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Run to Allah!

Tricks of Shaytan, Vol 1

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

12 August 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan

Suhbah after Zhuhr Salaat (2)

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Dastoor yaa Sayyidee, madad.

As we said before, fafirroo ila-Llaah, “Run away (from harm) to Allah.” (51:50) When you say, “A`oodhu billah,” it means, “I am running to Allah.” When you want to read the Holy Qur’an, do dhikr or sit with your family, run to Allah (swt) by saying, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem,” because those are the best times for Shaytan to attack, especially when the husband and wife sit and talk. (When Shaytan interferes), since they are not perfect they immediately become intimidated by each other and attack, and that is how Shaytan can reach the family from within and destroy the household. So when you sit, say, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.”

Shaytan is mub`ad min rahmatillah, far from the Mercy of Allah (swt), and anyone who is far from Allah’s Mercy falls into the description of Shaytan. Anyone who drinks, commits adultery, lies, cheats, deceives or makes conspiracies is an instrument of Shaytan. So to save yourself from being an instrument for Shaytan, you must say, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem.”

Shaytan was originally an angel called, “Azazeel,” or according to other tafaaseer, one of his names is “Na`il.” When he disobeyed Allah (swt) cursed him, which is how he became a devil and was thrown out of Rahmatullah. So anyone who is out of Rahmatullah is wearing the dress of Shaytan, who is playing with him. May Allah (swt) protect us! That is why today you see too many discos and bars, as people think going to such places is to be civilized; that is not ‘civilization,’ rather it is Hellfire and instruments of Shaytan! May Allah (swt) protect us!

As we said previously, shayaateen marry and have children, but they will not die until Sayyidina Israfeel (a) blows the trumpet. On the contrary, jinn die as we do, and also marry and have children. They often live in deserts or forests and some may live in the same house with you, so be careful not to harm them. If you harm them by accident, they cannot harm you without permission. There are two type of jinn: alladheena aamanoo walladheena kafaaroo, “those who believed and those who did not believe.” However, most of them consist of believers, so they die like us. In some schools of thought, such as the Mu`taazila, claim there are no jinn as they don’t believe in them; they say Allah (swt) has already decided who goes to Heaven and Hell, and they are rationalists.

Here they brought a story of Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (r), whom everyone heard about and must have read from his most famous book, Ihya `Uloom ad-Deen. He was also a mufti of mu’min jinn and ins, and he published the book al-Awfaaq, much of which is about preventing unbelieving jinn and shayateen from attacking you.

One time Imam Ghazali (r) asked his followers, “What are you hearing about scholars today?”

They said, “Az-Zamakhshari does not believe in jinn.” So he wanted to convince az-Zamakshari, who had written many books of tafseer, that jinn do exist. This time az-Zamakshari was in the process of writing a new tafseer of the Holy Qur'an and when he reached halfway, Imam Ghazali (r) asked a jinn to bring that book him. When it brought the book, he copied the book entirely with scribes in the same way it was written, then he ordered the jinn to return it to az-Zamakshari’s table. Afterwards, he invited az-Zamakhshari to his house and brought the copy of his book.

When az-Zamakhshari saw it, he said, “No one except me saw my book! I wrote it and hid it, and your book is exactly like mine, every word you wrote I have already written in my book! How did you make that?”

Imam Ghazali (r) said, “Yaa az-Zamakhshari! I cannot claim this book, but rather I ordered one of my jinn friends to take yours and bring it here, then I copied it.”

After that az-Zamakhshari started believing in jinn. The jinn world exists and they can interact with human beings, which is why Allah (swt) said in the Holy Qur’an:

قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْآنًا عَجَبً يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ وَلَن نُّشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَا أَحَدًا

Qul oohiya ilayya annahu ’stama`a nafarun min al-jinni faqaaloo innaa sam`inaa qur’aanan `ajaban, yahdee ila ’r-rushdi fa aamanna bihi wa lan nushrika bi rabbanaa aahada.

