In our life we have many paths to follow and many pilgrimages to take. The most important path, and the most important pilgrimage, is the path towards Allah, the pilgrimage towards Allah. How does one go about making this pilgrimage? Going from where we live in the world, in the dunya, to where we are constantly in the presence of Allah. The interesting thing is that in order to make this transition, you don’t have to move your feet, you don’t have to get in a vehicle. You can be right where you are, without moving, and make this transition because the transition is not an external transition, it’s an internal transition.
And Sufism is gaining the knowledge of how to make this transition. How do you cross the bridge from the world to reality? How do you cross the bridge from illusion to the truth, to haqq? Well, there are some impediments on this path, and there are enemies on this path. Satan is the consistent enemy on this path. And Satan comes in many different forms. Satan can masquerade as your best friend until he turns on you. Satan can whisper things in your ear, and you have no idea where they came from, because when you turn around he’s no longer there. But we have to be in constant understanding and vigilance that Satan is our enemy.
And Allah gave us a very important Ayat, a sentence, to use all of the time to combat Satan, and that is, “A’udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i’r rajeem. Bismillah-i’r Rahman-i’r Raheem.”
So most people only say, “Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.”
But we were instructed to say, “A’udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i’r rajeem. Bismillah-i’r Rahman-i’r Raheem.”
So first we have to do away with the opposition. We have to do away with that which is trying to stop us, and we need assistance in that. “A’udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i’r rajeem.”
Protect us from the accursed Satan in the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate.
So anything that we begin, even before we eat we should say, “A’udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i’r rajeem. Bismillah-i’r Rahman-i’r Raheem.”
Before we begin prayers, before we take a trip, before we do anything we should say “A’udhu Billahi min ash-shaytaan-i’r rajeem,” to protect us from the accursed Satan, to protect us from the influence of Satan…
