And when the intended purpose of mentioning the stories, especially the stories of the prophets, is to take heed from them, the explanation of what occurred between Adam - blessings be upon him - and Satan, in terms of the intense enmity, necessitates a warning against Satan. The situation is dangerous, and the escape is difficult. This is indicated by the emphasis and the explanation of what Satan has been given in terms of hidden plots and subtle causes, so that the one who is saved knows that he has only been saved by pure divine guidance and mere kindness. Thus, he should turn to gratitude, disavowing any strength or power. He called out to them in a way that conveys compassion, kindness, tenderness, and weakness: "O Children of Adam" (p-381), meaning: the one whom I created with My own hands and placed in My Paradise, then I sent him down to the abode of My love, intending to elevate you to the pinnacle of My worship and to lower you to the depths of My disobedience. "Do not let Satan tempt you" means: do not let him mix with you in a way that leads you away from moderation. "Satan" means: the one who is far away, consumed by sins. He prevents you from what would be a cause for your return to your homeland by beautifying what takes away from you the garment of piety, which leads to the exposure of your faults, resulting in the disgrace of this world. He thereby prevents you from entering Paradise and leads you to Hell, "as he expelled your parents from Paradise" by what he tempted them with after they had inhabited it, settled in it, and made it their home. And you know that pushing away is easier than lifting up, so beware, then beware! The verse contains a figure of speech: it first mentioned temptation as evidence of its removal later, and the expulsion second as evidence of the removal of its opposite or counterpart first.

And when he had exerted effort in their expulsion, he explained the expulsion - referring to this - by prolonging the whispering and continuing the deceit and trickery by using the present tense. He said [in the context of the pronoun (Satan)]: "He removes from them" meaning: [by causing] the continuation of beautification and taking from safety "their garment" [meaning: the one which Allah - glorified is He - had covered them with as long as they were preserving themselves from committing what they were forbidden]. This indicates the contradiction of exposure in Paradise by the reasoning of His saying: "to show them their private parts." For this is the beginning of abandoning life, and "modesty and faith are inextricably linked" - as narrated by Al-Tabarani and Abu Nu'aym in Al-Hilya from Ibn Umar - may Allah be pleased with them - and "modesty only brings good" - as narrated by the two Shaykhs from Imran ibn Husayn - may Allah be pleased with them.

And when the prohibition of Satan regarding our temptation is, in reality, a prohibition for us against being tempted by him, it is in strength to intensify your caution against his temptation. Indeed, he is subtle in his plotting, deep in his schemes, and innovative in his deceit. He justified this by saying: "Indeed, he sees you" meaning: Satan "he and his tribe" meaning: his soldiers "from where you do not see them." Malik ibn Dinar said: "Indeed, an enemy sees you while you do not see him; this is a severe trial except for whom Allah has protected."

And when it was as if it was said: 'Did they not have this great authority imposed upon us, which hardly allows anyone to be safe?' He said, lightening their matter, and in reality weakening their plot: 'Indeed, we did that because of the greatness we possess. We made the devils, those who are consumed by anger and far from mercy, allies for those who do not believe. They renew their faith, for there is a compatibility in their natures that necessitates following. As for our allies, whom we prevented by our power from him or led them astray gently with him, then we rescued them with our kindness from him; they are not allies for them, rather they are enemies to them. Their sign is that they believe. The meaning is that we enabled them to deceive you by concealing themselves from you and showing you to them. Thus, we empowered them over those whom we judged to not believe by adorning them for them and tempting them, and belittling them by having them support them in some situations and bringing them to something of their demands. We did that so that the complete man, who deserves the highest ranks and to whom the angels come with peace and blessings, can be distinguished from others. So take heed, for the matter is dangerous and salvation is difficult. In other words, we have set you on a path and placed enemies on both sides who see you but you do not see them. We empowered them over some of you. Whoever follows the straight path will be saved, and whoever deviates will be captured by the enemy. Whoever approaches the edges while accompanying doubts will come close to the enemy, and whoever comes close to him will be led astray. The closer he gets to him, the more he can capture him. And whoever is captured after salvation, beware! The fact that we do not see them in general does not imply that they cannot be seen, for it has been established that they can be perceived in dense bodies. The vision of the children of Adam of them in those bodies is like the devil that Abu Huraira - may Allah be pleased with him - saw when the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - commanded him to guard the charity. Likewise, Ubayy ibn Ka'b - may Allah be pleased with him - and the story of Khalid ibn al-Walid - may Allah be pleased with him - regarding the devil of al-Uzza is well-known in the biographies. Also, the story of Suwad ibn Qarb - may Allah be pleased with him - in his guidance from the jinn to him, and the story of Ibn Malik - may Allah be pleased with him - in similar matters and others. In my explanation of my verses regarding the biography, there is much of that. Also, the story of the ifrit that attacked the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - with a flame of fire to interrupt his prayer, and Allah humiliated him and enabled the Messenger of Allah over him. The Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - said: 'If it were not for the supplication of my brother Solomon - peace be upon him - he would have been tied to the pillar of the mosque, playing with the children of the people of the city.' Abu Hayyan said: 'However, their vision in forms is rare, just as the angels - peace be upon them - appear in forms, as in the story of Gabriel - peace be upon him.'