its forces to pursue it. Satan sends reinforcements to assist them. If they flag, he stirs them; if they grow weary, he rouses them. As Allah Most High says:

“Do you not see that We have sent the devils against the disbelievers, inciting them relentlessly?” [19:83]

That is, they vigorously drive them toward acts of disobedience. Whenever they flag or grow weary, the devils rouse, incite, and stir them. They persist in leading the servant toward sin, arranging the encounter through the subtlest devices and the most elaborate schemes. Satan has willingly become a pimp for the wicked among Adam’s children, though he was the very one who arrogantly refused to prostrate to their father. What a contrast between that haughtiness and pride and his willingness to become a pimp for anyone who disobeys Allah! As someone said:

I marvel at Iblīs in his conceit,
And the vile arrogance he displayed:
Too proud to bow once before Adam,
Yet a pimp to his offspring he became.

The root of every sin and affliction is whispering. This is why Allah describes him by it: so that seeking refuge from its evil should take precedence over seeking refuge from anything else. Nevertheless, he also causes evil through means other than whispering.

Among his evils is that he is a thief who steals people’s property. Any food or drink over which Allah’s name has not been mentioned affords him a share through theft and snatching. Likewise, he spends the night in a house if Allah’s name is not mentioned there. He eats people’s food without their permission and stays in their homes without their leave. He enters as a thief and leaves as a raider. He also exposes their hidden faults: he urges a servant to commit a sin, then plants in people’s hearts, while they are awake or asleep, that the person has done such-and-such.

An instance of this is when a servant commits a sin that no one knows about, only to wake the next morning to find people discussing it. This happens because Satan made it attractive to him and planted it in his heart, then whispered to people about what he had done and conveyed it to them. Thus he first caused him to fall into sin, then disgraced him through it.

The Lord Most High conceals his fault, while Satan strives to strip away that concealment and disgrace him. Yet the servant is lulled into a false sense of security and says, “This is a sin that no one but Allah has seen.” He does not realize that his enemy is striving to publicize it and disgrace him. Few people perceive this subtle point.