Know Your Enemy IV (Ahadith 2899 – 2906)

Bismillah.

Chapter: The characteristics of Iblis (Satan) and his soldiers

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 500 :
Narrated by Jabir (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “When night falls, keep your children close to you, for the devils spread out then. An hour later you can let them free; and close the gates of your house (at night), and mention Allah’s Name thereupon, and cover your utensils, and mention Allah’s Name thereupon, (and if you don’t have something to cover your utensil) you may put across it something (e.g. a piece of wood etc.).”

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 501 :
Narrated by Safiya bint Huyay (radiallaahu `anhaa)
While Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) was in Itikaf, I called on him at night and having had a talk with him, I got up to depart. He got up also to accompany me to my dwelling place, which was then in the house of Usama bin Zaid. Two Ansari men passed by, and when they saw the Prophet they hastened away. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to them). “Don’t hurry! It is Safiya, the daughter of Huyay (i.e. my wife).” They said, “Glorified be Allah! O Allah’s Apostle! (How dare we suspect you?)” He said, “Satan circulates in the human mind as blood circulates in it, and I was afraid that Satan might throw an evil thought (or something) into your hearts.”

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 502 :
Narrated by Sulaiman bin Surd (radiallaahu `anhu)
While I was sitting in the company of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam), two men abused each other and the face of one of them became red with anger, and his jugular veins swelled (i.e. he became furious). On that the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “I know a word, the saying of which will cause him to relax, if he does say it. If he says: ‘I seek Refuge with Allah from Satan.’ then all is anger will go away.” Some body said to him, “The Prophet has said, ‘Seek refuge with Allah from Satan.”‘ The angry man said, “Am I mad?”

Anger Management

There are means of soothing anger if it arises, which will enable the one who does them to cure himself of anger and its effects. Al-Maawirdi mentioned a good number of them when he said: 

“Remember that there are means of soothing anger if it arises, which a person may use to help himself become patient. These include:

1 – Remembering Allaah, which should make him fear Him; this fear will motivate him to obey Him, so he will resume his good manners, at which point his anger will fade. 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And remember your Lord when you forget”

[al-Kahf 18:24]

‘Ikrimah said: i.e., when you get angry. And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytaan (Satan), then seek refuge with Allaah”

[al-A’raaf 7:200]

i.e., if the Shaytaan makes you angry – then seek refuge with Allaah, for He is the All-Hearer, All-Knower – i.e., He hears the ignorance of the ignorant and He knows the things that take anger away from you.

One of the wise men said: Whoever remembers the power of Allaah will not use his own power to wrong the slaves of Allaah. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Muslim ibn Muhaarib said to Haroon al-Rasheed: “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, I ask You by the One before Whom you are more insignificant than I am before you, and by the One Who has more power to punish you than you have to punish me: why don’t you let me off?” So he left him off, because he had reminded him of the power and might of Allaah.

2 – He should get out of the situation he is in, so that his anger will dissipate because of his moving away from that situation. 

It was narrated that Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to us: “If one of you gets angry when he is standing, let him sit down, and if that does not take away his anger, then let him lie down.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4782; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

3 – He should remember what anger leads to of regret and the need to apologize.

One of the literary figures said: Beware of the pride of anger, for it leads to the humiliation of apology.

4 – He should remember the reward for forgiving others and of being tolerant, so he should force himself to overcome his anger, seeking that reward and so as to avoid deserving blame and punishment.

Raja’ ibn Haywah said to ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan, when he had the power to capture some of his enemies: “Allaah has given you the victory that you wanted, so give Allaah what He wants of forgiveness.” A man said something that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez disliked to hear, so ‘Umar said: “You wanted the Shaytaan to provoke me because of my position so that I would be harsh with you and in return you would harm me tomorrow (i.e., on the Day of Resurrection). Go away, may Allaah have mercy on you.”

5 – He should remind himself of the way that people like and respect him, and he should not risk losing that because of his anger, so that people change their minds about him. He should know that by forgiving people he will only increase the respect with which they view him.

As the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Allaah will not increase a person who forgives others except in honour.” Narrated by Muslim, 2588.

And one of the poets said:

“It is not a trait of nobility to be swift in seeking revenge.

And generosity does not lead to a loss of blessings.”

Taken from Adab al-Dunya wa’l-Deen, p. 258-260.

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 503 :
Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “If anyone of you, on having sexual relation with his wife, says: ‘O Allah! Protect me from Satan, and prevent Satan from approaching the offspring you are going to give me,’ and if it happens that the lady conceives a child, Satan will neither harm it nor be given power over it.”