Say, “It has been revealed to me that a company of jinns listened (to the Qur'an). They said, 'We have really heard a wonderful recital! It gives guidance to the right, and we have believed therein. We shall not join (in worship) any (gods) with our Lord.’” (al-Jinn, 72:1-2)

Jinn live together in large groups, not like us. As Grandshaykh (q) said, millions of jinn can easily fit in a small space as that is how Allah (swt) created them. So Allah said a large group of jinn were listening to the Holy Qur'an as the Prophet (s) recited it and they believed and were guided.

There are pious people or `ulama, such as Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (r), who can use mu’min jinn to help and benefit human beings, just as there are mushawazeen, witches and charlatans that do black magic by using kaafir jinn to harm people. Inshaa-Allah, soon we will publish a book on black magic, as there are too many questions on this subject.

فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتَ مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَى مَوْتِهِ إِلَّا دَابَّةُ الْأَرْضِ تَأْكُلُ مِنسَأَتَهُ فَلَمَّا خَرَّ تَبَيَّنَتِ الْجِنُّ أَن لَّوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ الْغَيْبَ مَا لَبِثُوا فِي الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ

Falamma qadaynaa `alayhi ‘l-mawta maa dallahum `alaa mawtihi illaa dabbatu ‘l-ardi ta’kulu minsaatahu falamma kharra tabayyanati ‘l-jinnu an law kaanoo ya`lamoona ‘l-ghayba maa labithoo fi ‘l-`adhaabi ‘l-muheen.

Then, when We decreed (Solomon's) death, nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his staff. So when he fell down, the jinns saw plainly that had they known the Unseen, they would not have tarried in the humiliating Penalty (of their task). (Surat Saba’, 34:14)

As Allah (swt) said in the ayah, the jinn discovered that they cannot know the ghayb, Unseen. They can know what’s going on between you and other people, but such things are dunya matters that are not ghayb, only Akhirah matters are ghayb. So Sayyidina Sulayman (a) was using the jinn to build his shrine and he leaned on his stick under his chin observing them. They didn’t know he had died until a worm ate through his stick and his body fell down. They worked for him in fear for another ten years, thinking he was alive when in fact he was dead. Then they understood that they cannot know the ghayb.

We know the description of Shaytan from when we recite, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem,” as “ar-rajeem” is the one who is stoned. “Ash-Shaytani ‘r-rajeem” means the one whom Allah (swt) allowed us to curse and stone at any moment of our lives, as we do during Hajj where we stone the big Shaytan, the middle Shaytan and the little Shaytan. Jinn are not “ar-rajeem,” as most of them are mu’min who help, so we do not stone them.

One time in the early 1990s, I was in Canada and they brought me a lady from Djibouti whom they said was possessed. She didn’t know a single word of Arabic. When I looked at her she was on the couch sitting normally, when suddenly she began hitting this way and that way and went on the floor, lying on her back, and began to speak in Arabic in a man's voice. So I began reciting some du`as, and Allahu Akbar, it was as if she blew fire out of her mouth! You couldn’t see the fire, but you could see this bad energy attacking me and I was about to fall. At that moment I insisted the jinn go out of her! Either I was going to burn him or he was going to burn me, as the man inside her was saying, “I want to burn you! I want to kill you! I am kaafir and I don't believe in anything!” That was Shaytan, an afareet, and it was very strong.

I had witnessed many cases, but not like that one. She moved and Muhammad Moosa and his group held her, each of whom are very strong people, but although they were big guys they couldn’t hold her. So then I threw some water and she began to shout in a man's voice, in perfect Arabic, “Haraktanee, you burned me! Now I am going to burn you!”

