Our True Enemy - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah al-Hajah — Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

The Amazing Human Body and a Hidden Danger

The human body is amazing. Allah tells us in the Quran:

We have created mankind in the best of forms. Every single part of our body that Allah has created is amazing.

For example, neuroscientists tell us that from the ways that we combat danger and the way that we react to danger is that when we sense danger, two parts of the brain become active. The first is something called the cerebral cortex — that's the part of the brain that processes information. When you see fire, you sense danger. If you're at home and you smell gas, you sense danger. If you're walking on the street with your young child and the child runs into the road, you sense danger. That's the part of the brain that is triggered when we see or sense or smell danger.

And the second part of the brain is something called the amygdala. That's what then sends a response throughout our body to combat that danger that we have seen or that we sense. It sends stress hormones, releases stress hormones in our body, pumps more blood through our veins, increases our heart rate. We have more glucose in our bloodstream — all of those different things that the body does so that we can react to that danger in the most appropriate way. Scientists call it the fight or flight response. Do we stand and tackle that danger or do we run away and seek safety? That's the human body.

But there is a danger that Allah tells us of in the Quran in numerous verses. A danger that we don't always sense and we can't always see or hear or smell. It is a danger that, because it is so hidden — unless you're cognizant of the fact that it's there, unless you're aware of it — it is so hidden and so cloaked that it is difficult for you to be able to respond to it unless you become aware of its presence. And that is the danger that Allah refers to in multiple verses of the Quran. The greatest, most constant, most persistent danger that all of us face — and that is the danger of Shaitan.

Quranic Warnings About Shaitan

Allah in many verses of the Quran refers to this over and over again, because it's not something that most of us are constantly aware of — something that we become heedless and negligent of. Allah says, for example, in one verse:

Did I not take from you, O Children of Adam, the covenant and the promise that you would not worship Shaitan, for indeed he is your true enemy? The worship of Shaitan is not just to make ruku' to Shaitan, nor does it simply mean to prostrate to Shaitan. It means those people who choose the path of Shaitan over the path of Allah, the promise of Shaitan over the promise of Allah, who follow the commands of Shaitan over the commands of Allah — that is part and parcel of their worship.

In Surah Fatir, Allah says:

Indeed Shaitan is for you a clear enemy, so take him to be a clear enemy. He only calls his followers so that they may also be from the inhabitants of the Fire. This is the call of Shaitan — that each and every single person who follows his path will enter with him into that Fire of Hell, which he knows Allah has already promised him he would be within.

Allah says in yet another verse:

O you who believe, do not follow in the footsteps of Shaitan. For whosoever follows in the footsteps of Shaitan, he only commands with evil and corruption.

In yet another verse, Allah says to us:

O Children of Adam, do not let Shaitan try and test you just as he caused your ancestors, your forefathers Adam and Hawa alayhim assalam to be expelled from Jannah, from Paradise.

In yet another verse, Allah tells us again about the reality of Shaitan:

And when We commanded the angels that they should prostrate before Adam, all of them did so with the exception of Iblis. He was from the jinn, so he disobeyed the command of his Lord. And then Allah says: So then will you take him and his offspring, his progeny, as allies beside Me — meaning Allah — and they are clear enemies to you? What a wretched exchange that is.

Over and over again Allah warns us about the reality of Shaitan. Why? Because when Shaitan is there — and he's ever-present, whispering to us, tempting us, telling us to disobey Allah — most of us aren't even aware of that fact. We don't even have the presence of mind to understand that that is what is taking place. So over and over again in the Quran and in the Sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ, we are told and warned against our true enemy, the greatest of our enemies.

Every other danger that we see in this life — be it the danger of poverty, the danger of illness, the danger of everything else that we see and experience — those are dangers, and yes, they're true dangers and they're present dangers. And as Muslims we've been commanded to deal with those issues appropriately as well. But there is a danger that Allah focuses on more than all of those other dangers, and that is the danger of Shaitan.

Shaitan Knew Our Weakness From the Very Beginning

In the hadith of Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ told us:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 53, Hadith 2611)

When Allah created and fashioned Adam alayhis salam — but before He blew into him of His spirit — He left him in Jannah for as long as Allah willed, standing there. And Iblis came and he saw this new creation of Allah and he began to walk around him and see: what is this creation that Allah has created? And when he saw that it was ajwaf — hollow — he understood that this is a creation that will have no self-control.

