Running head: THREE CONTEMPORARY WEAPONS OF SHAYTAAN 1

Islamic Online University

Bachelor of Arts in Islamic Studies

Aqeedah 401 Assignment (Spring 2019)

Attempt Count: (1)

Full Name: Halima Qaderi Student ID: [10077432]

Topic

2. Discuss three contemporary weapons of Shaytaan and how he

is using them to mislead Muslims. Suggest ways to avoid these
traps.

Word limit: 1000 to 1400

THREE CONTEMPORARY WEAPONS OF SHAYTAAN 2

Three Contemporary Weapons of Shaytaan

Halima Qaderi

Islamic Online University

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Three Contemporary Weapons of Shaytaan

In the name of Allaah - the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Shaytaan has been misleading the majority of mankind in whichever way he gets successful,

since the time of Adam and Eve. Nowadays, there are some weaknesses which all human

beings are prone to submit to because they have accepted these practices as normal and

consider them as alright and permissible - namely, excessive talking, excessive eating, and

misuse of time. Thus, where shaytaan fails to mislead Muslims in other areas of major sins, he

makes sure to mislead most of them by these weaknesses. However, these weaknesses if not

taken into consideration and kept in control can lead an individual far astray in life and can

cause great harm to the person and the society.

Firstly, excessive talk is indeed a source of much evil in a society. When one speaks more

than necessary and good, there will be backbiting and evil talk in his speech about the things

that are of no concern to him. This then causes enmity among the people and breaking of ties

of kinship and friendship. Hence, the prophet (pbuh) said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the

Last Day, let him/her say what is good or remain silent.” (Bukhari and Muslim, cited in Muslim

Marriage Guide) This indeed is a great guidance for us regarding our speech that leads to the

spiritual and mental wellness of an us and a healthy society. The prophet (pbuh) said, “Do not

indulge in excessive talk except when remembering Allah. Excessive talking without the

Remembrance of Allah hardens the heart; and those who are the farthest from Allah are those

whose hearts are hard.” (Tirmidhi, cited in Hadith of the Day)

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The more a person talks, the more he/she is likely to say things without thinking. Unmindful

talking may happen to be the reason for many offences as well as misunderstanding between

persons and families. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “A person utters a word thoughtlessly (i.e.

without thinking about its being good or not) and, as a result of this, he will fall down into the

fire of Hell deeper than the distance between the east and the west.” (Bukhari and Muslim,

cited in Muslim Marriage Guide) In essence, because of the evil consequences of speaking

thoughtlessly, one is driven into destruction on the last day. Also in this world the person of

such a characteristic loses his/her respect and honor in the eyes of the people.

Another serious matter with the Muslims these days is their affliction with the illness called

obesity. This day eating in excess has become a part of luxurious life. Even though eating more

is an invitation to so many problems, yet no real considerations are taken by Muslims to

prevent themselves from eating in excess. The hadith says, “The son of Adam does not fill any

vessel worse than his stomach. It is enough for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfuls to keep

him going, but if he must (fill his stomach), then one third for his food, one third for his drink

and one third for air.”(Tirmidhi, cited in Islam Question & Answer) This hadith puts a blueprint

for the amount we should be eating. We are discouraged from eating more due to the harms it

causes to our health as well as making us heavy and lazy and unable to do our daily worships

and works effectively.

The harmful effects that eating excessively causes to the human body include both physical

and spiritual harms. “The famous scholar ibn Rajab said “Spiritual benefits for eating in

moderation include: humbleness of heart, strength of understanding, curbing one’s desires and

lessening of personal opinions and anger. Over-eating induces the opposite of all of the
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above.”” (Amina khan, 2019) Also a big harm of excessive eating to the society is the

extravagance it leads to and the lack of concern for the poor.

The prophet (pbuh) said, “There are two favors (two blessings from Allah upon the humans)

that many people do not make the most of (and thus lose out): good health and free

time.” (Bukhari, cited in Assim al-hakeem) Misusage of time, health and tongues interconnect

with each other in that they all cause us to lose our physical and spiritual life and health in

exchange for nothing and often in exchange for evil consequences. While eating and speaking in

excess are factors directly connected to the wastage of time, the misuse of time have more

causes to it.

