The enmity of iblees (may Allah curse him); the enmity of Satan towards the sons of Adam, towards the humans, goes way back in times. It is he who whispered to Adam, it is he who made Adam (Peace be upon him) disobey Allah and eat from the forbidden tree.
It is he who made our parents descend to earth and suffer. So may Allah Azdawajjal have His curse upon the outcast Satan, Iblees. Iblees has taken a pledge to Allah Azdawajjal that he would provoke, lure, tempt and seduce the humans, so that they stay away from worshiping Allah Azdawajjal, so that they stay away from Allah’s mercy, and so that they would accompany him in hell.
This is a pledge he took upon himself, however Allah is the most merciful, the most forgiver, has taken a pledge that whoever repents and seeks His forgiveness, Allah Azdawajjal, will forgive him.
No matter how grave and serious and horrendous that sin is even the mushrik, if he comes to Allah Azdawajjal in repentance, Allah will forgive him, and it shows you the enmity that we have with Shaytan, with Iblees to the extent that the Prophet (SAW) said Whenever the son of Adam prostates or makes sujood, shaytaan takes the corner and start to cry. He says; ‘Woe to me I was ordered to prostate but I didn’t, and I will end up with hell, and he was ordered to prostate and he complied and he will end up with paradise.’ He cries when we worship Allah Azdawajjal.
The nature of Iblees, is that he spreads the seeds of discord among the humans in general and among the Muslims in particular.
This is his nature, this is his job description and that’s why if you look that into the history you find that the very first sins in the human race, was when he provoked a brother against his brother, ending up killing him, ending up making the first murder in the history of humanity.
It is he who even spread the seeds of discord among the siblings and if you look at the sons of Prophet of a Prophet of a Prophet; Yaqoob (Peace be upon him) was a Prophet and he is the son of Ishaque, who is the son of Ibrahim, three generations of Prophets yet the fourth generation the siblings of Yusuf (Peace be upon him) because of shaytaan’s whispering, ended up throwing him in a well to die and that is why Allah has warned us a lot in the Quran and the Prophet (SAW) has warned us a lot in the Sunnah against the weapons and the equipments of Shaytaan.
Anything that leads to problems of the Muslims the Prophet (Alaih e salam) has kept away from it. Even if it comes to normal and usual things, even if I lend you money, Allah tells us in Quran that you have to write it down or to have witnesses proving that, so that Shaytaan would not come in the future and make you reject the fact that you have taken money or say that you did not take money at all. Allah has blocked the means of Shaytaan and anything that spreads hatred and enmity among the Muslims, Allah Azdawajjal has made that forbidden. Allah says Shaytaan wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling.
So intoxicants that waste your mind will cause you to have enmity and hatred with your brother.
Gambling: I pay one rupee hoping to get a thousand, may be I will lose and maybe I win. If I win my brother would hate me, if I lose I will hate my brother. Allah Azdawajjal made this haraam and a major sin. The Prophet (AS) has told us in an authentic hadeeth that Shaytaan erects his throne on water and dispatches his troops all over the earth to lure people and to make them fall into sin. Some of them when they come back to report, one of them say I did so and so and shaytaan say to him this is nothing, he will repent and you have done nothing. Another one tells him I did so and so and he say this sin is not big enough… Until someone comes and tells him that I continue to whisper in the heart of spouses until I separated the man from his wife and he said you are the man, you are the closest to me and he makes him sit next to him because the greatest one among his troops is the greatest in fitnah and the greatest in spreading the seeds of discord and this person might be a father in law, might be a brother, might be a mother, whoever causes a man to separate from his wife, he is committing one of the most major sins without knowing it and the Prophet (SAW) has told us that shaytaan has many different ways of seducing and making people fall into sin, not necessarily the biggest in major sins, he is happy if you do little sins because little sins leads to bigger sins.
The Prophet (SAW) tells us that shaytaan has despaired over being worshipped in Arabian Peninsula. Shaytaan knows that he would not be worshipped and the Arabian Peninsula would be full of tawheed. There would not be shirk, generally speaking there might be some patches here and there but the majority of Arabian Peninsula is based and built on tawheed with the grace of Allah Azdawajjal. So he has lost hope that the Arabs in their Arabian Peninsula would worship him or worship the idols.
But he will sow the seeds of discord among them. The thing that he does not despair about is that he would make them differ, he would make them hate one another and he would hope there were more grudges between them and from it we understand that the enmity of our enemy is apparent and clear and all that he wants is to spread hatred and enmity among the Muslims.
And that is why Allah Azdawajjal says in the Quran that he is an enemy so you who believe, take him as an enemy. Do we have enmity to shaytaan or do we listen to his advices? Do we have enmity to shaytaan or we follow what he tells us to say if you try to analyze what comes out of your mouth during the day and night and you cross check that with what pleases Allah and what pleases shaytaan unfortunately you would find that a lot of what comes of your mouth pleases shaytaan more than what pleases Allah Azdawajjal.
So many times through irresponsible words that come out of your mouth, we build hatred and grudges, we separate friends, we separate spouses, we become the advocates and the assistants of shaytaan doing what he is telling us to do and that is why Allah Azdawajjal told us to be extremely careful in what we say and what comes out of our mouths. Allah (SWT) says “and say to my slaves that they should only say those words that are the best”, it is an order that you only say what is the best – Justification; Allah says “shaytaan verily sows disagreements among them; surely shaytaan is to manm a clear enemy.”
So many times, we have our best friends for years and years of friendship and companionship and we are like brothers and all of a sudden one particular day I say something to my brother with a very few intention shaytaan makes that what he has said a big issue and our friendship no longer exists.
Why?
Because I said the wrong thing, even if my intention is good this is what shaytaan was waiting for ten years, to break our friendship so we have to say as what Allah Azdawajjal told us to say, what is best so that shaytaan would not utilize it to his own good. I say what you hear and i seek Allah’s forgiveness so ask Allah for forgiveness,
He is the most forgiving and the most merciful…
Dear Brothers and sisters in Islam, we have to do whatever we can to prevent strengthening shaytaan.
We are the one who feed shaytaan. We are the one who make shaytaan strong with our enmity towards our brothers and sisters. We have to try to block all means of shaytaan to solve the seeds of discord among us as Muslims and we have to try our level best to, not oppose one another and to work in coherence and cooperation.
Now this does not mean that we must not differ because this is human nature, we must differ with one another. We all have different opinions from one another. However, differing with our Muslim brothers has different types and kinds.
There are differences that are acceptable and there are differences that are not acceptable at all, and that is why for an example Uthman ibn Affan, the third caliph (May Allah be please with him) when he was ameer-ul-momineen, when he went for Hajj and had a wife in Makah, he thought that because I am residing in Makah during hajj season during mina I should pray 4 rakk’ah instead of shortening and we know that the sunnah is during the days of mina and during the days of Arafat and night of Mudhalfa you should shorten the prayers. So, he used to continue and complete 4 rakk’ah instead of shorten it into 2.
Abdullah ibn Masud, the servant of Prophet (SAW) and the one who usually carried his shoes or sandals of the prophet, he took more than 70 surah directly from the mouth of prophet (SAW) and he was one of the knowledgeable companions of the Prophet (SAW).
He opposed Usman and told him that this is not the Sunnah and you should not do this. Yet when the Salah was due and Usman was leading the prayer Abdullah ibn Masud prayed behind him so his companions kicked him and said you differ with him in opinion yet you follow him, he said yes! “Alkhilafu sharr”, two words that’s it! Meaning; ‘opposing and differing among the Muslims is evil.’ So, yes we may differ in opinion, you may say that it is must to wear something on your head when you pray, I might say, it’s not a must or compulsory, we differ but does this mean that we become enemies, if we do not the same thought or idea?
Compare what Abdullah ibn Masud did when he prayed behind Usman though he differed, with him with those who do not give salaam to the other because he put his hand on his chest rather than putting it below his navel.
Compare this with those who stop talking to their brothers for years because of the difference of opinions that is not even a major thing in Islam.
And if you look at the sunnah of our beloved Prophet (SAW) you will find the remedy for all illnesses, you will find the answers of all questions if you look into his sunnah but the problem is that the muslims don’t look at his sunnah they are negligent, they are ignorant and this is why we tend to hold on to opinions and we stay steadfast on them rather than looking into his sunnah and to his seerah to learn what to do and what not to do.
How did the Prophet (SAW) deal with people who differed with what he had taught?
A nomad an Arab, once when the prophet was in masjid, came and started to urinate in the masjid. What would you do now if someone comes and starts to urinate in the masjid?
You will be timid, you will give him tafseer and you will may be chopped him into small pieces. What did the Prophet (SAW) do when the companions wanted to stand up for him, he said ‘sit down , sit down, let him finish’ and after he finished he told them to put a bucket of water on his urine to purify the area and he called the man and he told him in a very beautiful way ‘My brother! These masjids are not made for these filth, they are made for praying, reciting Quran and remembering Allah’.
Full Stop that is it! Look how the Prophet not only dealt with those ignorant, how he dealt with the kaafir, how the Prophet (SAW) dealt with the Jews who were blunt enemies of Islam.
He used to visit the ill, as in the hadith we all know when he visited the young Jew and he called him to Islam and he was sick and he accepted Islam after the, he accepted the invitation for lunch and dinner to the extent that a Jew woman invited him for dinner, and offered him a sheep which she filled with poison and the Prophet (SAW) attended.
He didn’t ask is the money’s halaal or from Ribba, did not ask is it slaughtered islamically or he attended because this is the food from the people of book. Not like what we do, some Muslims go in to the house of Muslim and say; Akhee! (brother)! is the meat you are giving me is halaal or haraam, akhee (brother) is a Muslim.
You see him coming out of the church, or from a Synagogue, or from a temple, you should eat without asking. He is your brother, this is how the Prophet (SAW) dealt with the Jews to the extent that when a funeral came in front of him of a dead Jew, he stood up and this was the beginning of Islam. It was recommended when a funeral comes you stand up out of respect.
