Al-Mu'minun · Makki · ayah 97 of 118

Al-Mu'minun 23:97

وَقُل رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَٰتِ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينِ

“And say, "My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils,”

Saheeh International

Essence

Kindness answers the human enemy; for the unseen jab that goads you towards wrong, the answer is to run to your Lord and hold on.

A reflection

The spur on the heel

A woman gave up smoking eight months ago. On the day of a bruising appraisal, she walks past the newsagent. Out of nowhere comes a jab, sharp and urgent: you deserve one today. It does not feel like a thought. It feels like a push in the back.

The ayah names that push. Hamazāt al-shayāṭīn: the jabs of the devils. The commentaries explain that hamz is a prod or a goad. One names the mihmāz, the trainer's spur. Another describes it as a piece of iron tied to the back of a rider's heel, to jab the animal into speed or a jump. The devils, one commentary says, urge people towards sins the way trainers spur their mounts.

A classical writer on the spiritual life sharpens it further. Hamz is not just any push. It is a push with a jab, like a stab: devils driving whispers and temptation into the heart.

The plural matters too. One commentary says hamazāt may be plural because the prods come again and again, or in many kinds, or from many devils.

That is a precise description of temptation as people feel it. It is rarely a calm argument. It is a sudden urgency, a spur in the side, a sense that you must act now. The urgency is part of the trick.

The Prophet ﷺ sought refuge from exactly this. When he stood for prayer at night, one report says, he sought refuge in Allah from the accursed devil. He named three things: his jab, his puff and his spit. Abu Dawud records it, graded ṣaḥīḥ, though Abu Dawud noted a view that its chain is broken.

So when a sudden spur hits you, recognise its shape. You do not have to obey the jab. You can name it, and turn to the One who can hold you still.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.