Do not let him suspect the law of undulation. Let him assume that the first ardours of his conversion might have been expected to last, and ought to have lasted, forever, and that his present dryness is an equally permanent condition. (C.S. Lewis).
In this excerpt from the author’s book, The Screwtape Letters, there is an example of the psychology of the devil, and insight into how the devils operate.
This book was written by the famous Christian intellectual, Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), in 1942. He was a celebrated Oxford and Cambridge professor and he was contemporaries with J.R.R. Tolkien- author of The Lord of the Rings (to whom the book is dedicated). In Islamic Psychology we acknowledge all human beings are composed of the self (nafs) and also recognize that the self can pulled upwards to the soul (ruh) which is seeking God or pulled downward to follow inclinations of the lower self (hawa) and/or the devil (shaytan). Through the scholars of purification of the self, (tazkiya tun nafs), such as Imam Al-Ghazali, rahimullah, he explains in Minhaj al Abidin, The Path of the Worshipful Servants, that we have four enemies which include: the self (nafs), the desires (hawa), this world (dunya) and the devil (shaytan). This book is particularly useful in gaining knowledge to defeat the easiest of the four enemies; the devil.
Lewis skillfully presents these machinations of the devil in an easy-to-read format. The Screwtape letters are written in the format of 31 letters where a younger devil, Wormwood, is seeking guidance from the more experienced devil, Screwtape in effective strategies to tempt human beings in a continuous way towards their own destruction. It offers Muslims, (and non-Muslims) a way to stay vigilant and start identifying the well-versed and old tricks of the devils.
For instance, in the opening quote, the devils are well aware that this world is one of change and non-permanence. When people have certain highs in their spiritual lives and then are expecting that this should remain, this is something the devil wants to exploit, just as when there are periods of dryness.
In the book Screwtape is methodologically teaching Wormword of the relentless job of being a Tempter, to use steady repetition, to help cement corrupt ideas. One other example from the book that should give pause to people as they become more religious is how the devils are not dismayed by an increase in religiosity, rather they become gleeful and slyly use this way the person has adopted to bring them to their devilish path either through arrogance, boasting, taking pride and feeling superior in a particular group/congregation, or way of being religious. The attacks of the devil are ever-continuous and as the Prophet, sallahu alayi wasalam says in a hadith, ‘“ Verily, Satan flows through the human being like the flowing of blood.” Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2174
As believers the more we acquire knowledge in the ways that the devil sounds (the whispers) and their tricks, the better attuned we will become to watching over ourselves (the practice of muraqaba) and subsequently being able to brush off and scorn the devil. As Allah has told us repeatedly in the Quran itself, do not follow the footsteps of the devil (24:21) (2:208) (2:168) and take the devil as an enemy (35:6). First, as Muslims we believe there are devils and the head is Iblis. Furthermore, it is our duty as Muslims to avoid their whispers by being on guard and cautious in our ways. In the Quran, there is a speech from the devil on display as well. In Surah Ibrahim, the devil lays clear that they only whispered and the blame lies in humans for following it, and even the devil acknowledges they have no authority or power over us. And Satan says, when the issue is decided, ‘God surely promised you a true promise; and I promised you, then I failed you, for I had no authority over you, but that I called you, and you answered me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves; I cannot aid you, neither can you aid me. I disbelieved in your associating me with God aforetime.’ As for the evildoers, for them awaits a painful chastisement. (Quran 14:22)
We can not start to avoid the footsteps of the devil if we remain ignorant of what even the devilish whispers sound like.
While reading the book it is not uncommon to feel a sense that one has heard some of these whispers in our own lives. It can inspire us to have more personal insights and more importantly to repentance (tawba) and seeking refuge in Allah. I highly recommend all believers to read this book, to gain better awareness (and hence defences) against the whispers (waswasa) of the devil. C.S. Lewis himself writes in the added chapter, Screwtape Proposes a Toast that, “the world into which I had to project myself while I spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst and itch. Every trace of beauty, freshness and geniality had to be excluded. It almost smothered me before I was done.”
We seek refuge in Allah Most High from the accursed devil and all our enemies which seek to take us away from the Remembrance of God Most High.
References:
- Lewis, C. S. (1942). The screwtape letters. HarperCollins ed.2001.
- Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid (2000) Minhaj al-’Abidin ila Jannati Rabbi ‘l-Alamin The Path of the Worshipful Servants of the Garden of the Lord of All the Worlds. Trans. Muhtar Holland. Al Baz Publishing.
Very interesting! Curious to know what the rest of the book is like.