If Allah loves us, why does He send the devils against us?

- Why does Allah say this though He is the one who loves us the most and does not want bad things for us?:
“Seest thou not that We have set the Evil Ones on against the unbelievers, to incite them with fury?” (Maryam 83)

Dear Brother / Sister,

First of all, we should state that the deniers are under the influence of the devils. The devil cannot haunt anyone other than such people with bad characters and intentions. In other words, those who are haunted by the devils are their own denials; they pull the devils like lightning rods.

Anyone who puts his hand into the fire will certainly burn his hand; the body of the one who enters the sewer pit will definitely smell bad; he who drinks poison will definitely get sick...

Allah’s sending the devils against the deniers has been interpreted in two ways:

a) What is meant by it is that Allah does not protect the unbelievers against the devils because they persist in denial and rebellion.

Satan has no power of enforcement or coercion. As a matter of fact, the meaning of a verse is as follows:

And Satan will say when the matter is decided: “It was Allah Who gave you a promise of Truth: I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you. I had no authority over you except to call you but ye listened to me: then reproach not me, but reproach your own souls. I cannot listen to your cries, nor can ye listen to mine. I reject your former act in associating me with Allah. For wrong-doers there must be a grievous penalty.” (Ibrahim, 14/22)

b) What is meant by it is Allah’s sending the devils against the unbelievers.

If the unbelievers stubbornly and persistently continue their denial and enmity toward Allah and the Prophet, Allah will send the devils against them. The devils cause delusions in them and make evil look good. In conclusion, they do all kinds of evil; so, they go to hell. The following verses in the chapter of az-Zukhruf support this interpretation:

If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of (Allah) Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one, to be an intimate companion to him. Such (evil ones) really hinder them from the Path, but they think that they are being guided aright! At length, when (such a one) comes to Us, he says (to his evil companion): “Would that between me and thee were the distance of East and West!” Ah! evil is the companion (indeed)! When ye have done wrong, it will avail you nothing, that Day, that ye shall be partners in Punishment! Canst thou then make the deaf to hear, or give direction to the blind or to such as (wander) in manifest error? (az-Zukhruf, 43/36-40)

To state it briefly, it is the denial of the person that causes the devil to haunt him. These denials attract the devil like a magnet. So, the person himself is responsible for it.

That is to say, the reason why Satan haunts the unbeliever is his denial.

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