''The Story of the Visit of Satan''

The Story of the Visit of Satan, the
Accursed
This story reaches us from two
sources. In our Efendi's Irshad is a
Hadith through Hazrat Anas ibn
Malik (ra). In the last chapter of
Hazrat Muhyiddin ibn Arabi's book
Shajarat al-kawn ("The Tree of
Being") is a version derived from a
Hadith related by Mu'adh ibn Jabal
from Hazrat Anas (ra). It is given
below, supplemented by additional
information from Hazrat Anas' report.
Sayyid Sharif Jurjani interprets
Sharjarah in the title of Hazrat Ibn
Arabi's book as "The Perfect Man"
and kawn as "the scale of Being to
which all beings should be compared
for their qualification." The work
describes the Perfect Man, Allah's
Beloved and ours, the Light of
Creation, Prophet Mohammad (saw).
Insha'Allah one day it will be
translated for the benefit and growth
of my ikhwan and the family of the
Path and Islam. In the meantime, this
story with which we are partly
familiar seemed to me most
instructive. May Allah forgive me if I
verbalize wrongly, but it seemed to
me as if it is giving the raw material
to the ones who wish and hope to
become perfect men.
From us the humble retelling, from
Allah the Understanding.
One day a congregation was gathered
at the home of one of the Ansar
around the Prophet (saw). [According
to Hazrat Anas it was Abu Ayyub] In
the middle of a wonderful discourse
an ugly voice from the outside was
heard saying, "O the ones inside, (or ,
"O Messenger of Allah!") would you
permit me to enter? I have business
with you!"
All looked at the Prophet (saw), who
said to the ones present, "Do you
recognize the owner of this voice?"
The Companions answered, "Allah
and His Messenger know best."
The Prophet (saw) said, "It is Satan
the Accursed."
On hearing that, Hazrat Umar (ra),
who was present, pulling his sword,
asked, "O Messenger of Allah, permit
me to go and cut off his head!" ["Let
me smash his skull and free the
people from his trouble!"]
The Prophet (saw) replied, "No Umar,
don't you know that you cannot kill
him? He has permission to exist until
Qiyaamah." Then he added, "Open
the door and admit him, as he did
not come on his own but on Allah's
orders. [Or, "There is always an
underlying reason for things.]
Otherwise, he would not have come
here. Listen to what he says, and try
to understand."
Then Rawi (ra), one of the
Companions, relates the tale:
They opened the door and he
appeared ion front of us as an old
man, cross-eyed [or blind in one eye]
and scant of beard, with only six or
seven long hairs hanging from his
chin. He had a very big head, his
crossed eyes close to the top of his
head, high on his forehead, with big
thick hanging lips like those of a
water buffalo. He saluted the Prophet
and the Companions, to which the
Prophet (saw) responded, 'O
Accursed, the salaam and salutations
belong to Allah Most high.' Then he
said, 'I heard you are here on
business. What is it?' Satan said, 'I
did not wish to come here, I was
forced to - an angel came to me from
your Lord, Who honors whom He
wishes, and said, "Allah Most High
orders you to Muhammad, but you
will go to him in humility and
abasement, and be submissive and
tractable. You will tell him how you
seduce and mislead humankind. You
are going to answer all his questions
truthfully, without a single lie." And
Allah said that if I lied to you He
would turn me into ashes and blow
me away in the wind, and my
enemies would laugh at me. I come
with such orders, O Muhammad.'
Then the Prophet asked the Devil,
'Tell me, who in the creation do you
hate most?'
The Devil answered, 'You O
Muhammad! ['And all the Prophets']
There is no one in the whole creation
that I hate more. There is none other
like you.'
The Messenger of Allah (saw)
[confirmed that the Devil was his
own, and all the Prophets' (as)
greatest foe]. He asked, 'Whom else
do you detest besides me?'
Satan said, 'The young ones who
have given up their pleasures and
themselves for Allah's sake; the men
of knowledge who act upon their
knowledge and who decline all that is
doubtful; the ones who are clean. So
clean that they wash thrice that
which they wish to cleanse. Then the
patient poor, who neither ask from
others the things they need, nor
complain. Then the thankful rich, who
give alms lawfully and spend lawfully.
