Responsibility is only for voluntary acts. In other words, if man does something with his own will, he assumes the responsibility as well. The things that recur to the mind, is not something man thinks of willingly. That is, you do not make up your mind to think about bad things and then do it right away. Therefore, there could be no responsibility for this. Knowing that these are the scruples of the Satan, one must not dwell on them.
The Satan may say to man evil things in a corner of his heart, which is the means to diabolical suggestions. That heart shows worry in the face of these evil words and thought is a proof that man does not do that intentionally. For example, if a man watches the beauty of sky through his dirty binoculars, neither the watcher nor the watched would be smeared with the dirt of these binoculars. Now that this kind of words and thoughts comes from the Satan, it would do no harm to us. The actual harm is to try to drive it away by unnecessarily fighting with it and to be seized with fear by supposing it to be detrimental.
FAQ in the category of Delusion
DELUSION (WASWASA) AND WAYS OF GETTING RID OF IT
· TRICKS OF SATAN
· MAKING PEOPLE IMAGINE HARAM AND UGLY VISIONS
· MAKING PEOPLE DOUBT ISSUES ABOUT BELIEF
· SATAN MAKING PEOPLE THINK HIS WORDS AS THE WORDS OF ONE'S OWN HEART
· DELUSION ORIGINATING FROM SEARCHING THE BEST DEED
· SATAN USING IMAGINATION
· DELUSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SIZE OF THE TRUTHS OF BELIEF
· SATAN PREVENTING A PERSON FROM CONFESSING HIS MISTAKE
· WHAT IS THE WISDOM BEHIND DELUSION?
Are you aware that we have a very dangerous and sly enemy who tries to make you deviate from the true way, who wants you to suffer eternal torture, who has devoted his whole life for it, who was damned by Allah and who was expelled from His presence? His name is SATAN. He is our greatest enemy. He has dragged millions of people to Hell and is till dragging. Every living person is a target of this enemy. He is watching you while you are watching this film now and making plans to deceive you. He knows you and your weaknesses better than you. He has only one desire and aim: To drag as many people as possible including you to Hell along with himself. Then, the first thing to do in order to resist this enemy is to know him, his tricks and tactics very well. For it is not possible to resist the enemy without knowing him and his tricks. Now, we will mention his primary and most dangerous weapon: DELUSION (WASWASA)
WHAT IS DELUSION (WASWASA)?
Delusion: means doubt, apprehension, hesitation and groundless probabilities.
We can expand this definition as placing bad thoughts one after another into man's heart without making him feel it. The word "waswasa" (delusion) denotes continuity and repetition of the deed. For, to incite man only once is not enough. It is necessary to incite him repeatedly in order to make him commit a sin. This act is called "waswasa" and the one that does it is called a "waswas".
The phrase “from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper)” is used in the chapter of an-Nas and we are ordered “to seek refuge with Allah from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper)”. We have learned that waswas is the one that causes waswasa; the word khannas mentioned in the verse means the one that withdraws and hides after appearing and whispering. The one that does it many times is called khannas. Then, “waswas al-khannas” means “the one that whispers evil and withdraws and that tries to do it again and again; he tries for the second, third, fourth, etc times when he cannot succeed in his first trial."
It is understood from the phrase “from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper)” that waswasa is the beginning of the evil or bad deed. If the causes and ways of getting rid of waswasa are not known, it influences man and brings about a desire for bad deeds in man's heart. Consequently, the evil deed appears. The meaning of taking refuge in Allah from waswas means asking Allah to eliminate the evil at the beginning. The Quran states the following regarding the issue:
“And if (at any time) an incitement to discord is made to thee by the Evil One, seek refuge in Allah.” (Fussilat : 36)
Yes, waswasa is similar to a misfortune. It gets bigger and bigger if it is given importance; if you do not give importance to it, it will fade away.
If you see it as big, it will get bigger; if you see it as small, it will get smaller.
If you fear it, it will get heavier and make you ill. If you do not fear it, it will get lighter and remain hidden.
If you do not know its real nature, it will continue and settle. If you know its real nature, it will disappear.
For, waswasa is something that ignorance invites and knowledge eliminates.
If you do not know it, it will come; if you know it, it will leave.
Delusion about whether one's deed is sound or not
Doubt about whether one's deed is sound or not
Satan causing a doubt and delusion about whether one's deed is sound or not
The delusion that Satan causes the most and makes a person suffer is the delusion that makes a person say, “Has my deed been sound?”
You have heard that the people who suffer from this delusion make ghusl for hours, repeat the prayers they perform several times, make wudu again doubting if they have washed some organs or not. When they want to start performing a prayer, they repeat their intention even after starting the prayer doubting whether their intention has been sound or not and they cannot start praying for a long time.
There are 3 cures for this delusion:
1st Cure: To know fiqh and thus to know the criteria for the deed. For, the biggest cause of this delusion is ignorance. In this part, we will report the criteria regarding the deeds that cause delusion the most so that we will prevent Satan from causing delusions about whether one's deeds are sound or not.
1. In Hanafi madhhab, it is not necessary to wash the whole garment if some dirt that will invalidate prayer smears on it and the place of the dirt cannot be determined; it is enough to wash one part of the garment. Even if the dirt is somewhere else and it has not been washed, the garment is regarded as clean and it is permissible to perform a prayer wearing it.
2. If a person cannot decide whether he is performing the 3rd or the 4th rak'ah and if this delusion takes place frequently, he needs to complete the prayer based on the stronger possibility (whether he thinks it is probably the 3rd rak'ah or 4th rak'ah) and he does not have to perform prostration of forgetfulness. If he is wrong and performs the prayer one rak'ah longer or shorter, his prayer will not be invalidated. For, man is ordered to do what he can.
3. If a person who comes out of the toilet thinks some urine has smeared on his garment but he is not sure, he needs to sprinkle some water on it. Thus, he does not have to look for a wet place on his garment. He attributes the wetness to the water he has sprinkled. If a person who does so cannot see a place smeared by urine on his garment, he will not be held responsible for it even if his garment is dirty.
4. If a person doubts whether he has performed a fard prayer or not, he needs to perform it again if the time has not passed. If the time has passed, he will not perform it. For, it is essential for a Muslim to perform a fard prayer on time. If a person doubts whether he has performed a fard prayer or not after the time has passed, he will not be held responsible for it even if he has not performed it.
5. If a person doubts whether he has washed an organ after he has made wudu, he needs to wash that organ again if he does not usually have doubts like that. According to Hanafis, he does not have to make wudu again; he only needs to wash the organ that he has doubted. However, if he usually has doubts like that, it is regarded as delusion and he does not have to wash that organ. Even if has not washed it, he will not be held responsible for it. His wudu is valid.
6. While performing a prayer, if a person doubts whether he has read the chapter of al-Fatiha after he has finished or while reading the additional chapter or verses, he does not have to read it again because the chapter of al-Fatiha is read at the beginning of the rak'ah; the doubt does not prove that it has not been read. What such a person needs to do is to complete his prayer assuming that he has read the chapter of al-Fatiha.
7. If a person who has made ghusl doubts whether he has washed an organ or not, he washes that organ again if he does not usually have doubts like that. However, if this delusion is a delusion that comes to him all the time, then he assumes that he has washed it. Even if he has not washed it, his ghusl will not be invalidated. When he decides based on the higher probability that he has washed the whole body, his ghusl is regarded to have been completed. This fatwa will probably be a cure for those who make ghusl for hours.
8. If a person is sure that he has made wudu but if he does not remember that he has broken it, he is regarded to have wudu. For, making wudu is definite but breaking wudu is doubtful. Doubt does not invalidate definite knowledge.
Our work is related to delusions; it is not a separate fiqh book; therefore, we find it enough to mention the fatwas above and refer its details to fiqh books. What we need to understand from the fatwas we have reported is that there is no difficulty in the religion of Islam. There is ease. Those who make the religion difficult are those who do not know the essence of the religion and who are away from the science of fiqh.
2nd Cure: A person who has the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah does not deserve to catch this delusion. For, according to the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah, when Allah Almighty orders something, it is regarded as good; when He forbids something, it is regarded as bad. That is, goodness occurs based on an order and badness occurs based on a prohibition. The goodness or badness of something does not originate from that thing itself.
For example, the reason why alcohol is regarded as dirty is Allah's prohibition and regarding it as dirty. The reason why water is regarded as clean is Allah's accepting it as clean and rendering it halal. The reason why beef is regarded as halal is Allah's calling it clean and rendering it halal; the reason why pork is regarded as haram is Allah's calling it dirty and rendering it haram.
