1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

34 Questions

Can Satan sometimes manifest himself as the devil in the form of humans trying to destroy human life? Can it be said that Shaitan can be human as well based on evil behaviors?
Amina Inloes

According to the Qur'an and hadith, Shaytan is an immaterial entity who affects people through influencing their hearts and minds.

(By "immaterial", I mean that he is not composed of the same physical material as objects around us. The Qur'an and hadith say that humans are composed of earth, jinn of fire, and angels of light. The prevalent understanding from the Qur'an is that Shaytan is a jinn, although there is a minority view that he was created as an angel. So he is made of something, he is just not made of the same physical substances that we interact with.)

Qur'an 6:122 speaks of shayateen (those who serve the interests of Shaytan) who are humans and jinn. This indicates that human beings themselves can carry out the will of Shaytan without him actually being present in physical form. It also indicates that, when it comes to Shaytan and shayateen, there is a real division between human and non-human beings and it is not metaphorical.

In any case, from that, it is clear that Shaytan does not need to be here in human form to do the job. A commander who can send a footsoldier does not need to show up himself.

In fact, human beings do not even need Shaytan to cause evil! We have the capacity for immense good and immense evil on our own. 

There are some rare cases in the Qur'an where immaterial entities briefly appear as humans, such as when the angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary, but it is not the norm.

Also, Allah protects the believers from Shaytan. 

So while there are some humans that I might identify as Shaytan (no names here!), the Qur'an lends itself to a more literal interpretation of Shaytan as a wholly non-human being rather than as a someone who is a human or walks around in human form. 
No. Black magic is a
Sayed Mohammad Saleh Qazwini

This is a verse in the Quran. (Quran 2:191)
Why is wahi important to us as human beings and Muslims?
Abbas Di Palma

The revelation (wahy) is the communication of Allah to His prophets. In particular, the Qur'an is the unaltered word of Allah descended to His last Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, as a reminder and a guidance for mankind. The word of Allah is very important for us because it is His message to His servants. Also, through revelation Allah gives His commands and prohibitions. Human intellect may understand general instructions (like the importance of prayer, the duty of respecting the elders, etc...) but it is not able to grasp all the particulars of the path leading human being to salvation. Therefore he needs a revelation. For example, the intellect cannot tell us the details about prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, etc. and we need the revelation to know them. The words of Allah are a continuous guidance for human beings: the recitation and memorization of the holy Qur'an guide the heart of believers towards awareness, piety, goodness, success in this world and Hereafter. Indeed there are too many benefits derived from the revelation of Allah, "and if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them" (16:18).

With prayers for your success.
How does Islam make better human beings?
Rebecca Masterton

In our societies over the last few decades, the pursuit of individual freedom has been promoted and encouraged; but this has tended to lean over into narcissism and selfishness and a lack of awareness about the needs of our fellow human beings around us. furthermore, freedom without knowledge is of no use. We don't have much of a wisdom tradition in our societies anymore. Islam is a wisdom tradition that provides the seeker with the knowledge of how to manage life's challenges.

Islam encourages the fulfilling of rights towards others: the rights of parents, of children, of animals, of plants. Its vision is that we are part of a social network and that interacting with other human beings in a way that fulfils their rights and fulfils the needs of justice requires proper study, learning and practice.

Islam teaches a different kind of freedom: freedom from of the vicissitudes of life. It teaches detachment from worldly desires so that one is not a slave to the world, nor to one's desires.

It teaches the importance of dignity, and also the importance of standing up to tyranny. One can be 'anti-establishment' without destroying oneself.

The banning of all intoxicants prevents the potentially vulnerable from killing themselves or slipping into alcoholism.

It establishes a brotherhood based upon ethical behaviour and spiritual bonds. The bond between Muslims is sacred.

It teaches reliance on the Transcendent, which in turn cultivates courage in the face of difficulties. Shi'i Islam in particular teaches about the importance of cultivating the intellect; of being an intelligent believer. Islam is against blind following of beliefs.

It teaches about a 'deeper way of being' where the spiritual aspect of the human being is central to our life in the world. It has many methods for enhancing our spiritual sense.

It is a disciplined way of life that provides stability in world where, outside of one's working routine, one could otherwise be in total chaos - as social life has often been since the 1970s.

It is about facing the reality of life and death and preparing oneself for a journey into the next world.

It teaches men and women to treat each other with respect; lude jesting is prohibited, as is any touching between unrelated men and women. This means that either sex does not have to tolerate verbal abuse which is often dismissed as 'office banter', or physical abuse either.

Our children today live in an adult's world and are exposed to everything that adults indulge in, and that is because adults have put the pursuit of their freedom first, which has led to an unconsciousness and unawareness of the kind world that has been created for children. The care of and attention towards children is of prime importance in Islam.

These are just some introductory points.