 

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 504 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) offered a prayer, and (after finishing) he said, “Satan came in front of me trying persistently to divert my attention from the prayer, but Allah gave me the strength to over-power him.”

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 505 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “When the call for the prayer is pronounced, Satan takes to his heels, passing wind with noise, When the call for the prayer is finished, he comes back. And when the Iqama is pronounced, he again takes to his heels, and after its completion, he returns again to interfere between the (praying) person and his heart, saying to him. ‘Remember this or that thing.’ till the person forgets whether he has offered three or four Rakat: so if one forgets whether he has prayed three or four Rak’a-t, he should perform two prostrations of Sahu (i.e. forgetfulness).”

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 506 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “When any human being is born. Satan touches him at both sides of the body with his two fingers, except Jesus, the son of Mary, whom Satan tried to touch but failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead.”

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 507 :
Narrated by Alqama
I went to Sham (and asked. “Who is here?”), The people said, “Abu Ad-Darda.” Abu Darda said, “Is the person whom Allah has protected against Satan, (as Allah’s Apostle said) amongst you”. The sub-narrator, Mughira said that the person who was given Allah’s Refuge through the tongue of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) was ‘Ammar (bin Yasir).

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Know Your Enemy II (Ahadith 2892 – 2894)

Bismillah.

Chapter: The characteristics of Iblis (Satan) and his soldiers

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 493 :
Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “If anyone of you, when having sexual relation with his wife, say: ‘In the name of Allah. O Allah! Protect us from Satan and prevent Satan from approaching our offspring you are going to give us,’ and if he begets a child (as a result of that relation) Satan will not harm it.”

This enemy is not just after you, it’s after your children as well. Do you do enough to protect them?

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 494 :
Narrated by Ibn Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “When the (upper) edge of the sun appears (in the morning), don’t perform a prayer till the sun appears in full, and when the lower edge of the sun sets, don’t perform a prayer till it sets completely. And you should not seek to pray at sunrise or sunset for the sun rises between two sides of the head of the devil (or Satan).”

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 495 :
Narrated by Abu Said Al-Khudri (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “If while you are praying, somebody intends to pass in front of you, prevent him; and should he insist, prevent him again; and if he insists again, fight with him (i.e. prevent him violently e.g. pushing him violently), because such a person is (like) a devil.”

Narrated Muhammad bin Sirin:
Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu) said, “Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) put me in charge of the Zakat of Ramadan (i.e. Zakat-ul-Fitr). Someone came to me and started scooping some of the foodstuff of (Zakat) with both hands. I caught him and told him that I would take him to Allah’s Apostle.” Then Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu) told the whole narration and added “He (i.e. the thief) said, ‘Whenever you go to your bed, recite the Verse of “Al-Kursi” (2.255) for then a guardian from Allah will be guarding you, and Satan will not approach you till dawn.’ ” On that the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “He told you the truth, though he is a liar, and he (the thief) himself was the Satan.”

Know Your Enemy (Ahadith 2888 – 2891)

Bismillah.

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 489 :
Narrated by Abu Wail
Somebody said to Usama (radiallaahu `anhu), “Will you go to so-and-so (i.e. ‘Uthman) and talk to him (i.e. advise him regarding ruling the country)?” He said, “You see that I don’t talk to him. Really I talk to (advise) him secretly without opening a gate (of affliction), for neither do I want to be the first to open it (i.e. rebellion), nor will I say to a man who is my ruler that he is the best of all the people after I have heard something from Allah s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam).” They said, What have you heard him saying? He said, “I have heard him saying, “A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and thrown in the (Hell) Fire, so that his intestines will come out, and he will go around like a donkey goes around a millstone. The people of (Hell) Fire will gather around him and say: O so-and-so! What is wrong with you? Didn’t you use to order us to do good deeds and forbid us to do bad deeds? He will reply: Yes, I used to order you to do good deeds, but I did not do them myself, and I used to forbid you to do bad deeds, yet I used to do them myself.”

