47 – ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad related: Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Ṣanʿānī narrated to us; Faraj ibn Faḍālah narrated to us from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ziyād ibn Anʿum, who said:
While Moses was seated in one of his gatherings, Satan approached, wearing a hooded cloak whose colors kept changing. When he drew near, he removed the cloak, set it aside, and came forward saying, “Peace be upon you, O Moses.”
Moses asked, “Who are you?”
He replied, “I am Iblīs.”
Moses said, “May Allah not grant you life! What has brought you here?”
He answered, “I have come to greet you, because of your standing with Allah and the rank He has given you.”
Moses asked, “What was that garment I saw on you?”
He said, “With it I seize the hearts of the children of Adam.”
Moses said, “What is it that enables you to gain mastery over a human being?”
He replied, “When he is pleased with himself, takes pride in the abundance of his deeds, and forgets his sins. And I warn you of three things:
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Never be alone with a woman who is unlawful for you, for no man isolates himself with such a woman without my being his companion—ahead of all my helpers—until I tempt him through her.
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Do not pledge anything to Allah without fulfilling it, for no one makes a covenant with Allah without my being his companion until I obstruct him from keeping it.
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Do not bring out charity unless you carry it through, for no man starts to give charity and then fails to complete it without my preceding all my helpers until I prevent him from fulfilling it.”
Then he turned away, saying, “Alas for him! Alas for him! Alas for him!” Moses then understood the matters by which Satan seeks to ensnare the children of Adam.