Tenth Ramadan Lecture Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi, 1444 A.H.

Tenth Ramadan Lecture Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi, 1444 A.H.

Shaytan (2)
the symbol of evil
the severity of his malice and his opportunities to influence individuals

I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast.

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.

O Allah, confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad's good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.

O Allah, guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are All-Hearing, All-Knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Relenting and the Merciful.

Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

In our lecture yesterday about our enemy, Shaytan (the outcast), and the nature of the struggle with him, we spoke about how the role played by Shaytan, with the aim of influencing humans, comes as an additional factor to the inclinations of the soul, which are the primary influencer that influences man's direction and soul. Therefore, it is not valid to assume, as some people do, that it is solely because of Shaytan that there are humans who go astray, deviate, spread corruption, and fall into a state of disbelief, and that if it weren't for Shaytan, all humans would be believers and enjoy righteousness, Taqwa, and self-purification.

In reality, even if there were no devil from the jinn, humans (with their capacities, abilities, and tendencies) have the potential to lean towards the path of good or the path of evil. It is even possible that many people would incline towards the wrong path, even if there were no devil from the jinn, and there could also be human devils who would fulfill the role entirely, in place of Shaytan (Iblis) and the devils from the jinn.

At the same time, it is important for us to know that Shaytan (Iblis, the outcast) and the devils from the jinn do not know the unseen: They are unaware of the whispers that occur within a person's soul, nor do they know the hidden aspects of a person's future. However, they are aware of the influences that generally affect humans. This is something known in human reality in general: Humans generally know the influences that can influence them, like desires, lusts, fears, and anger and emotional outbursts.

From the apparent state of a person (the problems, circumstances, practical concerns, and work-related realities the person is experiencing), they know many things about the person, such as his desires, lusts, ambitions, fears, problems, emotional reactions, and so on. They then act accordingly. In other words, they may whisper to a person according to his known desires, and if he becomes more responsive, they become more active and strive to push him further into that, causing him to fall into sin (We seek refuge in Allah). Then, in the circumstances and realities of life, what they know about the targeted individual—the one they aim to mislead and tempt—helps them identify his vulnerabilities. They focus on those vulnerabilities, attempting to benefit from these vulnerabilities.

This is why Shaytan bears malice towards humanity.

The ill feelings of Shaytan and his malice towards humans are extremely severe and intense. That is why he moves with great interest and exploits any opportunity available for him on any individual to the maximum extent. It is important to be aware of this and to be vigilant towards it. He has a great impetus and works diligently and with great attention.

To Shaytan, humankind was the reason behind his great loss. In fact, his loss was really tremendous—his loss of that moral status he once attained. Even though he was from the jinn, he had ascended to the rank of angles and dwelled in the heavens. This indicates the significant stature he had achieved: He had become one of the angels, worshipping alongside them, and remained in that state for thousands of years.

However, the root of his problem lies within himself: He did not purify his soul; rather, he magnified it and inflated his ego. As a result, a significant flaw emerged within him. This flaw was revealed through the test that the angels went through when the issue of appointing humans as vicegerents on the earth arose. The command to prostrate to Adam served as a practical test that exposed the profound flaw he kept secret—his arrogance and self-inflation that corrupted his own soul.

When he disobeyed the command of Allah—which was essentially the first act of disobedience committed against Him—and defied the guidance of Allah (Glory be to Him), he was cursed, expelled, condemned, and lost the elevated position he had attained among the ranks of the angels. He was expelled from the heavens, his inhabitation of which indicated the lofty status he had achieved. He was allowed to dwell in the heavens and worship alongside the angels; however, as a result of his disobedience to Allah (Glory be to Him) and his arrogance, he was expelled in a humiliating, degrading, and disgraceful way. In fact, he deserved that.

Therefore, when Shaytan was expelled from the heavens, Allah (Glory be to Him) said, {'So get out! You are truly one of the debased'}. In spite of his ambition and the status he had attained before showing arrogance, he was expelled like one despised and debased, losing all his moral value and status. He became worthless, without value or significance; he even became debased, condemned, and rejected, as Allah said to him, {'Then, get out of it! You are condemned and rejected!'}. He became condemned (meaning blamed) and rejected (meaning expelled) because of his evil, his wickedness, his disobedience, and his opposition to what is right. {'Allah commanded, "Then, get out of it!"'}—out of the heavens—{"for you are truly cursed"}—he is outcast and expelled and can never return to the heavens, for he will be stoned with meteors and repelled—{"And surely upon you is the curse until the Day of Judgment"'}. (We seek refuge in Allah.)