[Hazrat Anas lists fourteen enemies
after the Prophets (as): the
knowledgeable who act on what they
know; readers of the Qur'an who
pattern themselves on it; those who
call to prayer for Allah's sake; the
satisfied poor; the compassionate;
the generous; those who perform the
morning prayer on time; advisors and
reformers; abstainers from unlawful
food and sexual relations; those who
are always in ablution; the modest;
those who place their trust in Allah;
benefiters of the poor; the devout
busy in Allah's service.]
Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What
happens to you, O Accursed One,
when my people do their prayers?'
'I shake and tremble as if stricken
with malaria because I see your
people raised in blessing and power
each time they prostrate.'
'What happens to you, O Accursed,
when my people fast?'
'I have my hands and feet tied until
they break their fast.'
'What happens when they all meet on
the Hajj at the house of their Lord?'
'I lose my wits, I go mad'
'What happens to you when they
recite the Holy Qur'an?'
'I melt, like lead turning to hot liquid
in the fire.'
'And when they pay alms?'
'I am torn to pieces, as if the
generous donor took a saw and
sawed me into four pieces. Because
there are four beatitudes which the
donor receives - the blessing of
abundance, love and respect from
Allah's creatures, a shield from
hellfire, and relief from distress and
troubles.'
Then the Messenger of Allah (saw)
asked the Devil what he thought of
his beloved Companions. About
Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) he said, 'I hate
him. Even before Islam he refused to
obey, nay! Even to hear me. How can
he now listen to me?' About Hazrat
Umar ibn Al-Kattab (ra) he said, 'I
run away whenever I see him!' About
Hazrat Uthman ibn Affan (ra) he said,
'I am ashamed in front of him. Even
the angels of mercy are ashamed in
front of him.' And about Hazrat Ali
ibn Abu Talib (ra) he said, 'O if I
could just be safe from him, if he
would just let me be, I would let him
be. But he will not leave me alone!'
Having heard the answers of the
accursed Satan the Prophet (saw)
thanked Allah and said, 'Praise be to
Allah Who has blessed my people
with such felicity and cursed you with
such negativity until that appointed
time.'
When the Devil heard that, he said,
'Alas, alas for you, what felicity for
your people? How can you feel there
is safety for them as long as I exist? I
enter their very veins, their very flesh,
and they cannot even suspect, let
alone see or feel me. I swear by Allah
Who has given me time until
Qiyaamah that I will seduce them all,
the intelligent and the simple-
minded, the learned as well as the
ignorant, the devout as well as the
sinner. None will be safe from me
except the true servants of Allah.'
The Prophet (saw) asked, 'Who are
the true servants of Allah, according
to you?'
The Devil said, 'You know well, O
Muhammad, that whomsoever loves
his money and his property Allah
does not count among his servants.
Whenever I see someone who does
not say "mine" and "me" , who does
not love either money or flattery, I
know he is truly a servant of Allah
and I run away from him. As long as
one loves money, property, flattery, he
obeys me, he is my servant. I need
many servants and I have many
servants. I am not alone. I have
70,000 children, each of them with
his assigned duties. Each of my
70,000 children has 70,000 satans
serving him, all assigned to different
posts. Many are with the young
people and older women, and with
the theologians and preachers and
shaykhs. There are almost no
differences of opinion between your
young people and my devils, and your
children play happily with my
children. And some of the devout and
some of the pious get along very well
with my people! My devils lead the
imagination of the pious from one
height to another. Arrogant, they
leave the sincerity of their devotions.
Soon they fight with each other, and
they don't even know what is
happening to them. Then I whisper to
them, "Disbelieve!", but when they
disbelieve, I say, "I am free of you.
Surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the
Worlds." (Surah al-Hashr, ayat 16).'
Then the accursed Devil told how he
profited from habits of man which he
liked. About lying he said, 'Do you
know, O Muhammad, that lying is
from me and that I am the first liar?
Whoever lies is my best friend;
whoever swears to the truth of his
lies is my beloved. You know, O
Muhammad that I swore by Allah and
lied to Adam and Eve. I swore to
them both, "Surely I am a sincere
advisor to you." (Surah al-Araf, ayat
21) I also love rejection and gossip.
They are my delightful fruits. I detest
loving families. If they think of
rejecting each other, separating from
each other, and talk about divorce,
even if just once, the marriage bond
in Allah's view is dissolved. The wife
will be unlawful to the husband.
When they sleep together, they will be
adulterers. If they have a child he will
be a bastard. I love all that.