Shaitan knew from the very beginning of the creation of Adam alayhis salam — our father — our reality and our weaknesses and the things that we find it difficult to ward off and to stand up against. Shaitan knew.

So when Allah commanded Iblis to prostrate before Adam alayhis salam and he refused to do so, and then Adam alayhis salam was told to go into Jannah but not to eat from that tree, Shaitan came to them. Shaitan came to Adam and he whispered to him and he said:

Shall I not inform you, point you, guide you towards a tree that will give you a kingdom that will never diminish? And he promised them, as Allah says in another verse:

He took an oath and a promise that: I only come to you as a sincere advisor.

Shaitan's Promise to Misguide Mankind

Shaitan knew and understood from the very first moment when Allah outcast him from Jannah, expelled him, exiled him. He made a promise to Allah and he said:

O Allah, I will sit upon that straight path to which You have called him. That straight path which, in every single rak'ah of every single prayer whenever we recite Surah al-Fatihah, is the only du'a that we make — so consistently, so commonly, so frequently:

O Allah, guide us to the straight path. Shaitan took an oath and said: I will stand and I will sit upon that straight path. I will ward them from that straight path, divert them from that straight path. And then I will approach them from in front and from behind and from their right and from their left, and you will find that the vast majority of them are ungrateful.

That is the promise that he made to Allah, and it is the decree that Allah placed — that he will live until the end of time so that he can misguide as many of us as he is able to.

The Armies of Iblis

The Prophet ﷺ told us in the hadith of Jabir رضي الله عنه, collected in Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 39, Hadith 2813)

The Prophet ﷺ told us that Iblis has placed his throne upon the oceans, and every single morning he sends out his soldiers, sends out his troops so that they may go and cause evil upon the earth — whisper to humans, to me, to you, to our families, to our children, to our parents, to the people around us — whisper to them that they should do evil and disobey Allah.

And then the Prophet ﷺ said: the one who is closest to Iblis in station is the one who causes the most fitna, causes the most evil and corruption. So when they return — these armies of Iblis — one of them will come and say to Iblis that I did such and such. And Iblis will dismiss him and say: that's nothing, you didn't do anything. Until one of them comes and says to Iblis: I continued to whisper and cause problems between the husband and wife until I separated them, caused divorce. So he will tell that devil to come closer, and Iblis will praise that devil and say: you have done well.

Because in every single thing that we do, from the moment that we wake up until the moment that we sleep, every single major thing that we want to do, Shaitan is there — trying to ward us from the path of good, encouraging us towards the path of evil. Even when it comes to worshiping Allah and you want to worship Allah and come closer to Allah, Shaitan is there sitting on that straight path, warding you off.

Shaitan During Prayer

The Prophet ﷺ told us in the hadith of Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه in Sahih Muslim: when the adhan is given, when the muezzin gives the adhan, Shaitan runs and he flees the masjid and he passes wind so that he can't hear that adhan. But once the adhan finishes, Shaitan re-enters the masjid again — until the iqamah is given. And when the iqamah is given, Shaitan flees. And once the iqamah has finished, Shaitan re-enters. And then he comes and he whispers to one of us and says: remember such and such, and remember such and such — something that you would never have remembered or thought of otherwise — until a person is in their prayer and they don't know: did they read three rak'ahs or did they read four? That is what Shaitan does.

Allah tells us in the Quran that Shaitan gives us promises and false wishes and hopes, because Shaitan knows our weaknesses. But the false hopes and wishes of Shaitan are nothing except deception.

So Shaitan promises us: when you want to give charity, don't spend. Shaitan comes and promises you poverty and orders you to do evil. Whereas Allah promises you His grace and His bounties and His forgiveness. Allah — over and over again in the Quran — mentions the promise of His grace and His mercy for those who spend in His way: that Allah will reward them, Allah will increase them in good, Allah will bless them with what they have. Only once in the Quran does Allah make mention of the promise of Shaitan — that if you spend, you will become poor, you will become impoverished. But al-Hasan al-Basri rahimahullah said: we believe that one promise more than the many promises that Allah gives us. Because Shaitan knows our weaknesses.

