Man finds nothing so intolerable as to be in a state of complete rest, without passions, without occupation, without diversion, without effort. Then he feels his nullity, loneliness, inadequacy, dependence, helplessness, emptiness."
--Blaise Pascal
--Blaise Pascal
James 4:7 states, "Submit therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you." God has a purpose and a plan for each of our lives. God’s Word commands us:
Five ways we give control of our minds to Satan:
1. By not daily meditating on God's word.
2. Deliberately considering and living out sin in one's mind.
3. Through willful ignorance of God's truth's and moral absolutes.
4. By accepting any suggestion in the mind as if from God without questioning or checking to see if it lines up with God's Word or past light of God.
5. Deliberately blanking one's mind so as to receive suggestions from Shaytan.
Why is it so hard for us to tolerate emptiness in our minds? The prevalent belief that action always equals progress may be a contributing factor. We perceive emptiness as an undesired state, something to be feared. We feel uncomfortable with those moments when our minds seem devoid of any creative or productive activity. We rarely, if ever, simply sit with and allow the feeling of emptiness. And come up with… “ahhhhhhhhhhhh, why I have an empty mind!?
Nothing but your action…You submit yourself to God after having pondered and thought and realized that acting on His guidance will benefit you. And you surrender to Him willingly and cheerfully, not out of fear of anyone else, nor trying to please someone. You give up your desires and submit yourself to what God wants you to do. You should feel in your heart that what you are doing is right. How then does Satan gain control of our mind if it has clusters of taqwa to Allah. But when we are not obeying Allah is nothing but wasting of time. An idle mind is the playground of the Devil plain and simple. The way you gain back control of your mind is by seeking the Rabb’s will in your use of time and then obeying him in that use of time. Remember when Satan provoked the first couple, Adam and his wife, Hawa (Eve) and it is clearly mentioned in the Holy Scriptures:
Allah said: “Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been.."
This is how Satan works and control the mind to be empty at all times we forget seeking refuge from Allah from the ousted Satan. That is why Allah revealed Sura An Nass: Say, “I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind, [1] the King of mankind, [2] the God of mankind, [3] from the evil of the whisperer who withdraws (when Allah's name is pronounced), [4] the one who whispers in the hearts of people, [5] whether from among the Jinn or Mankind.” [6]
According to Tafsir ibn Kathir, it has been reported from Abu Sa'id that: Muhammad used to seek protection from the evil eyes of the jinn and mankind. But when the Muawwidhatayn were revealed, he used them (for protection) and abandoned all else besides them. At-Tirmidhi, An-Nisai and ibn Majah recorded this. In the haddit, also mentioned that:
Narrated ‘Aisha: “Whenever Allah’s Apostle became sick, he would recite Mu’awwidhatayn (Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas) and then blow his breath over his body. When he became seriously ill, I used to recite (these two suras) and rub his hands over his body hoping for its blessings. (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6 Bk.6 No.535)
Narrated ‘Aisha: “Whenever thy Prophet go went to bed every night, he used to cup his hands together and blow over it after reciting Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas, and then rub his hands over whatever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face and front of his body. He used to do that three times. (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6 Bk.6 No.536). This is one way of protecting our mind from Shaytan.
Our faith is not based on air, it is not built on Jesus or the Holy Spirit or the Gospel as Christians does; our faith is based on believing to the Oneness of God taught by the prophet of Allah and found in the Holy Qur’an and the Haddith. The Qur’an is the bases for what we believe or do not believe. If a voice tells you to do something that does not agree with God’s Word, it is not of God and is to be rejected plain and simple. God speaking through Isaiah said,
"And when they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn." (Isaiah 8:19-20)
Another way Satan gains control of our minds which really relates to what we have been discussing, is when we deliberately choose to sin. Our flesh is in bondage to sin. People struggle with lust and personal desires. However, when a Muslim deliberately chooses to turn to drugs (snipping shabu) and pornography, they are with their will choosing to sin. That is a doorway. As a result Satan will take control of their minds and it will take more than confession of one's sin to get freed from the bondage of snipping shabu or pornography because now unclean spirits are also involved which are keeping the person in bondage. A verse for the bible states that: "He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks a hedge a serpent will bite him." You must now also ask Allah to cleanse you from the unclean spirits and free your mind from the bondage of Satan, then bind the unclean spirits and command them to leave in order to get free by saying “autho billahi mina shaytani rajeem”. Those Muslims engage in selling pornographic films that I have seen with are the first who have willfully turned to pornographic sights on their television or on web have found afterwards that regaining control of their minds is a real battle and is not possible in most cases without the help of other Muslims. My advice is occupy yourself with God's will and stay away from pornographic sights.
