Trap of Ego and Shayṭān in Worship

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

“وَخُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفًا”

(Qur’ān 04:28)

“Wa Khuliqa Al-‘Insānu Đa`īfāan”

“And mankind was created weak.” Ṣadaqa Llāhu l-‘Aẓīm.

Allāh ﷻ created human being weak. No one should boast saying, “I am like this. I am like that.” If Allāh ﷻ wants, He ﷻ makes the weak strong and the strong weak. Therefore, we are under the command of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla.

SubhanAllah, today this matter happened. It shows how weak mankind are. May Allāh ﷻ be pleased with you. I guess we fell asleep till now. Shukr to Allāh ﷻ, we didn’t miss Fajr prayer at least. We missed all the night prayers. They knocked on our door and woke us up for Fajr prayer.

Mankind may fall into heedlessness if Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla wants. Human is weak. We perform all acts of worship and all acts of obedience with Allāh’s ﷻ grace and kindness. We must make shukr to Him ﷻ. Mankind’s heedlessness is through the will of Allāh ﷻ. It is His ﷻ will. Everything we do is by the grace and kindness of Allāh ﷻ. It is not right to boast, “I did this. I did that. Others did not do it.”

One of the great ‘awliyā’; I don’t remember exactly who it was. In Baghdad, he got up early in the morning with his father before Fajr for Tahajjud. He said, “Shukr to Allāh ﷻ, we woke up. Look, all the people are sleeping in heedlessness. Thanks be to Allāh ﷻ, we got up for Tahajjud. They are sleeping.” His father said, “If only you were sleeping too and you hadn’t said this.” This boasting is wrong. Everything happens by Allāh’s ﷻ grace and kindness. Whether you get up or go to sleep or fall into heedlessness, it is from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla.

Therefore, ṭarīqah is adab (good manners). And adab is to be thankful to Allāh ﷻ. You must not consider anything as important. You must not value anything. Our worship and obedience are all of no value. If Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla doesn’t want that, your ego will first make you compare with others, “He is like this, he is like that.” That is wrong.

Comparing yourself is a trick of shayṭān too. In order for shayṭān to make your ego bigger, he tells you, “You get up for Tahajjud prayers. You do Qiyāmu l-Layl. You don’t sleep at night. You do this and that.” He set a trap for you to lose what you have gained.

Some people who enter ṭarīqah ask, “How much has my rank become?” That is also not from the principles or manners. You who entered ṭarīqah, you already entered ṭarīqah because it is the way of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla, to discipline your ego more. Don’t ask that. It is not from the principles or manners. What will you do? You will continue on your way. The greatest karāmah: is: “أَجَلُّ الْكَرَامَاتِ دَوَامُ التَّوْفِيقِ”, “Ajallu l-karāmāt dawāmu t-tawfīq”. Being consistent on the way is the greatest karāmah.

You should praise Allāh ﷻ. You should make shukr to Allāh ﷻ. You mustn’t compare yourself to others. Allāh ﷻ knows what our end will be. What’s important is for us to be steadfast. If you’re not steadfast, you can do all the worship, and be like shayṭān. May Allāh ﷻ protect us. There is no place left on earth or heavens where he has not prayed, and in the end he became the most despicable and the worst of creation. Therefore, to avoid being like him, you must continue on the way of Allāh ﷻ. You must be consistent on this way, without looking at this or that, without asking, “How much have I done? What rank have I reached?” May Allāh ﷻ protect us.

Sometimes, when you stay consistent, some state occurs unwillingly. You will be rewarded for your worship in the same way with the grace and kindness of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. There is another story. Sayyidina Bāyazīd al-Basṭāmī – just like what happened with us today – fell asleep during the night prayers and couldn’t get up. He probably prayed Fajr prayer or did not prayed it on time. Shayṭān was very happy.

Sayyidina Bāyazīd al-Basṭāmī was very sad, he cried. He was profoundly sad and cried a lot. Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla wrote a thousand times more reward for what he couldn’t do than what he did. It was seen in ghayb and shayṭān also saw that. After a while, he also fell asleep for the second time.

He saw someone waking him up, pushing him. He looked and shayṭān was waking him up. “Get up and pray! You’re going to miss Fajr prayer”, he said. Sayyidina Bāyazīd al-Basṭāmī said, “How can you do this? You should be making me sleep more.” Shayṭān said, “Last time, I made you fall asleep. You gained a thousand times more reward. So wake up now. We managed that one time only and cannot anymore.”

So if a person fell into heedlessness, got sick or so and missed a prayer, Allāh ﷻ writes him the same reward and thawāb. May Allāh ﷻ forgive us all. May Allāh ﷻ be pleased with you too, you waited here so much. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbaniق

26 April 2025/ 28 Shawwal 1446

Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul