We have spoken a little bit about Ta’awwudh and what it is we are seeking protection from and why we need that protection. Shaytan will sometimes come and whisper thoughts into the chest of the human being which will be of different types, but those thoughts will never have a positive outcome. No matter how compelling the thought may be, the outcome will always be an outcome of harm. The prophet (SAW) was dropping Safiyya (RA) home and it was nighttime. As he was going, two sahaba came in front of him. He said, “Do not worry, it is Safiyya (RA).” The sahaba (RA) said, “O prophet of Allah (SWT), how could we ever have any kind of doubt about you?” He responded by saying, “Shaytan courses through the human being just like the blood runs through his body.” Sometimes the thought that is brought by Shaytan is, in fact, very compelling; a person says, “Of course. Why shouldn’t I believe in it?” That thought could be about a person, about deen or Allah (SWT). The prophet (SAW) has told us, “Shaytan will come to you and start this chain of thinking: ‘Who created this? How did such a thing come into existence?’ When a person comes to the conclusion that it was Allah (SWT), Shaytan will add another question: ‘Who created Allah (SWT)?’”
Shaytan is very skilled about this. The point is that we are in need of this protection and there are some things that we can all do on a day-to-day basis that will secure us, our hearts, our families and even our belongings from Shaytan. It is important to keep in mind that Shaytan can come to us while we are awake and also while we are asleep, like in the story of Abu Hurairya (RA), where the prophet (SAW) appointed him to look after zakat and a thief came and tried to steal. Abu Huraiyra (RA) caught him and said that he was taking him to the prophet (SAW). When the man begged profusely, Abu Hurairya (RA) felt sorry for him and let him go. The next day, he came back and tried stealing again and Abu Huraiyra (RA) said the same thing, and the man begged for release again. The third time, when it happened, Abu Huraiyra (RA) did not listen to the man, knowing that he would not listen to him. The man said, “I will give you something that will protect you from Shaytan forever if you let me go.” Abu Huraiyra said, “What is this thing?” The man said, “Before you go to sleep, recite Ayat ul-Kursi. Shaytan will not come to you until the morning.” Abu Huraiyra (RA) relayed this to the prophet (SAW), who said, “He is a known liar, but this time, he spoke the truth.”
Shaytan comes and can affect our wealth. Here are a few things that we can do on a daily basis as a part of Ta’awwudh, as Ta’awwudh is an act that a person does with not just their tongue, but with their heart and body. The first is what the Qur’an says; “Whenever there is an inclination from Shaytan to do something, take the protection from Allah (SWT). Recite “اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم” This is mentioned twice in the Qur’an, and in one context, it is committing a sin or mistake in general, and in the other context, it is upon engaging with people. When someone comes and does something offensive that will evoke a strong reaction, Allah (SWT) tells us, “Respond in a better way than what that person did. This can lead to a great friendship. Shaytan will not let this happen, so when he comes and tries to stop it by making you proud, take the protection from Shaytan by saying ‘اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم’.” “اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم” should be recited whenever a person feels that their acts may be compromised or they could cause something that can cause them a great deal of harm. Once, the prophet (SAW) saw two people in a big argument. The prophet (SAW) saw that one of them was becoming very aggressive and his face was turning red. The prophet (SAW) said, “I know a kalimah that, if he says it, this feeling that he has right now will subside. If he says, right now, ‘اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم’, this will start subsiding.”
The second ta’awwudh that Allah (SWT) has taught us to recite is surah Al-Falaq and surah An-Nas. We should read these three times every morning and evening, but we can also recite this whenever we need protection and we are feeling thoughts or anxieties coming into us. The third is Ayat ul-Kursi, as mentioned before, and there are different times to read it; once is every time after Salah. This should be part of our routine after every Salah. The second is generally in the morning and even, and thirdly, just before going to sleep. If we recite Ayat ul-Kursi at these times, it will provide ample protection against Shaytan. The next is the last few verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. The prophet (SAW) has taught us to recite these verses frequently. In one of the last verses, the enemy and its army is referring to Shaytan and his army – we need assistance against this enemy. We should make this intention – “O Allah, help me against Iblis and his army.”, because there may not be any enemies we need help with at the moment, but Shaytan is the biggest kafir and so are his followers from the jinns. These verses should be recited as our routine of morning and evening. In fact, the sahaba say, “We did not think that there was any intelligent person in Madinah who did not recite these in the evening.” Another Ta’awwudh is surah Al-Baqarah itself – sometimes we feel that there is something not quite right and people are getting sick or there is constant tension in the house and people are worried, and usually, these are the tricks of Shaytan. Like the prophet (SAW) mentions in a hadith, “Shaytan sits on his throne and takes the reports from his Shayateen. He sits and approves the trouble they cause until he finds one that says, ‘I did not do much, but I caused a fight between a husband and wife.’ Shaytan brings him and says, ‘You are the one I was looking for all this time.’ He honours him and tells everyone how important this was.” Many of these fights are not necessarily that someone is doing something. Many times, we feel that someone has done something to us, when in reality, there are very few chances of this happening. It is not to completely cut it out if there is a possibility of it, but this should not be our default. This has become the go-to statement for many people; the moment a child is sick, “Someone has done something to him.” The moment you are sick, “Someone has done something to me.” Yes, it happens to an extent and there are some things that cause this, but our default thing should be, “I must have done something wrong. Allah (SWT) must be displeased, or Shaytan is doing something.” No one has to send him – this is his mandate. Reciting surah Al-Baqarah helps detox the house environment from Shayateen. People ask, “How many times should we recite it?” There is no fixed amount, but generally speaking, it should be recited for three days straight. Sometimes there are some bothersome jinns that make noises and bug people and things like that, so reciting surah Al-Baqarah is a good practice.
