"...I See What You Do Not See..." (Quran 8:48)

Published in June 10, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

 We have received this question via email; we quote it here followed by our reply: (... Dear Sir, ... What do these words of Satan mean: "... I see what you do not see..." (8:48)? ... How did Satan talk to the disbelievers of Qorayish before the battle of Badr; besides, what did Satan see exactly? Is this related to the story within the heritage books of traditions that Satan took a human form to suggest to the Qorayish disbelievers in Mecca in their meeting to choose a man from every faction to assassinate Prophet Muhammad together so that they pay blood-money to the Hashemites instead of retribution? ... Would you explain this further to me? ... Thank you ...).

OUR REPLY:

Firstly: about this false narrative:

 We have refuted this false story in our book (in English) titled "The Unspoken-of History of the Pre-Umayyad 'Righteous' Caliphs" (found on this link: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=83). We assert the following in the points below.

1- This narrative mentioned in the message assumes that Iblis/Satan attended a meeting inside Mecca when disbelieving polytheists discussed what to do to face Muhammad and the new religion; a series of narrators said that Iblis took the form of an old sheikh from Najd who came to give them pieces of advice. This narrative is false; the angel Iblis is no longer named as such; he is now Satan the devil after his being expelled from the Upper Realm; hence, the narrators of such narrative were deniers of the Quran and were inveterate liars and ignoramuses. 

2- This silly narrative assumes that the Meccan polytheists obeyed Satan and sent assassins to Muhammad's house; this never took place; in fact, the Quran, as well as history, tells us that they chose to expel Muhammad out of Mecca; they sent Abou Bakr as a spy to accompany Muhammad in his journey to Mecca; Abou Bakr was the cave-companion in this journey; other spies were planted in Yathreb: Omar, Othman, Abdul-Rahman Ibn Awf, etc. More details about this topic of spies/agents in Yathreb are found in our book titled "The Unspoken-of History of the Pre-Umayyad 'Righteous' Caliphs".

3- God tells us about their scheming: "When the disbelievers plotted against you, to imprison you, or kill you, or expel you. They schemed, and God schemed, but God is the Best of schemers." (8:30). Their schemes and plots made them chose to expel Muhammad out of Mecca while sending with him their spy Abou Bakr: "If you do not help him, God has already helped him, when those who disbelieved expelled him, and he was the second of two in the cave. He said to his friend, "Do not worry, God is with us." And God made His tranquility descend upon him, and supported him with forces you did not see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowest, while the Word of God is the Highest. God is Mighty and Wise." (9:40). We have proven in two articles (in English) that Abou Bakr, the cave-companion with Muhammad, was the spy of Qorayish; see both articles here (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18031    /   http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18037).

4- Other verses assert that the Meccan disbelievers expelled Muhammad and disbelievers out of Mecca: "O you who believe! Do not take My enemies and your enemies for supporters, offering them affection, when they have disbelieved in what has come to you of the Truth. They have expelled the Messenger, and you, because you believed in God, your Lord...." (60:1); "Permission is given to those who are fought against, and God is Able to give them victory. Those who were unjustly evicted from their homes, merely for saying, "Our Lord is God."..." (22:39-40); "To the poor immigrants who were driven out of their homes and their possessions..." (59:8).

Secondly: about when Satan said "...I see what you do not see..." (8:48):

1- Human beings cannot see jinn, devils, and angels, while they can see human beings; this verse is about Satan and devils: "...he sees you, him and his clan, from where you cannot see them. We have made the devils friends of those who do not believe." (7:27).

2- Of course, jinn, devils, and angels are Barsakh, ethereal beings; their realms overlap with our physical world; they can see human beings and we, human beings, cannot see them. Human beings see angels if they took a human form, by God's leave and permission, to be sent to certain people on a certain mission; e.g., when Gabriel took a human form to go to Mary and when angels took human forms to meet with Abraham and Lot. No jinn and devils, including Satan, can ever take a human form because they are not envoys of the Lord God: "God chooses messengers from among the angels, and from among the people..." (22:75). Thus, Satan cannot be seen as old man, or within any human form, in the meeting mentioned in the silly narrative found in Sunnite books of traditions.

