Between Shaytans And Angels

“Two emotions stir within the heart: one from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and the other from shaytan, the enemy of mankind.”

The heart wavers between good and evil due to its nature. To attain the love and rida of Allah, a believer needs to keep the thoughts in their heart under control, rid themselves of waswasas, also known as whispers of the nafs and shaytan, and turn to the righteous path of truth and goodness.

The thoughts that call for good deeds are said to be inspired by angels, while those that lure us towards evil are said to be whispered by shaytan. It is divine grace that prepares the heart to accept virtuous inspirations, while those that make us more receptive to the whispers of shaytan are known as ighwa and khizlan.

Angels are creatures created by Allah Almighty with the duty of inviting us towards goodness, teaching us knowledge, and commanding us to do good. It is for this reason that Allah has created and appointed them.

On the other hand, shaytans are creatures with opposite qualities to angels. Their purpose is to lead us towards wickedness and hideous acts. When we intend to do something good, they try to scare us with poverty and delirious thoughts of how any selfless act will mean that we will be hemorrhaging precious time and resources we could have invested into our own potential gains and made life easier for ourselves.

The heart is in an endless conflict between the influence of the angels and that of shaytan, constantly being pulled in one direction or the other. As Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) once said, "Indeed the shaytan has an effect on the son of Adam, and the angel also has an effect. As for the shaytan, it is by threatening evil repercussions and rejecting the truth. As for the effect of the angel, it is by his promise of a good end and believing in the truth. Whoever finds that, let him know that it is from Allah, and let him praise Allah for it. Whoever finds the other, then let him seek refuge with Allah from the shaytan (the outcast)."

After saying this, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) recited the following verse from the Holy Quran:

“Shaytan frightens you with poverty, and bids you to commit indecency, and Allah promises you forgiveness from Him, and grace as well. And Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (Al-Baqarah, 268)

Hasan al-Basri (rahmatullahi alayh) once said, "Two emotions stir within the heart: one from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and the other from shaytan, the enemy of mankind. Whenever a feeling or thought arises, a person should sift through it and accept it if it is from Allah and reject it if it is from shaytan."

The heart is created with an equal capacity to accept the influences of the angels and shaytans. Neither side dominates the other. One side will overpower the other only when a person heedlessly follows their desires or does the exact opposite by resisting temptations and doing good deeds. If a person is overwhelmed by their desires or anger, shaytan’s influence will reign over their heart, for desire is shaytan’s domain. However, if a person controls their wants and does not let them hold sway over them, their heart becomes a place where angels frequent.

Shaytan can steal into one’s heart and wreak havoc in it with waswasas. Therefore, the heart can fall victim to spiritual illnesses caused by desires such as lust, anger, greed, envy, and long-term ambitions. For this reason, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Every one of you has a companion among the jinn (devil).” His companions asked:

“Even you, Messenger of Allah?” To that, he replied:

“Yes, but Allah helps me against him, and he has submitted to me. He only commands me to do good.” (Muslim, nr. 2814; Abu Ya’la, Musnad, nr. 5121)

Shaytan’s House

When love for the world outweighs the noble virtues in the heart, shaytan finds a foothold in it and begins to sow doubts and temptations. When the heart engages in the remembrance of Allah, however, shaytan withdraws from it at once. Remembering Allah leaves shaytan with much less room to maneuver for his schemes within our hearts. At this point, an angel assumes the role of the shepherd of the heart and guides it towards righteous deeds.

A continuous struggle ensues in the heart between the angel and shaytan. This struggle persists until the heart leans towards one of them.

The majority of hearts have been occupied by shaytan's army, filling them with doubts and hesitations that urge them to neglect the afterlife and instead choose the ephemeral pleasures of this world.

A heart begins to succumb to occupation by shaytan’s influence when one follows the desires and unscrupulous tendencies of the nafs. For a heart to be guided back to the right path, it must be filled with the remembrance of Allah.

Jarir b. Ubayda al-Adawi once said: "My heart was troubled by meaningless thoughts and doubts, so I complained to Ala b. Ziyad (rahmatullahi alayhima). He told me:

‘The heart is like a house that thieves visit. If there is something useful, shaytan, who is like a thief, will take an interest in it; otherwise, he will leave.’"

In other words, shaytan cannot enter a heart that does not follow the desires and impulses of the nafs. Therefore, Allah has said to shaytan, "Indeed, over My (believing) servants, there is for you no authority." (Al-Isra, 65)

So whoever follows their desires becomes a slave to them, and shaytan seizes them. As the Quran states, "So, have you seen him who has taken his desires as his god." (Al-Jathiya, 23)

To cleanse the heart of shaytan's whispers, one must remember and hold on to something outside of those whispers. The most trustworthy and effective remedy for this is the remembrance of Allah, which is an ironclad domain that does not allow shaytan any room to rear his vile head and strike.

