The eternal enemy - II

Satan deceives the Muslim in several ways that he follows in order, so
that if he fails to deceive him through the first way, he moves to
thesecond, and so on. Ibn Al-Qayyim said,
Satan's evil is limited to six categories that he uses with the son of
Aadam till he traps him inone or more of them. Thefirst evil is the
evil of disbelief, polytheism, andenmity toward Allaah TheAlmighty and
His Messenger . If he succeeds in dragging man into this, his pain is
assuaged and he is spared hard work with him. This is the first aim he
wants to achieve fromthe slave until he commits a share of it.
If Satan despairs of him in this respect and the person is destined to
be aMuslim since he was in the womb of his mother, Satan would move to
the second category of evil, i.e. religious innovation which is more
loveable tohim than immorality and sins. That is because the harm of
religious innovation affects the religion itself, and this is a
transitive harm. If Satanfails to take man to this level, he would
move to the third category of evil,i.e. major sins with their various
forms. Satan is very keen to make man fall into the major sins. If he
fails, he would move to the fourth category, i.e. minor sins which, if
accumulated, destroy those who do them, as the Prophet said: "Beware
of committing minor sins, for they accumulate till they destroy the
man. It is like a man who camped in the wilderness, and one man
brought a stick, another man brought a stick, and so on, until they
accumulated a lot, then they lit a fire and cooked their food."
[Saheeh]
If Satan fails in this level, he would move to the fifth category, he
would busy the man with lawfulthings that command no reward or
punishment. The consequence of such things lies in missing the reward
for the acts that these things distracted him from. If Satan fails in
this level and the man made good use of his time and he is aware of
the value of his breaths and their loss and the corresponding bliss
and punishment, Satan wouldmove to the sixth category, i.e. busying
the man with less virtuous acts at the expense of more virtuous ones.
By doing so, Satan takes virtue away from the man and makes him lose
the reward of highly virtuous acts by enticing and urging him to do
lessvirtuous acts and beautifying them for himshould this involve
leaving a more and higher virtuous act.
If Satan fails in the six categories and feels powerless, he lets his
assistants from humans and jinn attack the man with all sorts of harm,
accusations of disbelief, misguidance, and religious innovation and
warning people about him. Satan resorts to this method in order to
extinguish man's enthusiasm, confuse his heart, busy his thoughts, and
prevent people from benefiting from him. Therefore, Satan
uninterruptedly devotes his endeavors to instigating the falsifiers
from human and jinn devils at him.'
Mu'aath sighed and said,"What is the way out then, Shaykh Yoosuf?"
Shaykh Yoosuf replied quickly, "Scholars mentioned several
fortifications that I will tell you about briefly.
1. Seeking refuge with Allaah The Almighty from Satan. Allaah The
Almighty Says (what means): {And if there comes to you from Satan an
evil suggestion, then seek refuge in Allaah. Indeed, He is the
Hearing,the Knowing.} [Quran 41:36]
2. Reading Surahs Al-Falaq and An-Naas.
3. Reading Ayat-ul-Kursi (Verse of the Chair).
4. Reading the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah.
5. Reading Surah Al-Baqarah.
6. Saying "La ilaaha illa Allaah, wahdahu la shareeka lah,
lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadeer"(There
is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah. Heis One and He has no
partner with Him; His is the sovereignty and His isthe praise, and He
is Omnipotent)" one hundred times. It was narrated on the authorityof
Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said:
"A Muslim who says "La ilaaha illa Allaah, wahdahu la shareeka
lah,lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadeer
(There is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah. He is One and He
has no partner with Him; His is the sovereignty and His isthe praise,
and He is Omnipotent)" one hundred times a day, he will have a reward
equivalent to that for emancipating ten slaves, a hundred good deeds
will be recorded to his credit, a hundred of his sins will be erased
from his scroll, and he will be safeguarded against the Devil on that
day till the evening; and no one will exceed him in doing more
excellent good deeds except someone who has recited these words more
often than him." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
7. One of the most useful fortifications from Satan is frequent
remembrance of Allaah, the Almighty.
8. Avoiding unnecessary looking, talk, food, and mixing with
people, since Satan dominates the son of Aadam and achieves his aim
from him through these four channels.
