The Secret Talking in Relation to Satan
Published in August 3, 2019
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Introduction:
The Quranic stories differ a great deal from historical narratives; the accounts of history are keen on mentioning the details of events, names, time, and place. In contrast, the Quranic stories focus on the moral lessons to be drawn; the Quran is a Book of Guidance, not of history. Since the focus is on the moral lessons, the Quranic stories rarely mention names of people and the time and place; the Quranic stories are stripped of time and place so that they are pondered as timeless; they apply to different people of all locations and eras until the end of days: (dis)believers, hypocrites, sinners, criminals,...etc. The Quranic stories cover some aspects of the past and some events which occurred during Muhammad's lifetime. Hence, since struggle is a pivotal axis in human history, secret talking about conspiring or evildoing is part of it; of course, some of the secret talking are devilish whispers by Satan when he inspire evil thoughts/deed to his allies/followers among the human devils. Of course, some of the secret talking inspired by Satan is part of temporary forgetfulness followed by repentance and asking for God's pardon (see our previous article: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=19871). Of course, hypocrites and disbelievers engaged into devilish secret talking because their devils (or evil jinn companions) dominated their souls and put veils/screens between their hearts and the Quranic Guidance; let us exemplify this by quoting and discussing some verses from the Holy Quran.
Firstly: the devilish secret talking among the disbelievers during the era of Muhammad:
1- In the Meccan Chapter 17, the Lord God has addressed the following to Muhammad: "When you read the Quran, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter an invisible barrier. And We drape veils over their hearts, preventing them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion. We know well what they listen to, when they listen to you, as they talk in secret, when the unjust ones say, "You only follow a man bewitched." Note what they compared you to. They are lost, and unable to find a way." (17:45-48).
2- We provide our brief pondering on the devilish secret talking mentioned in the context of 17:45-48.
2/1: This is addressed directly to Muhammad about disbelieving polytheists of his era who rejected the Quranic Message and accused Muhammad of being bewitched; yet, this applies to the imams/authors and clergymen of the Muhammadans: "We know well what they listen to, when they listen to you, as they talk in secret, when the unjust ones say, "You only follow a man bewitched." Note what they compared you to. They are lost, and unable to find a way." (17:47-48); this accusation is repeated in the Meccan Chapter 25 in the following verses: "...The unjust ones also say, “You are following but a bewitched man.” Look how they invent examples for you. They have gone astray, and cannot find a way." (25:8-9). The Muhammadans believe in the Al-Bokhary hadith which accuse Muhammad of being bewitched by a Jewish sorcerer: (... Hadith No. 5430: Ibrahim Ibn Moussa said that Eissa Ibn Younis said that Hisham said that his father said that Aisha wife of the Prophet, may the Lord God be pleased with her, said that a Jewish sorcerer from the tribe of Bani Zurayq, whose name was Lubayd Ibn Al-Aasam, bewitched Prophet Muhammad with his magic while he spent his night in the chamber of Aisha; he made him assume he had sex with her, but he had not. After he slept, he woke up to tell Aisha that God sent two angels who took the human form of two men, to heal him; they informed him in a dream of the sorcery of the Jewish man and evil spell written on a comb put into a piece of wood of a palm-tree thrown into a water-well; they told him how to be cured...The Prophet made some of his friends extract the comb and the piece of wood from the water-well and after smashing them and burying them, he was cured from the evil spell of the Jewish man's sorcery...). We should imagine that the cursed Quran-hating Persian man, Ibn Berzaweih Al-Bokhary, talked in secret with his companions among the human devils who hate Islam so as to formulate the text of such a hadith in the 'best' and most 'convincing' manner to deceive the naïve, gullible Muhammadans.
2/2: The devilish companions control souls of disbelieving polytheists, thus preventing them to ponder the Quranic Truth and Light of Guidance. Both souls and jinn devils belong to the Barsakh metaphysical realm which cannot be seen by the human eyes; hence, we cannot see the veils put by the devilish companions on hearts/souls of those who deny/reject the Quran.
2/3: This is about the devilish secret talking of disbelievers during Muhammad's lifetime: "Their hearts distracted, the unjust ones talk secretly, “Is this anything but a mortal like you? Will you take to sorcery, with open-eyes?” " (21:3).
