The Fifteenth Session

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم. بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم. الحمد لله رب العالمین، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، حبيب قلوب الصادقين، أبي القاسم المصطفى محمد. اللهم صلّ على محمد وآل محمد وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين، واللعن الدائم على أعدائهم أجمعين من الآن إلى قيام يوم الدين.

Knowing the Enemy and Satan’s Ways of Infiltration

Advice to Be Godwary and Know the Enemy

We are in the fifteenth session of our commentary on Sermon 83 of Nahj al-Balagha. In this sermon, the Commander of the Faithful (a) advises us to be Godwary for the third time. After enjoining Godwariness, he draws our attention to the enemy. Knowing the enemy always plays an important role in a person’s life and in their growth and perfection. One must know the enemy and, having recognized them, treat them as an enemy: stand against them and not be deceived by them. Hence, knowing the enemy is very important for human perfection.

His Eminence says:

أُوصِيكُمْ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَعْذَرَ بِمَا أَنْذَرَ، وَاحْتَجَّ بِمَا نَهَجَ، وَحَذَّرَكُمْ عَدُوًّا نَفَذَ فِي الصُّدُورِ خَفِيًّا، وَنَفَثَ فِي الْآذَانِ نَجِيًّا، فَأَضَلَّ وَأَرْدَى، وَوَعَدَ فَمَنَّى، وَزَيَّنَ سَيِّئَاتِ الْجَرَائِمِ، وَهَوَّنَ مُوبِقَاتِ الْعَظَائِمِ، حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَدْرَجَ قَرِينَتَهُ، وَاسْتَغْلَقَ رَهِينَتَهُ، أَنْكَرَ مَا زَيَّنَ، وَاسْتَعْظَمَ مَا هَوَّنَ، وَحَذَّرَ مَا أَمِنَ.

His Eminence says: «أُوصِيكُمْ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ»; I counsel you to be Godwary toward God, who «أَعْذَرَ بِمَا أَنْذَرَ»: through various warnings, has left no room for excuses, and «وَاحْتَجَّ بِمَا نَهَجَ»: through the guidance He has laid out on the path of guidance, has completed the proof.

God, Exalted is He, is just, and His justice requires that He not call anyone to account before the proof has been completed. If someone were called to account without the proof having been completed against them, that would be contrary to justice. Thus, God has established two kinds of proof for human beings: an inward proof and an outward proof.

The outward proofs are the succession of prophets, the Infallibles (a), their successors, and the divine leaders. The inward proof within a human being is their reason and intellect. One who has no reason is not obligated and is not called to account. God says:

﴿ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا ﴾

We never punish anyone until We have sent a messenger.

God has sent the prophets and Imams to us as outward proofs, and has placed reason and intellect within human beings as an inward proof. Once the proof has been completed, no one can say on the Day of Resurrection, “My God, I did not know, and I was excused.” Through His warnings and the proofs He has placed on the path of guidance, God has left no room for excuses.

An Enemy That Infiltrates the Heart

After referring to divine guidance and proofs, His Eminence draws our attention to the enemy of humankind: «وَحَذَّرَكُمْ عَدُوًّا». God has warned you against an enemy that «نَفَذَ فِي الصُّدُورِ خَفِيًّا»: has secretly infiltrated your breasts and hearts, and «نَفَثَ فِي الْآذَانِ نَجِيًّا»: has whispered into your ears. “Nafth” refers to a breath accompanied by saliva; it is as if the enemy breathes softly into a person’s ear from close by, in a whisper.

So this enemy, on the one hand, secretly infiltrates a person’s heart and, on the other, whispers in their ear. The result is that «فَأَضَلَّ وَأَرْدَى»: he leads the person astray and brings about their downfall.

His Eminence does not name this enemy, but the Qur’an repeatedly identifies Satan as the enemy of humankind, saying:

﴿ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا ﴾

Indeed, Satan is your enemy, so take him as an enemy.

The important point is that it is not enough merely to know that Satan is an enemy; one must take him as an enemy. A person does not surrender to an enemy or allow themselves to be deceived, but instead stands against and fights them.

The Status of Humankind and Satan’s Enmity

Human beings hold a lofty station; the angels prostrated before them:

﴿ فَسَجَدَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ كُلُّهُمْ أَجْمَعُونَ، إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ ﴾

So all the angels prostrated, except Iblis.

Iblis was among the ranks of the angels, even though he was not one of them. In another verse, God says:

﴿ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ ﴾

He was one of the jinn, and he disobeyed the command of his Lord.

