The Awliya' (Friends) of Shaytan (Satan)
by Shaykh Abû Bakr Jâbir al-Jaza'iry
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.
Extracted from “Minhaj al Muslim” published by Dar as Salam