Seeking Refuge from the Devil

It was narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said:

I saw the accursed Iblis upside down in a dream.

I intended to strike him with the stick.

So he said to me, "O Abu Sa'id, did you not know that I do not fear the stick or the weapons?"

He said, so I said to him, "O accursed one, what is it that you fear?"

He said, "I fear two things: one of them is the seeking of refuge by those who seek refuge, and the other is the radiance of the knowledge of the truthful ones."

And it was narrated about al-Junayd, may God have mercy upon him, that he said:

I saw Iblis in a dream, naked and toying with the people.

So I said, "Aren't you ashamed of the people?"

Then the accursed one said, "For God's sake, these people are with you."

If they had been from the people, I would not have toyed with them.

Just as the boys play with the ball.

So I said to him, "O accursed one, and who among the people?"

He said, "Three people in the mosque of the Shirazi."

Thus the mosque was named.

They made my liver sick and they wasted away my body.

Whenever I intended against them, they would point to Allah, the Exalted.

I am about to burn.

Al-Junayd said, and I became aware.

And part of the night still remained.

So I went out to the mosque which the accursed had mentioned, and I entered it.

Then three people were sitting with their heads in their cloaks.

Then one of them said to me, "O Abu al-Qasim, are you?"

Whenever something is said to you, accept it.

My brother, know that whoever sought refuge in God from the accursed Satan.

Indeed, he remained steadfast in the upright religion.

And that is because God, glorified be He, has informed us about the accursed Iblis.

I will set your straight path before them.

And that is because Allah, exalted be He, sent him to sever the path of religion.

Just as thieves are highwaymen who block Muslims' access to the ways of the world.

So Iblis, may God curse him, is a blocker of the path to the ultimate goal, seeking to turn you away from the truth and guidance.

When you seek refuge from him, he flees from you and cannot cut off the path of religion.

And Allah, the Exalted, has commanded His servants to say in the prayer.

Seventeen times in seventeen rak'ahs.

And it is the number of obligatory units of prayer.

Guide us to the straight path.

How then could the plotting of the accursed Satan harm you?

Know, my brother, that the Frequented House was on the earth.

until the time of the Flood of Noah, peace be upon him.

So it was preserved from drowning and saved from the flood.

And was raised up to the heavens.

And the believer's heart is better than the Frequented House by more than a thousand thousand times.

So he is more deserving of preservation, for the Much-Frequented House is filled with the worship of the angels.

And the believer's heart is filled by the Creator's gaze toward him.

How vast the difference between them is.

It was narrated from Abu Sa'id that he said concerning the words of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.

Indeed, My servants, you have no authority over them.

It is as if he is saying that if you had power over them to cast them into disobedience to God.

You have no authority over them to prevent them from God's forgiveness.

And another view says that if the devil has power to cast the servant into sin.

It is more fitting that God's forgiveness have the power to cleanse the servant of sin.