Another way Satan gains control of our minds is through neglect reading Qur’anic verses and uttering dikr. That is why it is advisable to read the book of law. This book of the law shall not depart from our mouth, but we shall meditate on it day and night, so that we may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then our way would be a prosperous one, and have success in life.
In one ruwayah the Messenger of Allah sallallau alayhe wa salam has said: “These hearts rust just as iron rusts; and indeed they are polished through the recitation of the Qur’an.” Irshadul Qulub; Page 78
Reading Qur’anic verses is always doing something with our mind, never surrendering or blanking it to anyone or waiting for something or someone to fill it. It should always be active, it is never passive. What is the active thing the Qur’an tells us to do in reading it? It tells us to study and magnify upon God’s Word, meaning to think about, muse over: "What is God's word teaching, telling me to do?, to do good and forbidding bad. What is it trying to teach me? To be anxious all the time on law He has given us through prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhe wa salam. By reading Qur’anic verses we can actively use our mind to study and understand what the word of God is teaching us.
And the best dua : O’ Allah! Surely You have revealed it (the Qur’an) with Truth and with the truth it descended. O’ Allah! Enhance my desire for it; and appoint it as a divine light for my eyes; and a healing for my breast; and make it (the Qur’an) that which removes my grief, sorrow and worries. O’ Allah! Through the Qur’an, beautify my tongue (that which I speak), and beautify my face, and strengthen my body, and make my scale of (good) deeds weighty, and grant me the ability to recite it as it should be recited in Your obedience - in the darkness of the night and the ends of the day, and raise me up with the Prophet, Muhammad and his family members - the chosen, glorified, the purified, by Your mercy. O’ the Most Merciful of those who are able to show mercy”.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to Allah, and the peace of Allah, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard our hearts and our minds in Allah’s unlimited bounties of forgiveness.
Now why we have an empty mind? We have an empty because we are lack of knowledge and our minds were filled with pleasures and material things. Perhaps, wrong way of worshipping Allah or habitual conforms to the norms of bid’a. This way is nothing to do but you are opening the door and that is to blank your mind while waiting for Satan to come and fill it, and fill it he will.
God never takes control of our minds. Because Allah gave us free independent will. God never violates the independent will of anyone. Even we choose to stay out in Islam He does not take control of our minds.
You, yourself will tell what you will for your life, but Allah never force you to do His will. We are always in control of ourselves and must choose to obey Him. He never requires us to yield our minds and bodies to Him to control and walk through like demon possession. That is what we mean by Muslim, to submit, surrender with God.
We seek God’s will for our lives while meditating upon His word. He then either directly through the Word reveals His will to us. We then choose with our will whether to obey Him or not. To have a relationship with Allah then means to walk in obedience to His revealed will to us individually. But notice we must make the choice; He never forces us to do anything.
When we choose not to obey God’s revealed will to us, this is disobedience, and this removes His protection over us and our minds become open to Satan’s control. Getting back to our original passage quoted in this article, in James 4:7 it states "Submit therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you." We have no power over Satan. The only power we have over Satan is Allah’s power, and His power is only available to us when we are walking in obedience to Him. When we are not choosing to walk in obedience to Allah, we cannot resist the devil and we become open and under His control, and Satan gains control over our minds.
How can ye reject the faith in Allah?- seeing that ye were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return. (Al Baqara:28)
Ya… Rabb…Each time You work in my heart, each time You cut away, I will choose to believe, resist the devil and submit to You. If there be any pride, any wicked way in me, I pray it is revealed and cut away. Your Word in me is a living Word with power and authority. All things in me come into subjection to the Word implanted. I walk by faith and proclaim that my life will manifest the plan of Your heart. I have been made new in You. Amen
Your only alternative is: Close your mind to other train of thoughts, or open your mind and develop other train of thoughts. Always think Allah obey and believe in Him.