Secondly: the secret talking between the truth and sinning within the Quranic stories of some non-hypocritical companions of Muhammad:
1- A corrupt young man, whose affluent, powerful family members are leaders of a certain village, stole a cow from the farm of a peasant; the peasant filed a complaint to the mayor of the village; the mayor knew the thief, through thorough investigations, and decided not to embarrass the affluent, powerful family of the corrupt young man who stole the cow; the mayor and the family members talked secretly by night to find a solution as their reputation was at stake; the stolen cow was put, by night, into the farm of a poor peasant; in the very next day, the framed poor peasant was accused of theft, fettered, and thrown into a prison cell; the affluent, powerful family complained that their young man was accused without a shred of evidence; the mayor announced that their young man was innocent and he asked the peasant whose cow was stolen to apologize to the young man and his family members.
2- Sadly, the above story, though untrue, can happen in most societies; i.e., framing innocent people to allow affluent, guilty ones to run away with their misdeed/crime without being accused of anything.
3- This event/incident may occur in any given society; during the era of Muhammad in Yathreb, someone stole something, and his powerful family members feared the scandal and held secret talking to conspire evil by framing someone and accuse him of theft; Muhammad never knew the invisible; the wronged party accused an innocent person of theft and Muhammad never knew that he defended the culprit as per the request of his family while the framed person was accused though he was innocent. This is indicated in the context of the Quranic verses 4:105-115.
4- Let us quote the entire Quranic context here: "We have revealed to you the Book, with the Truth, so that you judge between people in accordance with what God has shown you. And do not be an advocate for the traitors. And ask God for forgiveness. God is Forgiver and Merciful. And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. God does not love deceitful sinners. They hide from the people, but they cannot hide from God. He is with them, as they plot by night with words He does not approve. God comprehends what they do. There you are, arguing on their behalf in the present life, but who will argue with God on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection? Or who will be their representative? Whoever commits evil, or wrongs his soul, then implores God for forgiveness, will find God Forgiving and Merciful. And Whoever earns a sin, earns it against himself. God is Aware and Wise. And whoever commits a mistake, or a sin, and then blames it on an innocent person, has burdened himself with an evil deed and a grave sin. Were it not for God’s grace towards you, and His mercy, a faction of them would have managed to mislead you. But they only mislead themselves, and they cannot harm you in any way. God has revealed to you the Book and Wisdom, and has taught you what you did not know. God’s goodness towards you is great. There is no good in much of their secret talking, except for him who advocates charity, or kindness, or reconciliation between people. Whoever does that, seeking God’s approval, We will give him a great compensation. Whoever makes a breach with the Messenger, after the guidance has become clear to him, and follows other than the path of the believers, We will direct him in the direction he has chosen, and commit him to Hell - what a terrible destination!" (4:105-115).
5- We provide our brief pondering on the Quranic context 4:105-115 in the points below.
5/1: As per the Quranic stories methodology, no names are mentioned in 4:105-115; this event is stripped of useless details of names, time, place, etc. so that moral lessons are drawn from a timeless story that can occur anytime anywhere about framing innocent people to save sinners/criminals who have power and authority.
5/2: Muhammad never knew the aspects of the unseen/invisible; he will never act as an intercessor arguing on behalf of anyone on the Last Day.
5/3: The only infallibility granted by the Lord God to Muhammad is linked to conveying the Quranic verses accurately; with the Lord God's leave, the Quran in this incident (in 4:105-115) helped save Muhammad from being deceived by some of his companions/contemporaries who lied to him; if it had not been for the Quranic revelation, their deception would not have been exposed.
5/4: Some non-hypocritical companions of Muhammad are described by the Lord God in the Quran as sinful traitors.
5/5: The following Quranic facts assert the individual responsibility of the burden of sin(s).
5/5/1: Sinners who readily repent, ask for the Lord God's pardon, and make amends are forgiven by the Lord God.
5/5/2: No one shall carry the burden of sins except the sinners who committed these sins.
5/5/3: The burden of sin doubles when criminals frame innocent ones by accusing them of committing the sin(s) perpetrated by the criminals: "Whoever commits evil, or wrongs his soul, then implores God for forgiveness, will find God Forgiving and Merciful. And Whoever earns a sin, earns it against himself. God is Aware and Wise. And whoever commits a mistake, or a sin, and then blames it on an innocent person, has burdened himself with an evil deed and a grave sin." (4:110-112).