He got into this state of being cursed by Allah: He expelled him and removed him from His mercy entirely. It is an extremely serious state! He lost everything: He lost his faith and his connection to Allah (Glory be to Him), and he was deprived of divine help and distanced himself from divine mercy in all its manifestations, in everything related to it in terms of the divine management of his affairs, as he is one of those who are created by Allah and subject to His authority. He became outside the circle of mercy and within the realm of anger and curse. So Allah will never show him mercy in any divine management or in any matter. He has become distant from goodness, mercy, and success: His destiny is destruction, punishment, and disgrace, starting from the beginning of his deviation. This serves as a great lesson. He was expelled, despised, cursed, and became a symbol of evil, disbelief, immorality, and disobedience. He became a wicked abomination with a corrupted soul; he went astray and became lost and at the forefront of the misleading ones. (We seek refuge in Allah.)

Thus, Shaytan developed deep-seated malice towards mankind, towards Adam and all his descendants, towards all human generations, up until the last human. In addition, his soul became corrupted. Indeed, he became a corrupted and evil being with a completely corrupted soul, deviated from the right path, and fell into a state completely different from that state when he used to worship Allah among the ranks of the angels in the heavens. His soul became a completely corrupted and evil soul. As a result, evil took complete control of him, making him a malevolent, malicious, corrupt, and wicked being. There was no longer any goodness or righteousness within him, not even in the slightest degree. All his intentions and actions became driven by the evil, corruption, misguidance, and wickedness that he embodied.

So all his schemes, all his actions, and all his behaviours are tainted by evil, disbelief, filth, wickedness, meanness, and malice (We seek refuge in Allah). He completely changed in his reality, and he entangles people in corruption and disbelief, leads them astray, and diverts them from the straight path of Allah. He tries to hinder them from responding to Allah (Glory be to Him) and moves in the opposite direction of goodness, righteousness, success, self-purification, wisdom, virtuous values, and faith. He is in total rejection to all of that. Perhaps his fiery nature, as he is created from fire (as the jinn are beings created from the smokeless flame of fire), assists in fueling his malice when he harbours such a feeling. It means that the state of his malice becomes more intense. However, that is not the primary factor, so his energy moves in the direction of deviation when he deviates and becomes corrupt, similar to humans. This is due to his corruption in the first place. Therefore, his nature serves only as a factor he exploited in his evil direction.

Shaytan declares an unrelenting war on humanity.

With all his malice and with all that evil, disbelief, corruption, and wickedness he fell into, Shaytan declared his war against Adam and his descendants: {'He said, "Do you see this one you honoured above me?"'}—he refers to Adam and speaks to Allah. {'He said, "Do you see this one you honoured above me?"'} For he saw in honouring Adam (PBUH) a source of disgrace for him and a reduction of his own status. This is a state of arrogance on his part, for all angels prostrated to Adam, as mentioned in the verse, {'So the angels prostrated all together.'} He exhibited arrogance and rebellion: {'He said, "Do you see this one you honoured above me? If you delay my end until the Day of Resurrection, I will certainly take hold of his descendants, except for a few"'}—that is, he promises to take control over humans and lead them into destruction. This reflects a state of very intense malice that made him declare war against all human society and seek a respite in order to use that lengthy time, which he requested, to wage his war against humanity. Allah informed him that he was among those reprieved, and he sought to use that lengthy time to revenge on humans, driven by his malice and arrogance, after descending from a high moral rank to the lowest level.

There is no room for reconciliation with him in his war and malice against humankind. It is impossible to reach peace agreements with him so that one could ask him to stop and leave us alone or to agree to a truce or reconciliation. There is no possibility for that. He is in a continuous war against humanity. However, what is possible is to prevent his influence, fortify ourselves against his penetration, and protect ourselves from his negative influence. This is largely achievable, and we will discuss this point further. There is no option except opposing him; otherwise, humans will become submissive to his influence and follow him (We seek refuge in Allah).

