The Story of the Visit of Satan, the Accursed

This story reaches us from two sources. In Efendi's Irshad is a Hadith through Hazrat Anas ibn Malik (ra). In the last chapter of Hazrat Muhyiddin ibn Arabi's book Shajarat al-kawn ("The Tree of Being") is a version derived from a Hadith related by Mu'adh ibn Jabal from Hazrat Anas (ra). It is given below, supplemented by additional information from Hazrat Anas' report.

From us the humble retelling, from Allah the Understanding.

One day a congregation was gathered at the home of one of the Ansar around the Prophet (saw). [According to Hazrat Anas it was Abu Ayyub] In the middle of a wonderful discourse an ugly voice from the outside was heard saying, "O the ones inside, (or , "O Messenger of Allah!") would you permit me to enter? I have business with you!"



All looked at the Prophet (saw), who said to the ones present, "Do you recognize the owner of this voice?"



The Companions answered, "Allah and His Messenger know best."



The Prophet (saw) said, "It is Satan the Accursed."



On hearing that, Hazrat Umar (ra), who was present, pulling his sword, asked, "O Messenger of Allah, permit me to go and cut off his head!" ["Let me smash his skull and free the people from his trouble!"]



The Prophet (saw) replied, "No Umar, don't you know that you cannot kill him? He has permission to exist until Qiyaamah." Then he added, "Open the door and admit him, as he did not come on his own but on Allah's orders. [Or, "There is always an underlying reason for things.] Otherwise, he would not have come here. Listen to what he says, and try to understand."



Then Rawi (ra), one of the Companions, relates the tale:





They opened the door and he appeared ion front of us as an old man, cross-eyed [or blind in one eye] and scant of beard, with only six or seven long hairs hanging from his chin. He had a very big head, his crossed eyes close to the top of his head, high on his forehead, with big thick hanging lips like those of a water buffalo. He saluted the Prophet and the Companions, to which the Prophet (saw) responded, 'O Accursed, the salaam and salutations belong to Allah Most high.' Then he said, 'I heard you are here on business. What is it?' Satan said, 'I did not wish to come here, I was forced to - an angel came to me from your Lord, Who honors whom He wishes, and said, "Allah Most High orders you to Muhammad, but you will go to him in humility and abasement, and be submissive and tractable. You will tell him how you seduce and mislead humankind. You are going to answer all his questions truthfully, without a single lie." And Allah said that if I lied to you He would turn me into ashes and blow me away in the wind, and my enemies would laugh at me. I come with such orders, O Muhammad.' Then the Prophet asked the Devil, 'Tell me, who in the creation do you hate most?'



The Devil answered, 'You O Muhammad! ['And all the Prophets'] There is no one in the whole creation that I hate more. There is none other like you.'



The Messenger of Allah (saw) [confirmed that the Devil was his own, and all the Prophets' (as) greatest foe]. He asked, 'Whom else do you detest besides me?'



Satan said, 'The young ones who have given up their pleasures and themselves for Allah's sake; the men of knowledge who act upon their knowledge and who decline all that is doubtful; the ones who are clean. So clean that they wash thrice that which they wish to cleanse. Then the patient poor, who neither ask from others the things they need, nor complain. Then the thankful rich, who give alms lawfully and spend lawfully. [Hazrat Anas lists fourteen enemies after the Prophets (as): the knowledgeable who act on what they know; readers of the Qur'an who pattern themselves on it; those who call to prayer for Allah's sake; the satisfied poor; the compassionate; the generous; those who perform the morning prayer on time; advisors and reformers; abstainers from unlawful food and sexual relations; those who are always in ablution; the modest; those who place their trust in Allah; benefiters of the poor; the devout busy in Allah's service.]



Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What happens to you, O Accursed One, when my people do their prayers?'



'I shake and tremble as if stricken with malaria because I see your people raised in blessing and power each time they prostrate.'



'What happens to you, O Accursed, when my people fast?'



'I have my hands and feet tied until they break their fast.'



'What happens when they all meet on the Hajj at the house of their Lord?'



'I lose my wits, I go mad'



'What happens to you when they recite the Holy Qur'an?'



'I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid in the fire.'



'And when they pay alms?'



'I am torn to pieces, as if the generous donor took a saw and sawed me into four pieces. Because there are four beatitudes which the donor receives - the blessing of abundance, love and respect from Allah's creatures, a shield from hellfire, and relief from distress and troubles.'



Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked the Devil what he thought of his beloved Companions. About Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) he said, 'I hate him. Even before Islam he refused to obey, nay! Even to hear me. How can he now listen to me?' About Hazrat Umar ibn Al-Kattab (ra) he said, 'I run away whenever I see him!' About Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan (ra) he said, 'I am ashamed in front of him. Even the angels of mercy are ashamed in front of him.' And about Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) he said, 'O if I could just be safe from him, if he would just let me be, I would let him be. But he will not leave me alone!'



Having heard the answers of the accursed Satan the Prophet (saw) thanked Allah and said, 'Praise be to Allah Who has blessed my people with such felicity and cursed you with such negativity until that appointed time.'



When the Devil heard that, he said, 'Alas, alas for you, what felicity for your people? How can you feel there is safety for them as long as I exist? I enter their very veins, their very flesh, and they cannot even suspect, let alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah Who has given me time until Qiyaamah that I will seduce them all, the intelligent and the simple-minded, the learned as well as the ignorant, the devout as well as the sinner. None will be safe from me except the true servants of Allah.'



The Prophet (saw) asked, 'Who are the true servants of Allah, according to you?'