Similarly, if a deed that is faulty and incomplete because a person does not know about it becomes nice and is accepted if Allah says it is nice because the goodness and badness of the deed is based on the knowledge of a person. For instance, if a traveler who makes tayammum thinking that there is no water in his baggage and performs a prayer finds water in his baggage afterwards, he does not have to perform that prayer again according to Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad. For, this person did not know about the existence of the water. If he has no knowledge, he has no power. If he has no power, he will not be held responsible. As it is seen, tayammum is not possible when there is water but the prayer of a person who has made tayammum is accepted because of being unaware of the existence of the water. For, the goodness and badness depend on the knowledge of the person. Since the person did not know the existence of the water, the deed which was bad and impermissible became good and permissible for him. For, goodness and badness are related to the otherworldly aspect of the deed not the worldly aspect.
Therefore, if you make wudu or perform a prayer but if your wudu or prayer is incomplete or if something that invalidates your wudu or prayer takes place but if you do not know about it, your prayer or wudu is valid. In short: We should not have any delusions about the deed that we do in accordance with Islam by saying, "Has it been valid/sound?" We should say, "Has it been accepted?" and should not feel conceited.
3rd Cure: Since there is no difficulty in the religion of Islam and the four madhabs are true, it will be enough if your deed is in accordance with one of the four madhhabs. For,“Following/imitating a madhhab after a deed is done is permissible.”
For instance, the wudu of a Hanafi is invalidated when blood comes out of his body. If a Hanafi sees blood in his hand after he has performed a prayer, he does not have to perform this prayer again. For, blood does not invalidate wudu according to Shafiis and it is permissible tofollow/imitate a madhhab after a deed is done. However, if he sees the blood while performing the prayer or if he has seen it but has forgotten it and has performed the prayer by forgetting to make wudu, he has to perform that prayer again. For, in the first case, he is not aware of the existence of the blood and has completed his prayer; and in the second case, the prayer has not finished yet and he has forgotten to make wudu though he has known the existence of the blood. It means what matters is whether the person has made a mistake and has known about the situation.
Imam Abu Yusuf made ghusl in a public bath and then performed the Friday prayer. Then, he was told that there was a dead mouse in the well of the public bath. According to Hanafi madhhab, a dead mouse in a well of that size makes the water dirty and it is not permissible to make wudu with it. It seemed that Imam Abu Yusuf performed the Friday prayer without wudu. However, Imam Abu Yusuf said, “We will act in accordance with the view of Shafiis. According to them, if the well contains more than 15 buckets of water, it is not dirty.”
Then, we should get rid of the delusion related to deeds and say to Satan, “This state of delusion in us is a difficulty; it is difficult to understand whether a deed is sound or not by knowing the essence of it. This is contrary to the ease in the religion and the rule 'the religion is ease'. My deed will definitely be in compliance with one of the true madhhabs. It is sufficient for me. I confess my weakness and say that I cannot perform worshipping as it is necessary; therefore, I take refuge in the mercy of Allah by begging him and repenting. I hope that this state of mine will be a means of forgiveness for my mistake and acceptance for my defective deed. For, it is better for a person with delusion to understand his mistake that leads him to repentance than to regard his deed as nice.”
So it is better for a person with delusions to regard his deed as imperfect and ask forgiveness for it instead of regarding it as nice.
Doubt is a horrible disease that eats a human being away insidiously and does away with him slowly. Once a human being catches this disease with his beliefs, thoughts and imaginations, it means he has become paralyzed with all of his vital functions and spiritual faculties. Doubt is a horrible disease that eats a human being away insidiously and does away with him slowly. Once a human being catches this disease with his beliefs, thoughts and imaginations, it means he has become paralyzed with all of his vital functions and spiritual faculties.
It is possible to base doubt and skepticism on two elements:
1- Skepticism that is adopted voluntarily;
2- Skepticism that arises from the imbalance between inner apprehension and outer observation; from the aberration of intention and sight; inability to combine information
The second type of skepticism is something that we almost always talk about and I think it is easy to remove. The first type of skepticism is a disease of character. Spinoza said the following for skeptic people like that: The duty of a real skeptic person is to sit back and keep quiet. I wish they had followed this advice. At least they would not have harmed others; their harm would have been limited to themselves.
In fact there is also a type of doubt that is conditioned by a scientific purpose and that is provisional; nobody can say anything about it. However, the doubt that we call a disease is as Dr Paul Sollierin puts it the doubt that is impossible to settle, that looks as if it cannot be solved Such a doubt constantly put our consciousness under pressure and goes on. Then it paralyzes all of our moods and mental activities. The soul of a man like that is the focal point of thousands of hesitations and looks like complicated and inextricable ways that thousands of uncertainties intersect each other.
For a human being who has not been able to overcome his/her doubts and to make them obey him/her, corporal weaknesses, mental and moral disorders and aberrations are unavoidable compulsory happenings.
Doubt brings about rigidity in his/her attitudes, depression and awkwardness in his/her soul. Therefore skeptic people show a desire to evade bodily works and hatred for tiring things. No matter how assertive are the diagnoses made by psychiatry, it will be impossible to deny the function of internal inadequacy.
As for the influence of doubt on the mind, people suffering from this disease cannot have continuous and serious mental activities. It is very difficult for a person whose mind was shaken by doubt waves for a long time to think soundly. The most obvious aspects of these people are that their concentration is weakened, their minds lose their activities, and their memories are in trouble. From that point onwards everything seems to have an impossible form for these people and impassable hills appear in front of them. They have only one open door and only one way to go; the way to criticize others. They live with it and exist with it.
Doubt can also suppress morality, which is, in my opinion, the most dangerous of all. Quakes and adverse fluctuations that were undergone by desires and requests, ambitions and inclinations; in short the things that form the innermost and most sincere essentials of personality bring about the same results in ethics as they do in the minds of skeptic people.
Above all, the great skeptic people that are in an advanced phase are sometimes governed by a rigidity, stiffness and lifelessness like not being sorry about anything; they sometimes completely lose their quality to be a community person in terms of their devastated spiritual personalities.
Doubt is a very dangerous disease in terms of its sociological effects, too. A person who doubts his/her environment and anything that happens in his/her environment puts himself in thousands of anxieties; he/she disturbs both himself/herself and his/her environment. It is so dangerous when people who suffer from hesitations and doubts withdraw or become late when it is necessary to take action as responsible people that sometimes they may cause a complete destruction of a whole society. Especially the hesitations and doubts of people who are in high and important positions, who are leaders in politics and wars may easily cause the destruction of nations and armies.
As a matter of fact, a person who doubts himself/herself cannot be a support for others; it is not clear how a person who doubts himself/herself will act because there are masses that have been deceived several times behind him/her. They will always doubt his/her most innocent and reasonable actions.
However, though most of the skeptic people tend to remain as they are, the efforts of some to go forward and to proceed are not at a rate to be depreciated.
In short, there is not a moderation or balance in the works and attitudes of skeptic people. There are so many people among them who leave their positions, jobs and posts because of the fear of responsibility that (God forbid) they may paralyze a nation and a state in a critical period. Their boldness is an adventure and their precautions emanating from their groundless fears are a fading and dullness. It may seem to some people that this originates from lack of will power, but is really not so. As a matter of fact it originates from not being able to make right and quick decisions, to prefer one way of the solutions that all of the happenings and events regarding life show us.
What does Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) say about delusion (waswasa)?
Delusion comes from belief
We are completing this work with a hadith hoping that it will be a cure for delusion and we entrust you to Allah…
Some of the Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) asked him, “Some delusions come to the minds of some of us. We think that it would be a sin to utter them” Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said, “Do you really feel such a fear?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “It comes from belief.” In another narration, he said, “Praise be to Allah, who transforms the trick of Satan into a delusion.”
The narration reported by Ibn Masud reported in Muslim is as follows: They said, “O Messenger of Allah! We sometimes hear such words coming from inside us that we prefer burning to ground or being thrown down from the sky to uttering them deliberately.” Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said, “This is the expression of real belief.”
Yes, it should not be forgotten that burglars will not enter an empty house and pirates do not attack a ship that does not contain a treasure. When we are exposed to such a delusion, we need to know that Satan comes because we have belief. Therefore, we need to praise Allah due to the treasure of belief in the ship of the heart, to understand very well the tricks of Satan, who tries to steal our most valuable treasure, and to take refuge in Allah Almighty.
The delusion regarding issues of belief
The delusion coming in the form of doubt regarding issues of belief
One of the issues about which delusion is seen the most is the delusionregarding issues of belief like the existence of Allah, angels and the hereafter, the Quran being the true book and Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) being the true prophet.
You hear the following from the people who suffer from this delusion. “When I pray, the following sentence always comes to my mind: If Allah does not exist, your prayer will be in vain. I always try to silence this voice but the more I try to silence it, the louder it gets. I even forget what rak'ah I am performing while trying to silence it.”