9. Ablution and prayer are among the strongest
fortifications from Satan.
10. Purification of listening or keeping one's ear away from
listening to falsehood.
11. Spending in the Cause of Allaah The Almighty.
12. Following the authentic Sunnah (Prophetic tradition). Thisis
the most important cure for possessed people. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim
said, "Whoever wants to get rid of this scourge, should be certain
that the right course is to follow the Messenger of Allaah in words
and actions, and be determined to follow his way with no doubt that he
is following the right path. He should be certain that disobeying him
is a result of Satan's insinuation and whisperings and that Satan is
an enemy to him and does not call him to any form of goodness; rather,
he calls his party to be denizens of the Blazing Fire."
"Now, do you think that you are able to confront Satan, or that you
are not, Mu'aath?"
Mu'aath answered enthusiastically, "Of course, I will be able to
confront him and defeat him as well — Allaah willing." - - ▓███▓
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The eternal enemy - I

Mu'aath came on time to meet Shaykh Yoosuf as usual to learn something
new about adherence to Islam. Shaykh Yoosuf met him with much
affection and cheerfulness and they sat together. ShaykhYoosuf began
to speak, saying, "How are you, Mu'aath?"
Mu'aath replied with a smile, "Very well, Shaykh Yoosuf. And you?"
Shaykh Yoosuf replied, "Praise be to Allaah! I am in the best of
conditions. We will go directly to ourtopic today because it is
serious and extremely important."
Mu'aath straightened up and said expectantly, "Shaykh Yoosuf, what is
this topic?"
Shaykh Yoosuf replied in a grave voice, "It is the barriers or
obstacles of adherence to Islam that the practising Muslim faces on
his way to AllaahThe Almighty. The first of these obstacles is the
devil. Listen, Mu'aath! It isan eternal enmity and everlasting hatred
and incessant temptation until the coming of the Hour. These words
brieflyexpress the feelings that the devil harbors for us since his
expulsion from Paradise. He was expelledfrom it, and rather expelled
from the Mercy of Allaah The Almighty when he refused to prostrate
himself to our ancestor Aadam (Adam) and behaved arrogantly. Ever
since that moment, Satan harbors enmity toward the children of Aadam
and tries his best to bar them from the path of their Lord and
overturn them in Hell, as will be done to him on the Day of
Resurrection – Allaah willing.
The devil has no direct authority over man, but he takes advantage of
man's ignorance and the ardent desire of his soul to gratify its
needs. So, the devil beautifies the ideas and actions that agree with
its inclination,persistently whispers andtempts it, which in turn
exerts pressure on the heart till it submits to it and takes the
decision that complies with its whim.
Therefore, Allaah The Almighty warned us against following the devil
and informed us that he beautifies the action for the soul gradually
so as not to confront stiff resistance. Allaah The Almighty says (what
means): } O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of
Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins
immorality and wrongdoing. { [Quran 24:21] Allaah The Almighty reminds
us of the role of the devil, saying (what means):
} And Satan had made pleasing to them their deeds and averted them
from the path. { [Quran 29:38]
} Satan promises them and arouses desire in them. But Satan does not
promise them except delusion. { [Quran 4:120]
} But Satan whispered to them to make apparent to them that which was
concealed from them of their private parts .} [Quran 7:20]
The Quran alerts us that the devil, in crucial moments and after
beautifying evil deeds forman until he commits them, deserts him.
Allaah The Almighty says (what means):
} And [remember] when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and
said, "No one can overcome you today from among the people, and
indeed, I am your protector." But when the two armies sighted each
other, he turned on his heels and said, "Indeed, I am disassociated
from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fear Allaah. And
Allaah is severe in penalty." { [Quran 8:48]
} [The hypocrites are] likethe example of Satan when he says to
man,"Disbelieve." But when he disbelieves, he says,"Indeed, I am
disassociated from you. Indeed, I fear Allaah, Lordof the Worlds." {
[Quran 59:16]
On the Day of Judgment, the devil will remind his followers that he
had no authority over them, but he just invited their souls to evil
and they answered him. Allaah TheAlmighty says (what means): } And
Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, "Indeed,Allaah had
promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed
you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and
you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I
cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be calledto my aid. Indeed,
I deny your association of me [with Allaah] before. Indeed, for the
wrongdoers is a painful punishment." { [Quran 14:22]

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Dought & clear, - He works in a companythat stores files of various companies, including insurance companies and riba-based banks.