Then I felt that I would fall down and I said, “No! You have to go out!” and I began to recite:

A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem. Yaa Sayyida ‘s-saadaat wa Noora al-Mawjudaat. Yaa man Huwa ‘l-maljaa limam massahu daymun wa ghammun wa alam. Yaa aqraba ‘l-wassaaili ila-Llaahi ta`ala wa yaa aqwa ‘l-mustanad atawassalu ilaa janaabika 'l-`azham bi haadhihi ‘s-saadaat wa ahlillaah wa ahli baytika ‘l-kiraam li-daf`i durrin laa yudfa`u illa bi-waasitatik wa raf`i daymun laa yurfa` illa bi-dalaalatika bi Sayyidee wa Mawlay, yaa Sayyidee, yaa Rasoolullah, yaa man arsalahu ‘Llaahu Rahmatan li ‘l-`Alameen! Nabee, Siddiq, Salman, Qassim... (and the whole silsila until the end).

As I recited, the jinn shouted, “You are killing me! You are burning me!”

I said, “You have to come out through the big toe!” and he passed out and left her and the lady returned to normal.

You cannot do that without permission. So shayateenu ‘l-jinn are the worst type, which is why Allah (swt) called them “ar-rajeem,” the ones that have to be stoned because if you don't quickly stone them, they stone you. Grandshaykh (q) said that there is a big group of them above the earth’s atmosphere where the Prophet (s) used to send Sayyidina `Ali (r) to fight shayaateen.

One time Sayyidah Fatima az-Zahra (a) came to the Prophet (s) and said, “Yaa Rasoolullah! I want to tell you something about Sayyidina `Ali.”

The Prophet (s) said, “Yes, do you have a complaint?” as she is his daughter and he loves her.

She said, “No, it’s not a complaint, but sometimes he goes away and doesn't come home for one or two days.”

He said (s), “Don’t worry. Sometimes I send him to go fight the shayaateen that are living near earth on the closest star. Allah (swt) put them behind Jabal Qaf, outside the atmosphere where they are blocked by Sayyidina `Ali (r), so they cannot come out.”

There is a hole there from which they want to penetrate, about which Grandshaykh (q) said at that time when there was no knowledge of black holes, the Prophet (s) mentioned it to Sayyidah Fatima (a). They are black, as Shaytan is black in his deeds, not in his face but in his conduct. They are fire. When fire burns it creates black charcoal. There is a black hole that Sayyidina `Ali (r) covered to prevent Shaytan from coming down.

Before Grandshaykh left dunya, may Allah bless his soul, he said now they found a hole through which they can come out, and that is why they are disturbing the whole dunya now. Soon they are coming to conquer the earth and no one can take them away except Mahdi (a)! So they do things to make everyone fight with each other and to leave no two people on the same opinion.

So Prophet (s) said to Sayyida Fatima az- Zahra, “I’m sending him to fight them in these places. Keep this between you and me.” So Sayyidina `Ali (r) was fighting ash-Shaytan ar-rajeem, the one that has to be stoned, and Allah (swt) made it so that by stoning Shaytan you are also stoning the bad characters that are taken from him.

Grandshaykh (q) was not happy to see people having long fingernails. He used to say, “Shaytan sits under the nails of people to take shade from the sun.” Although Shaytan is from fire, he likes to shade from the sun because it burns him. Therefore, Grandshaykh (q) never allowed anyone to grow his nails, as then you are giving Shaytan a place to sit under your ten fingernails and ten toenails! As soon as his nails grew a little bit he immediately cut them, and he had no nail clipper so he used a knife. One time he asked me to help cut his nails and I said, “Sayyidee, I cannot do that,” as he used a big knife, like for slaughtering a lamb! Allahu Akbar! He put the knife over his nail, moved it and cut it like that! You have to bury the cut fingernails or toenails, as they carry all kinds of bad desires with them since they are the place where Shaytan stays.

So “ar-rajeem” is the one whom Allah (swt) ordered for us to stone. When you say, a`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem, “I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan to be stoned!” immediately angels stone him on your behalf, making him run away from you.