The people with this delusion always hear the following voice coming from inside them:
“What if Allah does not exist… what if the hereafter does not exist… what if the Quran is not the book of Allah… what if Hz. Muhammad is not a prophet… what if there is nothing like prophethood …. I have never seen any angels; what if angels do not exist?"
Unending delusions like the ones above and voices that cannot be silenced… The poor person who cannot silence these voices sometimes thinks escaping from the presence of Allah and moving away from worshipping as a solution and becomes a loser.
A person who suffers from this delusion confuses imagining and reasoning. That is, he thinks that a delusion or doubt that comes to his imagination has settled in his mind and has harmed his belief and creed. He regards this doubt shaped in his imagination as a doubt that harms his belief and that has been approved by his mind. However, this doubt is not in his mind and it is not approved by his mind; it cannot harm his belief and creed either. This doubt is a delusion caused by Satan.
He sometimes thinks as follows: “Could this realm exist on its own if Allah did not exist? Is it possible for a human being to write a book like the Quran?”, which can make a person exit the religion of Islam. He thinks this thought makes him exit the religion of Islam and makes him an unbeliever. That is, he regards meditation in order to understand the reason for denial and to understand that there is no true way except Islam, investigation, impartial reasoning between belief and unbelief as exiting the religion and unbelief.
Consequently, he is afraid of those delusions, which are the work of the suggestions of Satan, and says, “Alas! My heart has been spoiled; my belief has been harmed; I have exited the religion of Islam.” He falls into despair since those delusions are generally outside his will and since he cannot correct those delusions with his will.
The way of getting rid of this delusion
The salve for this wound is to know that imagining things that necessitate unbelief does not make a person exit the religion. Thinking of unbelief, that is, imagining denial and doubting do not harm the belief of a person. Thinking of unbelief and meditating on unbelief in order to evaluate whether it is possible or not do not make a person an unbeliever.
For, imagining, doubting, describing, meditating are different from the approval of the mind and the heart. The abilities of imagination, doubt, description and meditation are free to a certain extent and they do not submit to man's will and obey him. Man is not held responsible for what they do outside his will; and he will not be accounted for them. The following verse is evidence for it:
“On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear” (al-Baqara: 286) That is, thinking of a sin in one's heart is forgiven. Even the sins that are decided to be committed but then given up and repented are forgiven.
The Prophet (pbuh) stated the following:
“Allah forgives the things that a person thinks in his heart unless he does them or utters them.” It is understood from this hadith that the evil things and delusions that come to a person's heart outside his will are forgiven.
“But force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity, in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet after such compulsion, is Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them).” (an-Nur: 33)
The verse above states that if female slaves are forced to prostitute and they cannot resist it, Allah will not held them responsible and will forgive them because Allah does not place a burden greater than one can bear on anybody. That is, responsibility is based on a person's strength. Since man cannot expel the delusions that come to their heart regarding belief, they will not be held responsible for those kinds of doubts and delusions.
Once Ibn Abbas met Ibn Amr and asked him, “What is the most hopeful verse in the Quran in your opinion?” Ibn Amr said,
“O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (az-Zumar, 53) Ibn Abbas said, in my opinion, it is the following verse:
“Behold! Abraham said: "My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead. He said: "Dost thou not then believe?" He said: "Yea! but to satisfy my own understanding.” (al-Baqara 260)
That is the verse that I like the most. For, when Hz. Ibrahim said, “O Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead", Allah asked him, “Do you not believe?” Hz. Ibrahim said, “Yes, I do but I want tosatisfy my own understanding.” Allah was pleased with this statement of Hz. Ibrahim. It is understood from it that the thoughts and delusions that come to a person do not harm his belief.
It means approval is related to the will and it is dependent to a certain extent. Imagining, delusion, describing and meditating are not like approving. They are not subject to a criterion and a will. Then, they are not regarded as doubt and hesitation. However, if these delusions enter the will of a person, if they are repeated unnecessarily and if he is occupied with ideas and doubts like "if Allah does not exist, if the hereafter does not exist" willingly, a real kind of doubt occurs. And that person is harmed. By looking at the truths of belief impartially again and again, he will accept the opposite view in the end; he will not accept the truth, which is obligatory for him.
For instance, he says, "Could this realm exist on its own if Allah did not exist?" and starts to think about the answer to that question impartially. He will not be harmed if this reasoning ends up with the following view: “If Allah did not exist, this realm would not exist; since it exists, Allah exists, too.” However, if he spends a lot of time on issues like these unnecessarily and if he does not know the scholarly issues well, he will accept unbelief. Then, a person who wants to meditate on these issues willingly needs to learn about the evidences of belief regarding the issue first.
Those who try to find what is true and what is wrong through their limited knowledge without learning about the truth first can make a mistake.
Furthermore it should not be forgotten that the well-known rule, "a possibility that does not arise from any proof or evidence is of no importance" is one of the established principles of both the sciences of the bases of religion and the bases of jurisprudence. Since the delusions and doubts regarding truths of belief come to us outside our will and without being based on any evidence; then, they are of no importance.
In order to get rid of this trick of Satan's, it is necessary to read the books in which the truths of belief are explained, especially the Risale-i Nur Collection written by Badiuzzaman Said Nursi.
We have learnt the following so far:
1- The delusions and doubts about the truths of belief can never harm our belief and creed.
2- To imagine things that necessitate unbelief does not make a person exit the religion. To have the delusion of unbelief, that is, to suppose that one has denied the religion become an unbeliever does not harm his belief. To think about unbelief in the mind and to meditate on it in order to test its possibility does not make a person an unbeliever. For, imagination, delusion, description and meditation are different from confirmation by the mind and acceptance by the heart.
3- These delusions are not approved by the heart and the mind; they are the fruits of the imagination, which is free to some extent and which does not obey, delusion, description and meditation.
4- A possibility that does not originate from evidence is of no importance.
5- The verses of the Quran mentioned above state that delusion regarding issues of belief is not a sin.
6- It should not be forgotten that the vision of the snake in the mirror does not bite; the vision of the fire does not burn; the reflection of something dirty does not make the mirror dirty. Similarly, in the mirror of imagination and thought, the reflections of unbelief and polytheism, the shadows of deviation and the visions of ugly words like unbelief do not harm one's creed and belief and do not spoil his good manners.
Why does Satan cause delusion in man?
The reason why Satan causesdelusion in man
The reason why Satan causes delusion in man is his enmity toward man. This enmity is mentioned in many verses of the Quran. Some of them are as follows:
It is We who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels 'prostrate to Adam'. (al-A'raf: 11)
And they prostrated, not so Iblis; he refused to be of those who bow down. (al-A'raf: 11)
(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?" (al-A'raf: 12)
He said: "I am better than he: thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay." (al-A'raf: 12)
(Allah) said: "Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures)." (al-A'raf: 13)
Iblis said: "Give me respite till the day they are raised up. (al-A'raf: 14)
(Allah) said: "Be thou amongst those who have respite." (al-A'raf: 15)
"Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: nor wilt Thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for Thy mercies). (al-A'raf: 17)
Allah did curse him, but he said: "I will take of Thy servants a portion marked off. I will mislead them and I will create in them false desires." (an-Nisa: 118-119)
"I will order them to slit the ears of cattle and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah." (an-Nisa: 119)
(Iblis) said: "Then by Thy power, I will put them all in the wrong―Except Thy Servants amongst them, sincere and purified (by Thy grace)." (Sad : 82-83)
(Iblis) said: "O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong―Except Thy servants among them, sincere and purified (by thy grace)." (al-Hijr: 39-40)
The verses above and similar ones state that Satan's enmity toward man dates back to the creation of Hz. Adam. On the day Satan did not prostrate and was expelled from the presence of Allah, he swore by Allah that he would deceive human beings and that he would create false desires in them. He is trying to fulfill his vow and keep his promise now.
You need to know that the heart is like a castle and Satan is like the enemy trying to enter that castle. He wants to conquer the castle and own it. In order to protect the castle from the enemy, it is necessary to close the gates and the gaps, and to strengthen the castle. A person who does not know where the gates and gaps are cannot protect the castle. A person's weaknesses are Satan's ways and gates leading to that person's heart. The more weaknesses a person has, the more gates Satan finds.
Our aim is to close the gates leading to the castle of the heart, to explain the delusions and tricks of Satan, to show the ways of getting rid of them and to give elixir of life to the hearts that are wounded and distressed by those tricks.
In our work, we will deal with the tricks of Satan one by one and show the way of getting rid of each trick. Help and assistance come from Allah.
Satan making you think that his own words are the words of your heart.
Satan making you think that his own ugly words are the words of your heart.
