By Monica Begum

“You are worthless”. This is how Shaytan attempts to deceive us, with lies, in his never-ending pursuit for revenge. Yet Allah, ‘Al Haqq’ is The Absolute Truth, and Satan or Shaytaan is The Chief Deceiver.

“The truth is from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.” (2:147)

“And who is more truthful than Allah in statement.” (4:122)

“…and be not deceived about Allah by the Deceiver [i.e., Satan]. (35:5)

“…do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.” (2:208)

From the dawn of mankind, (literally!) there was a clear enemy amongst us who attempted to derail and ruin all humans due to his unhinged pride. To this day, his thirst for revenge remains unquenched, and he will stop at nothing to continue in his master plan to ruin us.

“Then We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Adam”; so, they prostrated, except for Iblees…. [Allah] said, ‘What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?’ [Satan] said, ‘I am better than him…”’ (7:11-12)

“But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.” (8:30)

The devil/Iblees/Satan/that relentless jerk – Whatever you want to call him, he is forever trying to catch us with his lies.

One thing he undoubtedly preys on is insecurity and the human need for validation; this is evident in the significant issues we face in the world today. For example, in social media, and the associated links to depression and anxiety, all of which can be detrimental to our health in many ways.

Satan is cunning: he uses people around us with their words, and he uses social media, to try to tell us we are not good enough. Think about it: the world is constantly telling us that we need to be prettier, thinner, smarter; the trap ensues, and you can start to believe it. Then you devalue yourself, you feel worthless, and you attempt to seek validation from others, through getting a like on a Facebook or Instagram post or some other unhealthy means.

Satan remains scornful and jealous of humans for being favoured creations of Allah. His fate is sealed, he will be a dweller of the hell fire, and all he wants to do is drag us down there with him, but not today, Satan! Not ever! Insha’Allah! Who is with me?

“[Allah] said, ‘Descend from it [i.e., Paradise], for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So, get out; indeed, you are of the debased.” (7:13)

We need to be able to see and recognize Satan’s agenda; his ongoing pursuit of vengeance, his goal to convince us with the lie that we are worthless, and if we let him do this, then he succeeds. It is so important for us to internalise the truth and not debase ourselves with Satan’s lies. We must realise and remember the reality: the incredible value that Allah has inherently created and honoured us with. Subhan’Allah, can you imagine that scene in Jannah? The angels bowing down in astonishment, marvelling at the miracle that we are.

Self-worth and valuing oneself is a topic I find myself speaking about with others regularly. I have come to think that it is crucial, especially for self-awareness in this lifelong battle against Satan! ‘The only limit we have is ourselves,’ ‘we don’t realise our potential…but you know who does – Satan.’ Of course, as clichéd as statements such as the former may sound, they are truths which are first and foremost reminders to myself. Who knows what we are capable of, truly? Only Allah of course, but Satan also knows exactly what we are made of (literally!) because he was there when Allah made the grand announcement. However, he only chooses to focus on the dirt part, completely ignoring all the other amazing components that make up a human being. He knows our power clearly, so he will try to sabotage us by whatever means necessary. He will get his little cronies in on it too, as I mentioned, he is tactical and ruthless.

Of course, we all have our insecurities, we will all get whispers from Satan, that’s a given, Allah has allowed that, in His Wisdom. But the fact is, if we do not accept ourselves as we are, acknowledging the truth, working on ourselves and our faith, praying and following the guidance of Allah to overcome Satan and his many tricks, then we risk falling prey to him.

Once we fall prey to him we and start to internalise his lies that you and I are worthless, then a spiral of negative effects can ensue:

· You begin to ‘self-revoke’ your rights and can get taken advantage of. When you have low self-esteem, you will accept what you think you deserve. This could be a harmful relationship, abuse, or even an oppressive boss in the workplace.

· You are aiding Satan in actualising his agenda, of removing our power and making us feel powerless.

· As I mentioned earlier, feelings of low self-worth can lead to all sorts of issues such as depression and anxiety, which again remove our power, agency and ability to be powerful actors for good in this world.

Allah knows our capability, and nothing is impossible for Him, He says “Be” and it is, the possibilities are endless.

At the same time, we can be quite hard on ourselves and forget that we are only human. We aren’t and can’t be all-rounders. This is something I realised (or remembered) recently: that we all have our weaknesses and strengths, and that is okay. We are amazing creations of Allah regardless of our mistakes and inevitable shortcomings, and we need to remember and internalise the truth He so clearly tells us.

I want you to know dear and valued reader: you are worthy, you are loved, and you are the honour and joy of Allah, subhan’Allah – know it, own it! Allah has placed us in such a remarkable and privileged position, Subhan’Allah. We only need to seek validation from Him, In shaa’Allah.

I have to say this post has been quite a strange (in a good way!) piece to write. I realised I was lacking motivation and that felt like an attack of the devil! I was suffering from procrastination –and can see now that this might have been especially since this is an expose of him, because of course he does not want us to know the truth.

Alhamdulillah, all praise is Allah’s for allowing me to write this (and complete it!) He is the Only One capable of healing us from all the diverse types of ailments and issues we face mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Nothing is impossible for our Lord, and He is the One and TRUE Saviour, may He guide and protect you, and us and surround you with the truth always, Ameen.

About the author:

Monica is from the West Midlands UK, and is currently working in higher education. She is passionate about empowering others, helping them to live as their best authentic selves, allowing their true and beautiful individuality to shine! Nature lover, bookworm extraordinaire and in hot pursuit of the white rabbit!