The Devil said, 'You know well, O Muhammad, that whomsoever loves his money and his property Allah does not count among his servants. Whenever I see someone who does not say "mine" and "me" , who does not love either money or flattery, I know he is truly a servant of Allah and I run away from him. As long as one loves money, property, flattery, he obeys me, he is my servant. I need many servants and I have many servants. I am not alone. I have 70,000 children, each of them with his assigned duties. Each of my 70,000 children has 70,000 satans serving him, all assigned to different posts. Many are with the young people and older women, and with the theologians and preachers and shaykhs. There are almost no differences of opinion between your young people and my devils, and your children play happily with my children. And some of the devout and some of the pious get along very well with my people! My devils lead the imagination of the pious from one height to another. Arrogant, they leave the sincerity of their devotions. Soon they fight with each other, and they don't even know what is happening to them. Then I whisper to them, "Disbelieve!", but when they disbelieve, I say, "I am free of you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds." (Surah al-Hashr, ayat 16).'



Then the accursed Devil told how he profited from habits of man which he liked. About lying he said, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that lying is from me and that I am the first liar? Whoever lies is my best friend; whoever swears to the truth of his lies is my beloved. You know, O Muhammad that I swore by Allah and lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to them both, "Surely I am a sincere advisor to you." (Surah al-Araf, ayat 21) I also love rejection and gossip. They are my delightful fruits. I detest loving families. If they think of rejecting each other, separating from each other, and talk about divorce, even if just once, the marriage bond in Allah's view is dissolved. The wife will be unlawful to the husband. When they sleep together, they will be adulterers. If they have a child he will be a bastard. I love all that.



'O Muhammad, let me tell you about my friends who abandon prayers or delay them. When it is time for prayer I make them imagine that there is still time, that they are busy. They should enjoy what they are doing, they can always pray later! I hope they will die before doing their next prayer, and some of them do. Even when they do their prayers late, their devotions are thrown in their faces. If I cannot succeed myself, I send them a human satan who will prevent them from their devotions. If I don't succeed again, I enter into their prayers. I tell them, "Look to the right, look to the left! Think of the past, plan your future!" And when they do I caress their cheeks and kiss their foreheads and take the peace from their hearts. You know, O Muhammad, that the prayers of those whose attention is outside of them or who are imagining things which do not belong in the presence of Allah are also rejected and thrown in their faces. And if I am not successful in that, I order them to do their prayers fast, and they



look like hens picking at grain. If I still don't succeed, I follow them to the congregational prayers and put bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift their heads from the prostration before the imam, and I push their heads down before the imam touches his head to the ground, and I am overjoyed to remember that Allah will turn those unruly heads into donkeys' heads on the Day of Judgment. If I am still not successful, I try at least to make them crack their fingers while they are making prayers. Then they will be among those who make my tasbih instead of Allah's tasbih. Or at least I will blow into their noses and make them yawn, and if they open their mouths a little devil will enter into them through their mouths and increase their love and ambition for this world. The one who loves and is ambitious for this world becomes my soldier; he obeys me and does as he is ordered.



'O Muhammad, if I have told a single lie, may scorpions bite me, and ask from Allah that he turn me into ashes. O Muhammad, do not be sure of your people. I have already converted a sixth of them, who have left their religion.'



Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'O Accursed One, with whom do you most like to spend your time?'



'The usurer.'



'And your best friend?'



'The adulterer.'



'With whom do you share your bed?'



'The drunkard.'



'Who are your guests?'



'The thieves.'



'Who are your representatives?'



'The magicians and soothsayers.'



'What pleases you most?'



'Divorce'



'Whom do you love most?'



'Those who abandon their Friday prayers.'



[Hazrat Anas (ra) gives eight friends of Satan: tyrants and oppressors; the arrogant; servile scholars who hide the truth for the benefit of tyrants; dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of alcohol; dealers in fraud; slanderers; those who stir up trouble among friends.]



Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What breaks your heart, O Accursed One?'



'The determination and the firm footsteps of those who march against the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake.'



'What gives you pain?'



'The repentance of the penitent.'



'What makes you grimace?'



'The alms given in secret.'



'What makes your eyes blind?'



'The tahajjud prayer in the middle of the night.'



'What makes you bow your head?'



'Prayer done in congregation.'



The Prophet (saw) continued asking: 'O Satan, according to you, who are the happiest among people?'



'The ones who purposefully abandon their prayers.'



'And the best among people?'



'The miser.'



'What prevents you from doing your job?'



'The gathering of men of knowledge and their discourses.'



'How do you eat your food?'



'With my left hand and the tips of my fingers.'



'When the sun is hot, where do you seek shade?'



'Under people's dirty fingernails.'



Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'What did you ask from my Lord on the day you were rejected from His presence?'



'I had ten requests which were accorded.'



'What were they, O Accursed One?'



'I asked Allah to make me a partner in the properties and children of the children of Adam. He gave that to me, and He said, "And incite whom thou canst with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and thy foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and promise them. And the Devil promises them only to deceive." (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 64). I eat from the meat of animals killed without the basmalah and from the food bought by money gained through interest, injustice, and tyranny. I am the shareholder of the property whose owner does not take refuge in Allah from me. I am part father of the child which comes from intercourse performed without the basmalah. I am the traveling companion of the one who rides a vehicle which is going to an unlawful destination.