6- Secret talking here is about evil/sin; i.e., framing an innocent person to remove the suspicion from a criminal; the hypocrites did not fear their Lord God; He has warned them here: "There is no good in much of their secret talking, except for him who advocates charity, or kindness, or reconciliation between people. Whoever does that, seeking God’s approval, We will give him a great compensation. Whoever makes a breach with the Messenger, after the guidance has become clear to him, and follows other than the path of the believers, We will direct him in the direction he has chosen, and commit him to Hell - what a terrible destination!" (4:114-115).
Thirdly: the secret talking of the hypocrites of Yathreb:
1- The hypocrites were rich leaders of Yathreb and they resented the loss of their high stature and their authority once Muhammad and the Meccan believers settled in Yathreb; the hypocrites could not leave their city, wealth, and possessions; they hated that Muhammad became the leader of the burgeoning Yathreb city-state. They seized the chance (and took advantage) of absolute religious and political freedom in the Yathreb city-state to peacefully express their religious and political opposition (i.e., without violence or raising arms); the hypocrites hated the Islamic Shura/consultation assemblies which included women and men; they accused Muhammad of being "an ear"; i.e., he listens to anybody and nobodies randomly: "And among them are those who insult the prophet, and say, “He is all ears.” Say, “He listens for your own good. He believes in God, and trusts the believers, and is mercy for those of you who believe.” Those who insult the messenger of God will have a painful torment." (9:61).
2- Secret talking of conspiracies was the evil method of the hypocrites to spoil Islamic Shura/consultation gatherings; the Lord God has said the following to Muhammad: "Have you noted those who were prohibited from talking secretly, but then reverted to what they were prohibited from? They talk in secret to conspire sin, and aggression, and disobedience of the Messenger. And when they come to you, they greet you with a greeting that God never greeted you with. And they say within themselves, “Why does God not torment us for what we say?” Hell is enough for them. They will burn in it. What a miserable destiny!" (58:8); the Lord God has addressed this warning to the early believers: "O you who believe! When you talk secretly, do not talk secretly about sin, and aggression, and disobedience of the Messenger; but talk secretly about virtue and piety; And fear God within piety, to Whom you will be gathered. Secret talking about conspiring is from Satan, that he may dishearten those who believe; but he will not harm them in the least, except by leave of God. So let the believers put their trust in God." (58:9-10). Hence, good secret talking within Islam is about piety, righteousness, and virtue; in contrast, devilish secret talking about sins, evil, and aggression is inspired by Satan.
3- It is noteworthy that hypocrites of Yathreb established a harmful mosque where they talked in secret to conspire, plot, and scheme: "Then there are those who establish a mosque to cause harm, and disbelief, and disunity among the believers, and as an outpost for those who fight God and His messenger..." (9:107).
Fourthly: the secret talking between the truth and sinning within the Quranic story of Joseph:
1- The sinful brothers of Joseph talked secretly to conspire evil against Joseph during his childhood: "In Joseph and his brothers are lessons for the seekers. When they said, “Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we are, although we are a whole group. Our father is obviously misguided. “Kill Joseph, or throw him somewhere in the land, and your father's attention will be yours. Afterwards, you will be good people.” One of them said, “Do not kill Joseph, but throw him into the bottom of the well; some caravan may pick him up - if you must do something.”" (12:7-10).
2- During the era of Joseph in Egypt, three sinful secret talking within gatherings took place as follows.
2/1: The women of the affluent class in ancient Egypt's capital talked secretly (or gossiped) about the Potiphar's wife's deep love towards her servant, Joseph, even before they saw him: "Some ladies in the city said, “The Potiphar's wife is trying to seduce her servant. She is deeply in love with him. We see she has gone astray.”" (12:30).
2/3: The Potiphar's wife's secret talking with the women of the affluent class within her plan to entrap/ensnare Joseph: "And when she heard of their gossip, she invited them, and prepared for them a banquet, and she gave each one of them a knife. She said, “Come out before them.” And when they saw him, they marveled at him, and cut their hands. They said, “Good God, this is not a human, this must be a precious angel.” She said, “Here he is, the one you blamed me for. I did try to seduce him, but he resisted. But if he does not do what I tell him to do, he will be imprisoned, and will be one of the despised.” He said, “My Lord, prison is more desirable to me than what they call me to. Unless You turn their scheming away from me, I may yield to them, and become one of the ignorant ones.” Thereupon his Lord answered him, and diverted their scheming away from him. He is the Hearer, the Knower." (12:31-34).
