A Specialist of Deviation – The Psychology of Iblis

(Iblis, popularly known as Satan is the greatest enemy of the Children of Adam. His efforts in deviating individuals are shockingly successful. He has taken the toll of Kings, emperors, countries, and societies of men and women through his deception; people have fallen prey to his temptation through deception. Allah has revealed many verses to caution humanity about his deception and shown ways to thwart and resist his temptation. This article analyzes the personality of Iblis, his character and ways of deception.) A destructive strategist full of hatred towards humanity, ever since Adam was created, Iblis has come a long way destroying the hereafter of notable kings, such as Pharaoh and Namrood, bringing down entire civilizations of people, such as the people of Noah, Aad and Thamud, to destruction by divine punishment. He has also incited the murder of millions, created massacres, and genocide. He is also responsible for the breaking of families through divorces and the spread of sexually illicit relations through society. Even some of the wives of Allah’s Messengers, such as the wife of Noah and Lut, were not spared, as well as some of their close relatives, such as the close uncles and relatives of Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ), who instigated the stoppage of tawheed. A great amount of humanity has been deceived in taking up people, prophets and kings as god; thus, the deprive themselves of receiving forgiveness from Allah, which He has promised not to do for those who die upon shirk (polytheism) and kufr (disbelief). What is it that makes Iblis and his hordes overpower humanity and make them willingly choose to obey him instead of Allah? To understand his psychology, we must first investigate his nature which was testified by none other than Allah, the Almighty, Himself. A Rebellious and an Arrogant Disobedient Creature When Adam was created, Allah commanded all the angels to prostrate before him, Iblis was not an angel but used to be with them and therefore he too was included in the command. He refused to obey, which led him to disbelief. Allah declared all these three traits in just one verse,

“And [mention] when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam,’ so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became one of the disbelievers.” [Surah al Baqarah: 34]

The above verse exposes three traits of Iblis: disobedience, arrogance, and disbelief. When Allah asked him what stopped him from prostrating to Adam, which was commanded issued by Him. His reply is worth noting and full of lessons for us, as he tries to instill these same traits into humanity,

“Allah asked, ‘What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?’ He replied, ‘I am better than he is: You created me from fire and him from clay.’” [Surah Al Araf: 12]

Superiority through skin color, race, money and looks leads to arrogance, and Iblis is using the same clout in his attempt to cause humanity into unleash their devilish nature. Today, a great number of murders, hatred, and atrocities are due to arrogance and superiority, something that Iblis showed when he refused to prostrate to Adam. He claimed that he was better than Adam. As a lesson for humanity, Allah declared that such arrogance of a superiority complex is never approved by Him,

“O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.” [Surah al Hujurat: 13]

An Enemy’s Mindset with a Fixed Goal Instead of having regret for his disobedience and seeking forgiveness, he blamed Allah for deviating him. He then challenged Allah to prove his might and opinion about humanity. Ibis uses this same tactic during extreme crisis that a person might face, thereby causing him to fall into disbelief, and so the person, when faced with a great difficulty, will begin to blame Allah for not curing him of the distress, or remove the poverty he is stricken with, or remove any difficulty that he is undergoing. Allah relates to us that Iblish said,

“He said, ‘For leaving me to stray I will lie in ambush for them on Your Straight Path. I will approach them from their front, their back, their right, their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.’” [Surah Al Araf: 16,17]

The mission of Iblis, his hateful mind, and his targeting of humanity to prove himself right are mentioned in one verse.  He said that he would lay in ambush for humanity on the straight path, al-siratul mustaqeem. It means that he will specifically target people so that they deviate from the straight path. However, his ways to mislead are easily recognizable: causing division and confusion about the divine truth. To safeguard humanity, Allah created within all of humanity the natural inclination toward the religion, fitrat al-deen, and arranged to send guidance through Messengers and Books. Iblis goal is to target this fitrat al-deen, in order to corrupt it through mutual disagreements, which will lead humanity to the formation of different sects, religions and cults. Allah says,

“Humanity was but a single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ among themselves, except through selfish contumacy. [Surah Al Baqarah: 213]

A Master of Temptation Since Allah is the Creator of all things, He is aware of the mindset and tricks of what His creation plans and does. Iblis is a master of temptation. He was aware that Adam, as well as his descendants, could not be persuaded by force, but it was through temptation that he could influence them. This is why we see satanic temptation all around us. Take note of the following verse which informs us how Iblis was successfully able to tempt Adam into eating from the forbidden tree,

“He [Iblis] said, ‘Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.’ And he swore to them, ‘I am truly your sincere advisor.’” [Surah Al Araf: 20, 21]

The following are some of the means by which he tempted Adam and Hawa:

1. He fabricated a lie in the name of Allah, which was that they do not become angels or immortals.
2. He tempted them with the desire to become angels or immortals.
3. He swore that he was their well-wisher.