If we consider the value of time that Allah (SWT) has given it, we really should say that the

amount of time that is wasted in vain is from the weapons of the shaytaan. Time is really

important in our lives as we have a set amount of time in which we will choose how much and

what kind of deeds we put forth for our everlasting life of the hereafter. “Whoever loses these

days, these months, these years; whoever loses time, he is in loss; because this is your capital.

Any trade that you do, you must have a capital. And our capital in life is our ‘Time.’” (Al-

hakeem, 2015)

Nowadays, we see time deprived of the blessings it had once upon a time, even at the times

of our childhood, and people claiming that time flies, but why is this so? This is mainly because

the time spent on insignificant things does not have any blessings in it. Even if we do the right

things but not at the right times, for example praying late, can make the time void of its

blessings. Whereas, from my own experience, the day in which I offer all prayers on time and
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make the right things my priority to be done on that day, I see it more lasting and all my works

get done, even that I get extra time despite finishing all the important works.

More dangerous in all of these is the negligence of the Muslims’ of these weapons of

shaytaan that he uses against them. Even sometimes they feel proud for themselves for

pursuing these habits of misguidance. For example; I have seen people who boast about their

habits of eating more and their extravagance; I have seen people who laugh and say ‘oh I use

most of my time on the social media’ in which they then show off their extravagance, and who

say ‘oh I sleep a lot’; and I have seen the kind of people who not only do gossip and backbite

others but also make fun of others in gatherings, and then feel proud of themselves because

they created amusement for the audience and because the audience laughed on his/her jokes.

Moreover, most of the people who abuse these important aspects, which they can also use to

earn huge rewards, undermine the sins earned thereof.

I would like to mention that there are instructions in Islam regarding all the three

characteristics of speaking, eating, and time usage, which if followed can each become a source

of success for an individual in this life as well as the next. But the sad fact is that Muslims either

do not know about these guidelines or they do not take them seriously. This is because

Muslims, most of them, are going with the flow. By that I mean they do what others do and

especially they are okay with doing it if other Muslims are doing it. For this we need to

challenge this type of mentality by changing ourselves first and then advising others and making

them conscious by reminding them of the great evil caused by these acts.
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May Allah the all-mighty guide us all to realize our wrong habits and then work to erase

those habits from our lives. We as humans, and the vicegerents of Allah (SWT) on earth, should

spread awareness about the Islamic ethics regarding these acts as well as the harms these

habits have caused so far and the ultimate harm and damage these will cause to the Ummah on

the Day of Judgment. We should advise our families first and foremost to use the time they

have for the benefit of themselves and others and not on the contrary. A rightly guided society

should begin with our family. We should motivate people to use each of these three aspects in

a wise manner. In fact, our life can be seen as a blessing or as a curse depending on how we use

our time, our health, and our tongues. May we all strive in the straight path.
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References

Al-Hakeem, A. (Oct 4, 2015). WASTING TIME. Assim al-Hakeem. Retrieved from

https://www.assimalhakeem.net/wasting-time/

Amina Khan. (2019, 2, 12). The Healthy Muslim Blueprint: How to Lose Weight & Stay Healthy in 2019

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPCxk8X9KBI

Al-Munajjid, S. (July 15, 2011). Ruling on eating one’s fill and is it regarded as extravagance? Islam

Question & Answer. Retrieved from https://islamqa.info/en/answers/145160/ruling-on-eating-

ones-fill-and-is-it-regarded-as-extravagance

Beware of Talking Too Much. (July 3, 2015). Muslim Marriage Guide. Retrieved from

https://www.muslimmarriageguide.com/beware-of-talking-too-much/

Today’s Beautiful Hadith is about Excessive Talking. (Aug 27, 2015). Hadith of the Day. Retrieved

from https://hadithoftheday.com/todays-beautiful-hadith-is-about-excessive-talking/