The nature of his war against humanity was defined from the very first day, from the day he declared his war against humanity. {'He said, "Because You have led me astray, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path."'}. In other words, he says, 'I will work to hinder them from Your path, the path that You have outlined for them, in which lies their good, triumph, salvation, and success and which is the path that leads them to Jannah and Your pleasure, helps them attain dignity, honour, and human transcendence, and maintains their human dignity.' {'I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path.'}—he here declares that he will strive to obstruct humans from the straight path, to discourage them from it, and to hinder them from it—{'I will approach them from their front, their back, their right, their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.'}

In his efforts against humans, Shaytan focuses on two aims:

• The first aim is to deprive humans of their human dignity and worth and the divine honour they attained and to turn them into condemned, cursed, evil, corrupt, and losing beings, just as he himself has become.
• The second aim is to lead them to loss and misery and inflict upon them the greatest harm and the most severe damage in order to eventually bring them to the fire of Jahannam, causing them to suffer alongside him there.

He bears this malice towards mankind. Therefore, he does not show any kindness even to his followers, those who have responded to him and submitted to him. Rather, he seeks to lead them to burn alongside him and suffer the most severe torment in the fire of Jahannam. Then, he will mock them, ridicule them, abandon them, and taunt them. This is his approach with humanity.

He relies on the method of misleading, as he said, {'I will certainly mislead them'}. Misleading and temptation, as he also uses temptation: He uses the tactics of deceit, adornment, cheat, and false hopes. He adorns repugnant things for humans, attempting to convince them that they are good, wonderful, and attractive. He tries to present them with a distorted understanding of matters, causing them to see truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth and attracting them towards evil things based on a distorted perception. This state of temptation is as he said while swearing by the might of Allah: {'Shaytan said, "By Your Glory! I will certainly mislead them all}—he excluded no one except whom?—{except for those among them who are Your sincere servants"'}. He said, {'I will surely tempt them on the earth and mislead them all together'}. He also said, {'I will certainly mislead them and delude them with empty hopes. Also, I will order them and they will slit the ears of cattle and alter Allah's creation'}. He uses the method of misleading with humans, portraying things in a false light to attract them towards what leads to misguidance, corruption, temptation, and evil. He uses the methods of temptation and adornment in that.

The entry points Shaytan uses to influence humans

Shaytan exploits every vulnerability in humans, through which he finds an opportunity to influence them: when he said, {'I will approach them from their front, their back, their right, their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful'}, he meant that he will try to find any vulnerability or weakness that affects human beings according to their diversity with regard to what affects them. Humans are different in what influences them according to their tendencies, desires, living conditions, reality, ambitions, goals, and attitudes; therefore, he tries to search in one's reality for a vulnerability or weakness so as to influence him.

Desires and lusts

This can happen through desires and lusts, which are a broad subject that affects people's life at the immaterial and material levels, as well as at the level of people's various desires.

Some individuals, for example, have moral desires such as a love for fame, authority, high-ranking positions, high status, or power. So he will seek to influence them through these points, seeing them as weaknesses and opportunities to exert influence. How many people in this life have gone astray, committed injustice, corrupted their ways, or deviated from the path of Allah and the path of truth due to these desires:

• the desire for power
• the desire for positions
• and the desire for prestige and status.

There are various types of sins that fall under these desires and come as a result of them:

• ostentation,
• injustice,
• transgression,
• and corruption.

So many things are involved in relation to a lot of people's behaviours and practices aimed at satisfying this desire.

• As for material ambitions, inclinations, and desires, they lead to many behaviours and practices that are bad and considered to be transgressions, such as injustice, greed, theft, banditry, assault, forbidden dealings, usury, illegal earning, looting, etc. Many are the behaviours and details that are driven by material desires and lusts.
• Sexual desire is another thing that Shaytan often exploit to a great extent to push many people towards sin and forbidden practices and to steer them away from what is lawful.

• Similarly, Shaytan works on both material and immaterial desires and lusts to get through and influence the human if he has a tendency and self-inclination towards them.

Fears and what Shaytan aims in this regard

In addition, Shaytan focuses on the fears that exist within humans, such as:

• the fear of death,
• the fear of poverty,
• and fears related to moral dimensions, such as the fear of losing a position or the fear of jeopardizing one's moral status or certain position.