'I asked Allah to give me a house, and He gave me the public baths. I asked Allah to give me a temple, and He gave me the marketplaces as my temple. I asked Allah to give me a book. He gave me the books of poetry as my book. I asked for a call to prayer, and He gave me the dancing music. I asked for someone to share my bed, and He gave me the drunkard. I asked Allah for helpers. Allah gave me those who believe in free will. I asked Allah to give me brothers and sisters, and Allah gave me the squanderers who spend their money on evil things. Allah said, "Surely the squanderers are the Devil's brethren" (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 27). Then I asked Allah to be able to see the children of Adam while they are unable to see me, and He accorded that to me. I wished that the very veins of the children of Adam be my routes, and it was given to me. So I flow in their veins as I wish and enter their flesh. All these were given to me, and I am proud of what I have received. And let me add, O Muhammad, that there are more with me than there are with you, and until Qiyaamah there will be more with me than there are with you.'



Then the Prophet(saw) said, 'If you had not proven what you said with the verses of Allah's Book, it would have been hard for me to confirm what you say.'



The Devil continued, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that I have a son whose name is Atam (in Arabic, the first third of the night)? He pisses in the ear of the people who go to sleep without performing their night prayers. His urine puts them to sleep, otherwise no one could have gone to bed without finishing their prayers. Then I have a son whose name is Mutaqadi (in Arabic, one who presses for payment). His duty is to publicize the prayers, the devotions, the good deeds which are done in secret for Allah's sake, because Allah promises to reward the good deed done secretly a hundred fold. When deeds are publicized and receive credit and praise from the creatures of Allah, Allah takes away ninety-nine of the promised one hundred rewards. Then I have a son whose name is Kuhayl (kohl). His duty is to put kohl on the eyes of those in the presence of wise men or preachers. The ones whose eyes he has touched start falling asleep. They are thus prevented from hearing the words of Allah or receiving any benefit from them.'



The Devil talked about women. He said, 'Whenever a woman leaves her seat a devil sits in her place. On the lap of every woman sits a satan who makes her desirable to whoever looks at her. Then he orders the woman to open and show her arms, her legs, and her breasts, and with his claws tears her veil of shame and decency.'



Then the Devil started to complain. He said, 'O Muhammad, in spite of all this I have no strength to take away the faith of the faithful. I only take away their faith when they throw it away. If I were able, there would be no one on the face of this world who could say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger." I would not leave a single one to pray or fast. All I can do is to give the children of Adam imaginations, illusions and delusions, make the ugly appear beautiful, the wrong, right, and the bad, good. Neither do you have the power to give faith. You are only a proof of the truth, because I know that if you were given the power to give true faith you would not leave a single non-believer on the face of this world. The fortunate one who is a believer is fortunate in his mother's womb, and the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his mother's womb. As you are the guide of the fortunate, I am only the cause of sin of the ones who are destined to sin. Allah is He Who renders one fortunate and another rebellious.' Then he recited form Surah Hud, '"And if thy Lord has mercy, and for this did He create them. And the word of thy Lord is fulfilled. I shall fill Hell with jinn and men altogether." (Surah Hud, ayat 118-119).' He recited from Surah Ahzab, ayat 38: '"And the command of Allah is a decree that is made absolute."'



Then the Mercy upon the Universe told the Devil, 'O Father of All Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all possible for you to repent and return to your Lord. I promise I would intercede for you.'



The Accursed One answered, 'O Messenger of Allah, it is Allah's justice. The ink on the pen which wrote the judgment is dry. What will happen will happen until Qiyaamah. The One Who made you the master of all the Prophets, the speaker for the inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who chose you to be the beloved amongst all his creation, chose me to be the master of sinners and the speaker for the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah, devoid of all lack. O Muhammad, this which I have told you is my last word to you, and I have told nothing but the truth.'"



