One of the greatest mistakes we can make in the modern age is to live as if Satan (Shaytan in Arabic, originally known as Azazil and later Iblis) is not active in seeking the destruction of human beings. Allah Almighty warns us in the Qur’an that in the devil, we have an “avowed enemy,” [2:168], and that he and his ilk see and attack us from a frequency or dimension that we do not perceive, [7:27].
Yet what does Satan want, and why?
First and foremost, Satan wants to rob human beings of purpose. Secondly, he seeks to maximize human suffering.
Satan robs humanity of purpose primarily through materialism and worldliness, which are based in the indulgence of the lower self and the lack of faith in God, His prophets and messengers, revealed guidance and the Day of Accounting.
By misleading human beings to primarily focus on this temporal and material world, Satan handicaps the progress and evolution of the soul towards preparation for eternity and the world beyond. When we succumb to his influence thus, we experience the loss of meaning and purpose in our lives, and ultimately descend into depression and hopelessness, like he.
Furthermore, the focus on self (nafs) and world (dunya) to the exclusion of a primary focus on God (Allah) and eternity (akhira) leads to the destruction of the family unit, and ultimately to the greatest source of suffering for human beings.
If we are wise, we will take heed of the message and way of the prophets sent purely for our benefit and guidance, and earn both the pleasure of our Lord and Creator while simultaneously safeguarding our own health and happiness.
May Allah Almighty guide us to wisdom and knowledge that benefits, and the love and inspiration to act upon guidance for the sake of ourselves and our families while we still can.
To your divine and eternal success.
10 Responses
Such a beautiful and informative guidance video Brother Ihsan, thank you so much for always being a guiding big brother in my life, your videos are always so inspiring, uplifting, and amazing reminders on how to be a better Muslim. May Allah always bless you and your family. JazakAllah~
May Allah Protect us from Shaytan. May Allah strengthen our Imran in this difficult times. Brother Ihsan thank you for your teaching . May Allah Bless you and your family
Thanks for resurfacing the warning! It’s easy to forget who our archenemy is in the modern age. May Allah reward you for your efforts!
Salaam Alykum brother Ihsan. Thank you for your valuable messages and advice that helps us on staying at the right path of Allah. There so much dust and mist that weakens the vision of the Muslim to keep his/her foot on this path so guidance is regularly needed.
Guidance, prayers and especially Zekru Allah is needed to keep our hearts and souls pure and awake.
Salaam Alykum brother Ihsan, may Allah bless you.
Mahmoud, Beirut Lebanon
JazakAlaho Anna khayran🙏❤️
There are 3 enemies who are continuously striving hard to ruin our eternal life. They are Shaytan and his allies, this deceptive world which many consider as real and final abode and our lowest self (nafs). The question is that how much we strive against them? We are very weak. May Allah Subhanahu wa taala help all those who are always concerned about Akhira.
Jazakallah khairan for the reminder. May we strive at our best and attain our peaceful eternal abode, InshaAllah… Aameen.
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist” as quoted by the French poet Charles Baudelaire in the 19th Century yet how do those words ring true now!
As with most things moderation is key otherwise there can be a risk of addiction.
A cigarette packet will contain a warning that it’s bad for our health yet there is none when we access social media. Could you imagine if they put Warning: Social media is bad for your health, it can isolate you from friends and family, you’ll care about the likes you get on a small screen whilst possibly forgetting the big thumbs up from your child because they are pleased to see you. In time those likes may rise and fall but the loneliness in a child’s eyes as one continues scrolling through a small light box.
Now we’ve almost forgotten how to switch off. We’ve become addicted and most don’t ever realise.
How many of us thought originally we’ll log on for a few minutes and we look at the time and its near midnight and we’ve achieved very little because we went down a rabbit hole because we just needed to see the comments.
Alienation from our families is heartbreaking, the pandemic in a way was helpful because it allowed us to remember what’s important in life. Not being able to see family has perhaps healed bonds that were frayed.
When we love, we heal and when we do that it radiates throughout.
We have been divided, it happens so insediously one might not even know its happening. Could be as easy as criticising a mum who’s doing her best but in a moment she has been judged for not keeping her child in line? But rather than offer to help or be empathetic, she is judged.
So yes while it seems like the darkness is surging, maybe we have hope that whilst your channel exists and there are people all over waking up and wanting to be the change we need in our injured world.
Thankyou for what you are doing.
Gratitude Love & Light
Thank you, Laura. May Allah Almighty continue to guide, bless and protect you and your loved ones. To your divine and eternal success.
Mashallah, I just gave this a second listen because I wanted to share it with someone who I believe could greatly benefit from it, and you literally head every point on the head perfectly! You are so eloquent and knowledgeable and so great at making your words both impactful and straight to the point, may Allah bless you and your family always Brother Ihsan! Thank you for putting out such transformatively helpful content to help out the human species!
Thank you sister Henna for the kind and generous feedback. May Allah Almighty guide and support us each to serving Him to the best of our abilities. Be well and blessed.