Satan has many ways to misguide. Below we mention some of these ways because as long as there is life in a human body, he has sworn to misguide that person, as mentioned in the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Observe:
«عن ابي سعيد الخدري قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: إن إبليس قال لربه بعزتك وجلالك لا أبرح أغوي بني آدم ما دامت الارواح فيهم فقال له الله فبعزتي وجلالي لا أبرح أغفر لهم وماستغفروني»
“The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said that Satan said: O Lord! By Your Honor! I will continue to misguide Your servants as long as their souls remain in their bodies. Allah Almighty said: By My Honor and Majesty! I will continue to forgive them as long as they keep seeking forgiveness from Me.”
1. Whispering (Waswasa):
The command of the Almighty Allah is:
﴿مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ ﴿٤﴾ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ ﴿٥﴾ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ ﴿٦﴾
“From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws, who whispers in the hearts of mankind, among jinn and among men.”
At one place He said:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِّنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ ﴿٢٠١﴾
“Indeed, those who fear [Allah] when an evil suggestion comes from Satan to them, they become alert, and their eyes are opened suddenly.”
«عن على بن حسين عن صفية بنت حيي قالت قال إن الشيطان يجرى من ابن آدم مجرى الدم»
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Satan runs through the veins of humans just as blood circulates through the veins. I feared that he might implant something in your heart.”
2. Forgetfulness:
One way Satan misleads is by making a person forget something. Allah’s command is:
﴿اسْتَحْوَذَ عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَأَنسَاهُمْ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ حِزْبُ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ أَلَا إِنَّ حِزْبَ الشَّيْطَانِ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ﴿١٩﴾
“Satan has overcome them, so he made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Those are the party of Satan; surely, the party of Satan are the losers.”
In another place, it is said:
﴿قَالَ أَرَأَيْتَ إِذْ أَوَيْنَا إِلَى الصَّخْرَةِ فَإِنِّي نَسِيتُ الْحُوتَ وَمَا أَنسَانِيهُ إِلَّا الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ أَذْكُرَهُ ۚ وَاتَّخَذَ سَبِيلَهُ فِي الْبَحْرِ عَجَبًا ﴿٦٣﴾
“He replied, ‘Did you see when we took rest by the rock? I forgot the fish there; and none but Satan made me forget to mention it to you. And it took its course into the sea in a strange way.'”
In one place, Allah Almighty said in the Holy Quran:
﴿وَقَالَ لِلَّذِي ظَنَّ أَنَّهُ نَاجٍ مِّنْهُمَا اذْكُرْنِي عِندَ رَبِّكَ فَأَنسَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ ذِكْرَ رَبِّهِ فَلَبِثَ فِي السِّجْنِ بِضْعَ سِنِينَ ﴿٤٢﴾
“And he to whom Joseph thought would set him free said to his master, ‘Mention me before your master.’ But Satan made him forget to mention it to his master, and Joseph remained in prison for several years.”
3. Hopes and False Promises:
One of the ways Satan misleads is by making people indulge in long, unrealistic hopes. People set long, unrealistic hopes. Allah Almighty says:
﴿لَّعَنَهُ اللَّهُ ۘ وَقَالَ لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا ﴿١١٨﴾ وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذَانَ الْأَنْعَامِ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّخِذِ الشَّيْطَانَ وَلِيًّا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ خَسِرَ خُسْرَانًا مُّبِينًا ﴿١١٩﴾ يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ ۖ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا ﴿١٢٠﴾
“Whom Allah has cursed, and he said: I will surely take from Your servants a specific portion. And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them false desires; and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the creation of Allah. And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss. Satan promises them and arouses desire in them, but Satan does not promise them except delusion.”
At another place it is said:
﴿وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ ۖ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي ۖ فَلَا تَلُومُونِي وَلُومُوا أَنفُسَكُم ۖ مَّا أَنَا بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَا أَنتُم بِمُصْرِخِيَّ ۖ إِنِّي كَفَرْتُ بِمَا أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِن قَبْلُ ۗ إِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٢﴾
“And when the matter is decided, Satan will say, ‘Indeed, Allah had promised you the truth, and I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I called 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 called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association with me before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment.’”
4. Poverty, Hunger, and Fear of Neediness:
One of the ways Satan misleads is by frightening a person with poverty, hunger, and neediness. The Quran mentions this as follows:
﴿الشَّيْطَانُ يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ وَيَأْمُرُكُم بِالْفَحْشَاءِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُم مَّغْفِرَةً مِّنْهُ وَفَضْلًا ۗ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٦٨﴾
“Satan threatens you with poverty and commands you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness and bounty. And Allah is All-Encompassing and Knowing.”
