Whispers from the Shaytaan.

A waswasa is disturbing that maybe the rules of
shirk which apply in this world do not apply in the universe. Somewhere
else in the universe there might be a place where the dead can hear and
help, where going to the graves is a form of worship etc. Please help
me with to fight this waswasa.

Praise be to Allaah.

One
of the means that the Shaytaan uses to misguide people is by casting
doubts and whispers (waswaas) into their hearts. The Messenger of
Allaah peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has warned us against
some of these things. It says in the hadeeth: “The Shaytaan comes to
any one of you and says, ‘Who created such and such? Who created such
and such?’ until he says, ‘Who created your Lord?’ If that happens to
you, seek refuge with Allaah and give up these thoughts.” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, no. 3277

The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) taught us two important things:

1 – To turn to Allaah and seek His
protection, and to beseech Him, for He is the most Generous:

“And if an evil whisper comes to you from
Shaytaan (Satan), then seek refuge with Allaah”

[al-A’raaf 7:200 – interpretation of the
meaning]

2 – To put a stop to this matter and turn
away from it, and to keep ourselves busy with other, useful things.

The
companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
came to him complaining about the doubts and waswaas that they were
suffering. In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Some of the companions of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to
him and said, ‘We find in our hearts things that none of us dares
utter.’ He said, ‘Do you really find that?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said,
‘That is clear faith.’” (2/153).

What is meant by his saying ‘That is clear
faith’ is that their hatred of that waswasah and their rejecting it was a clear sign of faith.

The
Shaytaan only whispers to people of faith; as for the kaafir he comes
to him however he wants and does not limit himself to waswaas, rather
he toys with him however he wishes.

The
belief concerning which there can be no doubt is that the entire
universe, from its heights to its depths, is in a state of submission
to Allaah and no one in the universe possesses any power. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Say:
(O Muhammad to polytheists, pagans) Call upon those whom you assert (to
be associate gods) besides Allaah, they possess not even an atom’s (or
a small ant’s) weight either in the heavens or on the earth, nor have
they any share in either, nor there is for Him any supporter from among
them.

Intercession with Him profits not except for
him whom He permits”

[Saba’ 34:22-23]

This
crafty enemy is keen to misguide people and to make them doubt. The
more you seek the help of Allaah, learn about your enemy and be
prepared to face him, the more you will be victorious over him. If you
know your true enemy, the following are the weapons at your disposal.

Firstly:

Adherence
to the Qur’aan and Sunnah in word and deed, and keeping away from the
paths of misguidance, for on every path there is a devil calling people
to it. So you should follow the beliefs, words, acts of worship and
laws that have come from Allaah and abstain from that which He has
forbidden. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Enter perfectly in Islam (by obeying all
the rules and regulations of the Islamic religion)”

[al-Baqarah 2:208]

Silm (translated here as Islam) refers to
Islam. Muqaatil interpreted it as doing all kinds of good and righteous deeds.

Whoever gives up any part of Islam has
followed in some of the footsteps of the Shaytaan.

Adhering
to the Qur’aan and Sunnah in word and deed expels the Shaytaan annoys
him greatly. Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah: “When the son of Adam
recites a verse of sajdah and prostrates, the Shaytaan withdraws
weeping, saying, ‘Woe to me, the son of Adam was commanded to
prostrate, and he prostrated, so Paradise will be his; I was commanded
to prostrate and I disobeyed, so Hell will be mine.’” Narrated by
Muslim, no. 133.

Secondly:

Seeking refuge with Allaah from all kinds of
evil and turning to Him. Islam teaches us to seek refuge with Allaah in certain situations, such as the following:

When entering the washroom: “Allaahumma
inni a’oodhu bika min al-khubthi wa’l-khabaa’ith (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from the male and female devils).”

When one is angry: “A’oodhu Billaahi min
al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan).”

When
having intercourse: “Bismillaah Allaahumma jannibna al-shaytaan wa
jannib al-shaytaana ma razaqtana (In the name of Allaah, O Allaah, keep
the Shaytaan away from us and keep the Shaytaan away from that which
You may bless us with).”