"All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds which existed before and which will exist after, visible and invisible. And Allah's blessings upon our beloved master, the Beloved of Allah, Mercy upon the Universe, and upon his household and progeny and companions and friends who are loved by him, and upon the ones who love him." The Story of the Visit of Satan, the AccursedThis story reaches us from two sources. In our Efendi's Irshad is a Hadith through Hazrat Anas ibn Malik (ra). In the last chapter of Hazrat Muhyiddin ibn Arabi's book Shajarat al-kawn ("The Tree of Being") is a version derived from a Hadith related by Mu'adh ibn Jabal from Hazrat Anas (ra). It is given below, supplemented by additional information from Hazrat Anas' report. Sayyid Sharif Jurjani interprets Sharjarah in the title of Hazrat Ibn Arabi's book as "The Perfect Man" and kawn as "the scale of Being to which all beings should be compared for their qualification." The work describes the Perfect Man, Allah's Beloved and ours, the Light of Creation, Prophet Mohammad (saw). Insha'Allah one day it will be translated for the benefit and growth of my ikhwan and the family of the Path and Islam. In the meantime, this story with which we are partly familiar seemed to me most instructive. May Allah forgive me if I verbalize wrongly, but it seemed to me as if it is giving the raw material to the ones who wish and hope to become perfect men. From us the humble retelling, from Allah the Understanding. One day a congregation was gathered at the home of one of the Ansar around the Prophet (saw). [According to Hazrat Anas it was Abu Ayyub] In the middle of a wonderful discourse an ugly voice from the outside was heard saying, "O the ones inside, (or , "O Messenger of Allah!") would you permit me to enter? I have business with you!" All looked at the Prophet (saw), who said to the ones present, "Do you recognize the owner of this voice?" The Companions answered, "Allah and His Messenger know best." The Prophet (saw) said, "It is Satan the Accursed." On hearing that, Hazrat Umar (ra), who was present, pulling his sword, asked, "O Messenger of Allah, permit me to go and cut off his head!" ["Let me smash his skull and free the people from his trouble!"] The Prophet (saw) replied, "No Umar, don't you know that you cannot kill him? He has permission to exist until Qiyaamah." Then he added, "Open the door and admit him, as he did not come on his own but on Allah's orders. [Or, "There is always an underlying reason for things.] Otherwise, he would not have come here. Listen to what he says, and try to understand." Then Rawi (ra), one of the Companions, relates the tale: They opened the door and he appeared ion front of us as an old man, cross-eyed [or blind in one eye] and scant of beard, with only six or seven long hairs hanging from his chin. He had a very big head, his crossed eyes close to the top of his head, high on his forehead, with big thick hanging lips like those of a water buffalo. He saluted the Prophet and the Companions, to which the Prophet (saw) responded, 'O Accursed, the salaam and salutations belong to Allah Most high.' Then he said, 'I heard you are here on business. What is it?' Satan said, 'I did not wish to come here, I was forced to - an angel came to me from your Lord, Who honors whom He wishes, and said, "Allah Most High orders you to Muhammad, but you will go to him in humility and abasement, and be submissive and tractable. You will tell him how you seduce and mislead humankind. You are going to answer all his questions truthfully, without a single lie." And Allah said that if I lied to you He would turn me into ashes and blow me away in the wind, and my enemies would laugh at me. I come with such orders, O Muhammad.' Then the Prophet asked the Devil, 'Tell me, who in the creation do you hate most?' The Devil answered, 'You O Muhammad! ['And all the Prophets'] There is no one in the whole creation that I hate more. There is none other like you.' The Messenger of Allah (saw) [confirmed that the Devil was his own, and all the Prophets' (as) greatest foe]. He asked, 'Whom else do you detest besides me?' Satan said, 'The young ones who have given up their pleasures and themselves for Allah's sake; the men of knowledge who act upon their knowledge and who decline all that is doubtful; the ones who are clean. So clean that they wash thrice that which they wish to cleanse. Then the patient poor, who neither ask from others the things they need, nor complain. Then the thankful rich, who give alms lawfully and spend lawfully. [Hazrat Anas lists fourteen enemies after the Prophets (as): the knowledgeable who act on what they know; readers of the Qur'an who pattern themselves on it; those who call to prayer for Allah's sake; the satisfied poor; the compassionate; the generous; those who perform the morning prayer on time; advisors and reformers; abstainers from unlawful food and sexual relations; those who are always in ablution; the modest; those who place their trust in Allah; benefiters of the poor; the devout busy in Allah's service.] Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What happens to you, O Accursed One, when my people do their prayers?' 'I shake and tremble as if stricken with malaria because I see your people raised in blessing and power each time they prostrate.' 'What happens to you, O Accursed, when my people fast?' 'I have my hands and feet tied until they break their fast.' 'What happens when they all meet on the Hajj at the house of their Lord?' 'I lose my wits, I go mad' 'What happens to you when they recite the Holy Qur'an?' 'I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid in the fire.' 'And when they pay alms?' 'I am torn to pieces, as if the generous donor took a saw and sawed me into four pieces. Because there are four beatitudes which the donor receives - the blessing of abundance, love and respect from Allah's creatures, a shield from hellfire, and relief from distress and troubles.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked the Devil what he thought of his beloved Companions. About Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) he said, 'I hate him. Even before Islam he refused to obey, nay! Even to hear me. How can he now listen to me?' About Hazrat Umar ibn Al-Kattab (ra) he said, 'I run away whenever I see him!' About Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan (ra) he said, 'I am ashamed in front of him. Even the angels of mercy are ashamed in front of him.' And about Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) he said, 'O if I could just be safe from him, if he would just let me be, I would let him be. But he will not leave me alone!' Having heard the answers of the accursed Satan the Prophet (saw) thanked Allah and said, 'Praise be to Allah Who has blessed my people with such felicity and cursed you with such negativity until that appointed time.' When the Devil heard that, he said, 'Alas, alas for you, what felicity for your people? How can you feel there is safety for them as long as I exist? I enter their very veins, their very flesh, and they cannot even suspect, let alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah Who has given me time until Qiyaamah that I will seduce them all, the intelligent and the simple-minded, the learned as well as the ignorant, the devout as well as the sinner. None will be safe from me except the true servants of Allah.' The Prophet (saw) asked, 'Who are the true servants of Allah, according to you?' The Devil said, 'You know well, O Muhammad, that whomsoever loves his money and his property Allah does not count among his servants. Whenever I see someone who does not say "mine" and "me" , who does not love either money or flattery, I know he is truly a servant of Allah and I run away from him. As long as one loves money, property, flattery, he obeys me, he is my servant. I need many servants and I have many servants. I am not alone. I have 70,000 children, each of them with his assigned duties. Each of my 70,000 children has 70,000 satans serving him, all assigned to different posts. Many are with the young people and older women, and with the theologians and preachers and shaykhs. There are almost no differences of opinion between your young people and my devils, and your children play happily with my children. And some of the devout and some of the pious get along very well with my people! My devils lead the imagination of the pious from one height to another. Arrogant, they leave the sincerity of their devotions. Soon they fight with each other, and they don't even know what is happening to them. Then I whisper to them, "Disbelieve!", but when they disbelieve, I say, "I am free of you. Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds." (Surah al-Hashr, ayat 16).' Then the accursed Devil told how he profited from habits of man which he liked. About lying he said, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that lying is from me and that I am the first liar? Whoever lies is my best friend; whoever swears to the truth of his lies is my beloved. You know, O Muhammad that I swore by Allah and lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to them both, "Surely I am a sincere advisor to you." (Surah al-Araf, ayat 21) I also love rejection and gossip. They are my delightful fruits. I detest loving families. If they think of rejecting each other, separating from each other, and talk about divorce, even if just once, the marriage bond in Allah's view is dissolved. The wife will be unlawful to the husband. When they sleep together, they will be adulterers. If they have a child he will be a bastard. I love all that. 