaitaan
is close to man, and indeed he flows through him like blood, so he whispers to
him at moments of heedlessness and withdraws from him when he remembers Allaah سُبحانه
وتعالى. Through this constant closeness he
knows what whims and desires occur to man, so he makes them appear attractive
to him and he whispers to him regarding them.
Al-Bukhari (3281) & Muslim (2175)
narrated from Safiyyah bint Huyayy رضي الله عنها
that
the Prophet (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) said: "The Shaitaan flows through man like blood.“
Sheikh
ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله)
said:
They smell a good smell or a bad smell
[meaning the angels, who smell a good smell when a person is thinking of a good
deed, as was narrated from Sufyaan ibn …Uyaynah]. But the devils do not need
that [smell] in order to know; rather they even know what is in the heart of
the son of Adam, and they see and hear what he says to himself. Moreover, the
devil has full control over man‘s heart, then when man remembers Allaah سُبحانه
وتعالى
he
withdraws, and when he neglects to remember Him, he whispers to him. He knows
whether he is remembering Allaah سُبحانه
وتعالى or is
neglecting to remember Him, and he knows the whims and desires of his heart and
makes them appear attractive to him.
It is proven in al-Sahih, in the Hadith
mentioned by Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها)
that the Prophet (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) said: "The Shaitaan flows through the sons of Adam
like blood.“
The closeness of the angels and the Shaitaan
to the heart of the son of Adam is something that is confirmed in many reports,
whether the person is a believer or a disbeliever.
End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa,
5/508
The Shaitaan is aware of what a person
is thinking to himself, and he knows his inclinations and his whims and
desires, both good and bad, so he whispers to him accordingly.
Sheikh
ibn Baaz (رحمه
الله) was asked — in a
lengthy question –: If I intend in my heart to do something good, does the Shaitaan
know and try to divert me from it?
He replied:
Every person has a devil and an angel
with him, as the Prophet (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) said:
’There is no one who does not have a
companion from among the jinn and a companion from among the angels.“ They
said: Even you, O Messenger of Allaah? He said: ’Even me, but Allaah helped me
with him and he became Muslim (or: and I am safe from him), so he only enjoins
me to do that which is good.“
And he (صلّى
اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) told us that the
Shaitaan dictates evils to man and calls him to evil, and he has some control
over his heart. And he can see, by Allaah’s will, what a person wants and
intends to do of both good and bad deeds. The angel also has some control over
his heart that makes him inclined towards good and calls him to good. This
control is something that Allaah has enabled them to have, i.e., He has given
some power to the companions from among the jinn and from among the angels;
even the Prophet (صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم) had a Shaitaan with him who was the companion from among the
jinn as mentioned in the Hadith quoted above.
The point here is that every person
has with him a companion from among the angels and a companion from among the
devils. The believer suppresses his Shaitaan by obeying Allaah and
adhering to His religion, and he humiliates his Shaitaan until he
becomes weak and is unable to prevent the believer from doing good or to make
him fall into evil except that which Allaah wills. But the sinner,
through his sins and bad deeds helps his Shaitaan until he becomes strong
enough to help him to follow falsehood and he encourages him to do so
and he becomes strong enough to keep him from doing good.
The believer has to fear Allaah سُبحانه
وتعالى and strive to resist his Shaitaan by
obeying Allaah and His Messenger, and seeking refuge with Allaah from the Shaitaan.
And he should be keen to support his angel to obey Allaah and His Messenger and
to follow the commands of Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى.
{From Fataawa al-Sheikh
ibn Baaz رحمه الله, 9/369}
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