'O Muhammad, let me tell you about
my friends who abandon prayers or
delay them. When it is time for prayer
I make them imagine that there is
still time, that they are busy. They
should enjoy what they are doing,
they can always pray later! I hope
they will die before doing their next
prayer, and some of them do. Even
when they do their prayers late, their
devotions are thrown in their faces. If
I cannot succeed myself, I send them
a human satan who will prevent them
from their devotions. If I don't
succeed again, I enter into their
prayers. I tell them, "Look to the
right, look to the left! Think of the
past, plan your future!" And when
they do I caress their cheeks and kiss
their foreheads and take the peace
from their hearts. You know, O
Muhammad, that the prayers of those
whose attention is outside of them or
who are imagining things which do
not belong in the presence of Allah
are also rejected and thrown in their
faces. And if I am not successful in
that, I order them to do their prayers
fast, and they
look like hens picking at grain. If I
still don't succeed, I follow them to
the congregational prayers and put
bridles on their heads. I pull, and lift
their heads from the prostration
before the imam, and I push their
heads down before the imam touches
his head to the ground, and I am
overjoyed to remember that Allah will
turn those unruly heads into donkeys'
heads on the Day of Judgment. If I
am still not successful, I try at least
to make them crack their fingers
while they are making prayers. Then
they will be among those who make
my tasbih instead of Allah's tasbih.
Or at least I will blow into their noses
and make them yawn, and if they
open their mouths a little devil will
enter into them through their mouths
and increase their love and ambition
for this world. The one who loves and
is ambitious for this world becomes
my soldier; he obeys me and does as
he is ordered.
'O Muhammad, if I have told a single
lie, may scorpions bite me, and ask
from Allah that he turn me into
ashes. O Muhammad, do not be sure
of your people. I have already
converted a sixth of them, who have
left their religion.'
Then the Messenger of Allah (saw)
asked, 'O Accursed One, with whom
do you most like to spend your time?'
'The usurer.'
'And your best friend?'
'The adulterer.'
'With whom do you share your bed?'
'The drunkard.'
'Who are your guests?'
'The thieves.'
'Who are your representatives?'
'The magicians and soothsayers.'
'What pleases you most?'
'Divorce'
'Whom do you love most?'
'Those who abandon their Friday
prayers.'
[Hazrat Anas (ra) gives eight friends
of Satan: tyrants and oppressors; the
arrogant; servile scholars who hide
the truth for the benefit of tyrants;
dishonest tradesmen; drinkers of
alcohol; dealers in fraud; slanderers;
those who stir up trouble among
friends.]
Then the Prophet (saw) asked, 'What
breaks your heart, O Accursed One?'
'The determination and the firm
footsteps of those who march against
the enemies of Allah for Allah's sake.'
'What gives you pain?'
'The repentance of the penitent.'
'What makes you grimace?'
'The alms given in secret.'
'What makes your eyes blind?'
'The tahajjud prayer in the middle of
the night.'
'What makes you bow your head?'
'Prayer done in congregation.'
The Prophet (saw) continued asking:
'O Satan, according to you, who are
the happiest among people?'
'The ones who purposefully abandon
their prayers.'
'And the best among people?'
'The miser.'
'What prevents you from doing your
job?'
'The gathering of men of knowledge
and their discourses.'
'How do you eat your food?'
'With my left hand and the tips of my
fingers.'
'When the sun is hot, where do you
seek shade?'
'Under people's dirty fingernails.'
Then the Messenger of Allah (saw)
asked, 'What did you ask from my
Lord on the day you were rejected
from His presence?'
'I had ten requests which were
accorded.'
'What were they, O Accursed One?'
'I asked Allah to make me a partner
in the properties and children of the
children of Adam. He gave that to
me, and He said, "And incite whom
thou canst with thy voice, and collect
against them thy horse and thy foot,
and share with them in wealth and
children, and promise them. And the
Devil promises them only to
deceive." (Surah Bani Isra'il, ayat 64).
I eat from the meat of animals killed
without the basmalah and from the
food bought by money gained
through interest, injustice, and
tyranny. I am the shareholder of the
property whose owner does not take
refuge in Allah from me. I am part
father of the child which comes from
intercourse performed without the
basmalah. I am the traveling
companion of the one who rides a
vehicle which is going to an unlawful
destination.
'I asked Allah to give me a house,
and He gave me the public baths. I
asked Allah to give me a temple, and
He gave me the marketplaces as my
temple. I asked Allah to give me a
book. He gave me the books of
poetry as my book. I asked for a call
to prayer, and He gave me the
dancing music. I asked for someone
to share my bed, and He gave me the
drunkard. I asked Allah for helpers.