'O Muhammad, let me tell you about my friends who abandon prayers or delay them. When it is time for prayer I make them imagine that there is still time, that they are busy. They should enjoy what they are doing, they can always pray later! I hope they will die before doing their next prayer, and some of them do. Even when they do their prayers late, their devotions are thrown in their faces. If I cannot succeed myself, I send them a human satan who will prevent them from their devotions. If I don't succeed again, I enter into their prayers. I tell them, "Look to the right, look to the left! Think of the past, plan your future!" And when they do I caress their cheeks and kiss their foreheads and take the peace from their hearts. You know, O Muhammad, that the prayers of those whose attention is outside of them or who are imagining things which do not belong in the presence of Allah are also rejected and thrown in their faces. And if I am not successful in that, I order them to do their prayers fast, and they look like hens picking at grain. If I still don't succeed, I follow them to the congregational prayers and put bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift their heads from the prostration before the imam, and I push their heads down before the imam touches his head to the ground, and I am overjoyed to remember that Allah will turn those unruly heads into donkeys' heads on the Day of Judgment. If I am still not successful, I try at least to make them crack their fingers while they are making prayers. Then they will be among those who make my tasbih instead of Allah's tasbih. Or at least I will blow into their noses and make them yawn, and if they open their mouths a little devil will enter into them through their mouths and increase their love and ambition for this world. The one who loves and is ambitious for this world becomes my soldier; he obeys me and does as he is ordered. 'O Muhammad, if I have told a single lie, may scorpions bite me, and ask from Allah that he turn me into ashes. O Muhammad, do not be sure of your people. I have already converted a sixth of them, who have left their religion.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'O Accursed One, with whom do you most like to spend your time?' 'The usurer.' 'And your best friend?' 'The adulterer.' 'With whom do you share your bed?' 'The drunkard.' 'Who are your guests?' 'The thieves.' 'Who are your representatives?' 'The magicians and soothsayers.' 'What pleases you most?' 'Divorce' 'Whom do you love most?' 'Those who abandon their Friday prayers.' [Hazrat Anas (ra) gives eight friends of Satan: tyrants and oppressors; the arrogant; servile scholars who hide the truth for the benefit of tyrants; dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of alcohol; dealers in fraud; slanderers; those who stir up trouble among friends.] Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What breaks your heart, O Accursed One?' 'The determination and the firm footsteps of those who march against the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake.' 'What gives you pain?' 'The repentance of the penitent.' 'What makes you grimace?' 'The alms given in secret.' 'What makes your eyes blind?' 'The tahajjud prayer in the middle of the night.' 'What makes you bow your head?' 'Prayer done in congregation.' The Prophet (saw) continued asking: 'O Satan, according to you, who are the happiest among people?' 'The ones who purposefully abandon their prayers.' 'And the best among people?' 'The miser.' 'What prevents you from doing your job?' 'The gathering of men of knowledge and their discourses.' 'How do you eat your food?' 'With my left hand and the tips of my fingers.' 'When the sun is hot, where do you seek shade?' 'Under people's dirty fingernails.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) asked, 'What did you ask from my Lord on the day you were rejected from His presence?' 'I had ten requests which were accorded.' 'What were they, O Accursed One?' 'I asked Allah to make me a partner in the properties and children of the children of Adam. He gave that to me, and He said, "And incite whom thou canst with thy voice, and collect against them thy horse and thy foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and promise them. And the Devil promises them only to deceive." (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 64). I eat from the meat of animals killed without the basmalah and from the food bought by money gained through interest, injustice, and tyranny. I am the shareholder of the property whose owner does not take refuge in Allah from me. I am part father of the child which comes from intercourse performed without the basmalah. I am the traveling companion of the one who rides a vehicle which is going to an unlawful destination. 'I asked Allah to give me a house, and He gave me the public baths. I asked Allah to give me a temple, and He gave me the marketplaces as my temple. I asked Allah to give me a book. He gave me the books of poetry as my book. I asked for a call to prayer, and He gave me the dancing music. I asked for someone to share my bed, and He gave me the drunkard. I asked Allah for helpers. Allah gave me those who believe in free will. I asked Allah to give me brothers and sisters, and Allah gave me the squanderers who spend their money on evil things. Allah said, "Surely the squanderers are the Devil's brethren" (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 27). Then I asked Allah to be able to see the children of Adam while they are unable to see me, and He accorded that to me. I wished that the very veins of the children of Adam be my routes, and it was given to me. So I flow in their veins as I wish and enter their flesh. All these were given to me, and I am proud of what I have received. And let me add, O Muhammad, that there are more with me than there are with you, and until Qiyaamah there will be more with me than there are with you.' Then the Prophet(saw) said, 'If you had not proven what you said with the verses of Allah's Book, it would have been hard for me to confirm what you say.' The Devil continued, 'Do you know, O Muhammad, that I have a son whose name is Atam (in Arabic, the first third of the night)? He pisses in the ear of the people who go to sleep without performing their night prayers. His urine puts them to sleep, otherwise no one could have gone to bed without finishing their prayers. Then I have a son whose name is Mutaqadi (in Arabic, one who presses for payment). His duty is to publicize the prayers, the devotions, the good deeds which are done in secret for Allah's sake, because Allah promises to reward the good deed done secretly a hundred fold. When deeds are publicized and receive credit and praise from the creatures of Allah, Allah takes away ninety-nine of the promised one hundred rewards. Then I have a son whose name is Kuhayl (kohl). His duty is to put kohl on the eyes of those in the presence of wise men or preachers. The ones whose eyes he has touched start falling asleep. They are thus prevented from hearing the words of Allah or receiving any benefit from them.' The Devil talked about women. He said, 'Whenever a woman leaves her seat a devil sits in her place. On the lap of every woman sits a satan who makes her desirable to whoever looks at her. Then he orders the woman to open and show her arms, her legs, and her breasts, and with his claws tears her veil of shame and decency.' Then the Devil started to complain. He said, 'O Muhammad, in spite of all this I have no strength to take away the faith of the faithful. I only take away their faith when they throw it away. If I were able, there would be no one on the face of this world who could say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Messenger." I would not leave a single one to pray or fast. All I can do is to give the children of Adam imaginations, illusions and delusions, make the ugly appear beautiful, the wrong, right, and the bad, good. Neither do you have the power to give faith. You are only a proof of the truth, because I know that if you were given the power to give true faith you would not leave a single non-believer on the face of this world. The fortunate one who is a believer is fortunate in his mother's womb, and the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his mother's womb. As you are the guide of the fortunate, I am only the cause of sin of the ones who are destined to sin. Allah is He Who renders one fortunate and another rebellious.' Then he recited form Surah Hud, '"And if thy Lord has mercy, and for this did He create them. And the word of thy Lord is fulfilled. I shall fill Hell with jinn and men altogether." (Surah Hud, ayat 118-119).' He recited from Surah Ahzab, ayat 38: '"And the command of Allah is a decree that is made absolute."' Then the Mercy upon the Universe told the Devil, 'O Father of All Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all possible for you to repent and return to your Lord. I promise I would intercede for you.' The Accursed One answered, 'O Messenger of Allah, it is Allah's justice. The ink on the pen which wrote the judgment is dry. What will happen will happen until Qiyaamah. The One Who made you the master of all the Prophets, the speaker for the inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who chose you to be the beloved amongst all his creation, chose me to be the master of sinners and the speaker for the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah, devoid of all lack. O Muhammad, this which I have told you is my last word to you, and I have told nothing but the truth.'" "All praise is due to Allah the Lord of all the worlds which existed before and which will exist after, visible and invisible. And Allah's blessings upon our beloved master, the Beloved of Allah, Mercy upon the Universe, and upon his household and progeny and companions and friends who are loved by him, and upon the ones who love him."