Chapter: The characteristics of Iblis (Satan) and his soldiers

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 490 :
Narrated by ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa)
Magic was worked on the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) so that he began to fancy that he was doing a thing which he was not actually doing. One day he invoked (Allah) for a long period and then said, “I feel that Allah has inspired me as how to cure myself. Two persons came to me (in my dream) and sat, one by my head and the other by my feet. One of them asked the other, “What is the ailment of this man?” The other replied, ‘He has been bewitched” The first asked, ‘Who has bewitched him?’ The other replied, ‘Lubaid bin Al-A’sam.’ The first one asked, ‘What material has he used?’ The other replied, ‘A comb, the hair gathered on it, and the outer skin of the pollen of the male date-palm.’ The first asked, ‘Where is that?’ The other replied, ‘It is in the well of Dharwan.’ ” So, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) went out towards the well and then returned and said to me on his return, “Its date-palms (the date-palms near the well) are like the heads of the devils.” I asked, “Did you take out those things with which the magic was worked?” He said, “No, for I have been cured by Allah and I am afraid that this action may spread evil amongst the people.” Later on the well was filled up with earth.

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 491 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “During your sleep, Satan knots three knots at the back of the head of each of you, and he breathes the following words at each knot, ‘The night is, long, so keep on sleeping’. If that person wakes up and celebrates the praises of Allah, then one knot is undone, and when he performs ablution the second knot is undone, and when he prays, all the knots are undone, and he gets up in the morning lively and gay, otherwise he gets up dull and gloomy. “

Volume 4, Book 54, Number 492 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah (radiallaahu `anhu)
It was mentioned before the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) that there was a man who slept the night till morning (after sunrise). The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “He is a man in whose ears (or ear) Satan had urinated.”

Your enemy is out to get you. He has numberless armies at his disposal that watch your every move without being seen. They don’t get tired for a moment yet you sleep for hours unaware of yourself and your surroundings. Are you well-protected? Are you prepared to put up a fight and show your enemy who’s boss? Your strongest weapon is dhikr of Allah. It’ll protect you from all kinds of evils and troubles.

In the hadeeth (narration) it says that Allaah commanded Yahya (peace be upon him) to enjoin five things upon the Children of Israel, one of which was: “I command you to remember Allaah, for this is like a man who is being pursued by the enemy, then he comes to a strong fortress and saves himself from them. Similarly a man cannot save himself from his enemy except by means of dhikr.”
Narrated by al-Haafiz Abu Moosa al-Madani in al-Targheeb fi’l-Khisaal al-Hameedah wa’l-Tarheeb min al-Khilaal al-Murdiyyah.

Troubled by Whispers of Shaytaan? (Hadith No. 2202)

Bismillah.

Ahadith 2194 – 2201 (below) are repeats. Read the related post here.

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 697:
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever manumits a slave owned by two masters, should manumit him completely (not partially) if he is rich after having its price evaluated.”

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 698:
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever frees his share of a common slave and he has sufficient money to free him completely, should let its price be estimated by a just man and give his partners the price of their shares and manumit the slave; otherwise (i.e. if he has not sufficient money) he manumits the slave partially.”

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 699:
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever manumits his share of a slave, then it is essential for him to get that slave manumitted’ completely as long as he has the money to do so. If he has not sufficient money to pay the price of the other shares (after the price of the slave is evaluated justly), the manumitted manumits the slave partially in proportion to his share.

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 700:
Narrated ‘Ubaidullah:
as above BRIEFLY.

 

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 701:
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “He who manumits his share of a slave and has money sufficient to free the remaining portion of that slave’s price (justly estimated) then he should manumit him (by giving the rest of his price to the other co-owners).” Nafi’ added, “Otherwise the slave is partially free.” Aiyub is not sure whether the last statement was said by Nafi’ or it was a part of the Hadith.

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 702:
Narrated Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):
That he used to give his verdict regarding the male or female slaves owned by more than one master, one of whom may manumit his share of the slave. Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) used to say in such a case, “The manumitted should manumit the slave completely if he has sufficient money to pay the rest of the price of that slave (which is to be justly estimated) and the other share-holders are to take the price of their shares and the slave is freed (released from slavery).” Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) narrated this verdict from the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam).

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 703:
Narrated Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu):
that the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever frees his portion of a (common) slave.”

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 704:
Narrated Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever frees his portion of a common slave should free the slave completely by paying the rest of his price from his money if he has enough money; otherwise the price of the slave is to be estimated and the slave is to be helped to work without hardship till he pays the rest of his price.”

Today’s Hadith:

There’s an ayah in the Quran that used to worry the Sahabah a lot:

وَإِن تُبْدُواْ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ

And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. [2:284]

So Allah revealed one verse later what abrogated the above:

لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا

Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. [2:286]

Volume 3, Book 46, Number 705:
Narrated Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu):
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Allah has accepted my invocation to forgive what whispers in the hearts of my followers, unless they put it to action or utter it.”

