Likewise, none of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—would come to him at his grave to ask him about matters of knowledge over which they disagreed or which they found unclear, neither his four caliphs nor anyone else. Yet they were the closest people to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Even with his daughter Fātimah—may Allah be pleased with her—Satan had no hope of persuading her by saying, “Go to his grave and ask him whether his estate may be inherited or not.”

Nor did Satan have any hope of persuading them, when they suffered drought, by saying, “Ask him to pray for rain for you.” Nor did he say, “Ask him to pray for victory for you,” or to seek forgiveness for them. During his lifetime, they would ask him to pray for rain and victory for them, but after his death, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Satan had no hope of inducing them to ask him for these things. Nor did he have such hopes during the first three generations. These deviations only appeared among those whose knowledge of monotheism and the Sunnah was limited, so Satan led them astray, just as he led the Christians astray in certain matters because of their limited knowledge of what the Messiah and the prophets before him had brought—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them.

Likewise, Satan had no hope of carrying any of them through the air or transporting them across great distances in a short time, as happens to many people of later generations. This was because the journeys they undertook were acts of obedience, such as journeys for Hajj, ʿumrah, and jihad. They are rewarded for every step they take on these journeys, and the greater the distance, the greater the reward. It is like someone who leaves his house for the mosque: of the steps he takes, one