But whoever of them follows you...

But whoever of them follows you, then verily Hell will be your recompense, a recompense in full!’” Man is free in his acceptance of the path of the Lord and/or in pursuing the Satan. The Lord’s punishment is all-encompassing; the guilty will be provided with both the divine chastisement which is due to their own sins, and the punishment for misleading others in their entirety either.

Incidentally, in order to realize an experimental field for all, and proper means for the education of the true devout believers, which all tend to shape man in the melting pot, and in order to become strong against the enemy, the Satan was provided with the means for survival and activities: the verse says: “(Addressing the Satan), He said: ‘Depart!

But whoever of them follows you, then verily Hell will be your recompense, a recompense in full!’” It is by means of this nature that He declares the method of testing and explains the ultimate aim of victory and defeat in this grand Divine trial. Surah Isra’ – Verse 64 وَاسْتَفْزِزْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُم بِصَوْتِكَ وَأَجْلِبْ عَلَيْهِمْ بِخَيْلِكَ وَرَجِلِكَ وَشَارِكْهُمْ فِي الاَمْوَالِ وَالاَوْلاَدِ وَعِدْهُمْ وَمَايَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلاَّ غُرُوراً 64.

“And startle whomever of them you can with your voice, and collect your cavalry and infantry against them; and share with them in wealth and children and make promises to them; and the Satan makes no promises to them except delusion.” The Satan, at first, removes man’s instinct for monotheism by means of persuasion. Later, he seeks to invade him with his ammunitions and armies.

The Arabic term /’istifz az/ here signifies ‘stumbling’ or ‘slipping’ with speed and adeptness as well as by way of pushing. The Satan does not just select one way for deceiving man. On the contrary, he usually entrenches man from all sides, accompanied by a number of other ways using all forms of persuasions, dissuasions, promises, aspirations, temptations, and enticements, which are as its mounting forces and its foot-soldiers, and in this course some people follow him.

We have it in quotations that he who has no fear of anyone in what he says and in what he does, or what he is said about; committing sins or back-biting openly, is a partner to the Satan.

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