" Behold in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (13-28)

" O ye who believes remember Allah very often and glorify Him morning and evening." (33:41-2)

99 Names Of Allah

"The wish of the hearts of the faithful can only be fulfilled with the remembrance of Allah, for hearts are only satisfied by remembering Allah." (Qur-an)

"Remember Allah often and praise Him day and night." (Qur-an)

"Remember Me so that I will remember you, be thankful to Me so that you are not led to faithlessness." (Quran)

Weekly Gathering

Announcement

The Weekly Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan
will be held at Br. Qayyum's Home in Brooklyn NY
This Sunday 04/29/07 at 8:15 pm inshallah.

If you have any questions
in regards to directions please
contact me at
NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

For Those who can not attend
may call in and participate via Tele-Conference
the dial in number is (712) 775-7100
Participant Access Code: 136732#

Weekly Gathering

Announcement

The Weekly Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan

will be held at Br. Hasans Home in Brooklyn NY

This Saturday 04/21/07 at 8:15 pm inshallah
if you have any questions

in regards to directions please

contact me at

NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

For Those who can not attend

can call in and participate via Tele-Conference

the dial in number is (712) 775-7100

Participant Access Code: 136732#

Announcement

Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan
will be held at My Home
This Thursday 04/12/07 at 7:45 pm inshallah

if you have any questions

in regards to directions please
contact me at
NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

Weekly Gathering

Announcement

The Weekly Mehfil -e- Zikr & Khatam Khwajagan

will be held at Br. Jahanzeb's Home

This Saturday 04/07/07 at 7:30 pm inshallah
if you have any questionsin regards to directions please

contact me at

NaqshbandiNYC@Gmail.com

Gain Huge Rewards in Seconds

Chechen Sufi's

Dua by Dr. Pir Fazeel Ayaz Qasmi

Salawat - Nasheed

Spiritual Ecstasy

The Prophet, may Allah grant blessings and peace upon him, says, 'The one who has not experienced ecstasy and thereby received the manifestation of divine wisdom and truth has not lived'.

Hadrat Junayd, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'When ecstasy meets the divine manifestations inside one, one is either in a state of the highest joy or the deepest sorrow'.

There are two kinds of ecstasy: physical ecstasy and spiritual ecstasy. Physical ecstasy is a product of the ego. It does not give one any spiritual satisfaction. It is under the influence of the senses. Often it is hypocritical, occurring so that others see or hear about it. This kind of ecstasy is totally devoid of value because it is purposeful, it is willed: the one who experiences it still thinks that he can do, that he can choose. It is not good to give any importance to such experiences.

Spiritual ecstasy, however, is a totally different state, a state caused by the overflow of spiritual energy. Ordinarily, exterior influences—such as a beautifully recited poem, or the Qur'an chanted by a beautiful voice, or the excitement brought on by the ceremony of remembrance of the Sufis—may cause this spiritual elevation. This happens because at such moments the physical resistance of the being is obliterated. The will, the ability of the mind to choose and to decide, is overcome. When the powers of both the body and the mind are undermined, the ecstatic state is purely spiritual. To go along with that kind of experience is beneficial to one.