Satan first throws doubt into the heart. If the heart does not accept the doubt, he starts to curse. He describes ugly memories like cursing and situations that are contrary to decency to the imagination. It makes the heart say, "Alas!" and drives that person to despair.
The man with delusion thinks his heart is behaving rudely toward Allah. He feels terrible excitement and distress due to this situation and he wants not to think about Allah, to escape from His presence and to fall into heedlessness. We hear the following sentences and similar ones from the people who are defeated by this delusion of Satan: “My heart curses Allah and other truths of belief; I try to prevent it form cursing but I cannot silence it. The more I try to silence my heart, the louder it shouts.”
The salve to this wound and delusion is as follows:
The way of getting rid of this delusion
We need to know that the ugly words we think to be coming from our heart do not belong to our heart. The evidence for it is the fact that our heart feels sorry about those words. If those ugly words belonged to our heart, it would never feel sorry and shiver. For, a person does not feel sorry about the words he utters through his own will.
Some other evidence that those words do not belong to our hearts is the fact that we cannot silence them though we want to. If they belonged to us, we would silence them when we wanted. For, a person who speaks can stop whenever he wants. Then, who do those words belong to?
They come from Satan and they belong to lummah ash-shaytaniyya.
Lummah ash-shaytaniyya is the point and headquarters of Satan in the heart. There are two points in the heart. One of them belongs to the angel; the inspiration for good deeds comes to man from that point. The other point belongs to Satan; delusions, curses and encouragement to sins come from that point. Satan speaks from that point. That point is very close to the heart; those who do not know the existence of lummah ash-shaytaniyya attribute those words to their hearts and think that the words actually belonging to Satan belong to their hearts.
The aim of Satan related to this delusion is to make the person feel sad and drive him to despair by making him think that those words are harmful. The harm of delusion is thinking that one is harmed. For, in that case, he attributes the work of Satan to his heart and thinks that the words come from his heart and he is harmed. This is exactly what Satan wants. For, when a person falls into despair, he will hesitate and suffer troubles; consequently, he will not worship and meditate properly. Let alone worshipping and meditating properly, he will escape from the presence of Allah and he will try to relax by not thinking of Allah.
We have learnt the following so far:
1- The curses and ugly words that man thinks to be coming from his heart do not belong to the heart.
2- They are the words coming from lummah ash-shaytaniyya and belonging to Satan. They are his whispers and delusions.
3- The evidence that these words belong to Satan not to the heart is the fact the heart feels sorry about those words and cannot stop them though he wants to. For,if those ugly words belonged to his heart, he would not feel sorry about it and would be able to stop it.
4- The aim of Satan related to this delusion is to make the person move away from Allah by making him suffocated in panic, trouble and despair.
5- The harm regarding this delusion is that the person thinks that he is harmed and that his heart is spoiled. If a person feels this harm, it means Satan has deceived him.
So, the only thing to do so as not to be defeated by Satan regarding this delusion is to know that those words belong to Satan, to ignore those words and not to try to get rid of them.
· We must not attribute the words of Satan to our heart.
· We must never think that our heart is spoilt.
· We must never attribute those words to ourselves.
· When you do those mentioned above, you will start not to hear the words of Satan.
The delusion caused by Satan through using imagination
Satan using a property of imagination
Satan causing delusion by using a property of imagination
I will tell you some words now. Pay attention to what comes to your mind first when you hear the word!… Night… Black…. East…Summer….
You have probably thought of day when you have heard night, white when you have heard black, west when you have heard east and winter when you have heard summer. That is, the opposites of the words you have heard have come to your mind.
It happens because of the following rule: Oppositeness which is the reason for distance outside is the reason for closeness in imagination. That is, in reality there is a big distance between night and day, black and white, east and west, and summer and winter. These opposite things never come together in reality. However, imagination brings opposites together; it is called "association of ideas".
The reason forassociation of ideas is the existence of some secret relations between things. There are sometimes bonds of relations between unexpected things. These relations either exist in person or imagination has formed those bonds and connected them. Therefore, sometimes seeing or thinking about a holy thing brings something ugly to the mind. When a person performs a prayer or a supplication or he meditates on a verse in the divine presence, association of ideas sometimes leads that person to distant meanings and disgraceful things.
Sometimes, the heart gets tired and the mind busies itself with random things in order to amuse itself. Satan uses this source of delusion a lot.
The cure for getting rid of this delusion
The cure for getting rid of this delusion is not to panic, not to search, "what mistakes I have made?", to resume meditation when we notice that imagination is busy with dirty things. For, the more we feel sorry and give importance to it, the stronger the weak association gets; and it becomes a disease of imagination.
We should know that it is not a disease of the heart. These kinds of memories are generally involuntary and they do not generally obey the will of a person. Therefore, they do not make a person responsible.
In association of words, there is closeness but there is no contact or intermingling. Therefore, the qualities of the ideas do not spread to and do not harm one another. The inspirations of Satan and angels are close to each other in the heart; the closeness of good people and bad people and living in the same building do not harm each other. Similarly, the entrance of dirty visions into decent ideas due to association of ideas does not harm them. However, if it takes place voluntarily or if a person keeps himself too much busy with it thinking that he is harmed by it, he will be harmed.
We have learned the following about this delusion so far:
1- Oppositeness which is the reason for distance outside is the reason for closeness in imagination.
2- Sometimes while thinking about a holy thing, something ugly may come to the mind due to association of ideas.
3- When the heart gets tired and the mind busies itself with random things in order to amuse itself, Satan may show some ugly memories.
4- These memories are not a disease of the heart. They come to the mind involuntarily.
5- A person is not held responsible due to these memories unless he does them deliberately.
6- Holy meanings and dirty things do not mess with each other; they neither touch each other nor spread to each other.
7- If a person thinks he is harmed by those dirty imaginations or tries to get rid of them, he is harmed by them. This is what Satan wants: To make a person fall into despair by making him think that he is harmed or to strengthen the weak memory by making him try to get rid of it.
8- The cure for getting rid of this delusion is not to panic, not to search, "what mistakes I have made?", to resume meditation when we notice that imagination is busy with dirty things.
Making people imagine ugly visions
Making people imagine forbidden and ugly visions
Delusion in the form of making people imagine forbidden and ugly visions
When meanings come out of the heart, they enter imagination nakedly, freed from figure and shape; they put on the shapes there. That is, the place where the meanings that come to man put on shapes is the imagination not the heart. Imagination always produces shapes based on a reason. It sews clothes for meanings. However, it leaves the shapes of the things it gives importance on the way. Any meaning that comes out of the heart nakedly and goes to the imagination puts on the shapes left on the way or the imagination makes it put them on, attach or cover.
If the meanings are clear and decent and the shapes on the way are dirty and disgraceful, no wearing is in question but there is contact. However, a person with delusion confuses touching with wearing. He says, "My heart is so spoilt; this disgrace will make me expelled from the presence of Allah." Satan makes use of this property of his a lot.
The way of getting rid of this delusion
The salve to heal this wound is as follows: The dirty things in your body do not harm your outer cleanliness, which is a necessary condition for performing prayers. Similarly, the closeness of holy meanings to ugly shapes is not harmful. Suppose that you are meditating on the verses of the Quran; suddenly, something like an illness, desire or something that excites you like lust touches your feelings.
Your imagination will definitely produce the visions related to the remedy to the illness, the thing that you desire or the visions related to the lust; and it will see them. It will produce mean and ugly shapes related to them. The lofty and clean meanings coming from your heart will pass through them. These meanings are not harmed, touched or endangered by them. However, the danger is to think that they are harmed and to try to get rid of these ugly visions.
Yes, when man looks at the divine truths with his heart and mind, especially during performing prayers and worshipping, very bad, dirty and ugly delusions and memories sent by Satan and the soul attack the heart and the mind like flies. A person who tries to expel these ugly things is defeated by those delusions. In fact, the way of defeating and expelling them is to stop defending and to ignore them.
Yes, when you strive against bees, they will increase their attacks. If you do not disturb them, they will leave. If a person looks at the sun and the stars in the sky, the roses and flowers of a garden through a hole in a dirty room, the dirt in the hole will not touch the person who looks and the objects that are watched. Similarly, when the divine truths are looked at through the holes of the room of the imagination, the dirt in the holes will not harm the person who looks and the things that are watched.
We have learnt the following:
1- Meanings come out of the heart nakedly. Pictures are produced in the imagination not in the heart.
2- The imagination leaves some of the pictures it produces on the way due to some reasons. It is not possible to prevent it. Man is not held responsible for the pictures on the way.
3- Holy meanings pass through or near the pictures on the way while going to the imagination to put on shapes. The naked meaning and the picture on the way are shown in the mirror of the brain at the same time. This shape does not belong to the holy meaning; so, it is not harmful. However, those who do not know this fact blame their souls and think that they are harmed.