Abdul Rahman bin Nasir Al-Sa’di, may Allah have mercy on him, explains this verse by saying:
Never follow your enemy, that is Satan, who commands you to be stingy and frightens you that you will become bankrupt by spending. He does not advise you for your welfare, rather this is a great deception of his.
﴿إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوًّا ۚ إِنَّمَا يَدْعُو حِزْبَهُ لِيَكُونُوا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ ﴿٦﴾
“He invites his party to the punishment of the Blaze.”
Rather, obey your Lord who commands you to spend in a way that is easy for you and causes you no harm, along with ﴿يَعِدُكُم مَّغْفِرَةً مِّنْهُ﴾ “He promises you His forgiveness,” meaning to cleanse you from sins, ﴿وَفَضْلًا﴾ “and bounty,” which will benefit you in this world and the Hereafter. That is, He will soon give you in return what you spend, bringing happiness and tranquility to hearts, comfort in the grave, full reward on the Day of Judgment, and it is not difficult for Allah to give so much reward and recompense.
5. Causing fear of others besides Allah:
One way of misleading is that it instills fear of beings other than Allah in people’s hearts. Allah Almighty says:
﴿إِنَّمَا ذَٰلِكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَاءَهُ فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ﴿١٧٥﴾
“This is only the news given by Satan who frightens his friends. So do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are believers.”
6. Beautifying evil deeds:
One way of misleading is by adorning a person’s evil deeds and presenting them before him. Allah the Exalted says:
﴿فَلَوْلَا إِذْ جَاءَهُم بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُوا وَلَٰكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٤٣﴾
“So when Our punishment came to them, why did they not humble themselves? But their hearts became hardened, and Satan made their deeds seem fair to them.”
At another place, He said:
﴿وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ ﴿٢٤﴾
“I found him and his people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah. Satan has adorned their deeds for them and has barred them from the right way, so they are not guided.”
Also, He said:
﴿وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَقَد تَّبَيَّنَ لَكُم مِّن مَّسَاكِنِهِمْ ۖ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَكَانُوا مُسْتَبْصِرِينَ ﴿٣٨﴾
“And We destroyed the ‘Aad and Thamud, and their ruins are evident to you. Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and barred them from the right path, though they were intelligent.”
7. Creating obstacles on the Straight Path:
One way it misguides is by placing obstacles in a person’s path to righteousness. It is stated:
﴿وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ ﴿٣٦﴾ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾
“And whoever is heedless of the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion. And indeed, they obstruct them from the way, while they think that they are [rightly] guided.”
8. Causing heedlessness of the remembrance of Allah:
The devil makes a person heedless of the remembrance of Allah and distances him from Allah. The Almighty says:
﴿ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَن يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَاةِ ۖ فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّنتَهُونَ ﴿٩١﴾
“Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you
«عن جابر، قال: سمعت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: “إن الشيطان قدايس أن يعبده المصلون فى جزيرة العرب، ولكن فى التحريش بينهم»
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Surely Satan is despairing that the worshippers in the Arabian Peninsula will worship him, but he strives to sow discord among them.
This matter is described in the Quran as follows:
﴿وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ كَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا ﴿٥٣﴾
“And tell My servants to say that which is best. Indeed, Satan induces [dissension] among them. Indeed Satan is ever, to mankind, a clear enemy.”
Abdul Rahman bin Nasir Al-Sa’di (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in the exegesis of this verse:
“It is Allah, the Blessed and Exalted’s kindness and mercy upon His servants that He commanded them to have good manners, deeds, and speech which lead to success in this world and the Hereafter. Thus He said: ﴿وَقُل لِّعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ﴾ ‘Say to My servants that they speak what is best.’ This is a command regarding every speech that is a means of drawing near to Allah, such as reciting the Quran, mentioning the Prophet, acquiring knowledge, enjoining good, forbidding evil, and speaking sweetly to people according to their ranks and status, whether verbally or otherwise, if these good matters are present. If it is not possible to combine or apply both, then preference should be given to whichever is better. Good speech always invites to beautiful character and righteous deeds. Therefore, whoever has control over his tongue has control over all his affairs. ﴿إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ﴾ ‘Indeed Satan causes discord among them.’ That is, Satan wants to ruin the religion and worldly affairs of the servants and spread discord among them. The remedy for this is not to follow Satan in the evil matters to which he invites, and to adopt gentleness among themselves so that Satan’s intrigues, which sow the seeds of discord among them, are uprooted. Therefore, Satan is their true enemy, and it is incumbent upon them to remain engaged in fighting against Satan. Because he keeps inviting them. ﴿لِيَكُونُوا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ ﴾
‘So that they become inhabitants of the Hellfire.’ Although Satan tries his utmost to sow discord and enmity among them, the complete determination and caution regarding this is to oppose their enemy Satan, to uproot the commanding self through which Satan enters, so that they may obey their Lord, their affairs may be set right, and they may find the path of guidance.”
