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2831 Prophets and messengers (the distinction is explained in n. 2503 to xix. 51) are but human. Their actions are
righteous and their motives pure. But in judging things from a human point of view, the suggestion may come to their
mind (from Satan) that it would be good to have power or wealth or influence for furthering Allah's cause, or that it
may be good to conciliate some faction which may be irreconcilable. In fact, in Allah's Plan, it may be the opposite.
Allah, in His mercy and inspiration, will cancel any false or vain suggestions of this kind, and confirm and strengthen
His own Commands and make known His Will in His Signs or revelations. (22.52)
2832 This clause and the similar clause at the end of the next verse are parenthetical. (22.52)
22:53 - That He may make the suggestions thrown in by Satan but a trial for those in whose hearts
is a disease and who are hardened of heart: verily the wrongdoers are in a schism far (from
the Truth): 28332834
2833 If any suggestion comes to the human mind that is not in accordance with Allah's Will and Plan, it has two opposite
effects: to evil minds it is a trial and temptation from the satan but to the mind well-instructed in Faith, it stands selfcondemned
at once, and becomes a means of strengthening the Faith and stimulating redoubled efforts to conform to
the Will of Allah. (22.53)
2834 Cf. ii. 10. I understand the "disease in the heart" to be an earlier state of curse, which leads in an intensified form to a
complete "hardening of the heart". (22.53)
23:97 - And say: "O my Lord! I seek refuge with Thee from the suggestions of the Evil Ones; 2935
2935 But in any case, shun evil for yourself, and you cannot do this without seeking the help and protection of Allah. Not
only must you shun all promptings of evil, but you must shun its proximity. It may be that in retaliating on evil, or even
in your curiosity to discover what evil is, you may fall into evil yourself. You should avoid going near it or anything
which brings it near to you. And in this matter you should seek Allah's help. (23.97)
23:98 - "And I seek refuge with Thee O my Lord! lest they should come near me."
24:21 - O ye who believe! follow not Satan's footsteps: if any will follow the footsteps of Satan he
will (but) command what is shameful and wrong: and were it not for the grace and mercy of
Allah on you not one of you would ever have been pure: but Allah doth purify whom He
pleases: and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things). 29722973
2972 See last note. (24.21)
2973 Spotless purity in thought, word, and deed, includes the disposition to put the best construction on the motives of
others, so that we ascribe no evil motive to the seeming indiscretions of virtuous people. Such a high standard can
only come by the grace of Allah, Who hears all prayers and knows all the temptations to which human nature is
subject. His Will and Plan make both for spiritual protection and spiritual peace, and we must place ourselves
trustingly in His hands. (24.21)
31:21 - When they are told to follow the (revelation) that Allah has sent down they say: "Nay we
shall follow the ways that we found our fathers (following)." What! even if it is Satan
beckoning them to the Penalty of the (Blazing) Fire! 3608
3608 They do not realize that in the spiritual world, as in the physical world, there is constant progress for the live ones:
they are spiritually dead, as they are content to stand on ancestral ways, many of them evil, and leading to perdition.
(31.21)
35:6 - Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his adherents
that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire. 3878
3878 Evil is our enemy and should be treated as such. It is really foreign to our nature, however much it may disguise itself
to deceive us as our friend, or a part of our own nature. Personifying the Spirit of Evil, we may say that he wants us to
share in his own damnation. Shall we allow ourselves to fall into his snare? (35.6)
36:60 - "Did I not enjoin on you O ye children of Adam that ye should not worship Satan; for that he
was to you an enemy avowed? 4006
4006 Secondly, there is a gentle reproach to the wrong-doers, more in sorrow than in anger. They are addressed as
"children of Adam", to emphasise two facts, (1) that they have disgraced their ancestry, for Adam after his Fall
repented and was forgiven, and the high Destiny of mankind has been the prize open to all his descendants, and (2)
that Allah Most Merciful has throughout the ages continued to warn mankind against the snares laid by Satan, the
avowed enemy of man, and that Allah's Grace was ever on the watch to help all to freedom from those snares.
(36.60)
36:61 - "And that ye should worship Me (for that) this was the Straight Way? 4007
4007 Thirdly, besides the negative warning, a positive Way was shown to them-the Straight Way, the Way of those who
receive Allah's Grace and attain to Bliss, the Rope which would save them from shipwreck, the Shield which would
save them from assault, the key to the door of proximity to Allah. (36.61)
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