Each and every single one of us — our weaknesses, our temptations, what we find it difficult to stand up against. Shaitan only wants to cause hatred and enmity between you by using alcohol and by using gambling. He knows our weaknesses. Some of us have a weakness of the mouth, some of us the opposite gender, some of us fame or power, some of us drink or gambling. Shaitan knows and he deals with each one of us accordingly.

The Inherent Weakness of Shaitan's Plots

In reality, Allah tells us that the traps and the plots of Shaitan are inherently weak — weak for those people who turn towards Allah, strengthen themselves with iman, and busy themselves with the remembrance of Allah and with righteous deeds. Allah in the Quran, when He describes Shaitan, calls him the retreating whisperer. Why? The scholars of tafsir said: because Shaitan only whispers when we're negligent of Allah. When we don't remember Allah, that is when Shaitan becomes strong. But when we remember Allah, Shaitan retreats and he becomes weak.

The Prophet ﷺ was once riding on his riding animal and one of the companions was sitting behind him. The riding animal stumbled, so the companion behind the Prophet ﷺ became upset and said: cursed is Shaitan! So the Prophet ﷺ said to him: don't curse Shaitan, because when you do so Shaitan becomes more arrogant, more haughty, more proud and he says: it is because of me that the camel stumbled. But rather seek Allah's refuge, remember Allah, and Shaitan will become weak until he's like a fly. So when you remember Allah, Shaitan becomes weak.

Allah tells us that the plots of Shaitan are inherently weak, and that Shaitan's weapon is the weapon of whispering — he comes to us and he whispers directly within our hearts. He whispers into the hearts of people.

Shaitan's Own Confession on Yawmul Qiyamah

Allah tells us in Surah Ibrahim that Shaitan himself will acknowledge on Yawmul Qiyamah the weakness of his abilities:

Shaitan will say on Yawmul Qiyamah: indeed Allah made a promise and His promise was true, and I made a promise but my promise was false. And I had no power, no authority over you, except that I called you and you responded. So don't blame me but blame yourselves. Today I cannot save you and you cannot save me.

You see, the calling is not the problem — Shaitan is present within every single one of us. The Prophet ﷺ told us: there is not a single child of Adam except that he has a companion from the devils. They said: not even you, O Messenger of Allah? He said: not even me, except that Allah gave me the power and the ability to overcome it. He became a Muslim, and now he only commands me to do good.

Everyone has Shaitan whispering. The problem is not the whisperings of Shaitan — it is when you act upon them, when you become negligent, when you don't remember Allah and you don't seek Allah's protection.

The Hadith of Safiyyah رضي الله عنها

In the hadith of Safiyyah رضي الله عنها in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet ﷺ was making i'tikaf. And Safiyyah رضي الله عنها, one of the mothers of the believers, one of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, she came to visit him in the masjid. And as she visited and wanted to leave, the Prophet ﷺ stood up to escort her. As they were leaving, two companions walked in and they saw the Prophet ﷺ, so they gave him salams. And the Prophet ﷺ responded to them, and then they hurried and rushed. So the Prophet ﷺ said:

Be calm, slow down. It's only my wife Safiyyah. The two companions said: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهُ — meaning, O Messenger of Allah, we would never have thought evil of you. But the Prophet ﷺ responded and said:

Indeed, Shaitan runs in the body of a person the way blood flows. And I feared that he would cast doubt within your hearts, make you think evil. That thought that comes in — that we think evil of one another — that is from Shaitan. When you're tempted to do evil, it is from Shaitan. But that is all the power that Shaitan has.

This is the reality of Shaitan. But Shaitan becomes strong and has power over us when we neglect Allah, when we are not mindful of Allah, when we don't stand up and pray.

The Three Knots of Shaitan During Sleep

The Prophet ﷺ told us that when we go to sleep at night, Shaitan comes and he ties three knots upon us and says: sleep and have a long sleep — so that we don't wake up and pray Fajr. So when you wake up in the morning and you remember Allah, one of those knots is untied. And then when you make wudu, the second knot is untied. And when you pray Salatul Fajr, the third knot is untied. And then the Prophet ﷺ said: so a person is full of energy, ready to face that day. But if one of those three knots remains untied — you miss Fajr, you didn't wake up, you overslept — then the Prophet ﷺ said that person wakes up lazy, no energy, no real vigor about them for the rest of that day. Because that is the trap of Shaitan.

