The precious selection from the deception of Satan

Author's name: Ibn al-Jawzi

Written by Ali Hassan Ali Abdel Hamid

Part of the presentation

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His aid, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our deeds. He whom Allah guides, none can misguide, and he whom He misguides, none can guide.

I bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

Now then:

For God says in His decisive Qur’an, narrating from Iblis: “He said, ‘Respite me until the Day they are resurrected.’ He said, ‘Indeed, you are of those granted respite.’ He said, ‘Then as long as you have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and you will not find most of them grateful.’” (Al-A’raf: 14-17) This great verse reveals the features of a fierce war between Satan and his soldiers on the one hand, and God’s friends and servants on the other hand.

There is no protection for the believer from this fierce war except by seeking help from his Lord, glory be to Him, and arming himself with beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, so that he does not give Satan and his soldiers any openings through which they can pass, or by means of which they can enter him.

The first spark of this devastating war was when God Almighty created His Prophet Adam: “Then Satan whispered to him, saying, ‘O Adam, shall I guide you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not deteriorate?’” (120) [Taha: 120].

Since that day, war has been a debate between Satan and his followers, and the guardians of God and His worshippers. Sometimes the side of evil appears to prevail, and often the side of good prevails.

The scholars of the nation and the elite of the imams became aware of this raging conflict, so they wrote many books to alert the sincere servants and the pious Muslims.

It warns them of the evils of Satan, and forbids them from his temptations and deceptions. So Imam Ibn Abi Al-Dunya, who died in the year 281 AH, wrote his book “The Devil’s Tricks” (1).

Sheikh Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, who died in the year 505 AH, wrote his book “The Deception of Satan.”

Our great author, Imam Ibn al-Jawzi, wrote his book “The Deception of Satan.”

After them came Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, who died in the year 751 AH.

So he wrote his book “Relief for the Distressed from the Traps of Satan.”

Thus, in a series of beneficial scientific works, whose authors - may God Almighty have mercy on them - wanted to expose the traps of Satan and reveal his deceptions.

And clarifying his deceptions. Since this is the case, I saw it as my duty to have some kind of contribution to the continuation of this enlightened and good path, but....

I read in “Siyar A’lam al-Nubala” (15/273) by the historian of Islam, Hafiz Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi, in the biography of Imam al-Muqri Ibn Mujahid, the following: “Ibn Abi Hashim said, ‘A man said to Ibn Mujahid: Why don’t you choose a letter for yourself?’ He said: ‘We are more in need of choosing than we are of working on preserving what has passed.”

God's words resonated in my heart, so I sought out a book through which I could serve God's monotheistic servants, to add a new weapon to their hand against the accursed Satan, in their war with him until he submits! So the choice was for the book "The Deception of Satan" by Imam Ibn al-Jawzi - may God Almighty have mercy on him - for the following reasons:

First: His excellent treatment of the important topics he touched upon in his book that are beneficial.

Second: The similarity of the reality that the author spoke about in his book to the reality that we live in these days.

Third: The great fame that the book gained among all classes of people: private and public.

Fourth: The absence of a scientifically verified version that would reassure the average Muslim and student of knowledge.

And other reasons that are not hidden upon reflection.

So I have classified this book in your hands - dear reader - in the manner you see; asking God Almighty to benefit its reader and the one who looks at it, and to write the reward for its author, its reviewer, and its selectors, for He is the All-Hearing, the All-Answering...

And our final supplication is: All praise is due to God, Lord of the Worlds.

Written by

Abu al-Harith al-Halabi al-Athari