Allah gave me those who believe in
free will. I asked Allah to give me
brothers and sisters, and Allah gave
me the squanderers who spend their
money on evil things. Allah said,
"Surely the squanderers are the
Devil's brethren" (Surah Bani Isra'il,
ayat 27). Then I asked Allah to be
able to see the children of Adam
while they are unable to see me, and
He accorded that to me. I wished that
the very veins of the children of Adam
be my routes, and it was given to me.
So I flow in their veins as I wish and
enter their flesh. All these were given
to me, and I am proud of what I have
received. And let me add, O
Muhammad, that there are more with
me than there are with you, and until
Qiyaamah there will be more with me
than there are with you.'
Then the Prophet(saw) said, 'If you
had not proven what you said with
the verses of Allah's Book, it would
have been hard for me to confirm
what you say.'
The Devil continued, 'Do you know, O
Muhammad, that I have a son whose
name is Atam (in Arabic, the first
third of the night)? He pisses in the
ear of the people who go to sleep
without performing their night
prayers. His urine puts them to sleep,
otherwise no one could have gone to
bed without finishing their prayers.
Then I have a son whose name is
Mutaqadi (in Arabic, one who presses
for payment). His duty is to publicize
the prayers, the devotions, the good
deeds which are done in secret for
Allah's sake, because Allah promises
to reward the good deed done
secretly a hundred fold. When deeds
are publicized and receive credit and
praise from the creatures of Allah,
Allah takes away ninety-nine of the
promised one hundred rewards. Then
I have a son whose name is Kuhayl
(kohl). His duty is to put kohl on the
eyes of those in the presence of wise
men or preachers. The ones whose
eyes he has touched start falling
asleep. They are thus prevented from
hearing the words of Allah or
receiving any benefit from them.'
The Devil talked about women. He
said, 'Whenever a woman leaves her
seat a devil sits in her place. On the
lap of every woman sits a satan who
makes her desirable to whoever looks
at her. Then he orders the woman to
open and show her arms, her legs,
and her breasts, and with his claws
tears her veil of shame and decency.'
Then the Devil started to complain.
He said, 'O Muhammad, in spite of all
this I have no strength to take away
the faith of the faithful. I only take
away their faith when they throw it
away. If I were able, there would be
no one on the face of this world who
could say LA ILAHA ILLALLAH,
MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH, "There is
no god but Allah, and Muhammad is
his Messenger." I would not leave a
single one to pray or fast. All I can do
is to give the children of Adam
imaginations, illusions and delusions,
make the ugly appear beautiful, the
wrong, right, and the bad, good.
Neither do you have the power to give
faith. You are only a proof of the
truth, because I know that if you were
given the power to give true faith you
would not leave a single non-believer
on the face of this world. The
fortunate one who is a believer is
fortunate in his mother's womb, and
the rebellious sinner is a rebel in his
mother's womb. As you are the guide
of the fortunate, I am only the cause
of sin of the ones who are destined to
sin. Allah is He Who renders one
fortunate and another rebellious.'
Then he recited form Surah Hud,
'"And if thy Lord has mercy, and for
this did He create them. And the
word of thy Lord is fulfilled. I shall fill
Hell with jinn and men
altogether." (Surah Hud, ayat
118-119).' He recited from Surah
Ahzab, ayat 38: '"And the command
of Allah is a decree that is made
absolute."'
Then the Mercy upon the Universe
told the Devil, 'O Father of All
Bitterness, I wonder if it is at all
possible for you to repent and return
to your Lord. I promise I would
intercede for you.'
The Accursed One answered, 'O
Messenger of Allah, it is Allah's
justice. The ink on the pen which
wrote the judgment is dry. What will
happen will happen until Qiyaamah.
The One Who made you the master of
all the Prophets, the speaker for the
inhabitants of Paradise, the One Who
chose you to be the beloved amongst
all his creation, chose me to be the
master of sinners and the speaker for
the inhabitants of Hell. He is Allah,
devoid of all lack. O Muhammad, this
which I have told you is my last word
to you, and I have told nothing but
the truth.'"
"All praise is due to Allah the Lord of
all the worlds which existed before
and which will exist after, visible and
invisible. And Allah's blessings upon
our beloved master, the Beloved of
Allah, Mercy upon the Universe, and
upon his household and progeny and
companions and friends who are
loved by him, and upon the ones who
love him."