3- Satan and his progeny of devils inspire/whisper evil deeds and thoughts to all human souls, including human prophets/messengers; this is why God has said the following to Muhammad: "And say, "My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the whispers of the devils. And I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they become present."" (23:97-98); "And when a suggestion from Satan assails you, take refuge in God. He is Hearing and Knowing." (7:200).

4- The difference between the pious ones and the allies of Satan is that the pious ones seek refuge in God against Satan the outcast and they remember their Lord God when evil thoughts cross their minds and they do not commit evil/bad deeds; those allies of Satan are controlled by Satan and commit evil/bad deeds all their lives till they die: "Those who are righteous - when an impulse from Satan strikes them, they remind themselves, and immediately see clearly. But their brethren lead them relentlessly into error, and they never stop short." (7:201-202).

5- Real, monotheistic believers must seek refuge in the Lord God especially before reading the Quran to free their souls from the temptations/whispers/control of the devils who control only the polytheists who take Satan as their ally: "When you read the Quran, seek refuge in God against Satan the outcast. He has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord. His authority is only over those who follow him, and those who associate him with God as another deity." (16:98-100).

6- The clergymen of the Muhammadans who invent and ascribe lies and falsehoods to God, to His Religion, and to Muhammad receive devilish revelations: "Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? They descend upon every sinful liar." (26:221-222); "Likewise, We have assigned for every prophet an enemy - human and jinn devils - inspiring one another with fancy words in order to deceive. But had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. So leave them to their fabrications." (6:112); "...The devils inspire their followers to argue with you; but if you obey them, you would be polytheists." (6:121).

7- Such devilish revelations make allies of devils disbelieve in God; and when they enter into Hell; Satan will disown them: "Like the devil, when he says to the human being, "Disbelieve." But when he has disbelieved, he says, "I am innocent of you; I fear God, the Lord of the Worlds." The ultimate end for both of them is the Fire, where they will dwell forever. Such is the requital for the unjust ones." (59:16-17); "And Satan will say, when the issue is settled, "God has promised you the promise of Truth, and I promised you, but I failed you. I had no authority over you, except that I called you, and you answered me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your aid, nor can you come to my aid. I reject your associating with me in the past. The unjust ones will have a torment most painful."" (14:22).

8- God will tell Hell-dwellers the following reproach: "Did I not covenant with you, O children of Adam, that you shall not serve the devil? That he is your sworn enemy? And that you shall worship Me? This is a Straight Path. He has misled a great multitude of you. Did you not understand? This is Hellfire, which you were promised. Roast in it today, because you persistently disbelieved." (36:60-64).

9- This is why God warns us beforehand: "Satan is an enemy to you, so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his gang to be among the Hell inmates." (35:6).

10- Thus, Satan inspired his allies among the Qorayish disbelievers of Mecca before the battle of Badr to fight the Yathreb believers.

Thirdly: between angels and devils during the battle of Badr:

1- The battle of Badr was a psychological war in the first place; Qorayish troops used to attack Yathreb many times, making its weak dwellers afraid: "God had given you victory at Badr, when you were weak. So fear God, that you may be thankful." (3:123); "And remember when you were few, oppressed in the land, fearing that people may capture you; but He sheltered you, and supported you with His victory, and provided you with good things - so that you may be thankful." (8:26). God promised them safety and victory: "God has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds, that He will make them successors on earth, as He made those before them successors, and He will establish for them their religion - which He has approved for them-and He will substitute security in place of their fear. They worship Me, never associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that-these are the sinners." (24:55).  

2- The Yathreb dwellers suffered military raids of Qorayish and they at first commanded never to defend themselves; when they became stronger, they have been commanded to engage into self-defense; see 8:60; 8:65-66, and 4:84.

3- God has given them permission to engage into self-defense: "Permission is given to those who are fought against, and God is Able to give them victory. Those who were unjustly evicted from their homes, merely for saying, "Our Lord is God."..." (22:39-40). Many of them hated to engage into military self-defense endeavors and desired to postpone such endeavors, though this made them avoided being annihilated: "Have you not considered those who were told, "Restrain your hands, and perform your prayers, and spend in regular charity"? But when fighting was ordained for them, a faction of them feared the people as God is ought to be feared, or even more. And they said, "Our Lord, why did You ordain fighting for us? If only You would postpone it for us for a short while."..." (4:77); "Fighting is ordained for you, even though you dislike it. But it may be that you dislike something while it is good for you, and it may be that you like something while it is bad for you. God knows, and you do not know." (2:216).

