The Awliya' (Friends) of Shaytan (Satan)

by Shaykh Abû Bakr Jâbir al-Jaza'iry

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The Muslim believes that Shaytan has evil companions that are overpowered by him and
consequently forget about their Lord. He seduced them to evil, encouraging them to
falsehood, deafening them from hearing the truth, blinding them from seeing the proofs, so
that they are subordinate to him, obeying his commands. He misled them to mischief by
making it attractive to them, until they consider evil to be good and good to be bad. Thus,
they became enemies and opponents to the Awliya' of Allah, and warriors against them. The
Awliya' of Allah take Allah the Almighty as their Supporter, while the Awliya' of Shaytan
chose to be the opponents of Allah. The Awliya' of Allah love Him and strive hard to please
Him, while the Awliya' of Shaytan strive to displease Allah. May the curse and anger of
Allah befall them. Nevertheless, amazing feats may occur by their hands, such as; flying in
the sky, or walking on water. Such feats are merely a means by which Allah facilitates the
downfall of His enemies, or some form of assistance by Shaytan for his supporter. The
following are some evidences for this topic:

1. The statements of Allah the Almighty, such as:

"But as for those who disbelieve, their Awliya'

(supporters and helpers) are false deities, they bring
them out from light into darkness. Those are the
dwellers of the Fire, and they will abide therein
forever ." (2:257)

And:

"And certainly, the Shayatin (devils) do inspire their

friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you
obey them, then you would indeed be polytheists ."
(6:121)

And:

"And on the Day when He will gather them (all)

together (and say): "O you assembly of jinn! Many did
you mislead of men," and their Awliya' (friends and
helpers) amongst men will say: "Our Lord! We
benefited one from the other, but now we have reached
our appointed term which You did appoint for us." He
will say: "The Fire be your dwelling place, you will
dwell therein forever, except as Allah may will.""
(6:128)
“And whosoever turns away blindly from the
 remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allah), We
appoint for him a Shaytan to be a companion to him.
And verily, they (Satans) hinder them from the path
(of Allah), but they think that they are guided aright!)
(43:36-37)”

And:

“Verily, We made the Shayatin, Awliya' (protectors)

for those who believe not.” (7:27)

And:

“Surely, they took the Shayatin as Awliya' instead of

Allah, and think that they are guided.” (7:30)

And:

“And We have assigned for them (devils) intimate

companions (in this world), who have made fair-
seeming to them, what was before them and what was
behind them.” (41:25)

And:

"And (remember) when We said to the angels:

"Prostrate yourselves unto Adam." So they prostrated
themselves except Iblis (Satan). He was one of the
jinn; he disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you
then take him and his offspring as protectors and
helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to
you?" (18:50)

2. The statements of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) such as: When the Messenger of Allah
(SAW) saw a shooting star, he asked his Companions:

"What would you say about this in Jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic era)?)"
"We used to say: This is a precursor of a great person's birth or death.'"

They replied. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:

"If does not fall for the birth or the death of anyone. But when our Lord the Blessed
and Most Exalted decrees a matter, the Throne bearers glorify Him, upon hearing them,
the inhabitants of the heaven after them glorify Him, then those who come after them
until it reaches this heaven. Then, the inhabitants of heaven ask the bearers of the
Throne: 'What did our Lord say?' So the bearers of the Throne tell them. The
 inhabitants of every heaven inquire about the news until it reaches the inhabitants of
the lower heaven. Then the devils snatch the news; thus, these are shot at them. Then,
the devils cast the news to their companions. If the companions convey the news as it
reached them, it would be right; but they add to it." (Muslim, Ahmad and others)

When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) was asked about the fortunetellers, he said: "They are
nothing (they know nothing of the unseen)." They said: "What they tell us sometimes
comes true." The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:

"The jinn snatches the right word then recites it into the ear of his ally. They add one
hundred lies to it." (Al-Bukhari)

He (SAW) also said:

"There is none of you but he has an assigned companion." (Muslim)

And:

"Shaytan circulates in the veins of the son of Adam like blood, so restrict its ducts by
fasting." (Agreed upon with different wording)

3. Hundreds of thousands of humans have witnessed strange Satanic circumstances

surrounding the Awliya' of Shaytan in every time and place. For some, Shaytan would bring
him different types of food and drink, fulfill some sort of need he had, inform him of some
secret matters of the unseen, or prevent the sword from penetrating him. For some, Shaytan
comes to him in the form of a righteous man from whom he seeks some benefit. Then he
changes, misleading him and bringing him to acts of Shirk and disobedience. Of them are
those that are carried to a far away land, or delivered persons or things from distant places
etc.

The real cause for such devilish actions are due to the wickedness of the human soul which
results from his addiction to evil deeds, corruption, disbelief, and the acts of disobedience,
until the human reaches a level of evil that unites him with the Satanic souls. Then the
allegiance between himself and the devils is complete. They give information to each other,
serving each other in any way possible. So on the Day of Judgment it will be said to them:

"O you assembly of jinn! Many did you mislead of

men ." (6:128)

The companions of the jinns will say:

"Our Lord! We benefited one from the other.." (6:128)

The difference between the phenomenon committed by the Awliya' of Allah and devilish
feats, is apparent by the behavior and condition of the one involved. He will be either a
person of belief and piety who adheres to the Law of Allah, and this phenomenon is a
means of honor from Allah. Or, he will be a wicked, evil, impious person, in which case it
is a means of drawing himself or his Satanic helpers into their own destruction.