The influences which incite spiritual ecstasy are described in the words of the Prophet, may Allah grant blessings and peace upon him, 'The verses of the Qur'an, the wise and wondrous poems of love and sounds and voices of yearning illuminate the face of the soul'.

The Prophet, may Allah grant blessings and peace upon him, says, 'The one who has not experienced ecstasy does not have the taste of his religion'.

There are ten states of ecstasy. Some of these are apparent and their signs visible, and some are hidden and unobservable by others, like the inner consciousness and remembrance of Allah, or a silent reading of the Holy Qur'an. To shed tears, to have deep feeling of regret, fear of Allah's punishment, longing and sorrow, shame for one's moments of unconsciousness; when one grows pale, or the face flushes with excitement from states within and from events around one, burning with the yearning for Allah—these and all physical and spiritual anomalies caused by such things are signs of ecstasy.

- Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani
Sirr al-Asrār (Secret of Secrets)

The Key to Success

On Dhikr

Dhikr is a fire which does not stay or spread – so if it enters a house saying, "Me and nothing other than me," which is one of the meanings of "la ilaha illa'llah' (There is no god but Allah), and there is firewood in the house, it burns it up and it becomes fire. If there is darkness in the house, it becomes light. If there is light in the house, it becomes 'light upon light'.

Dhikr expels from the body impure substances produced by excess in eating or from the consumption of unlawful food. As for food which is lawful, it does not touch it. So the harmful components are burned up and the good components remain.

Dhikr is heard by every part as if it were blowing on a trumpet. When dhikr first occurs in the head, the sound of trumpets and cymbals is experienced there. Dhikr is a sultan – when it descends in a place, it descends with its trumpets and cymbals because dhikr is opposed to all that is other than the Truth. When it descends in a place, it occupies itself with negating what is contrary to the Truth, as we find in the union of water and fire. After these sounds, different sounds are heard: like the ripple of water, the sound of the wind, the sound of fire when it is kindled, the sounds of galloping of horses, and the sound of leaves of the trees rustling in the wind.

This is because man is a combination of every noble and low substance: dust, water, fire, air and earth, and heaven and earth and what is between them: these sounds issue from every source and element of these substances. Whoever has heard these sounds in dhikr praises Allah and glorifies Him with his entire tongue. This is the result of the dhikr with the tongue with the force of complete absorption. Perhaps the worshipper will reach the state where, if he falls silent from dhikr, the heart will stir in his breast, like the movement of the child in the womb, seeking dhikr.

Some say that he heart is like 'Isa, the son of Mary, peace be upon him, and dhikr is its milk. When it grows and becomes strong, longing for the Truth audibly springs from it and pangs of yearning craving for dhikr and the One invoked. The dhikr of the heart is like the sound of the bee, neither a confused high noise nor a very low hidden sound. When the One invoked takes possession of the heart and the dhikr is obliterated and vanishes, and the invoker does not pay attention to the dhikr nor to the heart. If during this, he notices the dhikr or the heart, that is a distracting veil.

This is state is annihilation (fana') – and it is that man is annihilated in respect to his self (nafs), and he feels nothing in his limbs nor things outside of him or things inside of him. If, during that, it occurs to him that he is totally annihilated in respect to himself, that then is a blemish and turbidity. Perfection is that he be annihilated to himself and to annihilation, and the annihilation of annihilation is the goal of annihilation. Annihilation is the earliest of the Path (Tariq) since it is travelling towards Allah Almighty, and then guidance follows. By guidance I mean the guidance of Allah as the Prophet Ibrahim said, "I am going to my Lord, and He will guide me." (37:99)
This absorption is seldom stable and rarely continues. If the invoker continues, it becomes a fixed habit and a permanent state by which he may ascend to the celestial world. Then the purest real Being emerges and he is imprinted with nature of the invisible world (malakut) and the holiness of Divinity (lahut) is manifested to him. The first thing manifested to him from that world are the essences of the angels and the spirits of the Prophets and saints in beautiful forms through which some of the realities overflow onto him. That is the beginning. This continues until his degree is higher than forms and he encounters the Truth in everything with clarity.
This is the fruit of the core of dhikr. Its beginning is only the dhikr of the tongue; and then the dhikr of the heart is stimulated. Then the dhikr becomes natural; and then the One invoked takes possession and the invoker is obliterated. This is the inner secret of the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "Whoever wish to abide in the Garden of Paradise should invoke Allah much" and the secret of his words "Hidden dhikr is seventy times preferable to dhikr which is heard by listeners."

The sign of dhikr moving to the inner conscience (sirr) is the absence of the invoker from dhikr and the One invoked, and the dhikr of the inner conscience is frantic thirst and drowning in it.
Among its signs is that when you ceasing doing dhikr, it does not leave you, and the ascendancy of dhikr in you stirs you from absence to presence.

Among its signs is that dhikr presses against your heads and limbs so that they seem as if they were bound with shackles and chains.

Among its signs is that its fires do not abate and its light does not depart. Rather you always see its lights rising and descending while the fires around you are pure, aflame and brightly burning. When dhikr reaches the inner conscience when the invoker falls silent from dhikr, it is as if needles had been thrust through his tongue or as if his entire face were a tongue invoking, light pouring from it.

- Ibn 'Ata'llah al-Iskandari

From Miftah al-Falah (The Key to Success)

The Chapter on Dhikr

Encouragement to remember Allah often, secretly and openly, and to presevere in it; what is reported about someone who does not remember Allah often

1. Abu Huryara reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah Almighty says, 'I am in My slave's opinion of Me and I am with Him when He remembers Me. When he remembers Me in himself, I mention him in Myself. If he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in a better assembly than them.' If he comes near Me by a handspan, I come near him a cubit. If he comes near Me by a cubit, I come near a fathom. When he comes to walking, I come to him running."
(Muslim and al-Bukhari, Ahmad has at the end of it, Qatada said, "Allah is quicker to forgive.")