I work in a company whose main work is storage of files and documents
belonging to various companies, but these companies includebanks and
insurance companies. I work in thewarehouse, carrying the boxes that
contain the files and putting them inthe right place, then when there
is a request for any box, I bring it. Please note that every client of
the company has his own number andI only know a few of the client.
What is the ruling on my work?
Praise be to Allah.
As this storage of files belonging to the companies is something that
helps the companiesto do their work, because these files undoubtedly
contain everything that they need of contracts, accounts, documents
and other things that are essential to their business;
And as these companies include insurance companies and riba-based
banks, your work in storing these files is regarded as cooperating
with the insurance companies and riba-based banks in their haraam
work. Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness
and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And
fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment"[al-Maa'idah 5:2].
What the Muslim must do is give up disobeying Allah, may He be
exalted,and not help the sinner in his sin. You stated thatyou only
know a few of the clients. Based on that, you cannot avoid falling
into haraam (which is helping the insurance companies and riba-based
banks) except by leaving this job, because it is a mixture of halaal
and haraam work, and you are certain that you are inevitably falling
into haraam.
If a person gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will
compensate him with something better than it.
We will quote to you some of the fatwas of the scholars that have to
do with your issue, so that you will understandthat the least
cooperation with these riba-based organisationscomes under the heading
of cooperating or helping in sin and transgression, which is something
that Allah, may He be exalted, has forbidden to His believing slaves.
The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked about a person who
works as a guard ina bank.
They replied: It is not permissible for a Muslim to work as a guard in
banks that deal with riba, because this comes under the heading of
co-operating in sin and transgression, which Allah has forbidden as He
says (interpretation of the meaning): "but donot help one another in
sin and transgression" [al-Maa'idah 5:2]. And most of the banks deal
with riba. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 15/43
The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was also asked:
I work as a typist and sometimes I am asked to type letters to some
banks to carry out some transactions, including cases where the
company lends the bank (or borrows from it) a sum of money with a
commission of such and such a percentage of thevalue of the loan. I
hope that you can advise me as to how Islamically acceptable this work
is with regard to writing these letters.
They replied: Your work recording riba-based transactions is haraam
and the money that you receive in return for thatis also haraam. It is
narrated in a saheeh report that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays
it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it. What you
must do is giveup this job, because in that which is halaal there is
sufficient so thatone has no need of that which is haraam. If a person
gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him
with something better than it.End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 15/60
The committee was also asked:
I work for Aramco in the housing department. This department gives
loans to build accommodation for the workers. These loans
areriba-based according to a fatwa from you. My work in this
department has to do with allocationof land and I have nothing to do
with signing loans, witnessing them and so on. Is there any sin on me
because of my work in this department which gives riba-based loans?
They replied:
If the situation is as you describe, that your workis in allocating
land and not in giving riba-based loans, then your work does not have
anything to do with riba directly, but it involves working with those
who do deal with riba directly, and that is not permissible, because
it comes under the heading of co-operating in sin and transgression.
End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 15/17-18
The following question was also sent to the committee:
I work as an accountant in a newspaper. This newspaper publishes a
page every day that gives news about actors and entertainers, both
male and female. Is there anything wrong with my salary?
They replied:
Most of the news about actors and entertainers, both male and female,
speaks of their evil and deviant ways. It also promotes idle pursuits
and spreads temptation and promotes evil and corruption and other
things that are abhorrent and take away dignity and moral values.
Undoubtedly working in such fields is not permissible because it
involves co-operating in sin and transgression. Based on that, it is
not permissible to take this as a means of earning a living. There are
many ways of earning a living,so one should fear one's Lord. Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a
way for him to get out (from every difficulty).
3. And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine"
[al-Talaaq 65:2-3]
"And whosoever puts histrust in Allaah, then He will suffice him.
Verily, Allaah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allaah has set a
measure for all things"
[al-Talaaq 65:2-3].
