In the Name if Allah, the Kindest most Beneficial One.
In the Name if Allah, the Kindest most Beneficial One. Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:168 O MANKIND! Partake of what is lawful and good on earth, and follow not Satan’s footsteps: for, verily, he is your open foe,
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُواْ مِمَّا فِي الأَرْضِ حَلاَلاً طَيِّباً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ (2:168)
Satan or Iblis rather is our open, most blatant and deceiving enemy; such an enemy that we cannot see with the power of sight Allah the Most Gracious has bestowed upon us, a favour of favours. Yet many of us fear him, and that itself is a form of shirk (likening or worshipping something or someone other than Allah (SWT)), for as Allah (SWT) states in Surah (chapter) Maryam (Mary), chapter 19 verse 44; Ibrahim (may Allah bestow upon him His peace and blessings) argues with his idolatrous father, telling him what Allah (SWT) commands of him, which says:
19:44 “O my father! Do not worship Satan-for, verily, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious!
Satan – after rejecting and asking for respite from Allah (SWT) – did not bow down to the will of the Lord Allah (SWT), and Satan’s terms of respite were that he would lead Allah’s servants away, from the truth i.e. stopping them also from bowing down to the will of Allah (SWT). Yet Allah has warned us Muslims with reference to the ways which Satan has, shall and will deceive men/women from the truth. The Almighty Allah has mentioned many times that:
… and follow not Satan’s footsteps….. (Al Baqarah 2:208).
What we, as the targets of the devil’s deception, need to acknowledge and understand is what is the difference between Satan’s footsteps and straight forward following Satan.
Following Satan
Allah (SWT) states in Surah Al-Hajj (the Pilgrimage) chapter 22 verse 3, that:
22:3 And yet, among men there is many a one who argues about God without having any knowledge [of Him], and follows every rebellious satanic force.
Although Allah (SWT) does not state many times in the Qur’an the ways of the devil’s deception without adding the word “footsteps,” there are such people whose hearts have been sealed from the truth, weather they have any knowledge or not. They – for the sake of it – follow whatever Satan decrees, giving not a single ounce of thought to it; whether it is morally wrong or against the law. These people don’t just give any thought, but agree to whatever dire thing they hear, and uphold it as though it be the truth. Their souls are blacker than the night itself, and they are the ones who uphold Satan’s regime of blasphemy and praise ignorance as if it be the saviour of the world. They follow their nafs, (soul or self) and care not what their heart and conscience tell, which in time becomes tainted itself to feel nothing when evil has been committed. They feel no happiness in this life nor will they in the hereafter, (unless they change their ways).
People who follow without thought are straight forward followers of Satan. Following Satan in this manner is likened to the most beautiful man or women coming in front of you and asking, “Come spend a night with me in the hotel across the road, it’ll be nothing!”, or one of your mates says, “We’re havin a lager down at the pub tonight, we’ll also watch the match. I bet you 20 quid England’s gonna lose. Hah.
”Fornication (sexual intercourse before marriage), consuming alcohol and betting are all prohibited in Islam; they destroy societies and moral values.
The thoughtless people I have mentioned above will accept without a word, for they have no set purpose or aim in life, yet a person with a little Iman will turn the offer down. Avoiding following Satan directly is easily cast off, that is why Allah (SWT) constantly reminds us of Satan’s footsteps, the more deadly and undetectable ploys of the rejected.
Satan’s Footsteps
Allah (SWT) commands in Surah Al Baqarah (The Cow), chapter 2 verse 208 that:
2:208 O you who have attained to faith! Surrender yourselves wholly unto God, and follow not Satan’s footsteps, for, verily, he is your open foe.
Satan’s footsteps are subtlety designed, so that even the believer will give in. He first gives the suggestion which he makes out not to be harmful. Through various processes, Satan the accursed carries on making suggestions, but at a slightly higher level of immorality, but since the process has been on going, the person does not see any sin in his actions; thus becoming ensnared in a lofty degree of sin. Satan’s goal is to make a person perpetrate a sinful action of such a high degree, that because of that sin, the persons whole life before and after him has and is ruined, placing no value to it, and ultimately bringing the person down with him (Satan) to the depths of hell. And the ultimate goal of Satan to make a person commit shirk.
Remember: One major sin in this temporary life is enough to bring about your destruction.
Shirk is the biggest sin in the sight of almighty Allah. As it is stated in Surah Al Luqman, chapter 31 verse 13, it commands:
31:13 Behold, Luqman said to his son by way of instruction: “O my son! Join not in worship (others) with Allah. For false worship is indeed the highest wrong-doing.”
And Satan’s goal is to bring the servants of Allah (SWT) down with him to hell.
Al-Hijr (The Rocky Tract)
15:39 [Whereupon Iblis] said: “O my Sustainer! Since Thou hast thwarted me, I shall indeed make [all that is evil] on earth seem goodly to them, and shall most certainly beguile them-into grievous error.
An example of Following Satan’s footsteps are; A man starts to speak to a young, attractive women over the phone, thinking in his head, “What’s the harm, I’m only talking!” They then go out to meet each other, and watch a film together. It’s a film, what harm can that be! They then go out for dinner in a romantic restaurant, and after sit down to watch the sunset together. Hence forth, they end up kissing and find themselves under the covers of a bed together in a hotel room they booked moments earlier.
