Concerning this point, Satan has many ways and means. It is recorded in Sahih
al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
"During your sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back
of your Decks. He breathes the following into them, 'The night is long so keep
on sleeping.' If the person wakes and praises Allah, then one of the knots is
unfastened. And if he performs ablution, the second knot is unfastened. When he
prays, all of the knots are unfastened. After that he will be energetic and
happy in the morning. Otherwise he would get up listless and grouchy."
It is also recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that he
said,
"When one of you rises from your sleep he should make
ablution. He should rinse his nose three times. For Satan stays in the upper
part of one's nose during the night."
Al-Bukhari also records that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about
a man who sleeps until the morning comes, that is, after the time of the dawn
prayer. He said,
"That is a man whom Satan has urinated into his two
ears."
What we have mentioned is from among the ways that Satan hinders the human
from doing some actions. He also whispers into the human a love for laziness,
postponing or procrastinating actions and thinking about what a long period of
time one has for such and such action or work. Ibn al-Jauzi has written on this
topic, stating,
How many of the Jews or Christians have considered in their hearts love for
Islam. But Iblees always hinders them. He says to them, "Do not be hasty. Look
closer into the matter." And they postpone their conversion until they die as
unbelievers. In the same way the one who is disobedient to Allah postpones his
repentance. He sets his sights on his desires and he hopes he will repent
later. But, as the poet said, "Do not rush to perform the sins you desire and
think about the period of repentance beforehand." How many are determined to
do something and then they postpone it. Perhaps a scholar is determined to
return to his study. Satan says, "Rest for a while." Or a servant is alerted
to the prayer at night and he says to him, "You have plenty of time." He will
not stop making people love laziness and postponing of actions and he makes
the person rely on hopes and dreams.
It is necessary for the energetic person to take
matters into his own hand and act upon his energy. The energetic finds the
time to do things and does not procrastinate and he turns away from just
dreaming. The one who has a real fear of Allah does not feel safe of
punishment. The soul never stops in its dispute about evil and facing the
good. But it always expects that it will have plenty of time to complete the
good. One of the early scholars said,
"Beware of procrastinating. It is the greatest of the soldiers of Satan."
The serious, non-procrastinating person and the one who rests on
his hopes and puts off working are like two who are passing through a city
while journeying. The serious, energetic one buys his provisions early and
waits for his traveling out of the city. The procrastinator says, "I will
wait, as perhaps we will stay here a month," and continues to put off buying
his provisions and preparing for his departure, until the last minute wherein
he becomes rushed and mistake prone. This is how people are in this world.
Some of them are prepared and alert. When the angel of death comes, he is not
sorrowful. Others are deceived by thinking they can procrastinate and they
will despair when the time to move on comes. It is part of one’s nature to
love laziness and dreams but then Iblees comes and builds upon that. This
makes it difficult to struggle against him in that matter. But the one who is
alert knows that he is in the middle of a battle. He knows that his enemy does
not rest. And if it seems that he is resting, it is actually just part of his
strategy…
Ibn al-Jauzi, Talbees Iblees, p. 458
In
the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Satan Hinders the Slave from Acting by
Means of Procrastination and
Laziness