The next thing is the opening of surah Ha Meem. This surah is also referred to the surah Al-Ghafir and surah al-Mu’min. The first three verses of Ha Meem – in a hadith, the prophet (SAW) says, “A person who recites this along with Ayat al-Kursi is protected in the morning if recited in the evening and protected in the evening if recited in the morning.” This should also be part of our routine in the morning and evening. The next one is “لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل قدير” – in Bukhari al-Muslim, there is a hadith that a person who recites this ten times in a day gets the reward of freeing ten slaves and one hundred hasanat are written, one hundred sins are forgiven and this becomes a protection from Shaytan for the whole day until the evening. On the Day of Judgement, no one will come with a better deed than someone who read this more times than him. This is also from the things of protection. This is also from the routine of after Salah. We should recite this in the morning, evening and after Salah. Another protection which is not restricted to any one zikr is just doing zikr frequently. There are many zikr that we have been taught – salawat on the prophet (SAW), istighfar – all of these are the zikr of Allah (SWT). Every zikr that we do is always, while it gives us nearness to Allah (SWT), giving us protection against Shaytan. Another very important one is to try to stay in the state of wudhu. If ever we are becoming the victim of our own anger and our anger is going out of control, one of the things that the prophet (SAW) has prescribed for us is to go and make wudhu at that time, and when we are in the state of wudhu, we attract the mala’ikah. When we are in a state of najar, we attract the shayateen. This is why the prophet (SAW) has told us, “Toilets are frequented by shayateen.” They like to stay there because it is a place of najasa. This is why we have been taught du’as before going in. This du’a becomes a protection against those shayateen. Specifically, staying in a state of wudhu and keeping our body and clothes clean is very important. Being a Muslim, this is a part of our lifestyle, but we should be extra careful about this. We should be as careful as possible about this and we should make an effort to stay in wudhu.
Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed mentions that there used to be a time when the average Muslim was also very particular about staying in a state of wudhu. He mentions a story of his; “Once, I was walking through a forest quite far away from civilization. Along the way, I found a small masjid there built on a pathway. I went, and it was time for zuhr. I waited for a bit to try and make jamat with someone, and after some time, a man came carrying a load of firewood that he had gone to collect from the forest. He stopped at the masjid, put the firewood down and I became happy that I had someone to make jamat with. I asked him, and he said, ‘Yes, we can do jamat.’ I asked, ‘Do you have wudhu?’ The man became offended. He said, ‘Is a Muslim ever without wudhu?’ This is a man out doing labor and collecting firewood – someone who works like this for a living. The standards of deen was so high at that time that even the laborers without education were particular about these things.” Of course, along with wudhu, it goes without saying that we should be particular about salah. It does not matter what you are reading; there is no replacement for salah. This is what happens today – many people will come to us for their problems, but to be honest, if we do not pray 5 times a day, it does not do justice to any kind of zikr. Salah is also a way of protection from Shaytan.
The last one is abstinence from sin. This cannot be underestimated. Whenever a person engages in sin, he engages with Iblis and his people. We move out of the protection of Allah (SWT). He is the one that we need protection from and we go close to him. Whether it is sins of the eyes, the tongue or whatever it is, we must keep ourselves disciplined. Sometimes, it is just careless usage of the eyes that leads from one thing to another thing. Shaytan comes and is already there – it is up to us whether we entertain him or push him away. These are some things that we can all do as a part of Ta’awwudh. Because we are talking about Ta’awwudh in the context of the Qur’an and recitation specifically, the ahkam of Ta’awwudh are this; whenever we commence the recitation of Qur’an, we must say “اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم”. This includes if we are reciting and we became engaged with something else and we are recommencing. For example, if a phone call comes and they answer it – this person should recite “اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم” and begin reciting again. We should recite Ta’awwudh in salah as well, in the first rakat of surah Al-Fatiha. We should also say basmala and then commence Al-Fatiha. After this, we do not need to recite Ta’awwudh. May Allah (SWT) give us tawfiq.
