Stone The
Devil!
THE MAKING OF SATAN The Quranic story:
Then your Lord said to the angels, "I am placing a Khalifa (Successor) on earth." They said, "Shall you place therein one who would corrupt therein, and shed blood, while we praise Your glory and hold You sacred?" He said, "I know what you do not know". (2:30)
And he taught Adam all the names, then presented them to the angels, saying, "Tell Me the names of these, if you are truthful." They said, "Glory be to you. We have no knowledge, except that which You taught us. You are the Omniscient, the Wise". He (Allah) said, "0 Adam, tell them their names". When he told them their names, He said, "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth, and I know everything you declare and everything you conceal?" (2:31-33)
Then Allah commanded the Angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam." They fell prostrate, except Iblis, he refused, turned arrogant, and thus, he became a rebel. 12:34). 'When We said to the Angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam", they fell prostrate, except Iblis, he refused."' (20:116).
Rebellious Iblis becomes a "Jinn" and a "Disbeliever"!
When we said to the angels, "Fall prostrate to Adam", they fell prostrated, except Iblis. He became a JINN, and he violated the command of his Lord. Would you then accept him, and his descendants, as masters besides Me, even though they are your enemies? What a miserable substitute for the wicked! I never even allowed them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth; nor the creation of themselves. I never accept the misleaders as assistants.
The day will come when He says, "Call upon the idols you set up besides Me". They will call upon them, but they will not respond; we will place a barrier between. The guilty will see hell, and realise that they are doomed therein; they will have no way of evading it. (18:50-53).
Your Lord said to the angels, "I am creating a human from 'clay'. Once I perfected him and blow into him from My Rooh, you shall fall prostrate before him." All the angels fell prostrate. But not Iblis, he was arrogant, and thus he became a DISBELIEVER. (38:7175).
"You created me from fire, and created him from clay"
God said, "What prevented you from prostrating, when I ordered you?" He said, "I am better than he; You created me from fire, and created him from 'clay'". (7:1 2). He (lblis) said, "Shall I bow down to one You created from 'clay'?" (17:611.
God said, "O Iblis! What prevented you from prostrating before My creation? Are you too arrogant? Or much too high?" He replied, "I am better than he; You created me from fire and created him from clay." (38:76-77).
Iblis is booted out from the presence of God!
God said, "Therefore, go down
therefrom, for you are not to be proud therein. Get out; you are
debased" 17:121. He (Allah) said, "Then you must get
out , for you are rejected. You deserved My curse till the Day of
Judgement." (38:78-79).
WHOM DO WE
REMEMBER, WHEN STONING THE DEVIL?
"Respite me till
the day of resurrection"! He said, "My Lord, respite me
till the day of resurrection." God said, "You are
respited, Until the Day of Time Appointed." (38:80-81).
He (Iblis) said, "Since you willed that I go astray, I will always skulk on Your straight path (Siratakal Mustaqim), and mislead them. Then I will come to them from their front, from behind them, from their right, and from their left, and You will find most of them unappreciative." (7:13-17). God said, "You are evicted therefrom, despised and debased. Those who follow you, will join you in hell". (7:1 81.
Shaitan said, "Just watch this one, whom You exalt above me; if You respite me till the day of resurrection, I will possess his descendants, except a few". God said, "Go ahead; if any of them follow you, then hell will be sufficient as retribution. Entice whomever you can with your voice, and mobilise your horses and men against them, and share their wealth and children, and promise them. The devil's promises are no more than illusions, Surely, for My servants, you will have no power over them. And your Lord suffices as guardian. (17:62-65).
He (Iblis) said, "I swear by Your Majesty that I will mislead them all; except your servants who are absolutely devoted to You alone " He (God) said, "THE TRUTH IT IS, AND I UTTER ONLY TRUTH. I will fill hell with you and all those who follow you." Say, "I do not ask you for a wage; I am not an impostor. This is a message to all people. You will surely find out after awhile." (38:82-88).