He had worshipped God for six thousand years and stood among the ranks of the angels. But when God commanded them to prostrate before Adam, he did not prostrate. From a grammatical perspective, this is an exception disconnected from the general category; that is, Iblis was not one of the angels, so the exception is not connected.

Satan was the first to sin. When he was expelled from the station he had held and became “rajim,” he rose up in enmity against humankind. God had placed the human being in a lofty station, but Satan became his enemy. His resentment arose when he stood against God’s command and said:

﴿ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ ﴾

You created me from fire and created him from clay.

Satan said that Adam had been created from clay and he from fire. He considered fire superior to clay, and for this reason refused to prostrate before the human being. Satan was one of God’s creatures and had worshipped for many years; before the creation of humankind, he had held a high station. But by disobeying God’s command, he became the enemy of humankind.

From the very beginning, God identified this enemy. Satan tried to deceive Adam and declared his enmity. He asked God for respite, and God granted him respite until an appointed time. Satan swore that he would lead everyone astray, except God’s sincere servants:

﴿ إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ ﴾

Thus, our enemy is known, the path of guidance has been made clear, and the proof has been completed against us. God has identified the enemy; what matters, however, is that each person takes Satan as an enemy.

Satan’s Promises and the Commanding Self

Satan has no power over human beings; on the Day of Resurrection, no one can say that they were bound and Satan had gained power over them. Satan’s work is to make promises, though those promises are accompanied by a green light that the person themselves gives. A person has desires within them, and the external Satan strengthens them and repeatedly puts his promises before them.

A person faces two kinds of Satan: the external Satan and the internal Satan. The external Satan may be from among the jinn or human beings. The internal Satan is the commanding self and carnal desires. A person has inclinations toward lust and anger; the external Satan, too, inflames and intensifies these inclinations. Thus, the internal and external Satans work together, but the external Satan has no power over a person; he makes promises and stirs their inward inclinations.

The Commander of the Faithful (a) says:

أَعْدَى عَدُوِّكَ نَفْسُكَ الَّتِي بَيْنَ جَنْبَيْكَ

A person’s worst enemy is the self within them. The Qur’an says of the commanding self:

﴿ إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي ﴾

Indeed, the self strongly commands evil, except when my Lord has mercy.

The commanding self is very powerful. A person must ask God for help in the struggle against it and seek refuge in God. “Ammara” means one that commands; the commanding self draws a person toward evils and vile deeds.

Opposed to the commanding self is the self-reproaching soul, which is a person’s conscience. Conscience is like a judge within a person. The Qur’an says:

﴿ وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ ﴾

A person must struggle against the commanding self and heed the reproaches of their conscience. Whenever they see that an action goes against their conscience, they must not do it. If they persist in struggling against the commanding self and make their conscience the judge, they will grow and reach higher ranks, including the tranquil self and a state of peace.

The Qur’an also speaks of the self and its inspiration toward wickedness and Godwariness:

﴿ وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا ۝ فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا ﴾

The First Means of Deception: Promises and Prolonged Hopes

His Eminence then points to Satan’s methods of deception. The first method is that Satan makes promises and lengthens a person’s hopes: «وَوَعَدَ فَمَنَّى». He continually multiplies their desires and hopes, telling them that if they do a certain thing, this or that will happen, and if they do another thing, they will achieve a particular result. The Qur’an also says:

﴿ يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا ﴾

He makes promises to them and fills them with hopes, but Satan promises them nothing but delusion.

Satan says, “Save up your money; if you do this, you will get that result.” He continually makes a person’s hopes greater and more prolonged. This is Satan’s first way of deceiving them.

The Second Means of Deception: Making Sin Seem Attractive

The second method is that Satan makes «سَيِّئَاتِ الْجَرَائِمِ» seem attractive, adorning grave and dangerous sins in a person’s eyes. Adultery is a great sin, but Satan makes it seem attractive. Drinking wine is a great sin, but Satan makes it seem attractive too. He also makes uncovering seem attractive.

A person may be deceived into committing certain sins and then repent. But if matters reach the point where they consider that sin lawful, it is extremely dangerous and can lead them into disbelief. Drinking wine is forbidden; Satan may deceive a person and draw them toward it. But if someone considers wine lawful, they are an unbeliever, because to consider wine lawful implies that the Qur’an was wrong or that the Prophet (s) forbade it without cause.