2. 'Abdullah ibn Busr reported a man said, "Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam are too much for me. Tell me something I can cling to." He said, "Your tongue should remain moist with the remembrance of Allah." (at-Tirmidhi)

3. Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Shall I inform you of the best of your actions and the purest of your property and the highest of your degrees and what is better for you than spending gold and silver and better for you than encountering the enemy and striking their necks and their striking your necks?" They said, "Yes, indeed!" He said, "Remembrance of Allah Almighty." MuÔadh ibn Jabal said, "There is nothing which saves from the punishment of Allah more than remembrance of Allah." (Ahmad, Ibn Abi'd-Dunya, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

4. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Do a lot of remembrance of Allah until they say, 'He is mad.'" (Ahmad, Abu Ya'la and Ibn Hibban)

5. Abu Musa reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "If one man has some dirhams in his possession which he divides and another remembers Allah, the one who remembers Allah is better." One variant has, "There is no sadaqa better than remembrance of Allah." (at-Tabarani)
6. Umm Anas reported that she said, "Messenger of Allah, command me." He said, "Avoid acts of disobedience: that is the best jihad. Do a lot of invoking Allah. You do not bring Allah anything he loves more than a lot of remembrance." (at-Tabarani. In one variant, "Remember Allah a lot. It is the action which Allah loves most to reveive." At-Tabarani notes that Umm Anas is not the mother of Anas ibn Malik.)

Encouraging attending gatherings of dhikr and meeting together to remember Allah

7. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "Allah Almighty has angels who travel the highways and by-ways seeking out the people of dhikr. When they find people remembering Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, they call out to one another, 'Come to what you hunger for!' and they enfold them with their wings stretching up to the lowest heaven. Their Lord - who knows them better - asks them, 'What are My slaves saying?' They say, 'They are glorifying You, proclaiming Your greatness, praising You and magnifying You.' He says, 'Have they seen Me?' They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen You.' He says, 'How would it be if they were to see Me?' [extra 'He said's deleted] They say, 'If they were to see You, they would worship You even more intensely and magnify You even more intensely and glorify You even more intensely.' He says, 'What are they asking Me for?'They say, 'They are asking You for the Garden.' He says, 'Have they seen it?' They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen it.'" He says, 'How would it be if they were to see it?' They say, 'If they were to see it, they would yearn for it even more strongly and seek it even more assiduously and would have an even greater desire for it.' He says, 'What are they seeking refuge from?' 'They are seeking refuge from the Fire.' He says, 'Have they seen it?' He says, 'How would it be if they were to see it?' They say, 'If they were to see it, they would flee from it even harder and have an even greater fear of it.' He says, 'I testify to you that I have forgiven them.' One of angels says, 'Among them is so-and-so who is not one of them. He came to get something he needed.' He says, 'They are sitting and the one sitting with them will not be wretched.'" (al-Bukhari)

8. ÔAbdullah ibn 'Umar reported: "I asked, 'Messenger of Allah, what is the booty of the assemblies of dhikr?' He replied, 'The booty of the asemblies of dhikr is the Garden.'" (Ahmad)

9. Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said, "When you come upon the meadows of the Garden, graze in them." He was asked, "What are the meadows of the Garden?" "Circles of dhikr." he replied. (at-Tirmidhi)

10. 'Amr ibn ÔAbasa said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say about the right hand of the All-Merciful, 'Both His hands are right hands. There are men who are not Prophets or martyrs the whiteness of whose faces overpowers the sight of those who look. The Prophets and martyrs envy their seat and proximity to Allah Almighty.' He was asked, 'Messenger of Allah, who are they?' He replied, 'A mixture of isolated people from the tribes who meet to remember Allah and select the best words as someone who eats dates selects the best ones.'" (at-Tabarani)

-Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
from at-Targhib wa at-Tarhib

Invoking blessings on the Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him)

the above transliteration is :-

Allahumma salli ' wa sallim was baarik ala Sayyidina Muhammadil
nil-fatihi lima Ughliqa wal khatimi lima sabaqa wan-naa-siril-haqqi
bil-haqqi wal-hadi ila Sirati-kal-mustaqima sal-lal-lahu 'alayhi
wa 'ala alihi wa-ashaabihi haqqa qadrihi wa-miq-da rihil-'azim.

the above translation is:-

O God bless our Master Muhammad (pbuh) who opened what had been closed, and who is the Seal of what had gone before, he who makes the Truth Victorious by the Truth, the guide to thy straight path, and bless his household as is the due of his immense position and grandeur.

I am sure you have heard the fact that there is no such thing as invoking too much salawat on the Prophet and that we should stay clear of anyone who makes such a claim. We will only mention here some evidence on this topic by way of a reminder.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet said: "If people sit in an gathering in which they do not remember Allah nor invoke a blessing on the Prophet, it will be a cause of grief for them on the Day of Judgment." (Narrated by Tirmidhi, who graded it hasan.)

The author of Fath al-`allam said: "This hadith proves that it is incumbent on one to remember Allah and invoke blessings on the Prophet while sitting in an gathering, for whether we take the words "cause of grief" to mean torment of fire or any other punishment, obviously a punishment is incurred only when an obligatory act is neglected or a forbidden act is committed, and here it is both the remembrance of Allah and the invoking of blessings on His Prophet that are apparently incumbent."

Chechen Zikr