A Great Understanding - fight against Satan

One of the early scholars said to his student, “What would you do if Satan entices you to sin?” He said, “I would struggle against him.” “And if he returns?” would struggle against him,” the student repeated. “And if he returns again?” The student again says, “I would struggle against him.” The scholar told him, “This can take forever. What if you are passing by some sheep and their watchdog starts barking at you, preventing you from passing, what would your action be?” The student answers, “I would wear it down by struggle and repel it.” The teacher then says, “This is a lengthy process. If you go instead to the owner of the sheep, he will be able to make the dog desist.“’ This is a great lesson narrated by ibn al-Jauzi and that is that seeking refuge and shelter with Allah is the strongest way to refute Satan and to get far away from him. This is what the mother of Mary did when she said

Lo , I crave your protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast (imran-36)

Some people say, We seek refuge in Allah but we still feel Satan coming to us and urging us to evil or preoccupying us while we are in the prayers.” The reply to this is that seeking refuge in Allah is like a sword that is in the hands of a warrior. If his arm is strong, he is able to penetrate and kill his enemy. If his arm is weak, he may leave no mark at all on his opponent, even if it is a very sharp sword. The same is the case with seeking refuge from Satan. If one is pious and God-fearing, this invocation becomes like a fire that bums Satan If the person is of weak faith, one whose faith is mixed with evil, then this weapon hardly harms Satan whatsoever. 

Excerpts taken from Umar Al Ashqar book "The World of Jinns and Humans"

compiled by Naved Khan