{“It is only Satan that suggests to you the fear of his allies. So, do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.”} [Al 'Imran; 175]
Ibn Taymiyyah commented (‘Majmu’ al-Fatawa’; 1/77-78):
“So, this verse proves that Satan makes his allies sources of fear, and he causes people to be afraid of them. And the verse shows that it is not permissible for the believer to fear the allies of Satan, and he should not fear people, as it was Said: {“So, do not fear the people, and fear Me…”} [al-Ma'idah; 44] So, we are commanded to fear Allah, and we are prohibited from fearing the allies of Satan. Allah Said: {“…So that men may have no argument against you except those of them that are wrong-doers. So, fear them not, and fear Me!”} [al-Baqarah; 150] So, He prohibited the fear of the wrong-doer, and He commanded us to fear Him.
He also Said: {“Those who convey the message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none except Allah…”} [al-Ahzab; 39] And He Said: {“…and fear Me, alone…”} [an-Nahl; 51]
And some people say: ‘O Lord! I fear You and I fear those who don’t fear You.’ These are nonsensical words, and it is not allowed to say them. Rather, one should fear Allah alone and not fear any person, since whoever does not fear Allah is too low to be feared, as he is a wrong-doer and is from the allies of Satan. So, Allah has forbidden us from having fear of such a person. If it is said that ’such a person can hurt me,’ the response is that he is only hurting you because Allah has set him loose on you, and if Allah seeks to repel his harm from you, He can easily do so. The affair is all with Allah, and He sets people loose upon a person because of his sins, and if you fear Allah and keep your duty to Him and rely on Him, He will protect you from every evil there is and will not allow anyone to have power over you, as He Said: {“And whoever relies on Allah, He is sufficient for him.”} [at-Talaq; 3] The fact that someone is given power over you is the result of your sins and your fear of that person. So, if you fear Allah and repent from your sins and seek His Forgiveness, nobody can overpower you, as Allah Said: {“…and Allah will not punish them while they seek His Forgiveness.”} [al-Anfal; 33]
And a narration states that Allah Said: “I am Allah! There is none worthy of worship except Me! I am the King of kings! The hearts and foreheads of all kings are between My Hands. So, whoever obeys Me, I will make the hearts of all kings merciful to him, and whoever disobeys me, I will make them a source of agony for him. So, do not preoccupy yourselves with the abilities of the kings. Rather, repent to Me and obey Me, and I will make them support you.”
In ‘Ighathat al-Lahfan’ (1/94), Ibn Qayyim said:
“From the plots of the enemy of Allah (i.e. Satan) is that he makes the believers afraid of his soldiers and allies. So, they do not strive against them, they do not enjoin what is good, and do not forbid what is bad. This is from his greatest plots for the believers, as Allah has informed us by Saying: {“It is only Satan that suggests to you the fear of his allies. So, do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.”} …Qatadah explained this by saying: “He makes them great and powerful in his heart. This is why Allah Said: {“…So, do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.”} So, the stronger your faith becomes, the weaker the fear in your heart will be of Satan’s allies, and the weaker your faith becomes, the stronger the fear in your heart will be of them.”"
In ‘al-Fawa’id’ (p. 78), he also said:
“There is nothing that exists that can affect something else completely independently and of its own accord. Rather, nothing can affect something without another factor somehow contributing to that effect and an obstacle is removed that prevents that effect from taking place. This applies to matters that can be seen by the eye. It also applies to the invisible and metaphysical, such as the Sun affecting livestock and plants, as this depends on other factors such as the presence of fertile ground, as well as other factors in addition to this factor. Likewise, childbirth depends on many factors besides intercourse, and this rule applies to everything that affects something else. So every creature that is feared or hoped in is at best simply one of many factors that can affect something else, and nothing can affect something in a completely independent fashion except Allah, the Overwhelming One. So, none should be hoped in or feared except He.
This is a concrete proof that attachment, hope, and fear of any but Allah is null. If we were to assume that one can affect something on his own, we would still have to accept that he did not derive this power on his own, and was rather granted it by someone else. So, he has no power of his own, as there is no might nor power except with Allah. He has all might and power in His Hand. So, the might and power for which people are feared are in reality in the Hand of Allah. So, how can we fear and hope in those who have no might or power? In fact, fearing someone and hoping in him is a reason for being afflicted by that very person and being prevented from his mercy, because the more you fear someone other than Allah, the more that person will overpower you, and the higher your hopes are in that person, the more you will be prevented from his mercy.”
ٌRegarding this verse, Sayyid Qutb said in ‘Fi Dhilal al-Qur’an’:
“Indeed, it is Satan who tries to make his allies a source of fear and terror, and to dress them up with the appearance of power and awe. As a result, the believers should be aware of the plot of Satan and impede his attempts. They should not fear these allies of his. Rather, they should fear Allah alone, as He alone is the Mighty, Overwhelming, and Able who should be feared: {“It is only Satan that suggests to you the fear of his allies. So, do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.”} Indeed, Satan is the one who inflates the reputation of his allies and dresses them up with the garments of power and ability, and implants in our hearts the idea that they have the ability to do this and that, and that they can bring about benefit and harm. He does all this to fulfill his own interests: to use them to spread evil and corruption on Earth, as well as to cause people to bow down to them and submit their hearts to them so that nobody would say a word of opposition to their faces, and that nobody would even think of criticizing them or preventing them from evil and corruption.
Satan has an interest in falsehood and evil becoming widespread, and that he appear strong, capable, overwhelming, aggressive, and tyrannical so that no opposition stands to his face, nobody repels him, and nobody overpowers him. Satan has an interest in maintaining things this way. So, under the umbrella of fear, terror, and aggression, his allies carry out on Earth that which brings joy to his eyes! They make good appear as evil and evil appear as good. They spread corruption and falsehood and deception. They stifle out the voice of truth, guidance, and justice. They set themselves up as gods on Earth to support evil and kill off good without anyone daring to confront them or stand up to them or expel them from their positions of power - in fact, without anyone pointing out the falsehood that they have beautified or beautifying the truth that they have painted as ugly.
And Satan is a deceptive plotter who hides behind his allies and spreads fear through them into the hearts of those who fail to protect themselves from his whispers. Here, Allah exposes him and stands him naked without any covering for his plots, and makes his reality plain and clear to the believers - the reality of his plots and whispers - so that they are aware of them. So, they do not fear the allies of Satan, as they are too weak to be feared by a believer who relies on his Lord and His Power.
Indeed, the only power that is to be feared is the power that has the ability to bring about benefit and harm. It is the Power of Allah, and it is the Power that the believers in Allah fear. When they fear it alone - the greatest Power of all powers - no force on Earth can stand in front of them - neither the power of Satan nor the power of the allies of Satan… {“It is only Satan that suggests to you the fear of his allies. So, do not fear them, and fear Me if you are believers.”}”
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