So We said, "O Adam, this is an enemy of you and your wife; let him not evict you from heaven, lest you become miserable," You are guaranteed that you do not hunger therein, nor go naked. And that you do not thirst therein, nor suffer any heat." (20:117-119)
(God said) "As for you, Adam, dwell with your wife in Paradise, and eat Therefrom as you please. But do not approach this one tree, lest you become wrongdoers" (2:35, 7:19).
First ever 'Tafsir' Explanation of God's Words!
But the devil whispered to them, in order to expose what was hidden from them, namely their bodies. He said, "Your Lord did not prohibit you from this tree, except to prevent you from becoming angels, or becoming immortal.." And he swore to them, "I am sincerely advising you". (7:20-21). The devil whispered to him, saying, "O Adam, let me show you the tree of eternity, and ever lasting kingship." (20:120)
But Quran says: "Whatever argument they come up with, we provide you with the truth, and a better explanation ." (25:33)
Adam and his Wife duped by Iblis!
He thus duped them, and when they tasted the tree, their bodies became visible to them, and they started to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. Their Lord called upon them, "Did I not forbid you from this tree, and tell you that the devil is your ardent enemy?" (7:22). They ate from it, whereupon their bodies became visible to them, and they tried to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. Thus, Adam disobeyed his Lord, and lost. (20:121).
The Remorseful First Family
They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged our souls and unless you forgive us, and have mercy on us, we will be losers." God said, "Go down therefrom, as enemies of one another. On earth will be your habitation and provision for a while. You will live therein, die therein, and get resurrected thereon." (7:23-25, 2:36).
Adam is Redeemed!
Then Adam received from his Lord words, whereby He redeemed Him. He is the Redeemer, the Merciful (2:37). His Lord chose him; He redeemed and guided him. (20:122). We said. "Go down therefrom, all of you, and when guidance comes to you from Me, those who follow My guidance have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. As for those who disbelieve and reject our revelations, they have deserved hell; they abide therein forever." (2:38-39)
God said, "Go down therefrom, all of you, as enemies of one another. When guidance comes to you from Me, those who follow My guidance will never go astray, nor suffer misery. As for him who disregards My message, he will have a miserable life, and we raise him, on the day of resurrection, blind." (20:123).
Seek Refuge in God
Shaitan is such a mischief maker because he is the greatest enemy of human being, so that Allah commands us to seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan even when we read the Quran. Allah commands: 'When you read Quran, seek God's protection from Shaitan, the rejected one' ( 1 6:981. Therefore, when we read Quran we must seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan.
You Cannot See Satan
God said, "O children of Adam, we have sent down to you garments to cover your bodies, and to serve as luxury. The garment of righteousness is the best. These are God's revelations to you, that you may take heed. O children of Adam, let not the devil mislead you, as he evicted your parents from Paradise, and removed their garments in order to show them their bodies. HE AND HIS TRIBE CAN SEE YOU, WHILE YOU CANNOT SEE THEM. We have assigned the devils as companions to those who do not believe." 17:2627). Tell My servants to treat each other in the best possible manner, for the devil will always try to divide them. Indeed, the devil is man's MOST ARDENT ENEMY. (17:53).
It is only natural that we human beings would like to stone their worst enemy, who caused the downfall of our original grand parents in order to humiliate him! The traditional version of how we take revenge on the enemy is given below. Cyril Glasse, a practising Muslim writes in his THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ISLAM (published by Stacey Int'l, London 1988, page 330) under the title, "Rami-l-Jimar"
"Rami-l-Jimar: One of the rites of the pilgrimage, the throwing of stones at three columns in Mina on the l0th, 11th and 12th day of Dhu-l-Hijjah. The pebbles, called jimar, are gathered at Muzdalifah the night before, where the pilgrimage stops on the way from 'Arafat.
As are the other rites of pilgrimage, the throwing of the stones is linked to Abraham. As Abraham proceeded to Mina to carry out God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma'il), the devil appeared three times to tempt his son, who was lagging behind his father, to run away. On each occasion Ishmael pelted Satan with stones at the spot marked by the columns of pillars (al-jamarat) representing the apparitions of Satan.