So the people said Oh Prophet of Allah!
It’s a Jew, he said isn’t it a soul? but then this was abrogated and standing up for any funeral whether a Muslim or non-Muslim passing in front of you this does not require you to stand up, Alhamdulillah!.
The companions used to differ among themselves but they had never ever fought one another in a sense that you differ with me in opinion I am going to fight with you.
The Prophet (SAW) once told after the battle of the trench, of Al-Khandaq, he says none of you should pray asr except in Banni Qurraiwa, so all the companions rushed but in the middle of the way sun was almost going to set, so those companions differed, half of them said we have to stop and pray asr before its time run up the others said No, Prophet said, do not pray asr except in Banni Qurraiwa, we are not going to pray.
Did they fight one another, No each one respected the opinion of other to the extent that when they reach Banni Qurraiwa and they spoke to Prophet (SAW), the Prophet did not correct anyone of them, he did not say that those who prayed you did well, he did not say to those who did not pray until after maghrib that you did well because this is the difference of opinion that is respected.
There are lot of examples, for example As Shaafiya (May Allah bless his soul) Yunus, one of the scholars of his time, he said I have never seen anyone wiser than the Shaafiya, we debated one day and it was heated debate and we disagreed and we departed, the following day, the Shaafiya saw me, he took my hand and he said Yunus isn’t it possible that we differ in opinion yet we still be brothers, he said that he never seen anyone wiser than the Shaafiye.
Al Imaan Al Auza’i one the great scholars of Lebanon of Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamaah, he met Abdullah Ibne Mubarak who was the student of his and you all know Abdullah ibne Mubarak, he said that with Auza’i saw me he told me who is this man that innovator, who came in Kufa, he did not meet him but he heard about him and who was that man was Abu haneefah (May Allah has mercy on his soul) so Auza’i is asking who is this Abu Haneefah the innovator, Abdullah Ibne Mubarak did not say anything, he went back to his home for three days, he reading each and every book of Abu Haneefah and noting down the beautiful topics that shows how smart and how committed to the Quran and Sunnah and how knowledgeable this imam is, and then he took the book that he noted down, these beautiful points and he said I met after three days, an Auza’i and I gave him the book he said after Maghreb he gave an adhaan he offered the prayer and he started reading it until isha.
And then he offered the adhaan and pray isha, he was the imam of masjid and continues to read it the whole night. In the Fajr time, he said by Allah! this who wrote this is one of the noblest and one the most knowledgeable people in Islam, who is this and he told him this is Abu Haneefah, the one you said who is that innovator and he met Abu Haneefah after that in Makah and he said talking and debating with him until fajr time and then he went to Abdullah Ibn Mubarak and said by Allah!
He is one of the wisest people of earth I have ever met. He studied under him stayed next to him.
They differ, but once they see the truth they went back and they eradicated any differences in between them. Difference will remain among the Muslims, no way that you say we should unite and have no differences.
This is impossible.
This is the sunnah of Allah Azdawajjal that you and I must differ with one another because the understandings or comprehension of things differ, they cannot be the same, that is why Allah says in Quran ‘But they will not see to disagree except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His mercy’, so disagreement is always there what is not permissible while disagreeing is that we hate one another and that is why in the beautiful hadeeth that needs the whole separate lecture about it, the Prophet (SAW) says; ‘do not hate and hold grudges against one another, do not envy one another, do not give your back to your brother when you see him’ because you see him coming and you don’t want to talk to him so you pretend that you did not see him the Prophet tells you do not do this because this is one of the means of shaytaan to sow the seeds of discord and that is why each and every one among the Muslims must cut away, blocked the means of iblees to say what is the best and to do his best to prevent fights and disagreements as much as possible and to unite the people to the best of their ability and by this we would fulfill with the grace of Allah Azdawajjal the instructions of Allah (SWT) and of our Prophet (SAW).
May Allah Azdawajjal benefit me and you with the Quran and with the beautiful Sunnah of Prophet (SAW). I am going to supplicate in Arabic because supplicating in English and this is something you should know and this is a question I am often asked what the ruling on supplicating is in our own native language in Salah and elsewhere.
The majority scholars said that this is not permissible you should supplicate in Salah in Arabic, the most authentic opinion is if you do not know how to supplicate in Arabic it is permissible for you to supplicate in your native language. For example, if I want to say O Allah forgive me, I say Allahumaghfirli, or astaghfirullah.
You know this so you have to say it in Arabic but if you want to say O Allah pay off my debt, I have debts and I want to pay off my debts and I don’t know the words in Arabic then you may say in your own native language likewise if you have sick child or have disobedient wife, I know if you have disobedient husbands as well, you may ask Allah Azdawajjal in you native language in Salah that Allah will guide them.
So I will supplicate in Arabic inshaa Allah all the supplications would be for forgiveness and don’t worry I will not add anything that might be harmful for you.