Ibn Katheer says:
Allah does not ask a soul what is beyond its ability. This only demonstrates Allah’s kindness, compassion and generosity towards His creation.This indicates that although Allah will question His servants and judge them, He will only punish for what one is able to protect himself from. As for what one cannot protect himself from, such as what one says to himself – or passing thoughts – they will not be punished for that. We should state here that to dislike the evil thoughts that cross one’s mind is a part of faith.

In another narration, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said: “Allah will forgive my Ummah for mistakes, forgetfulness and what they are forced to do.” [Ibn Majah 2043]

The Good from Satan (Hadith No. 2002)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 38, Number 505 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) deputed me to keep Sadaqat (al-Fitr) of Ramadan. A comer came and started taking handfuls of the foodstuff (of the Sadaqa) (stealthily). I took hold of him and said, “By Allah, I will take you to Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam).” He said, “I am needy and have many dependents, and I am in great need.” I released him, and in the morning Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked me, “What did your prisoner do yesterday?” I said, “O Allah’s Apostle! The person complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so, I pitied him and let him go.” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Indeed, he told you a lie and he will be coming again.” I believed that he would show up again as Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) had told me that he would return. So, I waited for him watchfully. When he (showed up and) started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of him again and said, “I will definitely take you to Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam). He said, “Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will not come back again.” I pitied him and let him go. In the morning Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked me, “What did your prisoner do.” I replied, “O Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free.” Allah’s Apostle said, “Verily, he told you a lie and he will return.” I waited for him attentively for the third time, and when he (came and) started stealing handfuls of the foodstuff, I caught hold of him and said, “I will surely take you to Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) as it is the third time you promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come.” He said, “(Forgive me and) I will teach you some words with which Allah will benefit you.” I asked, “What are they?” He replied, “Whenever you go to bed, recite “Ayat-al-Kursi”– ‘Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-l-Haiy-ul Qaiyum’ till you finish the whole verse. (If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no satan will come near you till morning. ” So, I released him. In the morning, Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked, “What did your prisoner do yesterday?” I replied, “He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will benefit me, so I let him go.” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked, “What are they?” I replied, “He said to me, ‘Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi from the beginning to the end —- Allahu la ilaha illa huwa-lHaiy-ul-Qaiyum—-.’ He further said to me, ‘(If you do so), Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no satan will come near you till morning.’ (Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu) or another sub-narrator) added that they (the companions) were very keen to do good deeds. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “He really spoke the truth, although he is an absolute liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Huraira?” Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu) said, “No.” He said, “It was Satan.”

I sometimes wonder what Abu Hurairah’s (radiallaahu `anhu) reaction to this information would’ve been.. Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) telling him he was interacting with Shaytan (Satan) for the past three nights. Would he have been surprised, amused, scared..? Definitely not scared, I presume. Satan was the one scared. So scared he taught him something that would benefit him too much against Satan himself. Now, isn’t that amusing? Lol.

This hadith teaches us many things, some of which I’ll mention here:

• We, the believers, are not “rejectors” of the truth, or khayr (good). We accept it from wherever we get it, even from the worst of people. Because the criterion for something to be good or bad is not based on its carrier/messenger but on the thing itself. If it’s a piece of information, we check its authenticity to decide whether we’re going to accept it or not. As in this case, Abu Hurairah (radiallaahu `anhu) confirms what he had heard with the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) to make sure what he had been told was right or not. It didn’t matter to him whether the teller was a thief, or worse, Satan himself!
• We are keen to do good deeds and to learn more. Abu Hurairah (radiallaahu `anhu) let the thief go when he offered to teach him something. Isn’t that fair trade?
• We say Ayat ul Kursi before going to sleep so Allah’s appointed guard doesn’t let Satan even come near us, let alone harm us or give us nightmares. It’s for our protection, and we’re smart enough to make a habit out of it.
• We are honest with our jobs. If we’re on night duty, we’re wide awake and alert. And if we’re put in charge of food/money, we do what we can to protect it from being stolen, or worse, stealing it ourselves.
• We believe the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and every word he said. He predicted (given knowledge of it by Allah, of course) that the thief would come again, and Abu Hurairah (radiallaahu `anhu) believed it to be true. That made him be even more cautious and alert during his night vigil.

Can you think of some more lessons from this hadith? Do share! Were it not for sharing, we wouldn’t be reading this hadith today. :)