4- Only when a person thinks he is harmed, is he harmed. This is what Satan wants. For, Satan has made him hopeless and has closed the door of standing in the presence of Allah and meditating the holy meanings.
These explanations are sufficient for the issue.
We hope this explanation will be a cure for the hearts wounded by this kind of delusion; now we will deal with another kind of doubt and the way of getting rid of it.
Why did Allah inflict delusion upon believers?
Why was delusion sent to man as a trouble?
In our work called Delusion and Ways of Getting Rid of it, we have mentioned many delusions of Satan and ways of getting rid of these delusions up to now. The following question may come to the mind here:
“Why was delusion, which harms believers so much and disturbs them, was sent to man as a trouble?”
The answer to this question is as follows: “In fact, delusion is a means of staying alert. It, calls man to search and to be earnest unless it goes to extremes and overcomes man. It eliminates the unconcern and indifference in man.
A person starts to search and learn the truths with the stimulation of delusion.
That is, delusion is a good friend; it leads man to knowledge, research and solemnity. Therefore, Allah, who has wisdom, gave delusion to Satan's hand as a whip of encouragement for us in this world of testing. And Satan hits man on the head with it.
Besides, it should not be forgotten that it is necessary for a patient to take certain medicine regularly for a certain period in order to get rid of his illness. Similarly, a person who suffers from delusion needs to take the medicine presented in this work for a certain period of time; that is, he needs to read this work until he learns the nature of delusion and the ways of getting rid of it.As these chapters are read again, the nature of delusion and the ways of getting rid of it will be understood better and it will be possible to get rid of it forever.
We should not forget that our salvation from delusion is not enough. Thank Allah we have been saved from the illness of delusion by watching these videos as a grace of Allah. What about hundreds of thousands of people who cannot access them? For, there are thousands of people whose hearts have been wounded by delusion and who seek remedy by moving away from Allah. Our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, relatives, friends and hundreds of thousands of Muslim brothers have been wounded by this illness, which they think cannot be treated. However, as you have witnessed, it is very easy to get rid of these delusions if the nature of the delusion is discovered. However, it is very difficult for a person to discover it on his own.
Then, for the sake of Allah, let us help our brothers who have been wounded by delusion. If it is possible to tell them about all of the truths in this work let us try to tell them. If it is not possible, let us inform them about this work and recommend it to them.
We have reached you. You can reach others or help us reach others. We should spread these truths to other people so that wounded hearts will be healed. How happy is he who takes a step for this holy service!
Delusion in the form of searching the best deed
Satan sometimes causes delusions under the name of taqwa by leading a person to search the best form of a deed. The person gives it so much importance with the thought of taqwa that he commits a haram without being unaware of it while searching for the best form of a deed.
For instance, it is haram for a person who makes ghusl to use a lot of water and to waste it. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Do not waste water even if you make wudu from a flowing river.” A person with delusion uses too much water fearing that his ghusl will be incomplete with the thought of taqwa; thus, he commits a haram while searching for the best form of his deed.
It is wajib for a person who is about to starve to eat enough amount of something haram to save him from starvation. Even if it is pork, it is wajib for him to eat it to be saved from death. If he does not eat it because it is haram and dies, he will be a sinner. Satan goes to a person who searches for the best form of his deed and does not know about the fiqh decree of it and says to him, "Die for Allah instead of eating haram." Thus, Satan makes him commit a haram under the name of taqwa.
If a person has to make ghusl, he makes ghusl and then performs the prayer. However, if there is no water around (an area of three miles) or if he cannot have access to water, he needs to make tayammum with soil and then perform the prayer. He will not skip his prayer. Satan goes to such a person who has to make ghusl but does not know the fiqh decree about it and says, “You are dirty; you have to make ghusl. You cannot perform prayers like that. You cannot stand in the presence of Allah like that.” Satan prevents him from performing the prayer and causes him to skip it. That person commits a haram while searching for the best form of his deed.
Satan can make a person commit a haram deed by making him search for the best form of that deed with the thought of taqwa; Satan sometimes makes a person abandon a wajib deed by making him search for a sunnah as follows:
Ilms (sciences) are divided into two;
1 The sciences that are fard al-ayn; that is, the sciences that have to be known by all Muslims. For example, everybody has to know some verses of the Quran that will be enough to perform a prayer and how to perform fard deeds.
2.The sciences that are fard al-kifaya; that is, the sciences that have to be known by some Muslims; then, the other Muslims are freed from that responsibility. Sciences like medicine, geography, chemistry and physics are included in this category. It is sunnah to learn them; they are at the degree of fard al-kifaya.
However, it is fard al-ayn for a woman to cover her body and to wear a jilbab. That is, it is fard for all Muslim women. If it is possible for a woman to learn sciences that are sunnah without taking off her jilbab, she can learn them. It is a nice deed. However, if she has to take off her jilbab, which is fard for her, in order to learn the sciences that are sunnah for her, she needs to prefer fard al-ayn to sunnah. That is, she cannot take off her jilbab; she has to abandon learning those sciences.
At this point, Satan causes a delusion and says to her, “You have to learn these sciences for Allah; you need to serve Islam in the future by attaining some posts. Do you want others to learn these sciences all the time?” Sometimes, this delusion of Satan is supported by a sincere person who does not know the fiqh dimension of the issue and she takes off her jilbab to learn the sciences that are sunnah. This person has been deceived by Satan. He has made her do a sunnah deed by abandoning what is fard, which is more valuable. It is possible to increase the examples of this delusion of Satan. We find these examples enough and move to the cure for this delusion.
The cure for getting rid of this delusion
It means Satan makes a person search for the best form of a deed in order to make him commit a haram deed and makes him search for a sunnah in order to make him abandon a wajib deed. Then, the way of getting rid of this delusion is to learn the religion of Allah properly and to know what is haram, halal, fard, wajib, taqwa and rukhsah.For, Satan makes use of the ignorance of a person and makes him commit a haram deed with the thought of taqwa. When we learn what is taqwa, we will close this door of Satan's delusion; thus, we will not commit a haram deed while searching for taqwa; and we will not abandon a wajib while searching for sunnah.
We will end this part by narrating a story expressing that Satan can cause this delusion only in ignorant people and that it cannot approach scholars from this aspect.
A saint sees Satan waiting at the door of a mosque. He asked
“O Iblis! Why are you waiting here, at the door of the mosque?”
Satan answered: “Do you see that man praying in the mosque? I will cause a delusion in him but I am waiting for the man sleeping next to him to leave.”
The saint asked him, “Why are you waiting for the man sleeping next to him to cause a delusion in the man who is praying?”
Satan answered: “The person who is performing the prayer is ignorant but the person who is sleeping is a scholar. If I cause a delusion in him, he will awaken the scholar and ask him about it. When he learns the answer, he will get rid of the delusion. Then, my trick will be of no use. Therefore, I am waiting for the man who is sleeping to leave.”
Satan does not allow man to confess his mistakes
Satan not allowing man to confess his mistakes
Satan causing man delusion about not allowing him to confess his mistakes
One of the important delusions of Satan is not to allowman to confess his mistakes until the way to repentance and taking refuge in Allah is closed.
With this delusion, Satan provokes the evil-commanding soul and egoism of a person. A person who is deceived by this delusion starts to defend himself like a lawyer. He virtually thinks he is free from all mistakes.
Yes, a soul that obeys Satan does not want to see its own mistakes. Even if such a person sees a mistake, he interprets it through hundreds of explanations. He does not and cannot see his mistakes since he looks at his soul with consent. He does not confess his mistake since he does not see it; he does not repent or take refuge from it.
For, man likes his soul naturally. He loves himself more than anything else. He sacrifices everything for his soul. He praises himself as if he deserves to be liked by Allah. He acquits himself of all of the mistakes. He does not think he deserves to make mistakes. He is sure of himself and he likes himself. He virtually becomes putty in Satan's hands.
The way of getting rid of this delusion
“Therefore, justify not yourselves.” (an-Najm: 32) As the verse expresses, it is necessary not to justify yourself, that is, not to acquit your soul.
A prophet like Hz. Yusuf (pbuh) says,“Nor do I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human soul) certainly prone to evil, unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy.” How can we acquit our souls since Hz. Yusuf does not absolve his own self?
A person who accuses his soul sees his mistake. He confesses his mistake. He repents to Allah for his mistake. He takes refuge in Allah from the delusions of Satan. Thus, he gets rid of the evil of Satan.
Not to see one's mistake is a bigger mistake than that mistake. Not to confess one's mistake is a much bigger mistake.
If a person sees his mistake, it will no longer be a mistake; if he confesses it, he will deserve to be forgiven.
