How Does Satan Deviate Humans on the Straight Path?
Is it really true that Satan waits for us on the Straight Path? Isn’t the Straight Path the way to reach God? So what is Satan doing there? Surely you have experienced times when just as you decide to take a positive action, a flood of problems and obstacles arise. Don’t be surprised, because Satan lies in ambush on the Straight Path, and to reach Allah, we must fight this training opponent.
For example, just when we want to help someone, a financial problem arises that makes us anxious about the future; or when we decide to start a new spiritual endeavor, Satan reminds us of past failures and discourages us; when we want to know ourselves, he keeps us busy with petty problems until we completely forget why we need to become acquainted with our true self.
However, Satan’s presence on the right path is necessary, because his duty is to remind us of our weaknesses and deviations. His role in our lives is exactly this, but if we are not familiar with his attack methods and how to deal with him, we will be completely surprised and diverted from the path to our purpose of creation.
If you understand how a system or computer network works, you know a virus usually infiltrates where security is low or weaknesses exist; Satan uses the same method to infiltrate and divert us from the Straight Path. He targets the vulnerabilities we have—if he knows we are attached to worldly luxuries and glitter, he diverts us through that; if we are weak in controlling animalistic desires, he targets our sleep and food and distracts us with improper relationships, pulling us away from the Straight Path. Therefore, we must know that as soon as we set out on the path to Allah, Satan lies in ambush on the Straight Path ready to attack us. How these attacks divert us and what we can do to be safe from them are all topics we will explore in this lesson.
The Straight Path or Going Astray?
We did not come to this world without purpose. Our life here has a goal, which is nothing but reaching Allah and resembling Him. The way to this goal is not beyond our ability or understanding; God has clearly defined the origin, path, and destination for us, and by sending us a roadmap and infallible guides, He has clarified the role model for us. It is up to us to organize our thoughts, behaviors, relationships, and decisions so that ultimately we are born healthy into the hereafter and resemble the Absolute Perfection—Allah.
However, our existential structure allows for the choice of other paths as well. A path that does not lead to our bliss but traps us for eternity; we either go astray, thereby becoming servants of Satan and completing his schemes, or choose the path to God, in which case Satan lies in ambush on the Straight Path and will not leave us alone. He uses every weakness and opportunity to divert us from our path.
Because of his pride and jealousy towards humans, Satan strives with all his might to prevent us from reaching our purpose of creation. His greatest effort is to stop us from standing on the Straight Path. Naturally, if we do not take the first step correctly, we become confused and lost later on; so the easiest way for Satan is to prevent our self-knowledge, for without understanding our true self, we will feel no need to reach Allah or resemble Him.
How Does Satan Divert Us from the Straight Path?
The path of resembling Allah is not easy. As said, Satan lies in ambush on the Straight Path and spares no effort to divert us. Consider a wrestler in the middle of the wrestling mat: how the opponent uses the slightest opportunity to distract him, unbalance him, and quickly bring him down. Satan’s behavior on the Straight Path is the same; he uses the smallest negligence to unsettle our balance. Satan tries to prevent us from knowing the truth of our existence, and if we partially know ourselves, he tries to destroy that knowledge by sowing doubt. Satan does not easily let us go; if he sees us steady, he creates negligence and ultimately tries to turn us away from our growth path by our actions.
What Can We Do?
Now the question is: how can we maintain our balance on the path to resembling Allah despite all of Satan’s whispers? Perhaps if we recall school days, we remember classmates who always picked on others’ weaknesses. Satan does exactly the same—he targets our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Because he cannot access our supra-rational dimension, he uses the lower perfections of our existence as a lever to disrupt our balance and divert us from the path pf the purpose of our creation.
Naturally, if the lower beloveds of our being are controlled by our supra-rational and we maintain human balance, we will block Satan’s way. Just as a rock climber cannot climb without places to hold or put his feet, Satan also needs “handles” to grasp and enter our soul. We provide these handles unwittingly.
Though Satan lies in ambush on the Straight Path trying to divert us, God has declared Satan to be an open enemy to us [1]. Therefore, recognizing his cunning and attacks is not difficult—provided we understand our existential structure and Satan’s modes of attack on the Straight Path so that we are not caught off guard.
Imagine you are traversing a mountainous path; naturally, if you are aware of the turns and dangers and know your weaknesses and strengths, you prepare yourself for potential dangers. Being familiar with Satan’s types of attacks on the Straight Path helps us expect an attack fitting the conditions we are in.
When we pay excessive attention to the lower dimensions of our existence, we should expect Satan’s attack from the left side; when we think we have succeeded completely, an attack from the right side is likely. When regret and sorrow from the past trouble us, we should know an attack from behind threatens us; when we worry about the future, keep in mind Satan tries to mislead us from his frontal attack. Being prepared reduces harm and lowers the chance of being diverted from the path of resemblance to Allah.
In this lesson, we said that whether we want it or not, when we are on the Straight Path—the path to Allah—Satan lies in ambush waiting for us and spares no effort to cause negligence and disrupt our balance. Satan is our open enemy, and his cunning and deceit are obvious—if we understand our existential structure and the nature of his attacks on the Straight Path, we will not be caught unaware.
Did you know that even on the Straight Path, Satan is lurking? How prepared are you to confront his attacks?
References
[1]. Quran, 43:67