2/3: Men of authority talked secretly and decided to imprison Joseph unjustly to avoid a scandal in the upper classes: "Then it occurred to them, after they had seen the signs, to imprison him for a while." (12:35).
3- The secret talking here by the brothers of Joseph (after Joseph took his brother from them by means of an intrigue) shows their conscience which was awakened: "And when they despaired of him, they talked secretly. Their eldest said, “Don’t you know that your father received a pledge from you before God, and in the past you failed with regard to Joseph? I will not leave this land until my father permits me, or God decides for me; for He is the Best of Judges.” “Go back to your father, and say, ‘Our father, your son has stolen. We testify only to what we know, and we could not have prevented the unforeseen.’” “Ask the town where we were, and the caravan in which we came. We are being truthful.”" (12:80-82).
Fifthly: about the Islamic secret talking juxtaposed with devilish secret talking within the Quranic story of Moses:
1- The policies of enthroned tyrants include endless series of secret talking about conspiring, committing evil/sins, plots, intrigues, and aggression. This is about the leading/ruling tyrannical criminals in all places in all eras: "And thus We set up in every city its leading wicked sinners, to conspire in it, but they conspire only against themselves, and they do not realize it." (6:123). Moses' Pharaoh is the leader and the worst example of all criminals and enthroned tyrants who came after him; within the Quranic stories about Pharaoh, we see his name linked in most cases to conspiring and secret talking; this is mentioned explicitly here: "They disagreed among themselves over their affair, and talked secretly. They said, “These two are magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic, and to abolish your exemplary way of life. So settle your plan, and come as one front. Today, whoever gains the upper hand will succeed.”" (20:62-64).
2- In contrast, the victims among the people of Moses, or the Israelites, talked among one another secretly; we infer this from the following verse: "And We inspired Moses and his brother, “Settle your people in Egypt, and make your homes places of worship, and perform the prayer, and give good news to the believers.”" (10:87).
Sixthly: secret talking of the pious ones is about fearing the Lord God without seeing Him:
1- The pious ones fear their Lord God in public and in private because they are aware of these Quranic facts: "Does he not know that God sees?" (96:14); "Do you not realize that God knows everything in the heavens and everything on earth? There is no secret talking between three, but He is their fourth; nor between five, but He is their sixth; nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be..." (58:7); "Or do they think that We cannot hear their secrets and their secret talking? Yes indeed, Our messengers are by them, writing down." (43:80); "Do they not know that God knows their secrets and their secret talking? And that God is the Knower of the unseen?" (9:78); "...God is Witness over all things." (4:33); "...and God is Witness enough." (4:79); "...Though God is a Sufficient Witness." (4:166).
2- The pious ones fear their Lord Allah without seeing Him: "Those who fear their Lord without seeing Him, and are apprehensive of the Hour." (21:49); "...You are to warn those who fear their Lord without seeing Him, and perform prayers. He who purifies himself purifies himself for his own good. To God is the ultimate return." (35:18); "You warn only him who follows the Message, and fears the Dominant Lord without seeing Him. So give him good news of forgiveness, and a generous reward." (36:11); "Who feared the Dominant Lord without seeing Him, and came with a repentant heart." (50:33); "As for those who fear their Lord without seeing Him - for them is forgiveness and a great reward." (67:12).
3- Quranic/Islamic legislations focus on piety within one's heart/soul and not on people watching or spying on one another; for instance, within divorce legislations, warning and preaching are linked to piety when applying these legislations: "When you divorce women, and they have reached their term, either retain them amicably, or release them amicably. But do not retain them to hurt them and commit aggression. Whoever does that has wronged himself. And do not take God’s Verses for a joke. And remember God's favor to you, and that He revealed to you the Book and Wisdom to teach you. And fear God within piety, and know that God is Aware of everything. When you divorce women, and they have reached their term, do not prevent them from marrying their husbands, provided they agree on fair terms. Thereby is advised whoever among you believes in God and the Last Day..." (2:231-232); "O prophet! If any of you divorce women...and calculate their term. And be pious before God, your Lord. And do not evict them from their homes, nor shall they leave, unless they have committed a proven adultery. These are the laws of God - whoever oversteps God’s laws has wronged his own soul... Once they have reached their term, either retain them honorably, or separate from them honorably...By that is exhorted whoever believes in God and the Last Day. And whoever fears God - He will make a way out for him. " (65:1-2).