Delusion in accordance with the greatness of the truths of belief
Satan causing delusion in accordance with the greatness of the truths of belief
One of the biggest delusions of Satan is to deceive the people who are narrow-minded by causingdelusion in accordance with the greatness of the truths of belief.
Satan approaches man from the aspect ofthe greatness of the truths of belief and says, “They say that a single being governs and educates all of the atoms, galaxies and all of the other living and non-living beings. How can you believe in it? How can the mind accept it? How can one single being, that is, Allah, govern this big universe?"
Or Satan says, "Man turns to soil when he dies. Even his bones decay. Is it possible to revive the decayed bones and lost bodies? What is more, how can it be possible to revive all of the dead bodies at the same time?"
Along with suggesting doubts about the oneness of Allah and the existence of the hereafter, Satan causes delusions about the other truths of belief like the existence of angels, sending of prophets, sending down books by showing man's narrow heart and mind the immense greatness of them; thus, he brings about a feeling of denial from the point of view of the weakness of man.
The cure for getting rid of this delusion
The cure for getting rid of this delusion and the secret that silences this delusion of Satan's is Allahu akbar. That is, to think about the greatness of Allah and to meditate on the evidences that express this greatness. Besides, the reason why the phrase Allahu akbar is repeated a lot and why it is one of the signs of Islam is to eliminate this delusion of Satan's. Man's weak power and narrow mind can approve such endless great truths only by seeing them through the light of Allahu akbar. It means the way of getting rid of this delusion is to know very well the signs of Allah's greatness and the evidences of the truths of belief about which delusions occur. For, evidence is a kind of broom. It cleans the delusion and eliminates doubts.
We refer these evidences about the truths of belief to the books about them and mention only one of the hundreds of evidences about the oneness of Allah and how He governs the immense universe.
The sun, which is like a lamp of the world, which is our house, is one but it appears on all of the bubbles of the sea, all of the glasses on the earth and transparent objects. It caresses the heads of all of the living beings with its light at the same time. It illuminates all of them; illuminating one of them does not decrease the light of another one. If the light of the sun were its power, and its other seven colors were life, will, knowledge, sight, speech, hearing and creating, the sun would govern all of the things that its light reached at the same time. One deed would not prevent another deed.
Similarly, Allah Almighty is one in essence but He is close to all creatures with all of His attributes like knowledge, power and creation with secret of transparency. He is nearer to man than his jugular vein.
The sun is one but it illuminates all things at the same time; similarly, Allah is one but he governs all things at the same time. One deed does not prevent another; one deed does not make governing another difficult. He governs and controls all things like one thing.
Besides, bigness and smallness are relative concepts. A bird is big compared to an ant but it is small compared to a cat. The universe is big compared to man but it is small compared to Allah's greatness and majesty.
We can understand this truth through the following example: Suppose that a microbe that can be seen only after it has been enlarged millions of time under a microscope is on the lungs of man. If the microbe is told, “The lung you are on is governed by spirit", the microbe will not be able to understand it. For, the lung to the microbe is the universe to us. The microbe will compare the bigness of the lungs to its smallness and will not be able to understand how such a big thing can be controlled by one center. If the microbe is told, “That is not all. There are tens of organs similar to lungs like, the heart, stomach and digestive system. They are all controlled by the same spirit", the microbe will definitely be confused more.
For, the human body and the organs in it to the microbe are galaxies and stars to us. We can understand easily the issue that microbe has difficulty in understanding. For, human body is not such a big thing for us. However, we have difficulty in understanding the control of the universe. For, the universe is very big compared to us.
However, we should know that the universe that is big for us is very small compared to the greatness and majesty of Allah. We make a wrong comparison and compare Allah to us; we think the universe that is big for us is also big for Allah. The microbe compares the soul to itself and when it sees that it is impossible for it to govern the whole human body on its own, it thinks it is not possible for the spirit either.
We refer the evidences the existence of Allah and other truths of belief to the books about them and end this long issue here.
Satan making man deny hundreds of evidences through one doubt
Denying a Truth which is proved with hundreds of evidences with one Doubt
Satan wanting to make man deny hundreds of evidences through one doubt and the cure of this;
Think of a palace with one hundred gates. 99 of them are open and only one of them is closed. We are invited to that palace and want to enter it.
Is what we need to do to use one of the 99 gates, which are open?
Or, to wait in front of the closed gate and give up entering the palace by saying, "This gate is closed; it is impossible to enter this palace?"
What we definitely need to do is to enter one of the open gates. Besides, when we enter the palace, we will be able to open that closed gate too. If somebody comes while you are entering the palace and tells you, "It is impossible to enter this palace; this gate is closed",
you will tell him, “Yes, one gate seems to be closed but 99 gates of the palace are open. It is not appropriate for a fair person to be occupied with one closed gate by ignoring 99 open gates. If I enter the palace through one of the open gates, the seemingly closed gate may open.”
The palace in the example is a truth of belief… The open gates are the evidences proving that truth of belief... The closed gate is an issue of the truth of belief that we have not been able to understand. The person who comes while entering the gate and tells you, “It is impossible to enter this palace; this gate is closed” is Satan.
Yes, an important delusion of Satan is to spoil proper thinking and sound reasoning of man. Satan wants to eliminate the decree of hundreds of evidences that prove one truth of belief by using one sign indicating the non-existence of that truth.
Suppose that there is a magnificent palace. There are hundreds of rooms in it. Each room has been built wisely. There are embroideries on each stone. This palace indicates the existence of a king and a sultan with its construction, embroideries and decorations inside, regular administration, wise precautions and many other properties; Satan shows man a stone in the palace that seems to be irregular and unnecessary. He puts emphasis on that stone and says, “If there were a sultan in this palace, this stone would not be undecorated and irregular. It means this palace came into being by chance…”
The person who is influenced by this delusion leaves aside so many states, things and evidences and accepts a small sign as if it is worth thousands of evidences, listening to the word of Satan and denying the existence of the sultan of the palace.
The palace in the example is this universe. The rooms of this palace of the universe are stars and planets. The world is only a tiny room in that palace. Yes, the universe is such a palace that the stars are the candles of this palace; the giant sun is the stove and lamp of the room of the world. And the moon is the night lamp and calendar of the room.
Thus, Satan wants to make man doubt the existence of Allah and even to deny Allah by showing a tiny irregularity in this palace of the universe, which indicates Allah as its owner and sultan with all of its states and things in it. He sometimes becomes successful. Compare this delusion of Satan about the existence of Allah to the other truths of belief.
The cure to get rid of this delusion is to know the following: It is possible to enter the palace of belief when one gate is opened. When one enters the palace, the other gates that are thought to be closed are also opened. If 99 gates of the palace are open and one or two gates are closed, nobody can say that it is impossible to enter the palace. The truths of belief are in this palace. Each evidence proving that truth of belief is a key; it proves the truth and opens the gate. That truth of belief cannot be abandoned and denied when only one gate remains closed.
Waswasa
Waswasa (delusion) is the name given to distortionary suggestions, misgivings and doubts that are considered to be placed into man by Satan.
Waswasa / wiswas lexically means “whispering, making bad suggestions, becoming suspicious”; waswas, which is derived from the same root, means “harmful stimulus, bad feeling, suggestion, doubt, whispering and apprehension”.
In religious terminology, waswasa / wiswas is used in the sense of “Satan’s or the soul’s making bad and harmful suggestions to man, and the suggestions that come from Satan and the soul and that lead man to the deeds contrary to the religion”; waswas is used in the sense of “Satan, distortionary stimulus, useless word, doubt and hesitation Satan places into man”.
A person who is affected by waswasa is called muwaswis. (see Firuzabadi, “wsw” item.; al-Mufradat, “waswasa” item.; Lisanul-ʿArab, “wsw” item.; Tajul-ʿArus, “wsw” item.; Ibnul-Athir, an-Nihaya, W, 187; Dozy, II, 814-815; Fayyumi, p. 143)
In addition, nazgha, hams, hamza, hajis and khatra are similar to waswasa in terms of meaning. (For instance, see al-Mufradat, “hams” item.; Muhasibi, p. 95, 200, 250; Qushayri, I, 299; Ghazzali, Iḥyaʾ, III, 47, 315, 317; Şawkani, III, 560)
Obsession, which is used in a sense similar to waswasa in modern psychiatry, is defined as “thoughts that come involuntarily, that disturb a person and that cannot be dismissed by conscious efforts”. (Saygılı, Strese Son, İstanbul 2001, p. 40)
Waswasa in the Quran
The concept waswasa is mentioned in five verses in the Quran; in three of them, Satan’s (al-A‘raf 7/20; Taha 20/120; Nas 114/5) and in one of them the soul’s (Qaf 50/16) distortionary effect on man is explained.