Shaitan in Our Homes

The Prophet ﷺ told us that when we enter into our houses, if you remember Allah and say بِسْمِ اللَّهِ, Shaitan says to those devils with him: there is no place for you here tonight. And when you eat and you say بِسْمِ اللَّهِ, Shaitan says: there is nothing for you to eat here tonight. But if we enter our homes and we don't remember Allah, and when we eat we don't remember Allah, then Shaitan says: tonight there is a place for you to sleep and tonight there is food for you here.

So over and over again in the Quran and in countless hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, our attention is constantly drawn back to this one ever-present danger. And it is repeated many, many times. Why? Because of how grave this danger is and how easy it is for us to become neglectful of it.

So over and over again we're told, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam: beware of Shaitan, treat him as your enemy, understand his plots and his plans, understand the way that he works and his methods — so that we can protect ourselves and protect our families from the evil of Shaitan. May Allah grant us that safety from him and from his traps and from his armies.

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لِي وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِمَّا فِيهِمَا مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ. أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِجَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Second Khutbah: How to Protect Ourselves from Shaitan

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَاهُ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا. أَمَّا بَعْدُ:

Throughout the Quran and throughout the Sunnah, Allah and the Prophet ﷺ have told us how to protect ourselves from this danger. And the greatest way that we can protect ourselves is when we strengthen our iman and we turn back to Allah and we increase in our worship of Allah.

Allah says in the Quran:

He has no power, no authority over those who believe in Allah, have iman, and they trust upon their Lord. His only authority is upon those who ally themselves with him and they make shirk with Allah.

Every single time Shaitan comes and he whispers to us, we have a choice between us: do we follow that temptation, that whispering of Shaitan, or do we seek Allah's protection and His help and turn away from Shaitan? That is the choice that we face and that is the battle that rages within us each and every single day.

Allah tells us in the Quran:

When Shaitan comes and he prods you, he whispers to you, he incites you to do evil — then seek Allah's protection and His refuge.

Seeking Refuge from Anger

The Prophet ﷺ once came out to his masjid and he saw two companions arguing with one another, and one of them had become red in the face — extremely angry, shouting and cursing his companion. The Prophet ﷺ said to the companions with him: I know a statement that if this man were to say it, all of that anger would dissipate. He said: only if you were to say:

So one of those companions went and said to that man: this is what the Prophet ﷺ says to you. The man replied and said: I'm not crazy, I'm not mad. So gone was he in his anger that he didn't even take the advice of the Prophet ﷺ.

Ayatul Kursi and the Surahs of Protection

The Prophet ﷺ told us that one of the greatest ways of warding off Shaitan is to read Ayatul Kursi. Whosoever reads it before they go to sleep at night, Shaitan will not harm them until the morning. The Prophet ﷺ would recommend that we read Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq, and Surah al-Nas after every prayer and in the morning and the evening, and that it protects you from all evil.

The Du'a of Ibrahim for His Children

And then the Prophet ﷺ would have specific du'as that he would make to ward off the harms of Shaitan — like the du'a that he would make for his two grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husain. And he said that I make this du'a over them as Ibrahim alayhis salam would make it for Ismail and Ishaq alayhimus salam:

I seek refuge in the perfect and complete words of Allah from every devil and vermin and from every evil eye.

And so the Sunnah is replete with many du'as and many adhkar that we need to take the time and the effort to learn and to instill within ourselves and within our families and within our children. Because this is among the greatest dangers that we face. And it is the natural instinct of every parent to protect their children — every parent wants to protect their youngsters. But we must learn to equip ourselves with those du'as from the Quran and the Sunnah, learn the dangers of Shaitan that are ever-present, and how to protect ourselves from them.

We ask Allah that He showers His blessings and His protection upon us and upon our families and our children, that Allah safeguards us from the harms of Shaitan and from his armies, and that Allah gives us the ability to overcome his whisperings. We ask Allah that He grants us the greatest reward in this life and the next, and that Allah cures those from amongst us that are ill, and that He has mercy upon those of our loved ones who have died, and that Allah makes our affairs easy for us.

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