The Imam said to him...

The Imam said to him, 'Why are you speaking like this when you have the honour of being classified as a Shia?' At this point, the Imam went on to list the greatness and reasons why one who is a Shia should be proud and every time the Imam mentioned a point, he said to Abu Basir, “Does this not bring pleasure to you (that you possess this trait)?” Abu Basir would reply to the Imam: “Of course, may I be sacrificed for you, please continue…” Continuing on, the Imam (as) then said, “O' Abu Basir!

Surely Allah has spoken about you, our Shia in the Qur`an when He said, {Surely over My servants no authority shall you (Shaitan) have}[^1] and verily I swear that Allah has not intended any other servants of His in this verse except the A`immah and their Shia (followers).”[^2] In relation to Shaitan, there are many questions which the youth have recently brought up, and thus it is necessary to review these queries.

Question 1: Why did Allah (SwT) create this filthy, despicable creature known as Shaitan who is able to whisper evil thoughts to us and he takes us away from the path of happiness, whereas we were created to traverse the path of happiness and success? Answer 1: Allah (SwT) did not create Shaitan as Shaitan - rather, He created him pure and there was even a time when he was classified among the Angels and thus he was not a creation that was made to negatively influence others.

Rather, he was a righteous creature and was among the pious, spiritually close worshippers in the presence of Allah (SwT). However, after choosing the wrong path, he lost his spiritual direction and through his pride and seeing himself as greater than Adam (as) and through his envy and jealousy, he ended up following his low desires. Thus, he sought status and greatness (over Adam (as)) and lowered his rank.

Therefore, the original cause for the spiritual fall of Shaitan was due to him following his low desires and even today, if a person does not follow these in their life, then there is no way that Shaitan can influence him.

In relation to Shaitan, the Qur`an mentions that: أَبـى وَ اسْتَكْبَرَ وَ كَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ “But he became conceited and developed pride in himself and thus he was one of the disbelievers.”[^3] Due to his actions, Allah (SwT) lowered him to the status that he currently has and thus with this said we see that Shaitan was not always Shaitan as we know him to be.

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