Satan’s Role

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Ustadz Sa’id Ukur Nursi (r.a.) said, “Another thing Satan does is to destroy sound judgement concerning the truths of belief and to damage integrity and correctness of thought.  How does he do it?  Well, it is like this.  His plan is to destroy hundreds of evidences which prove the truths of belief by referring to a single evidence which appears to refute those truths.  He totally ignores the principle which says that, ‘A single proof is superior to a hundred denials’, and pays no attention to the fact that the statement of a witness proving a claim is preferable to a hundred people denying it.

To understand this, think of a palace that has a hundred doors, all of them closed.  As soon as one palace door – just one – is opened, you can enter the palace and open the other ninety-nine doors.  And even if one or two doors remain closed, you cannot say that it is impossible to enter the palace!  Well, the truths of belief are the palace, and each evidence is a key which proves the truths and opens a door.  If one of the doors remains closed, the truths of belief cannot be abandoned and denied.  Satan, however, tricks you by pointing to the door that has remained closed, and causes you to ignore all of the open doors.  He says, ‘See, this palace cannot be entered.  Perhaps it is not a palace at all, and there is nothing inside it ...’  That is how he tries to deceive us.”