When
stopping in a place: “A’oodhu bi kalimaat-Allaah il-taammah min sharri
ma khalaqa (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from the evil
of that which He has created).”

When hearing the braying of a donkey: “A’oodhu
Billaahi min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan).”

When starting to read Qur’aan: “A’oodhu
Billaah il-samee’ il-‘aleem min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the
accursed Shaytaan).”

After starting to pray: “A’oodhu
Billaah il-samee’ il-‘aleem min al-Shaytaan ir-rajeem wa min hamzihi wa nafakhihi wa nafthihi (I seek refuge with
Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytaan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry).”

The
best words with which we may seek refuge with Allaah are
al-Mi’wadhatayn i.e., Soorat al-Falaq and Soorat al-Naas. It was
narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you
not see the verses that were revealed to me tonight, the like of which
have never been seen? Qul ‘aoodhu bi Rabb il-falaq and Qul ‘aoodhi bi
rabb il-naas.” Narrated by Muslim, 814.

Thirdly:

Keeping
busy with dhikr, for this is the greatest thing that may protect a
person. In the hadeeth it says that Allaah commanded Yahya (peace be
upon him) to enjoin five things upon the Children of Israel, one of
which was: “I command you to remember Allaah, for this is like a man
who is being pursued by the enemy, then he comes to a strong fortress
and saves himself from them. Similarly a man cannot save himself from
his enemy except by means of dhikr.” Narrated by al-Haafiz Abu Moosa
al-Madani in al-Targheeb fi’l-Khisaal al-Hameedah wa’l-Tarheeb min
al-Khilaal al-Murdiyyah. Ibn al-Qayyim said: Shaykh al-Islam used to
regard this hadeeth highly, and I heard that he used to say: “The
evidence for its being sound is quote clear.” al-Waabil al-Sayyib, 60.

Fourthly:

Adhering
to the main body of the Muslims (the jamaa’ah) by living in a Muslim
land and choosing righteous friends who will help him to do good. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
among you wants to attain the best part of Paradise, let him adhere to
the main body of the Muslims, for the Shaytaan is with the one who is
alone but he is farther away from two.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2254.
Al-Qaari’ said: its isnaad is saheeh. Al-Mubaarakfoori said: The entire
hadeeth is either saheeh or hasan. Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 6/320.

Fifthly:

Opposing
the Shaytaan, for he may come in the form of someone offering sincere
advice, so we must go against him. For if he were really good he would
be good to himself first, but he has caused himself to be doomed to
Hell. So if he comes to you whilst you are praying, and says, “You are
showing off (so cut your prayer short),” then make your prayer lengthy.
If he says, “You have broken your wudoo’,” say, “You are lying”. If he
says to you that the dead can hear you and benefit you or harm you,
tell him, “You are lying.” When you eat, be different from him and eat
and drink with your right hand, and take food with your right hand.
This even applies to taking a siesta, as it says in the hadeeth: “Take
a siesta for the devils do not take a siesta.” Narrated by Abu Na’eem
with a saheeh isnaad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4/147.

Even
with regard to a piece of food that falls to the ground, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Pick it up and do
not leave it for the Shaytaan…” Narrated by Muslim, 12, al-Adaab.

Sixthly:

Repenting
and seeking Allaah’s forgiveness. According to the hadeeth the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Shaytaan said to
the Lord of Glory: ‘By Your Glory O Lord, I will keep trying to
misguide Your slaves so long as their souls are in their bodies.’ The
Lord said, ‘By My Glory and Majesty, I will continue to forgive them so
long as they ask My forgiveness.’” Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad and
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2/32

So man should always be in a state of
repentance and turning to Allaah. They have an example in their father Adam (peace be upon him):

“Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If
You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers”

[al-A’raaf 7:23 – interpretation of the
meaning]

These
are some of the means that will help you to ward off this waswaas. We
ask Allaah the Almighty, by His most beautiful names and sublime
attributes to grant us refuge from the madness of the devils and from
their traps and whispers. Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds.