Chapter on Describing Vigilance Against the Enemy Iblis

Chapter on the Description of Wariness from the Enemy Iblīs

May God [protect from] him.

He said: This group differed regarding the wariness of him whose wariness was obedience in following the command of God, Exalted and Glorious. This group differed into three factions, all of which are in error except one faction.

One faction among them said: When God, Exalted and Glorious, commands us to struggle against one whom we do not see, and to fear him, and informs us that in his gaining mastery over us lies ruin, then nothing should be in our hearts more dominant over us or more binding upon us than wariness of him. So we watch for whenever he presents himself with his temptation.

For preoccupation away from him begets forgetfulness, and forgetfulness begets the acceptance of his insinuations without recognition, and that leads to ruin.

The khatra (passing thought) is what is feared: that their heedlessness become a vulnerability through which «Satan lies in wait» [TN: likely reference to Quran], so that they look into it and accept it in a state of heedlessness, and a passing thought comes upon them while they are unaware, and they are destroyed.

A group said: That is an error, because of occupying the heart with anticipation of Satan, and we were not commanded to do that. Rather, that is the will of Satan against us. But let us make our hearts adhere to the remembrance of the Hereafter and the remembrance of what befalls us, so that we are not idle from the remembrance of the Hereafter, and so that we are not forgetful of what we have been commanded to be wary of — out of dislike that heedlessness on our part should come upon what we are engaged in of dhikr (remembrance). For the remembrance of God, Exalted and Glorified, was such that if heedlessness from us should corrupt it, and the remembrance of Satan's whisperings — the two stand in opposition in their hearts.

Whenever they remembered anything of the remembrance of the Hereafter, they remembered the enemy out of apprehension that he would come with his temptation as a passing thought, and so it would remove their hearts from the remembrance of God, Exalted and Glorified, or they would incline to that which would nullify their deeds on the Day of their presentation before their Lord, Glorified and Exalted.

Another group — and they are the people of general practice, and most entitled to the truth — said: Both of the two groups are in error.

As for the first, they emptied their hearts of the remembrance of the Hereafter and made their worship consist of obliging their hearts to the remembrance of Satan. They thus introduced the remembrance of Satan into the qalb (heart) — in error — more than they introduced the remembrance of God, Exalted and Glorified, into their hearts.

And they were not commanded to be wary so as to become heedless of remembrance and action. For if you abandon the remembrance, then the enemy has achieved what he intended.

And if a passing thought comes to a heart that is empty of remembrance, it is likely to be accepted, since there is in it no light from the remembrance of the Hereafter, nor strength of occupation with God, Exalted and Glorified.

So you are the weakest in repelling and the most empty of hearts from the Hereafter of anyone, and you were not commanded to lie in wait for him, nor to persist in the remembrance of Satan .

As for the second group,

they have indeed shared with the first in some of the meaning thereof, for when you made the remembrance of God, Exalted and Glorious, and the remembrance of Satan equal in the heart, it is as though you treated them as equivalent — the remembrance of God, Exalted and Glorious, and the remembrance of Satan, and occupation with God, Exalted and Glorious, and occupation with Satan. It has not reached us that anyone among the strong or the weak did this or professed it.

For God, Exalted and Glorious, commanded His servants with obedience to Him, and urged them toward occupation with Him rather than His creation — Iblis and others — and commanded them to be wary of him when his temptation presents itself.

So the friends of God, Exalted and Glorious, and the people of sincerity among His servants occupied themselves with the remembrance of their Lord and the remembrance of what He urged and loved, and they kept their hearts to the wariness He warned them of, without lying in wait for him or occupying themselves with his remembrance.

And wariness is what the heart keeps to of concern for deliverance from the enemy and fear of his temptation, together with occupation with God, Exalted and Glorious. Along with abandoning the remembrance of the enemy, occupation with Him requires that remembrance and alertness arise at the moment the enemy presents his passing thought.

And that is indeed found in what is more intense than worldly matters: if a person sleeps while in his heart there is wariness against the departure of his mind, the wariness is most apt to awaken him and alert him so that his mind does not depart. Likewise the one who is occupied with the remembrance of his Lord: even though he is not constantly vigilant against his enemy, if he is occupied with the remembrance of his Lord and has abandoned the remembrance of his enemy and occupation with him — for sleep without a permanent remembrance in his heart, how can he remember while he is asleep and does not perceive? — yet the wariness awakened him.

Likewise the worker for God, Exalted and Glorious, who is occupied with His remembrance, heedless of the remembrance of Satan through his occupation with his Lord, Exalted and Glorious — when a passing thought from him presents itself, the wariness in his heart reminds him, and the remembrance strengthens him to become alert to the passing thought. The passing thought stirs and he is startled, for there was heedlessness in it. But the sleeper who has no remembrance in his heart and no [inner] alarm to awaken him [is not likewise].

because if it were to assault the heart, it would be distressed by it, for it would be more capable of repelling it. And if a passing thought (khatra) of its mention presented itself, [he would seek refuge] in God, Exalted and Glorious.

The light of occupation [with God] has already overcome him, so caprice (hawā) has been deadened in him, and the intellect has been strengthened in him. [God] restrained ignorance in him and aided him with the light of knowledge, so he repels it with the easiest of repulsion.

And the likeness of the one who empties his heart, or part of it, in anticipation of a passing thought from Satan, is the likeness of one who wants to bail out a running stream, and so he wastes his days in bailing while the well has not dried up of water.

And the likeness of the one who adhered to occupation with God, Exalted and Glorious, in his heart is the likeness of one who made a dam for its channel. So when the water came, he blocked it with the dam and the weir without hardship or toil. Thus the well was purified of filth from what had been flowing, and his labor and effort in bailing were reduced.

Likewise, whoever occupied himself with God, Exalted and Glorious, repels passing thoughts (khawātir) through his heart's occupation with his Lord, Exalted and Glorious, and His light, and the strength of his resolve, with the easiest of repulsion.

So this immersion in the Quran, the Sunna, and the righteous is more adherent, and in repelling passing thoughts is stronger and further from deception and deficiency. So adhere to vigilance (ḥadhar), with their hearts free of occupation with the enemy. And let them not fear the decreed [trials] apart from Him, Exalted and Glorious. Rather, let it be in obedience to God, in trust in God (tawakkul) in Him, and in following His command. And let them hasten to occupation with their Lord, Glorious and Mighty, and to turning away from occupation with Satan and his mention.

For they are constant in their occupation with their Lord, and through vigilance when a passing thought presents itself they are alert, and through the strength of occupation with God the repelling of the passing thought is made easy for them when it presents itself as a trial (fitna). So they are safe and they have gained spoils, and they follow [the right path] and they remain upright.