Spiritual Disease and Its Cure by Imam Shams-ud-Deen Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Qayyim AlJ awziyyah

Sins are tools of destruction from Satan which are used against a sinner; for Allah ~ has placed man in constant conflict with the devil, who never leaves him alone for a single moment. In fact, the devil can see humans clearly, but they cannot see him, and he never sleeps nor rests, until he corrupts them. He tries many means, including the support from other devils from among mankind; applying many types of stratagems and laying traps to ambush their enemy, who is man. Satan tells other devils to attack the enemy of their grandfather, Iblis (Satan), who was the cause of their grandfather's expulsion from Paradise, and therefore from the Mercy of Allah. So, he encourages them to tempt man to commit more sins, so that many of mankind may participate with them in their current miserable state (i.e. being expelled from the Mercy of Allah). Allah ~ tested the Children of Adam with Satan, yet armed them with weapons, however He ~ also supplied their enemy (Satan) with soldiers, in order to establish a life of Jihad (struggle) in this world. Allah ~ has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties, in return for an entry into Paradise; they fight for the Sake of Allah ~; they kill their enemy and get killed. He ~ informed us that this is His asserted Promise in His Books: the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur'an. Allah ~ also said: ( 0 you who believe! Shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from a painful torment? That you believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ;i) and that you strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives, that will be better for you, if you but knew. (If you do so) He will forgive you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in the Gardens of Eden; that is indeed the great success. And also, (He will give you) another (blessing) which you love: Help from Allah (against your enemies) and a near victory; so give glad tidings to the believers.) 1 Allah ~ set His Enemy (Satan) upon the believer, who is Allah's most beloved creature, because striving for the Cause of Allah (Jihad) is the most beloved activity in His Sight, as people who make Jihad for the Cause of Allah, are the most highly elevated, and the closest to Him ~ - So, He ~ fixed the banner of Jihad in the believer's heart, the place where there is knowledge, love, sincere worship, and reliance on Allah ~ - Allah ~ charged the believer with his fight against Satan, and equipped him with soldiers among the Angels, who never leave him alone: (For him ( each believer), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of Allah) . 2

The angels allow him/her to stand firm in his/her fight, instructing him/her to do righteous deeds, and promising him/her the Reward of Allah ~ - They tell him/her: "Be patient for an hour, so then you may rest in peace, eternally." Then Allah ~ supported the believer with His Revelation (His Own Words); so He ~ dispatched the Messenger :I and sent down the Qur'an to consolidate other blessings bestowed upon men, such the intellect, knowledge and faith. Allah ~ ordered the Angels, who carry His Throne, to seek forgiveness for the believers, to protect them from all evil, and enter them into Paradise. He ~ will also protect them: (It is the Party of Allah that will be successful)3 and (It is Our Army which will be victorious)4 Allah ~ has taught His Servants the attributes they need in order to wage this war, and said: ( 0 you who believe! Endure and be more patient (than your enemy), and guard your territory, and fear Allah, so that you may successful.)5 The matter of Jihad cannot be fulfilled except by applying these four issues. Patience cannot be achieved except by enduring the devil and resisting all his temptations. Once one endures one's enemy, one needs to guard one's heart in case the devil's whisperings entice one, and so this requires guarding one's eyes, ears, tongue, stomach, hands and feet. It is through these parts that the devil may enter one's heart to corrupt it. When the Prophet's Companions, who are the best people, after the Prophets and Messengers, and the most protected against Satan, left the mount which they were ordered to guard at the Battle of Uhud, the enemy surrounded them, so the worst thing happened to them (the loss of seventy Companions~). The key factor which holds together these attributes is taqwa (fear of Allah). Picture the scene of the two armies facing each other: The king of the polytheists (Satan) and his soldiers approached and found the heart of a believer, sitting in his 'kingdom', surrounded by his 'soldiers', guarding and willing to fight for his sake. He (Satan) could not attack him directly, so he turned to his ways of trickery and deception. He asked who was the most special