Keeping my intention secret from the Shaytan

Question: What is the ruling on one who intends a good deed and believes that if he says it loudly, the Shaytan may hear him and try to mislead him from his intention. Can he hear us when we speak loudly about our plan to do good deeds?

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question.

The Shaytan is not All-Hearing nor All-Knowing. That is only attributed to Allah. That being said, he does have lots of evildoers that work for him among the Jinn and people that may hear your intention.

However, whether the Shaytan hears your plan or not, you should not fear him. If you fear that you will be dissuaded from your own good intention, you should commit to working on yourself and increasing your faith and good deeds. If you don’t end up doing the good deed you intended, you can’t squarely place the blame on the Shaytan. Your nafs (ego) are also involved.

Strengthen your faith through good deeds and establish good habits. Seek Sacred knowledge here at Seekers, so you are always armed with correct information to fight off doubts or misguidance from anyone. Strive to be like `Umar ibn al-Khattab. Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and give him peace, said (to `Umar), “By Him in Whose Hands is my soul, whenever Satan sees you taking a path, he takes another path.“ [Bukhari]

May Allah give you every success in this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.