At one place, Allah, the Lord of Glory, said:
﴿وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ﴿٣٤﴾ وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٣٥﴾
“Good and evil are not equal. Repel evil with that which is better; then the one between whom and you was enmity will become as though he was a devoted friend. And this is only for those who are patient, and none but those having a great portion [of good] will attain it.”
10. Creating Doubts and Suspicions:
One of the ways Satan misguides is by leading a person astray into the barren desert of doubts and suspicions. Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ إِلَّا إِذَا تَمَنَّىٰ أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أُمْنِيَّتِهِ فَيَنسَخُ اللَّهُ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ ثُمَّ يُحْكِمُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴿٥٢﴾ لِّيَجْعَلَ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَالْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَفِي شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ ﴿٥٣﴾
“Before you, We sent messengers and prophets, and it happened to them that when they desired something in their hearts, Satan mixed something in that desire. But Allah removes Satan’s mixing, then perfects His words. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise. This is so that Allah may make the satanic mixing a trial for those whose hearts are diseased and for those whose hearts are hardened. Indeed, the wrongdoers are in clear opposition.”
11. Leads after Desires:
The command of Allah Almighty is:
﴿وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ الَّذِي آتَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا فَانسَلَخَ مِنْهَا فَأَتْبَعَهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ ﴿١٧٥﴾ وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ ۚ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث ۚ ذَّٰلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا ۚ فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿١٧٦﴾
“And recite to them the news of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he detached himself from them; so Satan pursued him, and he became of the deviators. And if We had willed, We could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of a dog: if you chase it, it pants, or if you leave it, it still pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.”
Abdul Rahman bin Nasir Al-Sa’di, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in the tafsir of these verses:
“So he abandoned that book and threw away the morals which the Book of Allah commanded, and he removed those morals from himself as one removes clothing. When he departed from the divine verses, Satan pursued him. And when he fled from the strong refuge, Satan was imposed upon him. Thus, he became among the lowest of people. Satan incited him to sins (and he immersed himself in sins) ﴿فَكَانَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ﴾ ‘So he became of the misguided.’ While he was among the guided because Allah Almighty had left him to his own state and handed him over to his own self. Therefore, Allah Almighty said: ﴿وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا﴾ ‘And if We had willed, We could have elevated him by those verses.’ Meaning, We would have granted him the ability to act upon the divine verses, and thus he would have attained high ranks in this world and the Hereafter and would have been safe from his enemies. ﴿وَلَٰكِنَّهُ﴾ But he performed actions that required Allah Almighty to deprive him of His guidance. ﴿أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ﴾ ‘He was going toward the earth.’ Meaning, he inclined toward base desires and worldly goals. ﴿وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ﴾ And he followed the desires of the self and abandoned obedience to his Lord and Master. ﴿فَمَثَلُهُ﴾ So his example, due to the intensity of his greed for the world and his inclination toward it, became ﴿كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث﴾ ‘like a dog: if you put a load on it, it pants; and if you leave it, it pants.’ Meaning, he always keeps his tongue out (due to greed), remains extremely greedy; there is such greed in him that it has shattered his heart into pieces, and nothing in the world can remove his neediness.”
12. Commanding Evil and Immorality:
﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٦٨﴾ إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُم بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاءِ وَأَن تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٦٩﴾
“O people! Eat from what is lawful and pure on the earth, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy. He only commands you to evil and immorality and to say about Allah what you do not know.”
Abdul Rahman bin Nasir, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
﴿ إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُم بِالسُّوءِ﴾ He commands evil. That is, such evil which harms the one who commits it, so all sins fall under this. Then Allah’s statement ﴿وَالْفَحْشَاءِ﴾ will be an example of a specific conjunction applied generally, because immoral acts are also counted among sins whose evil reaches the extreme, such as adultery, drinking alcohol, unjust killing, slander, and stinginess, etc. All these are among those deeds which every wise person considers bad.”
The Quran explains this matter elsewhere as follows:
﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّبِعْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَىٰ مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَدًا وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٢١﴾
“O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Whoever follows the footsteps of Satan indeed commands immorality and evil. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, not one of you would ever be pure. But Allah purifies whom He wills, and Allah is Hearing and Knowing.”