4- The battle began as the Yathreb troops attacked the trade caravan as immigrants desired to retrieve their money confiscated by Qorayish; because the Yathreb dwellers were very much afraid, they desired to confiscated goods of the caravan without fighting; God made them fight to overcome their fear and He gave them victory: "God has promised you one of the two groups - that it would be yours - but you wanted the unarmed group to be yours. God intends to prove the truth with His words, and to uproot the disbelievers. In order to confirm the truth and nullify falsehood, even though the criminals dislike it." (8:7-8).

5- Of course, before the believers decided to attack the Qorayish trade caravan, Abou Sufyan who led this caravan was informed by the spies about the attack (one of the informants was Othman Ibn Affan, as we have mentioned and proven in our previous writings); Abou Sufyan changed his route and he sent for reinforcements from Mecca to attack Yathreb while he was sure of achieving victory; Satan urged the Meccan arrogant polytheists to fight the people of Yathreb: "And do not be like those who left their homes boastfully, showing off before the people, and barring others from the path of God. God comprehends what they do. Satan made their deeds appear good to them, and said, "You cannot be defeated by any people today, and I am at your side."..." (8:47-48). 

6- The people of Yathreb were in pitiful state of fear and weakness when they knew that the army of Qorayish was about to attack Yathreb:

6/1: They were weak but God gave them victory: "God had given you victory at Badr, when you were weak. So fear God, that you may be thankful." (3:123).

6/2: Muhammad told them that God has promised them victory and He will send angels to stabilize their souls/hearts and drive away fear and doubt: "When you said to the believers, "Is it not enough for you that your Lord has reinforced you with three thousand angels, sent down?" It is; but if you persevere and remain cautious, and they attack you suddenly, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels, well trained. God made it but a message of hope for you, and to reassure your hearts thereby. Victory comes only from God the Almighty, the Wise." (3:124-126).

6/3: Yet, many of the people of Yathreb were still afraid and hated to engage into self-defense fighting; they argued with Muhammad against fighting: "Arguing with you about the truth after it was made clear, as if they were being driven to death as they looked on." (8:6).

6/4: Angels were sent by God to reassure their hearts and stabilize their souls: "When you appealed to your Lord for help, He answered you, "I am reinforcing you with one thousand angels in succession." God only made it a message of hope, and to set your hearts at rest. Victory comes only from God. God is Mighty and Wise." (8:9-10).

7- This descent of angels shows the following facts.

7/1: The people of Yathreb were very much frightened by the authority, power, and might of the Qorayish tribe.

7/2: The people of Yathreb had to change their mentality and psychological state of fear, reluctance, and cowardice to face the aggressive enemies so that they avoid being annihilated and killed off; the future of the spread of Islam(the Quran) depended at this point in their achieving victory. 

8- Satan, in his turn, tried to terrify believers shortly before the battle; God made them fell asleep to calm down; when they woke up, they found that their ejaculation entailed performing complete ablution (i.e., taking a bath) and water-amounts with them were not enough; God caused rain to descend upon them to purify them: "He made drowsiness overcome you, as a security from Him. And He sent down upon you water from the sky, to cleanse you with it, and to rid you of Satan's pollution, and to fortify your hearts, and to strengthen your foothold." (8:11).

9- And then came the Divine command to the angels of the Lord God to stabilize the souls of those who were afraid: "Your Lord inspired the angels: "I am with you, so support those who believe..." (8:12).

10- The believers in Badr did NOT see the angels; the angels never fought alongside with believers; their mission was to stabilize the souls of those who were afraid. Likewise, the disbelievers of Qorayish in Badr did NOT see Satan while he whispered to them his evil thoughts and incited them to fight and that he would side with them. When Satan saw the angels, he fled and moved away: "Satan made their deeds appear good to them, and said, "You cannot be defeated by any people today, and I am at your side." But when the two armies came in sight of one another, he turned on his heels, and said, "I am innocent of you; I see what you do not see; I fear God; God is severe in punishment." (8:48).

11- This is the context of the words of Satan: "... I see what you do not see..." (8:48).