Today’s sermon discussed the Importance of seeking guidance and help from Allah in protecting oneself from the assaults of the evil Satan. Huzoor^(aba) recited the Quranic verses that remind the believers not to follow the works of Satan. The importance of this topic is stressed by the fact that the Holy Quran mentions this subject at least 4 or 5 times, continuously reminding us that even if a Muslim professes his faith in the Unity of Allah, he should always remain cautious that he does not fall in the perils of Satanic practices. Huzoor^(aba) repeated several times that Satan is always on the prowl. At the time of Adam’s creation, he vowed to mislead the believers of God to the wrong path and to make them rebellious against God. It was his challenge to God that he will never cease to harm the believers and a lot of believers would end up becoming prey to the plots of Satan. But what does it mean when God reminds us not to follow Satan? The obvious meaning is that one should not indulge into practices that lead towards Satan. But would an intelligent man, who knows the distinction between good and evil, ever follow the misleading path willingly? Why then does God repeatedly warn us to protect ourselves from Satan’s evil machinations? It is because Satan has challenged Adam and his progeny that he will never stop harming them in ways that the believers will not even realize that they are being misled. The Holy Quran says that Satan is your archenemy.

The Promised Messiah^(as) explains that Satan incites man to take one small step towards evil. He presents evil in a beautiful package and then invites him to take another step, and slowly and steadily, the man continues in these Satanic ways towards the bigger evil, until he falls into the pit of sin and decadence, so cunningly designed by Satan.

The Promised Messiah^(as) also warns us that by following a few Islamic teachings and ignoring the rest will not help keep our faith strong. Such a lifestyle will eventually turn us completely oblivious of our good deeds as well. One must therefore continually analyze his/her practices and protect oneself from evil at all times.

Huzoor^(aba) said that any moral vice that exists in this world does not have a dreadful beginning. The human nature is innately modest and humble, therefore when something immoral is presented to him, he will intrinsically shy away from it. But through the conniving ways of Satan, he will slowly and steadily succeed in misleading human beings. Huzoor^(aba) gave the example of a kidnapper in similitude to Satan, who first deceives a child by bribing him with sweets and leading him away from his loved ones, and then finally, he kills him. It is in this way that Satan takes a man so far away from the right path that it becomes difficult for him to return, and this results in his spiritual death. Therefore, it is best to prevent oneself from taking that one initial step which leads towards the deep trench of evil dug by Satan.

Huzoor^(aba) also stressed the fact that we should always seek help and mercy from Allah for His protection against Satan’s evil plots. And we can do so by being regular in our five daily prayers and continuously doing Astaghfar. In one of the traditions of the Holy Prophet^(saw), we learn that Satan lives in each human being like the blood running in his veins. We should abstain from getting involved in any such situation where Satan has the opportunity to surface its evil head.

In our society today, Huzoor^(aba) gave the example where young boys and girls freely mingle with each other on college campuses and develop friendships. Such friendships are unIslamic and Satan will be present wherever Islamic practices are absent. Huzoor^(aba) also gave us the example of a businessman who is apparently a good Muslim but cheats in his business dealings. Such a man will lose his goodness over time if he continues his deception and will become completely lost to worldly affairs, losing focus on his accountability before God. He thus becomes a servant of Satan instead and loses the favors of Allah. Such men can never be the guardians of the rights of fellow human beings, and they lose their children to the ways of evil as well. We often find these people lose contact with the Jama’at also. Certainly, it is Allah’s way of cleansing the Jama’at of such people. May Allah protect us from such wickedness, Ameen.

The Promised Messiah^(as) repeatedly reminds us that the only way we can seek Allah’s favors is by knocking at His door and continuously praying to Him for His Mercy and to humbly ask Him to cleanse our hearts and souls of all evil. We should remember to ask protection against small vices as well. Huzoor^(aba) gave us the example of a man who accomplishes a task for Jama’at but instead of being grateful to Allah for his success, he becomes vain and his arrogance washes away the goodness of his deed. We should also seek forgiveness from hidden desires of the heart and soul and refrain from watching, reading, hearing or being in company of immoral and shameless undertakings. The peace and comfort of a household is sometimes destroyed by the company of immoral friends and the relationship between a husband and wife goes sour. These are all works of Satan. We should also pray for pious and righteous children, even before their birth. Huzoor^(aba) reminded us of the prayers (25:75) & (3:9) and emphasized that Allah helps only those who pray humbly to Him and bestows His favors on those who love Him. In this day and age, only those who become the beloved of Allah will be saved, and that status can only be achieved by becoming the beloved of His beloved i.e. the Promised Messiah^(as). In the end, Huzoor^(aba) quoted a passage from the writings of the Promised Messiah^(as) where heas talks about the significance of Taqwa and how to pray before Allah. In conclusion, Huzoor^(aba) prayed for his Jama’at by asking Allah for His Protection and His Mercy.