soldier for the heart. They replied: "It is the self." So he told his aides: "Enter upon it and find out its desires; promise to fulfil all its wishes, and lure it towards you with all types of passionate temptations, until it comes to your side. It is only then that you would be able to invade all the other parts (the eyes, ears, tongue, hands, and feet, etc), and remain there to destroy its inner attributes, such as decency and modesty." "Once in his eye openings, prevent his eyesight from being a tool of discernment, by making them a tool of distraction and allurement. When his eyes take an unlawful glance, make it appear passionate and acceptable to him; for I have not corrupted the Children of Adam with anything more than his sight. Indeed, I plant the seed of passion in his heart, then I water it with a wish, and keep on making promises until his determination is strengthened. Once in control of his passion, I help him remove his sense of decency. You have to make him belittle his acts; tell him that staring invites you to glorify Allah ~ (saying Subhanallah!) and reflect on the beauty of His Creation. Tell him that Allah ~ never created the eyes for them to be kept closed, and whatever picture was made to be screened from people's eyesight. If the person has little knowledge and a corrupt mind, then tell him that every picture is an aspect of the Truth, and a reflection of God, and so invite him to believe in 'the Unity of the Deity with His Creatures' (the doctrine of the extremist Sufis). If he does not accept it, make him believe in the doctrine of 'the Incarnation of the Deity in His creatures', for him to become a brother of the Christians." "Then control his ear openings and prevent anything, which might spoil your work, from entering inside, but make sure falsehood comes through; for it acts like light on the self. Select the sweetest and most magical words and mix them into the selfs desires, and then place them in the ear. If you sense a positive response, then send more similar words, but beware of any words of Allah or His Prophet that might infiltrate. If any of these divine words enter, you need to hinder their understanding, by sending other confusing words related to their context. In this manner, falsehood establishes itself within the self, while the truth is regarded as a burden; not to be considered by the masses as important." Allah ~ has said: (So We have appointed for every Prophet, enemies (devils) among mankind and jinn, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion) 1 Allah ~ named this "adornment" which is falsehood; because the devil beautifies speech as much as he can, injecting it into a deceived ear. Then the devil says (to his soldiers): "Attack his tongue; it is the greatest opening. Let it operate with self-destructive words, preventing any beneficial words from being uttered, such as remembering Allah, seeking His Forgiveness or reciting His Book (the Qur'an). You have two great duties which you should achieve now: First, to ensure that the tongue speaks nothing but falsehood, and you should know that whoever speaks falsehood is your brother and a great soldier among you. Second, to ensure the tongue keeps silent in matters of the truth, and you should know that whoever keeps silent about the truth is your dumb brother. Have you not heard the good preacher among mankind say: 'The speaker of falsehood is a speaking devil, while the (one who keeps) silent about the truth is a dumb devil'? You should know that it is the tongue which has caused the Children of Adam to be cast deeply into the Hell-Fire. You have to help one another and lie in wait against the whole of mankind. Have you not heard my oath when I said (to the Lord): (Because You have sent me astray, surely, I will lie in wait against them on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them thankful.) 1 Have you not seen that I have lied in wait against the children of Adam on all his paths, and whenever I miss a path, I try another one until I achieve my desire or at least part of it?" The Prophet ~ warned against the stratagems of the devil, saying: "Satan has lied in wait against the son of Adam on all his paths. He lied in wait against him on the path of Islam, saying: 'Do you embrace Islam, leaving behind your religion and the religion of your fathers?' The son of Adam opposed them by embracing Islam. Satan lied in wait against him on the path of hijrah ( emigration for the Cause of Allah,) saying: 'Do you emigrate, leaving your land?' But, the son of Adam opposed him by emigrating. Satan lied in wait against him on the path of Jihad, saying: 'Do you make jihad and die, so that your wealth would be divided and your wife would be remarried?"'2 Then the devil gives his order (to his soldiers) to attack his hands and feet and prevent them from doing any damaging your work - such as enjoining good and forbidding evil.