In the chapter of an-Nas (114/4), Satan is mentioned as waswas since it insistently incites man to commit sins.
In verse 20 of the chapter of al-Araf, it is stated that Satan gave waswasa to Adam and his wife and caused them to eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree. As it is understood from the expression in the remaining part of the verse and from verse 22, waswasa is used in the sense of “deceiving, misleading and deviating”. (Tabari, V, 449)
In verse 36 of the chapter of al-Baqara, where the same incident is narrated, the verb “azalla”, which means “made them slip, caused them to sin”, is used instead of waswasa (Tabari, I, 272-273; Shawkani, I, 72-73).
Waswasa in Hadiths
The concept waswasa in hadiths generally indicates dangerous questions and thoughts that Satan sends inside man, aiming to harm his belief.
The phrase “O Allah! ... I take refuge in You from waswasa” is included in the prayer the Prophet (pbuh) said on the night of Arafat. (Tirmidhi, Dua, 78)
The following is stated in hadiths:
- There is a devil (Satan) in every human being (Musnad, I, 385).
- Satan circulates in the human body as blood does (Musnad, III, 156, 285; Bukhari, Aḥkam, 21).
Ghazzali interprets the hadiths stating that “Satan circulates in the human body” as “Satanic effects spreading to our inner world”; he also states that waswasas sometimes occur in his heart at times when he does not expect at all. (Qanunut-Taʾwil, p. 12-13)
Some Muslims went to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and complained to him that they sometimes had waswasas that they could not dare to pronounce. The Messenger of Allah told them that it indicated the definite and pure belief in them and that his ummah would not be held responsible for such waswasas unless they did what was suggested to them. (Musnad, II, 255; WI, 106; Muslim, Iman, 201-205, 211)
According to Harith al-Muhasibi, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) regarded that sensibility in the Companions as sufficient for them related to fulfilling their responsibilities regarding waswasa. For, expecting man to remove and dismiss the waswasas in them would mean to want them to change their nature, which is beyond the power of will. In order to get rid of the responsibility related to waswasa, it is enough to prevent the effect of waswasa by acting in compliance with the mind and knowledge. (ar-Riʿaya, p. 188-189, 249-250)
The Prophet (pbuh) said the following to a person who complained about such waswasas: “Praise be to Allah that Satan cannot harm you in any way except through waswasa.” He said the following to another person: “Praise be to Allah that He transformed Satan’s trap into waswasa.” (Musnad, I, 340; see also I, 235; Abu Dawud, Adab”, 109)
In the hadiths, a person’s having doubts whether he has done something incomplete during wudu and prayer and having delusions is described with the word waswasa; such people are advised to avoid such delusions or not to think about them. (Abu Dawud, Salah, 158; Tirmidhi, Ṭaharah, 43)
It is stated in a hadith that Satan fears from adhan and iqamah and escapes to a place where he will not hear it and that he returns when they end and start to give waswasa to people. (Muslim, Salah, 16)
Waswasa in Fiqh
In fiqh, the concept waswasa is used to describe a state of disorder in which a person doubts whether he has fulfilled a part of a deed of worship or not, he has fulfilled it properly or not or he has fulfilled other responsibilities or not, leading him to repeat the same deed again and again.
In fiqh books, waswasa related to wudu, ghusl, cleanliness, prayer, qiraah, talaq (divorce), oath and vow is dealt with and it is stated that it is necessary to avoid waswasa and if waswasa occurs involuntarily, it is necessary not to take it seriously by maintaining moderateness, and not to deviate from the criteria practiced by the Prophet (pbuh).
Dealing with the state of the people who suffer from in his booklet called "Ẕammul-Muwaswisin" in detail, the Hanbali fiqh scholar Muwaffaquddin Ibn Qudama explains with verses and hadiths the importance of treading in the Prophet’s footsteps in religious issues and states that some people who suffer from waswasa get stuck in waswasas instead of following the Messenger of Allah, follow Satan and indulge in extreme views by disregarding the practices of the Prophet due to their waswasas related to wudu and prayer.
As for those who have waswasa at the level of madness,
- it is stated that their divorcing is invalid (Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Iʿlamul-Muwaqqiʿin, IV, 47, 49; cf. Bukhari, Ṭalaq, 11),
- and that they will not be related as apostates if they utter words that mean exiting the religion of Islam. (Ibn Abidin, XIII, 12-14)
The Way to Get Rid of Waswasa
The best way to get rid of waswasa is to know that the waswasas given by Satan do not harm the belief and worship of a Muslim. For, those waswasas belong to Satan, not to the Muslim. Satan wants that person to think that those words belong to tthat person himself.
If waswasa does not stop, we advise the person who suffers from waswasa to be treated by a specialized and religious psychologist.
Vaswasa lexically means "doubt". Terminologically, it means "Satan’s certain suggestions without words." The doubts that Satan puts into man’s heart.
Satan puts some bad things into man’s heart to mislead him; he wants to mislead man, make him doubt, and drive him out of the circle of belief. Even if he fails to do it, he keeps pursuing man and disturbs him with his delusions all the time.
The mind thinks using words, but all deeds of the heart is without words. One does not love a flower or a scent "through words"; it loves them without using words. However, when man wants to express that love and transmit it to others, words are used.
Satan approaches man’s heart, which loves without words and which also believes without words, talks to him without words and whispers some suggestions. Those whispers of Satan are called waswasa (delusions).
“There are self-evidently corporeal evil spirits who perform Satan’s functions. It is also certain to the same degree that there are evil spirits without bodies from the jinn.” (Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Lem’alar)
A person who instills some wrong ideas in another person looks into the eye of his interlocutor while speaking and tries to penetrate his spirit through the window of his eye and to suggest something to him. If we imagine to remove the bodies of those two people, two separate spirits will emerge. One of them wants to deceive the other. What Satan does is something similar.
We sometimes hear complaints from those who have just started to perform prayers: "Whenever I start to pray, bad things come to my mind; they stop when I finish prayer." Those who are caught by that delusion should listen to the following lesson of reality and should not fall into despair:
“Those ugly words are not the words of your heart, because your heart is saddened and sorry at them.” (Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, Sözler)
Accordingly, the sadness of a person due to the bad words coming to his heart shows that those bad words do not belong to his heart. He will see that when he gives up performing prayers and goes to a casino, those bad words will cease. That is to say, the owner of those words is an enemy of prayer and a friend of gambling. It cannot be the heart of the believer who performs prayers, it can only be Satan.
The answer to this question is as follows:
“In fact, delusion is a means of staying alert. It calls man to search and to be earnest unless it goes to extremes and overcomes man. It eliminates the unconcern and indifference in man. A person starts to search and learn the truths with the stimulation of delusion.
That is, delusion is a good friend; it leads man to knowledge, research and solemnity. Therefore, Allah, who has wisdom, gave delusion to Satan's hand as a whip of encouragement for us in this world of testing. And Satan hits man on the head with it.
Besides, it should not be forgotten that it is necessary for a patient to take certain medicine regularly for a certain period in order to get rid of his illness. Similarly, a person who suffers from delusion needs to take the medicine presented in this work for a certain period of time; that is, he needs to watch these videos until he learns the nature of delusion and the ways of getting rid of it.
As the videos are watched again, the nature of delusion and the ways of getting rid of it will be understood better and it will be possible to get rid of it forever.
We should not forget that our salvation from delusion is not enough. Thank God we have been saved from the illness of delusion by watching these videos as a grace of Allah. What about hundreds of thousands of people who cannot access them?
For, there are thousands of people whose hearts have been wounded by delusion and who seek remedy by moving away from Allah. Our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, relatives, friends and hundreds of thousands of Muslim brothers have been wounded by this illness, from which they think they cannot recover.
However, as you have witnessed, it is very easy to get rid of these delusions if the nature of the delusion is discovered. However, it is very difficult for a person to discover it on his own.
Then, for the sake of Allah, let us help our brothers who have been wounded by delusion. If it is possible to tell them about all of the truths in this work let us try to tell them. If it is not possible, let us inform them about this work and recommend it to them.
The feeling of fear is given to man so that he will maintain his life. Excessive fear makes life unbearable.
One of the strongest and most basic emotions in man is the sense of fear. Scheming oppressors profit greatly from the vein of fear. They restrain the pusillanimous with it. The agents of the worldly and propagandists of the people of misguidance take advantage of this vein of the common people and of the religious scholars in particular. They frighten them and excite their groundless fears.
For example, in order to scare a coward who is on a roof and put him in danger, a scheming man shows him something which he supposes is harmful; he excites his fear and draws him gradually towards the edge of the roof; then he makes him fall and break his neck. In exactly the same way, they make people sacrifice most important things due to most unimportant fears. Trying to avoid a mosquito bite, they flee into the dragon’s mouth.
