Who is the Satan and in what ways he approaches human?

The Satan is a kind of spiritual being that has no ability for goodness and constantly does evil. We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind. (Al-Hijr Surah, 15:27) The original name of Iblis (The Satan) was Azazeel. He has the names of Iblis and the Satan after he rejected to prostrate to Adam (PBUH) and did this deed just out of proud.

The greatest impediment before mans spiritual progress, in his performing the duty of slavery for Allah (SWT), is the Satan. In the Holy Quran, the Satan is characterized as aduvv-u mubin namely an evident foe. Allah Almighty in a number of verses calls believers to take refuge in Allah (SWT) from the Satan.

The greatest aim of the Satan is to make people irreligious, atheist. If he cannot achieve that, he leads them to polytheism. The Satan is not contented with making them polytheists, makes them ruthless polytheists. Besides, he tries to make him a man of cause who strives on this evil way constantly. This is his final goal. For if a polytheist who is not a man of cause is his slave, those who are strictly motivated on that are his close companions.

The Satan keeps adopting different ways for the believers who choose goodness. When he understands that he cannot do harm to the faith of a believer, he tries to tackle with his prayers this time and wishes him to be a believer who does not pray as stated. If he cannot achieve that again, he wants him to be contended with farz (the worship which is necessarily must be performed) and keep away from sunnah (the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and nafil (worship which is not compulsory; voluntary). If he cannot achieve that either, he wants him to be engaged in personal worship and stand away from telling others anything religious. He instills this idea into believers that everybody is responsible for their actions.

The Satan applies to a number of tricks to swerve them from the right path. Below are some of these tricks and intrigues:

1. Lust and anger: These two are the greatest means for the Satan to be influential on man. That is why the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) announced, The Satan circulates in human body like the blood circulates in the body. Restrict his ways through hunger (fasting). Because it is lust that the Satan is able to approach through. Hunger kills lust.

2. Envy and greed: A greedy person becomes blind to see true and deaf to hear the truth.

3. Desire: The Satan makes man love those, which he desire through hypocricy, and tricks. Then things he aspires after become his god.

4. Hastiness: Man cannot find any occasion for contemplation. The Satan at that moment can induce doubt into him.

5. The fear of poverty: This fear keeps man away from charity and encourages him to pile up his property.

6. Bigotry: One of the gates that the Satan gets to the heart through is to show contempt and make them cherish hatred towards the other Muslims who are not of the same way of belief as himself.

7. Disagreement

8. Suspicion: One of the gates for the Satan is to get into the hearts of people, of whom minds have been narrower because of their ignorance, heedlessness, and committing sins, and is to make them suspicious about the religious matters that they cannot comprehend.

9. To think ill of other people: When someone starts to think ill of somebody, the Satan leads this person to backbiting about him or leads him not to follow his rights. He (the Satan) makes him contemptuous of the other person.

The tricks, scruples, and the influence methods of the Satan certainly do not consist of these we have counted above. They take quite different forms as to persons, eras, and conditions.