This effort continues even today with the followers of Iblis offering people a life of so-called happiness that is attained through indecent entertainment, pills and drugs, cosmetics, and plastic surgery so that they make live longer and retain their beauty. Thus, he tries to change the natural inclination of Allah’s creation, by claiming that he is their well-wisher. The liberators of women, who seek the Muslim woman to discard her hijab and mingle with men on campuses and in offices, the innovators who offer amulets barren women so that they may have children, the diseased who direct people to the shrines of saints, only offer sins and disbelief as their well-wishing for the people. His Strategies: Lies, Fake Hopes, False Promises, Beautifying Sins and Instigations The following three verses inform us that it is from Iblis way to beauty sins, give fake promises, generate false hopes, and then desert his followers at the last moment.

“We did certainly send [Messengers] to nations before you, but Satan made their deeds attractive to them.” [Surah Nahl: 63].

“He [Satan] makes promises to them and arouses in them false desires; and Satan’s promises are nothing but deceptions.” [Surah Nisa’: 120]

“And [remember] when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and said, ‘No one can overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector.’ But when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, ‘Indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed, I fear Allah. And Allah is severe in penalty.’” [Surah Al Anfal: 48].

Ibn Kathir records in this tafsir that during the battle of Badr, Satan, came in form of Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju`shum, a man from Bani Mudlij. Satan said to idolators, “None will defeat you this day, and I will help you.” When the two armies stood face to face, the Messenger of Allah took a handful of sand and threw it at the faces of the idolaters, causing them to retreat. Jibril, peace be upon him, came towards Satan, but when Satan, who was holding the hand of a disbeliever, saw him, he withdrew his hand and began to flee with his soldiers. That man said to him, “O Suraqah, You claimed that you are our neighbor.” He said,

“Indeed, I see what you cannot see. I fear my Lord.” [Surah Anfal: 48]

His Weakness All the plots of Iblis are weak, but he makes them appear strong, as Allah mentions,

“Indeed, Satan’s schemes are ever weak.” [Surah Nisa’: 76].

The Quran has mentioned that sincere worshippers of Allah cannot be deviated by Iblis. He confessed before he was thrown out of Paradise,

“My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all; except, among them, Your sincere servants.” [Surah Hijr: 39,40]

The above verse explains that he will make sins attractive and mislead everyone except those who are sincere. Sincerity is to remain connected to Allah’s book and not to follow the devil’s footsteps, as Allah says,

“O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan – indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing.” [Surah Nur: 21]

Seek Protection of Allah from Satan Most of our deeds begin with bismillah (in the name of Allah), especially when reciting the Quran, since Satan tries to disturb and distract us from remaining connected to the Quran. Allah says,

“When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the accursed.” [Surah Nahl:99]

Follow the Guidance of the Quran Allah says,

“Yet whenever guidance comes to you from Me, then whoever follows My guidance—they have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve.” [Surah Al Baqarah: 38]

Sincere Repentance and Abstaining from Shirk Wipes Out the Efforts of Iblis Having knowledge of the weakness of humanity and their ability to slip from His obedience, Allah, the Most Merciful, keeps the doors of tawbah (repentance) wide open until death. Adam repented for his disobedience, and Allah forgave; however, Iblis never sought repentance and never will, and so he will never be forgiven. If a Muslim abstains from associating partners with Allah, then Allah will forgive any other of his sins as He pleases. Anas bin Malik related that he heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying,

“Allah the Almighty said, ‘O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.’” (Sunan Tirmidhi: 3540)

The Efforts of Iblis Can Be Wasted if We Repent It has been related,

“Satan said, ‘By Your might, O Lord, I will continue to mislead the children of Adam, as long as their souls are in their bodies.’ The Lord said, ‘By My might and majesty, I will continue to forgive them, as long as they seek My forgiveness.’” (Musnad Aḥmad 11237, Graded Hasan by Al-Arnaut 3/337)

The journey of life is strewn with temptations that challenge our faith. As Muslims, we must strive against these urges, seeking strength in the remembrance of Allah and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Repentance is not merely a single act of seeking forgiveness; it is a continuous process of turning back to Allah with sincere humility and a willing heart. May we be granted the fortitude to control our temptations and the tawfiq to repent often, for in repentance lies the hope for Allah’s mercy and the promise of Paradise.