One time, an eminent person – May God have mercy on him – was frightened of climbing into a rowing-boat. One evening, we walked together to the Bridge in Istanbul. We had to board a boat; there was no carriage and we were going to Eyüp Sultan. I insisted.
He said: “I’m frightened. Perhaps it’ll sink!”
I said to him: “How many boats do you reckon there are, here on the Golden Horn?”
He replied: “Perhaps a thousand.”
So I asked him: “How many boats sink in a year?”
He said: “One or two. Perhaps none at all.”
I asked him: “How many days are there in a year?”
“Three hundred and sixty,” he replied.
So I said to him: “The possibility of sinking, which provokes these groundless fears and makes you anxious, is one in three hundred and sixty thousand. Someone who is frightened at such a possibility is not a human being, he couldn’t even be an animal!”
Then I asked him: “How long do you reckon you will live?”
He replied: “I am old; perhaps I’ll live another ten years.”
So I said to him: “The appointed hour of death is secret, so we could die any day. In which case, you might die on any day of the three thousand six hundred. You see, there is a one in three thousand possibility that you might die today rather than one in three hundred thousand like the boat; so tremble and weep, and write your will!”
He came to his senses, and I got him, trembling, to board the boat. When on board, I told him:
“Almighty Allah gave the sense of fear to preserve life, not to destroy it! He did not give life so that it would be burdensome, difficult, painful, and torment. If fear is caused by a possibility of one in two, three, or four, or even one in five or six, it is a precautionary fear and may be licit. But to fear a possibility of one in twenty, thirty, or forty, is groundless, and makes life torture!” (Said Nursi, Mektubat (Letters), Yirmi Dokuzuncu Mektup (Twenty-Ninth Letter))
It is necessary not to confuse delusions with hypocrisy (riya). Satan tells man that his worshipping is hypocrisy in order to drive him away from worshipping. If man does not notice that it is delusion, this will cause problems in man. As he thinks about it, he starts to fall into despair. Therefore, we should try to worship without expecting any worldly benefits from worshipping. In addition, we should not give importance to the delusions that come to the mind.
There is no hypocrisy in fards. It is not appropriate to perform fard deeds secretly. It is necessary to perform fard deeds openly. Furthermore, it is more appropriate to perform sunnah deeds that are about to pass into oblivion openly so that they will not be forgotten. When one does so, he will not propagate himself, but the deed of worshipping.
This is the most common delusion that affects people who are affected by delusions. The person has the ideal of doing a deed of worshipping perfectly. He wants to do the best deed and service without any mistake and deficiency. When the issue of taqwa is also included, he pays too much attention to it. The severity of delusion increases gradually. It reaches to such a degree in the course of time that a person commits a haram while trying to do the best deed and worshipping. He abandons a fard deed while trying to do a sunnah deed perfectly. Finally, he repeats the worshipping thinking "whether it has been accepted or not". This state continues in the course of time and he finally falls into despair. Satan makes use of this state and harms him.
A person who is affected by such a delusion starts to make wudu and is caught by a delusion; while he is washing his arms, he starts from the beginning; instead of finishing wudu after washing his feet, he starts from the beginning; or after finishing wudu, he makes wudu again based on some excuses like "I have probably not washed my right arm and I have not wiped my head". Thus, Satan hits the target with the arrow of delusion. It becomes a disorder in that person.
I have known many people affected by delusions like that. There was a young man who had just started to worship. He used to start making wudu half an hour before adhan and hardly caught up with the fard of the prayer. He sometimes made wudu five times on end. When I knew about it, I told him that it was a delusion and he shortened it a bit but he could not overcome the delusion fully. I hope he has overcome it.
The people who are affected by a delusion in ghusl feel obliged to wash their body repeatedly after drying though to make ghusl once is enough.
This kind of delusion is seen in wudu and ghusl but it is seen in prayer (salah) most frequently. Various thoughts can normally come to mind in prayers. A person who is affected by the delusions caused by Satan cannot finish his prayer and cannot catch up with the congregation if he is in a mosque. He performs both sunnah and fard prayers again and again. He feels obliged to read the chapter of al-Fatiha and additional verses repeatedly. He abandons some wajibs or a fard while trying to fulfill mustahab and sunnah deeds of the prayer perfectly; he makes mistakes after mistakes.
There is another aspect of the issue: If a person knows that this delusion comes from Satan or somebody he loves and relies on informs him about it but if he continues to be affected by this delusion, he will be held responsible and he will be regarded to have committed a sin. For, it means he does not obey Allah and Allah's friends; he obeys Satan. In that case, he needs to make a preference:"Shall I obey Allah or Satan?" The first preference will lead him to nice things but the second one will lead him to misfortunes after misfortunes. (God forbid!)
Let us listen to the advice of the Prophet (pbuh) about how to act against delusions while making wudu:
According to the narration of Ubay bin Ka'b, the Messenger of Allah said,
"Indeed there is a Satan for wudu who is called "Al-Walahan (the one who causes confusion)". So beware of having misgivings about water in wudu and ghusl."(1)
The reason why this name was given to the Satan who causes delusions in wudu is its extreme ambition to cause delusions in a believer while making wudu. Or, Satan makes man panic so much by delusions that he feels confused; he does not understand that Satan is playing a trick on him. He does not know whether he has washed an organ or how many times he has washed it.
Bewaring of the Satan in charge of wudu means as follows: Beware of delusions like whether an organ has been washed or not, whether it has been washed once or twice, whether the water is clean or dirty suggested by the Satan called al-Walahan.
The advice of the Prophet (pbuh) that eliminates the delusions in wudu and that can be applied by everyone is as follows:
A Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and asked him how to make wudu. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) washed the wudu organs three times, showing him how to make wudu. Then, he said,
"This is wudu. A person who does more than it makes a mistake by abandoning Sunnah, goes beyond the limits and oppresses his soul." (2)
While explaining this hadith, Ibn Hajar writes the following:
"We saw many people who washed their hands hundreds of times but who believed that they did not have wudu."
Ibn Hajar is a hadith scholar that lived five centuries ago. It shows that delusion is not a problem seen in this age only; man has faced this misfortune for centuries. For, Satan uses the same tactics, keeping his promise that he gave Allah about misguiding His righteous slaves.
Practical solutions are mentioned in hadiths about how to act against mistakes, doubts and delusions in prayers in addition to wudu.
Let us quote some of these hadiths:
According to the narration of Abdullah bin Amr, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"When one of you is in a prayer, Satan will come to him and say, 'Remember this and that thing' so that he will virtually abandon prayer heedlessly. When one of you lies in his bed, Satan approaches him and tries to make him sleep."
We may forget some things in the deeds of worshipping, primarily wudu and prayer; we might not remember what we have read, how much we have read and how many rak'ahs we have performed. In such cases, we must not panic; we must look for a solution in the worshipping itself. Nobody can be away from forgetting; even the Prophet (pbuh), who was the most superior man, forgot, though very little. He was a great and perfect man but he was a human being like us. He felt hungry, got ill, had problems and forgot. We see this issue in the hadith as follows:
Abdullah bin Mas'ud narrates:
"Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) led a prayer. He either performed it more or less than it should have been. Thereupon, somebody said, 'O Messenger of Allah! Was anything added to the prayer?' The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"I am a human being. I forget as you do. When one of you forgets, he should perform two prostrations."
Then, the Messenger of Allah turned toward the qiblah and performed two prostrations. (3)
Satan has one wish: to keep man away from worshipping, especially prayer; since he was deprived of prayer and prostration, he wants to deprive humanity of this bounty and keep away from it. The Prophet reveals this target of Satan's.
Footnotes:
1. Tirmidhi, Taharah:43; Ibn Majah, Taharah:48.
2. Ibn Majah, Iqamah: 48.
3. Ibn Majah, Iqamah: 129.
Responsibility is in question only for voluntary acts. That is to say, when a person does something voluntarily based on his own will, he also bears the responsibility for it. However, the will of the person is not involved in the bad things that come to mind. That is, you have not voluntarily decided to have bad thoughts and you have not acted upon them. Therefore, you do not bear any responsibility for it. It is best not to dwell on them too much, regarding them as the delusions of Satan.
Satan can say bad things to the heart from a place called "lumma ash-shaytaniyya (satanic spot)", which is located next to the heart. The evidence showing that those words and thoughts do not belong to the heart is that the heart is alarmed by them. For example, if a person watches the beauty of the sky through a dirty pair of binoculars, the dirt of the binoculars does not infect the viewer or the viewed things. Such words and thoughts are the acts of the devil; therefore, they do us no harm. The real harm is to deal with them unnecessarily and try to get rid of them, or to think that they is harmful and to fear them.