Allah says, "Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from shaytan, they remember (Him), and at once they discern (the reality)." (Al-A'raf, 201)

The battle between the remembrance of Allah and shaytan's whispers is like the fight between light and darkness, night and day. Since they are polar opposites, Allah has said, "Shaytan has overcome them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah." (Al-Mujadila, 19)

Hearts That Flutter Like a Sparrow

The human heart is like a sparrow, fleeting and ever-changing. The heart fluctuates between states of hope, fear, mercy, anxiety, qabd, bast, enthusiasm, and love, among others, as directed by the will of Allah. Conversely, the hearts of disobedient servants are often consumed by disbelief, stubbornness, hypocrisy, polytheism, and doubt.

The heart is a target, pierced by arrows from all directions. When shaytan approaches, he incites the heart to indulge in fleeting desires. When an angel approaches, the heart is steered away from temptation. In other words, the heart is never left to its own devices. This is evident in the verse of the Qur'an: "We will turn (change) their hearts and sights…" (Al-An'am 110).

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), who was acutely aware of the human heart's fluctuating nature and the transcendence of Allah's manifestations, swore by Allah by saying, "No, by Him Who turns (changes) the hearts" (Bukhari, no. 6617). He frequently prayed to Allah, saying, "O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion."

When asked if he too was afraid of his heart changing, he replied, "Hearts are between two of the fingers of the Most Merciful (i.e., under his control), and He turns them about as He wills." (Tirmidhi, no. 2140)

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used three metaphors to describe the heart's state. "The heart of a human being is like that of a sparrow; it constantly turns towards a direction," he said in one hadith. “The heart of the son of Adam changes faster than a boiling cauldron," he said in another. In yet another hadith, he described the heart by saying, “The heart is like a feather in a desert country which the winds keep turning over and over.”

The heart's constant transformation by the will of Allah is a unique phenomenon that involves no human volition yet affects every human being and leaves those who contemplate its nature in awe. Only those who remain vigilant and strive to purify their hearts can grasp its intricacies.

The Three Hearts

The heart can be classified into three different categories: steadfast in good, steadfast in evil, or wavering in between. The first of these is the heart that is pure with taqwa, cleansed through abstinence, and freed from bad morals. It is a heart that good thoughts flow into from the treasures of the ghayb and the realm of malakut. The mind is directed towards reflection on their subtleties and secrets, resulting in the illumination of insight. The heart then judges accordingly, encouraging the individual to act in accordance with the goodness inspired within and to invite others to follow suit.

Angels view this heart with favor, as it is adorned with purity, enlightened by the radiance of the intellect, and filled with the light of marifah. They see it as a suitable place to settle within. Spiritual soldiers support this heart and direct it towards other good deeds. The encouragement of the angels towards righteousness is never-ending, as indicated in the verse, "As for the one who gives (in charity) and fears Allah, and believes in the best (religion), We will facilitate for him the way to extreme ease (i.e., the comforts of Paradise)." (Al-Layl, 5-7)

The light of Allah’s divine grace shines into this heart, and the hidden idols of polytheism and the cunning tricks of shaytan cannot exist within. Shaytan remains barred outside the heart; he tries to tempt it with deceitful whispers but can find no one to seduce within.

This heart is the tranquil heart and is referred to in the following verses: "Listen, the hearts find peace only in the remembrance of Allah" (Ar-Ra'd 28) and "O content soul." (Al-Fajr, 27)

The second type of heart is left to its own devices, filled with the desires and whims of the nafs, stained with evil and unsavory traits, and with doors open to shaytan but closed to angels.

This heart defers to intellect to uncover the truth, but the intellect, predisposed as it is to serving the nafs, is overshadowed by its vices, racked by its baneful influence. In this deplorable subservience to its imperious master, the heart languishes in a state of constant contemplation to contrive ways of attaining the endless desires of the nafs.

This internal conflict between the mind and the heart allows the nafs to gain a foothold and begin its destructive work. The mind becomes complicit in its own corruption, and the heart, left undefended, falls prey to the insidious darkness of its desires. 

With the greater freedom of movement he finds, shaytan’s control grows stronger. Shaytan turns to the heart, embellishing evil, making deceitful promises, and leading it to illusory thoughts. The influence that iman exerts over the heart wanes as the hold of the divine promises, threats, and the fear of the afterlife weaken, and the light of yaqin, certain knowledge in the truth of Islam, fades away.

Thus, desires take over the heart with such force that its ability to process any rational thought is crippled. Even if the truth is presented with indisputable evidence, it falls on deaf ears and a dulled understanding, as the heart has lost its ability to reason and see clearly.