End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 15/52-53
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) said:
Dealing with riba is haraam for companies, banks and individuals. It
is not permissible for theMuslim to take a job in places that deal
with riba, even if their dealing with it is minimal, because the one
who works in these organisations and placesthat deal with riba will be
cooperating with them in sin and transgression, and co-operating with
those who deal in riba is also subject to the curse, because the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah has
cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the two who
witness it and the one who writes it down." End quote.
Al-Muntaqa min Fataawaal-Fawzaan, 68/8
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Dought & clear, - How can a seeker of knowledge make a schedule to organise his time?.

Can you advise me as to how a seeker of knowledge can make a schedule
to organise his time?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The status of the seeker of Islamic knowledge is great in Islam.
Allah, mayHe be blessed and exalted, has praised knowledge and those
who seek it, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say: Are those who know equal to those who know not?' It is only men
of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allahs
Signs and Verses)"
[az-Zumar 39:9]
"It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah"
[Faatir 35:28].
It was narrated that Humayd ibn 'Abd ar-Rahmaan said: I
heardMu'aawiyah say, when he was delivering a khutbah: I heard the
Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say:
"When Allaah wills good for a person, He deepenshis knowledge of
Islam.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (71) and Muslim (1037).
It was narrated that 'Abu'd-Darda' said: I heard the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: "Whoever follows
a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allaah will make easy forhim a
path to Paradise. The angels lower their wings in approval of the
seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth prays
for forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in the sea.
The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the
superiority of the moon over all other heavenly bodies. The scholars
are the heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets did not leave behind
dinars or dirhams, rather they left behind knowledge, so whoever takes
it has taken a great share."
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2682), Abu Dawood (3541) and Ibn Maajah
(223); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb, 1/17
Islamic knowledge brings a person the good of this world and of the
Hereafter; it takes precedence over all other branches of knowledge,
especially if one's intention is pure.
See the answer to question no. 10471
Secondly:
The best thing you can spend your time on when beginning to seek
knowledge is memorising the Book of Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted. This is the best thing in which people may compete and
strive, and it is the best thing on which the seeker of knowledge may
focus his efforts.
See the answer to question no. 14035 for information on the advantages
of memorising the Book of Allah.
See the answers to questions no. 7966 and 11561 for information on the
basic principles ofmemorising the Book of Allah.
Thirdly:
One of the things that will make things easier for the seeker of
knowledge is to have many shaykhs and scholars from whom he can learn.
The quickest way to seek knowledge and the best way to attain the goal
is if Allah makes it easy for him to find one shaykh or scholar among
the scholars of the Sunnah, from whom he may acquire knowledge
directly. See the answer to question no. 22037 .
Fourthly:
With regard to organising your time, it may be as follows.
(a)
Have fixed times for regular things every day,such as a time for
sleeping, a time for meals, a time for visits, a time for gatherings,
a time for revision.
(b)
One of the things that will help you make the most of your time and
save time is to put a stopto time wasters such as sleeping, eating and
drinking too much, or meeting people except for Islamically beneficial
purposes. You should also avoid time wasters such as means of
entertainment like TV shows, soap operas, newspapers, magazines,
games, sports matches and competitions.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The seeker of knowledge must make the most of his time and avoid
wasting time. Wasting time may take the following forms:
1. Failing to review and revise what he reads
2. Sitting with his friends and engaging in idle talk in which is no benefit
3. The most harmful time waster for the seeker of knowledge is
when he has no interest except finding out aboutpeople, what they are
saying and what they are doing, with regard to a matter that does
notconcern him. This undoubtedly stems from a weakness of commitment
to Islam, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "Part of a person's beinga good Muslim is leaving alone
that which does not concern him." Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 2318;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
Focusing on who said what and asking a lot of questions is a waste of
time. In fact it is a kind of sickness which if it affects a person –
we askAllah to keep us safe andsound – will become his main focus and
concern and he may end up showing a hostile attitude towards one who
does not deserve enmity, or he may be friendly towards one who does
not deserve friendship, because of his interest in these matters that
are distracting him from seeking knowledge, on the grounds that this
is part of supporting the truth. But that is not the case; rather this
comes under the heading of being distracted by that which does not
concern one. But if news comes to you without you seeking it or
looking for it, everyone receives news but you should notbe
preoccupied with it or focus on it, because this causes distraction
for the seeker of knowledge and may confuse him, and it opens the door
to partisanship and division amongst the ummah.
