and follow the light sent down with him—it is they who will succeed.”
Thus, if a person comes into contact with impurities and foul things that Satan loves; takes shelter in bathhouses and latrines frequented by devils; eats snakes, scorpions, and wasps; and since … (1) dogs, which are foul and harmful creatures; drinks urine or similar impurities that Satan loves; calls upon others besides Allah, seeking help from created beings and directing himself towards them; prostrates in the direction of his shaykh and does not devote his worship exclusively to the Lord of all worlds; comes into close contact with dogs or fires; takes shelter in rubbish dumps and filthy places, or in graveyards—especially the graveyards of disbelievers among the Jews, Christians, or polytheists; or dislikes listening to the Quran and recoils from it, preferring songs and poetry, and choosing to listen to Satan’s musical instruments rather than the words of the Most Merciful—these are signs of Satan’s allies, not signs of the allies of the Most Merciful.
Ibn Masʿūd, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“Let none of you consult anything but the Quran about himself. If he loves the Quran, he loves Allah; and if he hates the Quran, he hates Allah and His Messenger.”
ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“If our hearts were pure, they would never have their fill of the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.”
Ibn Masʿūd also said:
“Remembrance of Allah causes faith to grow in the heart as water causes plants to grow, and singing causes hypocrisy to grow in the heart as water causes plants to grow.”