There are many types of fears that affect the psyche of a lot of people, and Shaytan tries to exploit them, leading certain practices to take place and diverting individuals from important and noble deeds that are acts of obedience to Allah and His command and bring goodness, success, honour, and dignity.

That is why Allah (Glory be to Him) says in the Holy Quran, {'Shaytan threatens you with poverty'}. This is a state of intimidation in which he prevents humans from spending and giving and pushes them towards acquiring unlawful means, betrayal, theft, plundering, corruption, and many other things—Allah says that Shaytan {'bids you to the shameful deed'}.

Allah also says, {'It is only Shaytan who urges you to fear his Auliya. So do not fear them but fear Me if you are believers'}: It is through intimidation that Shaytan seeks to make people submit to Taghout, wrongdoers, criminals, and enemies and drive them away from carrying out their important responsibilities—Jihad in the cause of Allah, making efforts for the sake of Allah, establishing equity, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong—such responsibilities through which people enjoy honour, power, and strength, as well as protecting themselves from the evil of the wicked.

In the story of Adam (PBUH), Shaytan attempted to use allure and fear as tactics to tempt Adam. When he tried to beautify eating from the forbidden tree to Adam, the one that Allah had forbidden on him, he said, {'O Adam! Shall I show you the Tree of Immortality and such power as will never disappear?'}. Shaytan knew that humans, by their nature, desire longevity, love life, yearn for immortality, and fear death and annihilation. He targeted this desire, even though he cannot fulfill human desires correctly. All he does is to mislead, deceive, and tempt humans. The tree was not a tree of immortality, and there is no tree on the earth or anywhere else that, if eaten, grants eternal life without death or decay. There is no such plant with this property. {'And such power as will never disappear'} means to have a renewing and everlasting power and enjoy a thrilling life that comes with power, material capabilities, and high status. {'Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals'}. He played on desires and fears, attempting to influence Adam.

The state of anger and emotional outburst

One of the influential factors through which people can be affected is the state of anger and emotional outbursts. Just like the states of desires and fears, the state of anger and emotional outbursts can be a trigger. Some individuals, especially those who are more prone to emotional reactions, may fall into a state of intense anger and agitation. It is in this state that Shaytan tries to spur people into discord. He uses spurring in his targeting of people. In other words, he aims to incite evil in people and keep fueling the state of irritation to the extent that it leads them to take the wrong position.

Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'And if you are ever spurred by a spurring from Shaytan, then seek refuge with Allah; indeed, He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing'}. It is essential for a person to have prior understanding and conviction that Shaytan tries to exploit his state of anger and emotional outbursts. This is the first point to consider, as some people do not even comprehend this aspect. They fail to understand and instead justify their lack of self-control during anger and emotional outbursts, and they refuse to acknowledge that Shaytan takes advantage of these moments, stoking the flames of anger and emotional turmoil within them and seeking to exploit it to the extent that may cause them to lose their control, commitment, and piety and lead them to take wrong positions or actions or make wrong decisions.

That can be seen either in falling into actions and behaviours that involve injustice, evil, or transgression, for which one bears sin, or in neglecting good and great deeds and acts of worship that draw one closer to Allah.

Therefore, this can go either direction: in the direction of disobeying the command of Allah or in the direction of violating what Allah has prohibited. Anger may lead one to defy the commands of Allah or exceed the limits regarding what Allah has forbidden.

Therefore, Allah) Glory be to Him) warns humans against falling into this devilish spurring state when they are in a state of anger and agitation. He also directs them to seek refuge in him, saying, {'Then seek refuge with Allah; indeed, He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.'} Seek refuge in Allah so that He may protect and deliver you from the influence Shaytan has upon you in that state. You should also try to overcome the state of inflamed emotions and anger that affects you.

Allah (Glory be to Him) also says about this state, {'And tell My servants to say only what is best. Shaytan certainly seeks to sow discord among them. Indeed, Shaytan is ever, to mankind, a clear enemy'}. This means that Shaytan focuses on this matter and therefore tries to exploit what people say, whether it is hurtful speech or provocative words, to ignite evil among them and stoke the flames of anger and emotional outbursts among them, pushing them towards taking bad positions.