May Allah (swt) guide us and show us Haqiqat al-Isti`adha Billah, the Reality of Seeking Refuge in Allah, the real isti`adha, not only by tongue, although it will still have an effect. However, when you say it with some presence, by closing your eyes and meditating on what you are saying, saying “Abi-Llaahi!” it is as if you are calling on Allah directly, closing your eyes and seeing that relationship, saying, “O Allah! I am seeking refuge in You for protection from this Shaytan that has to be stoned!” If you do it with presence, it will be much more effective and change everything. Your heart must be present, not just to say it by tongue.

And don't say, “A`oodhu billah” when you are seeking refuge in Shaytan (i.e. say, “A`oodhu bi Shaytan.”). Everyone knows what he is doing, if he is doing for Allah (swt) or for Shaytan. If you are doing for Allah (swt), it’s accepted. That’s why you must have hudoor al-qalb, presence of the heart to be there ready. Close your eyes and say it; Allah (swt) will give you power, but if you hold on to all the desires of the self then you are missing the point, because the nafs always partners with Shaytan in creating disobedience, sins and tyranny.

Now Shaytan is already away from awliyaullah, although he can still come, but they seek refuge not only from Shaytan but from the whole dunya and from all the veils put between them and Allah (swt), asking for them be lifted. So when a wali says, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem,” it means, “I am seeking refuge in all that prevents me from reaching your Divine Presence!”

Shaytan runs away from the light of that Arif billah, the Gnostic who knows about Allah (swt)! It is mentioned that one of these awliyaullah, Aba Sa`eed al-Kharraz (q), saw Iblees in a dream and grabbed his stick to beat him.

Iblees said, “Why do you want to beat me with a stick? I’m not afraid from a stick as I am fire. If you hit me I will burn it, so you are wasting your time. What I fear is the light of a Gnostic who becomes a sun and what hurts me is a ray that comes from the heart of a pious person, not your stick!”

May Allah (swt) guide and support us. That is why we say, fafirroo ila-Llaah, run to Allah (swt)!

As related by Ibn `Abbas (r), one time the Prophet (s) went out of the masjid and saw Iblees in front of him and said, “Why are you coming to my mosque?”

Iblees said, “Yaa Muhammad! Allah has sent me to you.”

Does Iblees believe in Allah? Yes, as he was an angel before, but since he disobeyed Allah (swt) and is still disobeying, his actions have been cursed.

He said, “Allah asked me to come to you and let you ask me any question, which I must answer.”

The first thing the Prophet (s) asked him was about the prayers. He said, “O accursed one! Why do you prevent the members of my ummah from praying in jama`ah?”

Iblees said, “When they go to pray in jama`ah, I begin to shiver and get a high fever, and do not return to normal until they leave the mosque.”

The Prophet (s) asked him, “Why do you prevent my ummah from seeking knowledge and asking from Allah (swt)?”

Iblees said, “As soon as they ask Allah (swt), I immediately become blind and deaf. That state will not end until they stop making du`a.”

Then the Prophet (s) asked him, “Why do you prevent them from reading Holy Qur’an?”

Iblees said, “When they read Holy Qur'an, I melt like gunpowder.”

The Prophet (s) asked, “Why do you prevent my ummah from going for jihad?”

Iblees said, “When they go for jihad, immediately they chain my legs until they return. And when they go for Hajj, I am chained from top to bottom. When they give sadaqah, I am sawed like wood, completely cut in pieces and feeling all that pain!”

That is why Iblees prevents people from giving sadaqah. When people give donations, their hands shiver. When it comes to your heart to give, you must give; don’t wait for the second thought to come, because then you will not give. Shaytan will tell you, “Why give that much? Are you crazy! Don’t give $500.00, $200.00 is enough.” Then when you want to give the $200.00 he says, “$50.00 is enough,” then “$10.00,” then eventually you end up giving one dollar! So that is what Shaytan prevents people from doing the most today: praying, reading Holy Qur'an, giving sadaqah, going for Hajj and making du`a.

May Allah (swt) open our eyes and grant us love of the Prophet (s) and love of Ahlu ‘l-Bayt (r) and love of each other!

Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.

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