Denying the Hijab and Its Consequences

The same ruling applies to the hijab. If someone is deceived by Satan and turns to uncovering, that alone does not mean that they are an unbeliever. But if matters reach the point where they say that uncovering is lawful and there is nothing wrong with it, then they have denied God’s ruling. This is disbelief, and such a person becomes impure, just like someone who considers wine lawful. The hijab is a Qur’anic matter, and denying it is to deny the verses of the Qur’an and the words of the Prophet (s).

The same applies to all the essentials of religion and the things it prohibits. The hijab is one of the essentials of religion. Many people who go without hijab in society may do so out of negligence or inattention, or as a result of habit and Westernisation, without intending to do so. We cannot call such people unbelievers. But if someone truly denies the hijab, they have in reality denied the verses of the Qur’an, the words of the Prophet (s), and the statements of the scholars. Such a person is certainly impure; have no doubt about this matter.

Gradually Falling into Satan’s Trap

Satan makes great sins seem attractive, including going without hijab, drinking wine, and adultery. He says they are beautiful, alluring, and pleasurable. Wine intoxicates a person, and Satan adorns all these sins. The Commander of the Faithful (a) says:

زَيَّنَ لَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِ الْجَرَائِمِ، وَهَوَّنَ عَلَيْهِمْ مُوبِقَاتِ الْعَظَائِمِ، حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَدْرَجَ قَرِينَهُ، وَاسْتَغْلَقَ رَهِينَهُ، أَنْكَرَ مَا زَيَّنَ، وَاسْتَعْظَمَ مَا هَوَّنَ، وَحَذَّرَ مَا أَمَّنَ.

“‘Aza’im’ is the plural of ‘azima’; it means dangerous and grave sins. ‘Hawwana’ means to make something seem insignificant. Satan makes destructive and dangerous sins seem small in a person’s eyes, saying, “It’s nothing.”

Satan’s work proceeds to the point where a person becomes his companion. The Qur’an says:

﴿ وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ ﴾

Whoever turns away from the remembrance of the All-Beneficent, We appoint a devil for him, and he becomes his companion.

“Qarin” means a companion. Once Satan becomes a person’s companion, he leads them forward step by step. “Istidraj” means leading someone forward gradually; “daraj” means a step. The Qur’an says:

﴿ لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ﴾

Do not follow the footsteps of Satan.

Satan does not deceive a person all at once; he leads them forward step by step. When a person takes Satan’s first step, they must take notice, repent, and turn back.

The Commander of the Faithful (a) says that Satan gradually leads his companion forward until he takes them captive and imprisons them. “Rahina” means a captive held in pledge. Once Satan has taken a person captive in his trap, they are caught by Satan.

At that point, Satan denies everything he had made seem attractive to the person and magnifies everything he had made seem insignificant. He shows the sins that had been dangerous but had seemed trivial to the person in their true form once again. He also warns the person against the very things he had previously encouraged them to do.

The Qur’an says:

﴿ وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي فَلَا تَلُومُونِي وَلُومُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِنْ قَبْلُ إِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴾

When the matter is decided, Satan says, “Indeed, God gave you a true promise, and I too made you a promise, but I broke my promise to you. I had no authority over you; I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves. I cannot answer your call for help, nor can you answer mine. I disavow your having associated me with God before. Indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment.”

«وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ»; when the matter is decided and the Day of Resurrection comes to pass, Satan says: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ». God gave you a true promise; He promised you Paradise and Hell and made the path clear to you. As the Qur’an says:

﴿ فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا ﴾

And inspired the self with its wickedness and its Godwariness.

But Satan also made you a promise and did not keep it: «وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ». Then he says: «وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ»; I had no power over you, and I did not bind your hands so that you would sin. «إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ»; I only called you, and you yourselves were predisposed to it and responded to my call: «فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي».

So Satan says: «فَلَا تَلُومُونِي وَلُومُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ»; do not blame me; blame yourselves. «مَا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِيَّ»; I cannot answer your call for help, nor can you answer mine. «إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِنْ قَبْلُ»; I disavow your having associated me before. «إِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ»; the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment.

The Need to Know the Enemy

So, tonight’s discussion concerned knowing the enemy. Once we know that Satan is our sworn enemy, we must be vigilant and attentive. We hope that the valuable and beautiful words of the Commander of the Faithful (a) will remain in our ears, and that we will always bear them in mind in our actions.

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَجِّلْ