FROM BOOKS

MINA AND STONING THE DEVIL

Mina, where Abraham and Ishmael (peace be upon them) threw stones at the Devil and beat him, is a blessed place inspiring the Muslims of the necessity of trust in Allah and submission to Him.

Stoning the Devil, on the other hand, begins first and primarily by stoning the Devil inside a person. As we mentioned above the Devil tried to deceive Abraham, Ishmael, and Hagar. Stoning the Devil, which is among the requirements of pilgrimage, is a remembrance of their stoning and riddance of the Devil.

In a way, stoning means cursing, for cursing was done by stoning at the time. In fact rajim, one of the attributes of Satan, which means stoned, is a statement expressing his cursed state.

It should also be mentioned that a stone picked up and thrown at the Devil is also the stone thrown at ones sins. Intention is to reach Allah’s contentment. In fact the Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) stated that:

“Stoning (the Devil) and running between the hills of Safa and Marwa are commanded to substitute the remembrance of Allah.”(Tirmidhi, Hajj, 64/902)

Another meaning expressed in the act of throwing pebbles at the Devil is to express enmity towards him. This is because the Devil was conceited and looked down at Adam (Peace Be Upon Him) for Adam was created from earth whereas he was created from fire, so Allah the Almighty throws the Devil something (pebbles) composed from the thing (earth) that he belittled.

The sensitivity and consciousness reached during stoning the Devil should embrace all aspects of our lives. We need to drive away every doubt whispered by Satan in our hearts by the words:

أَعُوذُبِللّٰهِ مِنَالشَّيْطَانِالرَّجِيمِ

“I seek refuge in Allah from the [evil of] accursed Satan.” Thus by means of these words one needs to throw stones at the Devil until the end of ones life.Allah the Almighty says in the Qur’an:

“And if a whisper from the devil reach you (O Muhammad) then seek refuge in Allah…”(Fussilat 41; 36)

Stoning the Devil means to curse him and to purify the heart from heedlessness and doubt. It also reminds the believer to turn the cleansed heart towards Allah the Almighty.

One should also keep the following thoughts in mind during pilgrimage:

Thieves do not try to rob the junk dealers when there are jewelry stores nearby; for the wealth is found in the jewelry stores. This can be compared to the state of pious believer who properly fulfills the acts of worship and the state of a heedless person. Satan, to whom Allah the Almighty has given permission to corrupt and seduce people, first tries to deceive the pious ones. He especially attacks and tries to deceive those who plan to perform pilgrimage.  This is why patience should be the first weapon with which a pilgrim should be armed with. It is because pilgrimage is different than other acts of worship. It looks easy in appearance, but in fact it is one of the most difficult acts of worship. This is why pilgrims utter the following words when they express their intention for pilgrimage: “O Allah! Make it (the pilgrimage) easy to me …”

Those hearts that turn towards Allah the Almighty emphasize their faith in His unity saying:

لَبَّيْكَ اللّٰهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ،لَبَّيْكَ لاَشَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ،
اِنَّ الْحَمْدَوَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ لاَشَرِيكَلَكَ

“O Lord! Here I am at Your service, here I am. Here I am at Your service and You have no partners. Yours alone is All Praise and All Bounty, and Yours alone is the Sovereignty. You have no partners.” They know that they are in the lands of Allah the Almighty and promise that from that time on they will not be fooled by the deceptions of the Devil.

The believer should try to be aware of the Devil’s tricks and deceptions. Again the  believer  should be stand up to the hardships of the journey and know that they are tests of this world. In this way they will not lose the spiritual rewards of their pilgrimage.