The biggest enemy

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“Mom…..mommy “Aisha yelled with all her strength as she returned from school and didn’t find her mother in the lounge.

‘Here I am, up in the study’ replied Aisha’s mother, not a lady of steel or iron, but a lady of books. She wasn’t like any of those conventional readers whom you see buying books mindlessly and picking everything from the shelf out there .Neither was she the one to spend nights on popular fiction and be one of those who actually bought the million copies sold. Few authors she trusted. Fewer books, she picked.

Aisha, her only daughter, loved to listen to the timeless tales from the collection of books selected with immense care and thoughtfulness.

Wait for me, I am coming’ said Ayesha.

Aisha climbed the stairs in a hurry- before her mother decides to exit the study-and quickly searched for her mother in the myriad of books that had enveloped the second-floor from bottom to top. There, she saw her mother sitting on an old wooden chair, holding a book that she hadn’t seen in her hands before.

Whoa, you started a new book! That means we have a new story now! ‘Aisha said joyfully

‘I did, but this time, I don’t think I have much to excite you, Infact it might create a little bit of discomfort. Do you still want to give it a shot?’

You haven’t failed any, so why not?

Then the following happened:

Mom: Well, I am reading about Shaitan, you know who that is right?

Ayesha: Of course, you mean the biggest enemy, right? Who doesn’t?

Mom: Well, I just realized we haven’t dedicated any time to actually know him.

Ayesha: Why would one want to know his enemy, he is a foe and we need to maintain distance. Isn’t that all?

Mom: Honey, tell me one thing, if a trusted acquaintance tells you that Shaitan is on his way to mislead you and this time he is more fervent than ever, how would you defend yourself.

Ayesha: Mmmmm…maybe just by avoiding to think about him…I guess.

Mom: So you say that an army won’t march,  if you close the eyes? Come ‘on sweetheart, don’t be silly!

Ayesha: Perhaps……… by figuring out……which route the army shall take .

Mom: Exactly! You would want to know your foes so that you can install the barriers and blockades.

Ayesha: Hmmm, does sound logical! But there is a question that stays.

Mom: Go ahead… Hon!

Ayesha: No matter what we know of Shaitan, we will never know his routes and plans, he is invisible. Unseen for the humankind.

Mom: That is the point, Now listen with all your attention my dear. Shaitan is our enemy as Allah has mentioned in the Quran. He has a wicked purpose to fulfill and he has been holding grudges since the creation of mankind. He is our enemy who doesn’t tire easily. For you to know his routes, you will have to become mindful of the places you attend, for wherever you go, he squeezes himself there and whatever you think, his unsolicited advice will always follow. You sleep but he stays up. The world is his office. The humans are his projects. Mind that no project does he leave untouched. Don’t forget, the more hideous the army, the better the defensive mechanisms. Your job is to be constantly mindful of his whispers. Don’t focus on where it comes from, instead register the fact that it is approaching from all sides. You don’t have the luxury to leave a direction unguarded, you understand that?

Ayesha: So you want to make the impression that he is smart?

Mom: You got it wrong, he is smarter.

Ayesha: compared to whom?

Mom: Compared to everybody who thinks, has conquered him.

Ayesha: So I don’t think I am going to worry, I read the Quran and acquire religious knowledge. His bad intentions undeniably rule me out.

Mom: This is his first win at misleading you. To drag you under the deception of being an exception. But for whom is it more effortless to be misled than the one who thinks he couldn’t be? Is it any difficult to defeat an army when all  the soldiers are in their beds, sleeping peacefully and none seems to have foreseen the danger.

Ayesha: you really did cause some discomfort…

Mom: Some discomfort in the temporary world warrants the perpetuation of peace in the next.

A summarized and converted-to-narrative version of my teacher’s beautifully articulated and guidance-filled lecture of how we need to defend ourselves from the evil of Shaitan

May Allah protect us from our biggest enemy Shaitan and keep us mindful of his tactics upon us. May Allah shield our intentions and actions from his gimmicks and make us reach Jannah with His fadl and graciousness. Ameen

 

 


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