The ghūls are the illusions and phantasmic shapes that confront a person on the road—especially in the early days when journeys were made on camel-back, or when someone travels alone. The devils then terrify him, appearing in disturbing forms: a lion, a wolf, a hyena—demonic jinn in every guise. Hence the ḥadith: “When the ghūls appear, hasten to give the call to prayer,” that is, say “Allāhu akbar.” They will then dissolve, for Satan retreats whenever Allah is mentioned: “from the evil of the lurking whisperer, who whispers within the breasts of mankind, of jinn and of men.” The whisperer may therefore be from the jinn or from human beings. The jinn referred to are the devils who insinuate themselves into people’s hearts, while human beings too can be devils—the devils of the children of Adam.

How numerous the devils are in our time, before our time, and until the Day of Resurrection! “Thus We have appointed for every prophet an enemy from among the criminals…” Likewise, the followers of the prophets have enemies from among the devils. They come to people with their whisperings—“This is such-and-such, and that is such-and-such”—especially preying upon the simple-minded among the common folk, luring them into false schools of thought, counterfeit religions, and the like. Their entire business is the insinuation of human devils. Beware of them—beware of the human devils who whisper to you about matters they adorn in your eyes even though they are corrupt at the core.

In sum, these three sūrahs are to be recited every morning and every evening, in compliance with the Prophet’s ﷺ instruction. Allah alone grants success.