The Kiss of Iblis

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 28^th February 2010. 

We must constantly recite a’udzubillah as Shaythan is a great troublemaker.  He is the ugliest creature in creation, devoid of any beauty.  If any of us were to glance at his face, we might faint in fright.  Those with ugly faces are the inheritors of Shaythan.  We are referring to ugliness that is from within, that darkens the faces and removes the natural beauty that it was created with. 

Evil people are not only ugly, but they are like needles, inflicting pain on all those whom they come into contact with.  A similitude would be a cactus plant, whose sharp needle-like spines inflict pain, hence such plants are avoided.  Similarly, evil people are ejected from gatherings.  No one likes their presence in any majlis. 

How did they become like cacti?  When a human being is disobedient to Allah (s.w.t.), and he disregards heavenly orders, he acquires Shaythan’s features and traits.  Practicing believers, on the other hand, by their piety and obedience, are blessed with heavenly dressings of goodness and beauty.  They are welcomed in all gatherings.  They are honoured and loved.  They bring satisfaction to their listeners in every swuhbah they give.  They do not disturb the peace.  They age gracefully and with dignity, unlike the followers of Shaythan who are constantly stirring up trouble within their communities. 

A human being may be born with beautiful features.  That is an external, physical beauty that is neither permanent nor sustainable.  We must seek the true internal, spiritual beauty, for that is the real loveliness that will reside with us eternally.  Those who do not seek this real beauty will be the greatest losers, for they will slowly acquire features of ugliness as they age, and slowly but surely, people begin to avoid them and despise them. 

It is taught in prophetic knowledge, that when a person reaches the age of forty - and if he has not chosen to make servanthood to Allah (s.w.t.) the mainstay of his life, the most important goal he wants to achieve - then Shaythan kisses such a person on his forehead, declaring, “I am happy this person will never follow Allah.  He is in my book; write his name in my book.  This one belongs to me!”  Such a person, who has no intention of being Allah’s (s.w.t.) Servant will never return to the path of obedience.  May Allah (s.w.t.) Protect us from becoming Shaythan’s follower. 

At the instant Shaythan plants his kiss on the forehead of the condemned one, ugliness begins to seep into this person’s face, and gradually, his features change.   They will continue to change throughout his life until death comes.  After death, worse is to follow.  The facial features become even uglier and more horrifying, acquiring an added shade of darkness and a foul odour begins to be emitted from the body.  People are troubled by this, and they wish to dispose of the corpse quickly.  Just as in life when such a person was avoided like a cactus, in death, he is again a source of discomfort and inconvenience to those around him.  We have seen graves that still had ghastly stench months after the body had been buried.  Scientists say that the odour is due to the type of clayey soil there that causes rotting of the body, but that is not the reason at all. 

The obedient are different.  Their faces are shining and captivating, even in death, and their bodies emit the fragrant smell of roses.  In Damascus, when they were unearthing the body of a long-dead saint in order to relocate the grave as they wanted to build a road over it, the body looked as fresh as the day it was buried.  The fragrance travelled far and wide. thousands could smell the heavenly wafts of rose.  And the sand from the grave was still steeped in perfume, so many days later. 

Look at the faces of tyrants in our history, as well as their helpers.  See how ugly they were.  You can tell a sultan from a tyrant, by simply looking at his face.  It is easy to dupe people into voting for a particular person.  If we cannot choose a good watermelon that is not rotten inside from a pile of watermelons by looking at the pile, how can we choose a leader by simply looking at and listening to him? 

Some leaders, after being elected, abuse the democratic process, and become vile tyrants.  We should never help a dictator to persecute others.  It is our duty to oppose cruelty to mankind.  Fear Allah (s.w.t.), not tyrants.  Never bow to their evil teachings of racism and persecution of any humans.  Those who help these tyrants, shall be buried with them, and punished with them. 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “After me, will be the rule of khilafah, then the rule of kings, then will come the rule of tyrants and dictators.  In that time, one of my Ahl al-Bayt, a descendant of my family, will rise to bring justice to the world and to destroy cruelty.”  We do not remain in darkness.  We do not follow Shaythan for every follower of Shaythan is a tyrant to himself.  Instead, follow the light of the Prophet (s.a.w.) and be on the way of servanthood to Allah (s.w.t.).