The Deceptions of Satan

The Third Point

One of Satan’s deceptions that disturbs human social life is this: by emphasizing a single bad deed of a believer, he causes all his good deeds to be overshadowed. Merciless people who listen to this deception of Satan then harbour enmity toward that believer.

Yet when Allah weighs people’s deeds on the Day of Judgment with absolute justice, He judges according to the balance between good deeds and bad deeds. He may even forgive many bad deeds for the sake of a single good deed, since there are countless temptations that lead people toward evil deeds, and those deeds are easy to commit. In this world, therefore, one should act according to this Divine justice. If a person’s good deeds, both in quantity and in quality, outweigh his bad deeds, that person deserves love and respect. Indeed, because of even one valuable good deed he has performed, many of his bad deeds should be overlooked.

However, because of his innate inclination toward injustice and because of Satan’s deception, the human being may disregard a hundred good deeds of his Muslim brother because of one bad deed, become hostile toward him, and fall into sin. For example, if the wing of a fly falls upon the eye, it may cover even a mountain and make it invisible. In the same way, because of a hostile heart, the human being covers very great good deeds with a very small bad deed. He harbours enmity toward his Muslim brother and thus becomes a means of disruption within human society.

Furthermore, Satan employs a similar deception by which he disturbs the human being’s sound thoughts, pure views, and healthy reasoning concerning the truths of īmān. Although “one person who provides proof is preferable to countless deniers” and “the position of a witness who supports a matter with evidence is preferable to that of a hundred opponents” are established principles, Satan tries to undermine the force of a hundred proofs concerning the truths of īmān by means of a single contrary indication. Consider how baseless this deception of Satan is through the following comparison:

Let us imagine a palace with a hundred doors. If one of those doors is opened, the palace may be entered, and the remaining doors may also be opened. If all the doors are open except one or two, it cannot be claimed that the palace is inaccessible.

Indeed, the truths of īmān are that palace. Each proof is a key that unlocks a door. If one door remains locked, those truths of īmān cannot be rejected or denied. Satan, however, points to a door that, for whatever reason, has remained locked through heedlessness or ignorance. In this way, he diverts attention from all the affirming proofs. He deceives by saying: “Do you not see that locked door? This palace cannot be entered. Perhaps it is not even a palace, and perhaps it is empty inside.”

O helpless human being who falls prey to the deceptions of Satan! If you desire the soundness of your religious life, your personal life, and your social life, and if you wish to possess a sound mind, a correct view, and a pure heart, then take the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) as your guide, and weigh your deeds and views in accordance with them. Say:

اَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

and seek refuge in Allah.