Satan’s footsteps are the most deadly, and usually no one find any harm in the first stage which Satan puts the individual (s) through. This issue has to be addressed, as ignorance is what destroys societies, and it is ignorant to not know what the ploy/footsteps of the open enemy [1] is.
There is Hikmah (wisdom) in whatever Allah has created, made lawful and prohibited. If you create a car, you know it needs petrol, diesel or gas to run, so you cannot put water in the car and expect it to take you to your destination. So the petrol, diesel or gas is legal, but the water is prohibited. So do not you think that our creator – the creator of the whole universe, everything in it, universal laws and time – knows what is best for us, what should be legal and what should be prohibited for us people? A car will not run then and there, but we don’t realise that our “not running” or outcome will be on the day of resurrection. Do we “stop running”, i.e. go to hell or do we “keep running,” and go to heaven.
The following verses talk about the deception of Satan, what you should avoid i.e. is prohibited, and what Allah commands about the footsteps of Satan. Remember: Allah (SWT) did not create any verse in the Qur’an in vain, and volumes of books can be written on a single Ayat (verse). So a single word in a single verse has much more meaning then will immediately come to light. The more times you read the Qur’an, the more things, concepts and perceptions will be revealed to you. You should ponder over these extremely Holy verses for they contain everything, as Allah (SWT) commanded in Surah Muhammad, Chapter 47 verse 24:
47:24 Will they not, then, ponder over this Qur’an? – Or are there locks upon their hearts?
Remember: Satan’s footsteps are not to be followed in any case. His footsteps are a gradual build up to a higher, more unforgivable sin. Do not even let it start. Look around you and realise. Open your barriers of thought, and create a free thinking mind.
Also, remember, is Satan himself faced you, and commanded you to carry out a prohibited act, you would most definitely say “NO!” as you would understand and realise it is Satan. Yet if he gave you a gradual build up, starting with something minor, all the while keeping himself hidden, you might find yourself committing a great atrocity without even realising it. Satan has been alive since before man, so he most definitely will be one of the greatest deceivers in history, which he undoubtedly is.
But keep in mind, Satan is not your friend as he makes it out to be. He only shows you the way; it is you who take it. You accept his call. You commit the sins. The footsteps are his, yet you follow them. He himself takes no responsibility of your actions – which he himself declares, as it is stated in the Qur’an twice:
Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War)
8:48 And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, “No one can overcome you this day, for, behold, I shall be your protector !” but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he turned on his heels and said, “Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I fear God-for God is severe in retribution !”
Al-Hashr (The Gathering)
59:16 the like of [what happens] when Satan says unto man, “Deny the truth!” – but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, “Behold, I am not responsible for thee: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!”
The verses that talk about Satan’s footsteps, what is prohibited and what should be looked out for and avoided are stated below.
Al-Ma’idah (The Table Spread)
5:90 O YOU who have attained to faith! Intoxicants, and games of chance, and idolatrous practices, and the divining of the future are but a loathsome evil of Satan’s doing: shun it, then, so that you might attain to a happy state!
Al-Ma’idah (The Table Spread)
5:91 By means of intoxicants and games of chance Satan seeks only to sow enmity and hatred among you, and to turn you away from the remembrance of God and from prayer. Will you not, then, desist?
Al-Qasas (The Narration)
28:15 And [one day] he entered the city at a time when [most of] its people were [resting in their houses,] unaware of what was going on [in the streets]; and there he encountered two men fighting with one another – one of his own people, and the other of his enemies. And the one who belonged to his own people cried out to him for help against him who was of his enemies – whereupon Moses struck him down with his fist, and [thus] brought about his end. [But then] he said [to himself]: “This is of Satan’s doing! Verily, he is an open foe, leading [man] astray!”
Al-Baqara (The Cow)
2:208 O you who have attained to faith! Surrender yourselves wholly unto God, and follow not Satan’s footsteps, for, verily, he is your open foe.
Al-An’am (The Cattle)
6:142 And of the cattle reared for work and for the sake of their flesh, eat whatever God has provided for you as sustenance, and follow not Satan’s foot-steps: behold, he is your open foe!
Maryam (Mary)
19:44 “O my father! Do not worship Satan-for, verily, Satan is a rebel against the Most Gracious!
Maryam (Mary)
19:45 O my father! I dread lest a chastisement from the Most Gracious befall thee, and then thou wilt become [aware of having been] close unto Satan!”
Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
22:3 And yet, among men there is many a one who argues about God without having any knowledge [of Him], and follows every rebellious satanic force
Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
22:4 about which it has been decreed that whoever entrusts himself to it, him will it lead astray and guide towards the suffering of the blazing flame!
Al-Nour (The Light)
24:21 O You who have attained to faith! Follow not Satan’s footsteps: for he who follows Satan’s footsteps [will find that], behold, he enjoins but deeds of abomination and all that runs counter to reason. And were it not for God’s favour upon you and His grace, not one of you would ever have remained pure. For [thus it is:] God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing.
Ya-Sin (Ya-Sin)
36:60 Did I not enjoin on you, O you children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan – since, verily, he is your open foe.
[1] Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 208.