The three pillars, aligned in a row in the flat valley of Mina, are today accessible from ground level and from above by way of overhead ramp constructed to accommodate the millions that now come to perform the pilgrimage. The first pillar from Muzdalifah is called al-Jamarah as-suhrah or al-jamara al-ula ("the small" or "first pillar"): the second is aljamarah al-wusta 1"the middle pillar"); and the third is the aljamarah al-kubrah or jamara alaqabah,l"the large pillar" or "the Aqabah pillar").
On the 10th of Dhu-I-Hijjah the pilgrims throw seven pebbles, one after the other, at the large pillar, repeating the words Allahu Akbar, la ilaha illa Lilah (God is Greatest, there is no god but God). On the 1 1 th, the actions are repeated at the middle or large pillars, and again on the l2th. This completes the usual lapidation of pillars, for which ~ 9 pebbles are gathered at Muzdalifah. If one stays for another day, the l3th, then 70 pebbles are gathered. A pilgrim remaining past this time will continue stoning the pillars on the following days and he will have gathered more stones at Muzdalifah accordingly. This rite means, in a palpable, easily understandable way, of purification, or of taking a distance between oneself and evil in all its forms, not just temptation.
Failure to perform this rite during
the pilgrimage may be expiated by fasting, or sacrifice. The
repetition of the essential talbiyah invocation comes to an end
with the final stoning of the pillars, although some say the
talbiyah ends just before the lapidation begins.
On page 315 of the same book, Cyril Glasse writes under
"PILGRIMAGE"
The Third Day 10th Dhu-IHijjah is called the yaum annahr ("the day of sacrifice") to those on the pilgrimage. As the 'Id al'adha 1"the feast of the Sacrifice") it is also celebrated as a day of festival throughout the Muslim world. The dawn prayer is performed at Muzdalifah and the monument called al-Mash'ar alHaram, an open area, is visited. The pilgrim gathers 49 pebbles if he is going to stay at Mina for two days, and 70 if he will stay three. These pebbles should be approximately the size of a chickpea and they will be used to stone the symbolic pillar (al-jamarat) during the following days.
On the way to Mina, the Pilgrim
passes through a depression called Wadl Muhassar (also called
Wadl Nar). This is the place where the Army of the Elephant was
turned away and, through this, "a tormented place", the
pilgrim hurries through without lingering.
Upon reaching Mina, the Pilgrim casts seven stones at the jamarat al-'aqabah, the largest pillar, which represents the temptations of Satan. THE CASTING OF STONES ON THIS DAY IS OBLIGATORY....
The Final Days 1 1 th, 1 2th and 13th Dhu-I-Hijjah. During these days, called the ayyam at-tashriq ("days of drying meat"), the pilgrim stays at Mina and each day throws seven stones (raml-I-jimar) at each of the three jamarat, first pelting the small jamrah closest to the 'Arafat, then the middle jamrah, and ending with the large jamrah. These pillars stand in a row in the valley of Mina, now accessible by ramps on two levels. Stoning may not be carried out between sunset and sunrise, and it is Sunnah to do it before noon on the first day, and after noon on the other days. It is permissible to end the pilgrimage by leaving on the l2th, as long as one departs before sunset or has effectively made preparations for departure by sunset. If not one must remain for the third day. If one needs more pebbles for stoning, they may be gathered in Mina....
Thus, from 1 Oth to 1 2th or l0th to
13th Dhu-I-Hijjah the Pilgrims' all consuming obsession is
"Rami-I-Jimar" (to pelt and injure) Shaitan!! Or is it
possible to keep away from him and all the evils by stoning him?
On the Third Day; 10th Dhu-I-Hijjah THE CASTING OF STONES ON THIS
DAY IS OBLIGATORY. Know well whom we stone that day! We aim the
Devil and stone him! It would automatically mean, remembering of
"Shaitan" on that day is OBLIGATORY! Hajj will not be
acceptable if this obligatory action is not fulfilled!
Stoning the Devil
Make a comparative study of the "MAKING OF A SHAITAN"
and "THE PURPOSE OF HAJJ" as stated in the Quran, and
the traditional view on Hajj rituals. There arise several points.