Kitaab al-'Ilm, p. 143-144
(c)
Another matter that is detrimental to the issue of organising one's
time and making the most of it is procrastination. Procrastination is
a severe disease that deprives one of many good things in this world
and in the Hereafter.
(d)
One of the best ways of succeeding in this world is to keep yourself
busy at all times with that which is best for you and most beneficial
for you in the Hereafter, as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on
him) said:The best act of worship is to strive to please the Lord at
all times by doing that which is mostappropriate and is expected at
any particular time.
Madaarij as-Saalikeen, 1/88
(e)
Investing one's time as much as one can and notwasting a single moment
in anything thatis not an act of obedience or worship. Our early
generations (may Allah have mercy on them) set an amazingexample of
making the most of their time. All seekers of Qur'anic knowledge were
keen to study under Abu Na'eem al-Asfahaani (d. 430) and every day one
of them would have his turn and he would studywhatever he wanted with
the Shaykh until just before Zuhr. Then when he got up to go home,
another student might recite a juz' to himon the way (for him to
listen and correct), and he never showed any impatience.
Saleem ar-Raazi was a Shaafa'i. One day he went home and came back,
and he said: I recited a juz' on my way.Al-Haafiz adh-Dhahabi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said in his biography of al-Khateeb
al-Baghdaadi: The khateeb used to walk with a juz' in his hand, which
he would study.
For forty years, Ibn 'Asaakir (may Allah have mercy on him) – as his
son said – did not focus on anything except matters of knowledge, even
during his free time or when he was alone. He always had with him
books of knowledge and the Qur'an, which he would read and memorise.
They were always keen to make the most of their time by doing more
than one thing at the same time. If the penbecame blunt and he needed
to sharpen it, one of them would move his lips with remembrance of
Allah whilst fixing his pen, or he would review things that he had
memorised lest any time pass without him doing something useful.
Abu'l-Wafa' 'Ali ibn 'Aqeel (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I do
not allow myself to waste even one hour of my life; even when I am not
reading anything or reciting anything, I would think whilst I am
resting of some issues of knowledge and I will notget up until I have
come up with something I can write down.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:I know someone who
fell sick with a headacheand fever, and his book was beside his head.
When he was awake he would read, and when he fell asleep he would put
it down.
(f)
With regard to making aschedule and organisingone's time, that may be
done as follows:
1.
The program of the seeker of knowledge begins at dawn, which isthe
time for memorisation of Qur'an and hadeeth. The best time for
memorising – especially memorising Qur'an – is the time just before
dawn and after Fajr prayer, when the mind is clear and it is easier to
memorise. So the seeker of knowledgeprays in the mosque andremains
there until sunrise or afterwards, memorising and reviewing what he
has memorised. When he has finished that, he begins to memorise
textsof knowledge – the textsof hadeeth, fiqh, usool and Arabic
language.
2.
If he has a job or is in school, he goes to it. Otherwise he spends
the rest of the morning memorising and revisinguntil Zuhr, then he
takes a siesta and rests a little.
3.
As for the afternoon, it isfor studying and reading, or studying with
others, or discussion and reviewing issues of knowledge with others.
4.
After Maghrib, he attends study circles and after 'Isha' he reviews
what he has learnt or he may read a new book.
It should be noted that what we have mentioned here comes under the
heading of organising time in general terms. Each student should
organise his time according to his circumstances, whether he is
working or not, whether he is married orsingle, whether he devotes all
his time to Islamic knowledge or he has some other preoccupations, and
so on. What matters with regard to organising time is that there
should be some hours of the day and night in which he makes himself
memorise and read. People tend to want to rest and like to be somewhat
lazy, so he should train himself to work hard and be active,and he
should make himself get used to being organised and adhere to doing
acts of worship and obedience. Otherwise he will have wasted his day
and then he will have wasted his life.
For information on how to seek knowledge, see the answer to question no. 20191
For information on the etiquette of seeking knowledge, see the answer
to question no. 10324
See also the lecture, Kayfa yunazzim al-Muslim waqtahu (Howthe Muslim
should organise his time) whichis transcribed here:
http://knol.google.com/k/-/-/2344rncejpadn/47#
And Allah knows best.

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