The passions of the nafs are ignited within it, and shaytan inflames the situation. The heart then begins to race towards sin. These verses indicate the state of such a heart: "Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire? Then would you be responsible for him? Or do you think that most of them listen or understand? They are but like cattle. Rather, they are even farther astray from the (right) way" (Al-Furqan, 43-44) and "Surely for those who have disbelieved, it is all the same whether you warn them or you warn them not: they do not believe." (Al-Baqarah, 6)

All of this occurs due to the desires of the nafs, which surround the heart like a fog. Eventually, the heart is engulfed in darkness, its light extinguished. In this state, the light of shame, dignity, and faith is also extinguished. The person then dedicates themselves to fulfilling the desires of shaytan.

The third type of heart is one in which thoughts of desires arise and provoke it to seek gratification through evil, debauched, and corrupt actions. At the same time, a spark of faith springs to life and summons it towards goodness. The nafs sways between these two notions until one overpowers the other.

Should shaytan prevail, the heart turns away from Allah and His pious friends and directs itself towards shaytan's temptations. It assists shaytan in his wicked endeavors, and actions leading the person to stray further from Allah become a common occurrence in their life.

Should the angels emerge victorious, the heart shuts out shaytan's deceitful whispers and spurns his efforts to belittle the significance of the Hereafter. It gravitates towards the righteous army of Allah, and the person becomes an embodiment of goodness with all the benevolence his actions bring into the world.

When the Veils of the Heart Are Lifted

Each heart, by its very nature, is ready to know and see the truth. It is an honorable, divine entity that distinguishes itself from other spiritual entities through its unique characteristics and merits. The following verse signifies the particular status of the human heart:

"We did offer the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear its burden and were afraid of it, and man picked it up. Indeed he is unjust (to himself), unaware (of the end)." (Al-Ahzab, 72)

This verse highlights that the heart, which accepted Allah's trust, is separate from the heavens, the earth, and the mountains in terms of its unique characteristics. The heart, with these qualities, is strong enough to bear Allah's trust, which is the knowledge of Him and His oneness.

Each person's heart is capable of bearing Allah's trust, but some factors prevent the heart from fulfilling this role and witnessing the truth.

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) once said, "If not for the fact that the devils roam around the hearts of the children of Adam, they would have been able to behold the Kingdom of the Heavens." This hadith points to some of the reasons that form a barrier between the heart and the heavens.

When Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was asked:

“Which of the people is best?”

He said, “Everyone who is pure of heart and sincere in speech.” When they asked:

“Sincere in speech, we know what that is, but what is pure of heart?” He replied:

“It is (the heart) that is pious and pure, with no sin, injustice, rancor, or envy in it.”

(Ibn Majah, No. 4216; Abu Nuaym, Hilya, 1/240; Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman, No. 6604)

For this reason, Umar bin Khattab (radiyallahu anh) once said, "My heart has seen my Lord," because he lifted the veil covering his heart with taqwa.

Whoever removes the veil between themselves and their Lord will see the images of the realm of the divine kingdom and the unseen world within their heart. They will see that a part of Jannah is as vast as the heavens and the earth and that it spans even wider than the heavens and the earth in its full size. Although the heavens and the earth are vast, they are still finite, unlike the unseen world, which can only be seen through the heart's eye and, therefore, has no end or limit.

While it is true that the visions that shine into the heart from the realm of malakut are finite, when considered in the context of the knowledge of Allah, there is no limit to its depth and breadth.

In reality, there is nothing but Allah and His actions in the entire realm of existence. His kingdom and His servants are made up of His actions. Some people believe that what appears to the heart from the unseen world is Jannah itself, while others believe that it is the reason for deserving Jannah.

The goal of obedience and worship, along with all righteous deeds done through the body, is to purify, refine, and polish the heart. Allah says, "He has succeeded who purifies it (his nafs)" (Ash-Shams, 9)

The purpose of the purification of the heart is to ensure that the light of iman manifests and that the knowledge of Allah shines within it. This is the intention behind the ayahs, "So, whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He makes his heart wide open for Islam" (Al-Anam, 125), and "So is one whose breast Allah has expanded to (accept) Islam and he is upon [i.e., guided by] a light from his Lord (like one whose heart rejects it)?” (Az-Zumar, 22)

A heart's softness, malleability, fragility, and variability indicate that it is easily molded and changed. Hard hearts, on the other hand, are resistant to transformation. A heart that is soft and malleable to the teachings of Islam is more likely to overcome obstacles and barriers and draw closer to the divine presence of Allah more easily. When they overcome the veils, they comprehend the truth of iman and speak the truth filled with divine wisdom.