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Plots of the Shayāṭīn

Shaykh Uways al-Ṭawīl

Six ways in which the the shayāṭīn may mislead an individual from the truth.

First Published: August 5, 2026
Last Updated: August 5, 2026

Plots of the Shayāṭīn

Shaykh Uways al-Ṭawīl

Six ways in which the the shayāṭīn may mislead an individual from the truth.

Published: August 5, 2026
Updated: August 5, 2026

Allāh the Most high said:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

“O you who believe! Enter into Islam completely and do not follow the footsteps of Shayṭān (Satan). Verily! He is a clear enemy to you.”
(2:208)

The Six Steps the Devils Use to Trick and Deceive the Son of Ādam

Devils defraud the son of Ādam in order for him to fall into one of the following six affairs;

  1. disbelieve in Allāh and not worshipping Him alone,
  2. innovating newly invented matters into religion [bidʿah],
  3. the major sins,
  4. the minor sins,
  5. consuming his time by overindulging in permissible amusement,
  6. leaving that (action) which is more virtuous for another (action)which is less in virtue.

Once they (the devils) get tired of these six tricks, they embark upon another mode of trickery; making the son of Ādam allow the people of falsehood, innovation and darkness to have power over him (by listening, sitting and mixing with them).

Summarized from Iʿlām Al-Muwaqqiʿīn – of Imām Ibn al-Qayyim: 3/257-258

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