• He fuels enmity, hatred, and resentment among them;
• he spreads ill feelings among them;
• he instills intense hatred in their hearts towards one another;
• and he often drives them to harm one another.

The incidents that occur as a result of anger and emotional outbursts are numerous. They include acts such as murder, assault, and hurtful speech that carries significant sin, mistreatment, injustice, and transgression. These incidents give rise to daily crimes in human society:

• daily occurrences of murder,
• daily incidents of assault, even if they do not escalate to the level of murder,
• and crimes committed through verbal abuse, to the extent that a person bears the burden of sin and iniquity before Allah.

Many people experience daily instances of enmity, grudges, hatred, and loathing that are unjustified and unnecessary. It is not appropriate for a person, in the first place, to engage in such actions or allow his relationship with others to reach a point of enmity, hatred, and loathing.

Therefore, Allah says, {'And tell My servants to say only what is best.'} This is because adhering to saying what is best, using kind words, and avoiding negative, hurtful, provocative, and demeaning expressions that Shaytan exploits to stir up evil and fuel anger and agitation, is extremely important in avoiding many conflicts. {'Shaytan certainly seeks to sow discord among them. Indeed, Shaytan is ever, to mankind, a clear enemy.'} He exploits this to a great extent.

How should we deal with anger and emotional outbursts?

Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Good and evil cannot be equal'}:

• They are not equal in speech;
• they are not equal in interactions;
• and they are not equal in the way a person deals with matters.

{'Good and evil cannot be equal. Respond with what is best, then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend'}. That is because when a person responds to evil with evil, it opens the doors to all forms of negativity and exacerbates the problem. Many situations do not deserve such a response. They do not deserve opening a door for conflict, dispute, enmity, or hatred. This consumes one's self, mind, heart, and thoughts, leading to wrong actions as a result. Responding with what is good is the correct approach.

{'Respond with what is best, then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend'}. If a person still has human emotions and maintains his innate nature, responding with what is best will have a profound impact on him. It will deeply influence him if he possesses a conscience or a sense of humanity and preserves his noble character instead of being vile. That is why He said, {'Then the one you are in a feud with will be like a close friend.'}

{'But this cannot be attained except by those who are patient'}—for this act of repelling evil with what is best requires patience and endurance—{'and who are truly fortunate'}. This is a lofty position with Allah (Glory be to Him), and the reward for it is immense. Its results in reality are significant.

In this same context, Allah says, {'And if you are ever spurred by a spurring from Shaytan, then seek refuge with Allah; indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing'}. This is because what affects humans and may initially deter them from responding to evil with good is the spurring of Shaytan: He inflames a state of anger and agitation, causing the fire of animosity to ignite within them and influence them. This includes delusions, evil assumptions, incorrect calculations, and provocation.

This keeps one contemplating and calculating the matter with increasingly larger calculations, until the fires of animosity flare up within him to a significant extent, causing him to forget everything else and remain preoccupied in his mind, soul, and thoughts about it. He constantly fuels himself with anger, rage, and hatred, and this affects him: It takes him beyond the normal limits of human behaviour, affecting his self-balance, understanding, balanced approach to matters, and proper perception of things. His perspective on matters changes, viewing them through the lens of his anger, level of resentment, and emotional state. He interacts with things based on that, and it impacts his human dignity, his level of balance, maturity, wisdom, understanding, and many other aspects.

The states of anger, emotional outbursts, desires, lusts, and fears are among the states through which Shatyan tries to divert people from the straight path and to keep them away from the path of Allah and the deeds that bring goodness, success, dignity, honour, elevation of their status and worth in the sight of Allah and in the reality of this worldly life. He wants to devoid them of their human dignity and lead them to their destruction through themselves, their actions, and their behaviours. And he seeks to inflict upon them the greatest and utmost harm, which is humiliation in this world, punishment in the Hereafter, reaching the fires of Jahannam, and being burned and tormented alongside him in the flames of Jahannam.

That is enough for today, and we will continue discussing this topic, Allah willing, in the coming lecture.

We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to accept our fasting, nights of worship, and good deeds.

O Allah, have mercy on our virtuous martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are All-Hearing!

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.