The real battle is often inside the heart, not outside. This makes me more compassionate toward myself and others, because everyone is silently fighting thoughts and emotions. Turning to dhikr, dua, and Qur’an becomes a way to clean and calm the heart and focus on the good and positive thoughts.

When I read Quran I don't feel calm but it was a roller coaster of emotion(i.e ayath on nikmah followed by punishment).
I only can find peace in solat,whether fardhu or sunnah esp. when I asked for tranquility in sujud.

I still could not understand how the ayaths about Hell,punishments and reminders and even promises of the Gardens that seems hard to reach can be calming to a person.

I am speaking this as a person who normally read Quran with translation and reading multiple tafseers of these ayaths.

To be honest with you,I feel afraid when I read those ayaths especially with multiple similar reminders-since I am in regulatory field-this means that sufficient warnings had been given-so that punishment is valid.

There is a very important lesson in the Qur'anic idea that certain negative and irrational thoughts/impulses (waswas) are from Satan/Iblis.

This teaches us to 'separate' ourselves from negative, evil, and irrational thoughts/impulses (waswas).

Sometimes, in our day to day lives, we become too attached and involved with the negative emotions and thoughts occurring in our minds. Just by remembering the fact that these thoughts are from our enemy - Satan/Iblis - we can 'separate' from them and seek ALLAH's (SWT) help so that we are not overcome by them.

ALLAH (SWT), Himself, has given respite to Satan/Iblis until the Day of Judgement; this implies every individual will be subject to these waswas until that Day. Hence, we are not at blame for the occurrence of the waswas in our minds, and we can think of them as part of ALLAH's plan to test human beings. However, it is imperative that we ask for ALLAH's help and strive against the waswas until our last breath.

We explore these ideas in more depth and detail in the following article which was published by a journal and is freely available: https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/quranica/article/view/34308. Please have a look if you can manage the time. Any feedback at nabeel.iqbal@northsouth.edu will be highly appreciated.

Before, I mainly thought of whispers as something that came from Shaytan, but these verses reminded me that people can also influence our thoughts, choices, and relationship with Allah swt۔

Human whispers are not always obvious. They can appear as advice, social pressure, trends, or comments that make us question our commitment to what we believe is right. This made me realize the importance of being careful about whose opinions I allow to shape my decisions.

This surah also reminded me that protection comes from Allah swt alone. We cannot avoid every negative influence, but we can ask Allah swt to guide our hearts, and strengthen our faith.

We are affected by waswas more than we actually realize; the constant negative voice in our head every single day that starts small but keeps getting bigger and bigger as time goes by captures our minds and turns into feelings of being unsafe, low self-esteem, and shaky tawakul. The simplest and most powerful protection is given to us in the form of this beautiful surah. Alhamdulillah.

This Surah is indeed for all of us who unknowingly struggle with the whispers of the evil. Having firm faith and praying with sincerity and devotion can very well reduce bad thoughts. One would deeply reflect on this Surah as it touches the heart of every muslim who struggles yet still remains steadfast in his faith. May Allah give us patience, and relief from the whispers of the unseen evil. May Allah protect us from the evil of this World and within ourselves. May Allah bless us, keep guiding us and never leave us even for a blink of an eye. 

Shaytan is like an unauthorized user who wants to hack into our spiritual network by exploiting all the weak and vulnerable points of access, whether it's through the front, back, right, left, or whichever way he needs to in order to enter.


Our weaknesses and vulnerabilities in total are the 'attack surface' for Shaytan. And he can find and sniff out those weak areas quite easily.


But, why am I using the word 'attack surface'?


Well, it's a concept that is used in the tech/digital domain, and I associated this idea with the 'find and infiltrate' strategy of the Shaytan mentioned in Surah 7:17.


'An attack surface is the entire area of an organization or system that is susceptible to hacking. It’s made up of all the points of access that an unauthorized person could use to enter the system. Once inside your network, that user could cause damage by manipulating or downloading data.'
https://www.okta.com/identity-101/what-is-an-attack-surface/ 


And Shaytan skillfully exploits the various attack vectors within our spiritual network with the intent of going into the command center, which is the heart.


'Attack vectors are the landmarks on an attack surface. Each one represents vulnerabilities, such as access points, protocols, and service. You may think you have only one or two crucial vectors. But chances are, you have dozens or even hundreds within your network.'


So, we have to practice certain things in order to protect ourselves against such constant attacks from Shaytan.


One way is to remember Allah SWT more frequently, because the remembrance of Allah drives away the Shaytan, even if we just start doing something with the name of Allah.


Ibn al-Qayyim said that the remembrance of Allah is like a 'whip' against Shaytan:


'The remembrance of Allah represses the Shaytan, it puts him in distress, and afflicts injuries upon him like the injuries whips inflict when used. This is why the Shaytan of the believer becomes weak and frail. This is because every time the Shaytan interferes with him, the believer releases upon him his whips of remembrance, of turning towards Allah, of seeking forgiveness and obedience. Thus, his Shaytan will be in a severe state of punishment.' (Badai' Al-Fawa'id)


And the remembrance of Allah surely protects the heart, and the heart is like a fortress which the devils try to continuously encircle and infiltrate. As Ibn al-Jawzi states:


'Know that the heart is like a fortress. Upon that fortress are walls and the walls have gates, and in it are chambers in which the mind resides. The angels often visit that fortress. To its side are siege towers, in which are desires and devils frequently occupying them, with none to stop them. War is declared between the inhabitants of the fortress and the inhabitants of the siege towers. The devils continuously circle around the fortress, seeking the negligence of the guards and passage into some of its chambers. Thus, the guards should know all of the gates of the fortress, upon which its protection depends.' (Talbis Iblis)


And Allah said in Surah Al-Zukhruf:


‎وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُۥ شَيْطَٰنًا فَهُوَ لَهُۥ قَرِينٌ


'And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful - We appoint for him a Devil, and he is to him a companion.' (43:36)


So, being in a state of remembering Allah is one way to significantly reduce our spiritual attack surface, thus depriving Shaytan.


#AttackSurface

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

Talk to yourself kindly, talk to yourself with hope, determination and love. For our greatest enemy tries to talks to our hearts with negativity, tries to inspire  hopelessness and tries to make us feel we have little worth. 

Don’t listen to him. We are very much worthy and we are very much capable and we have the ability to make amends because Allah is with us.

Allah the Most Merciful has given us this Blessed Book to understand our self worth. To understand where we belong - one day in Jannah.