Assalamu alaykum and welcome.
While making efforts to stay productive I found this interesting article. In general it’s talking about how shaitan whispers to people to delay important matters. The article begins with giving some hadith about how shaitan tries to hinder believers from fajr. Do you or someone you know have trouble waking up for fajr? It is because shaitan whispers that the night is long, so do not hurry you have plenty of time. He probably points out how comfy and warm your bed is too in the wintertime. It is something I struggled with personally when I first entered Islam but after reading the article I found it much easier to wake up on time. It was probably the part about shaitan urinating in your ears that got to me. Whether literally or metaphorically, it’s something I don’t want to even think about getting into my ears.
I pop right up for fajr but it takes the better part of 20 minutes to get my husband up most days. Shaitan tries to deter me from helping my husband as well. At first I didn’t realize it but then I got wise to what was going on. Often at first I would try to wake him but he would shout at me or ask me to wake him up later. Defeated, I would often pray alone and wake him up just before sunrise. But once, as I tried to wake him, as usual my husband quite convincingly said he is awake to get me to stop trying to wake him. Once it became clear he was falling back asleep I decided to persist. He began to shout angrily at me as I became louder and more aggressive in shaking and waking him. Finally he sits up, swearing as he does and telling me how annoying I am. (For the record, I may be loud but I always keep a sweetness in my voice.) But once he made wudu and we prayed he did not remember his earlier reactions. I tell him what mean and hurtful things he said but he swore he did not recall saying such things. A more cynical viewer may think he is simply lying but I know my husband in his waking life does not even think to say such things. I realized it was shaitan that had a strong grip on my husband in the early hours of the morning and he was trying to keep my husband from fajr by deterring me from waking him up. Although it still takes close to 20 minutes to wake my husband, I am no longer deterred or hurt by his words as he slowly wakes. He will still sometimes shout or tell me not to annoy him but I know that is not truly my husband speaking.
My husband is a fine man with strong iman and I know he wants to pray fajr. It’s simply that shaitan tries much harder to deter people who are doing good and following the path of Allah. Another good example is when I first started to make wudu before bed. It was not long after I had said my shahada that I learned of this sunnah and decided to try and start it. The first night I did it I had a vivid nightmare. I’m no stranger to the occasional nightmare so I thought nothing of it. The next night I make wudu right before bed again and once again had a severely violent dream. This continues for the whole week. I have never had so many nightmares in a row. I begin to consider stopping making wudu before bed since it seems to be what brought on these nightmares, but I first consult on of my sisters on the matter. I still remember her eyes opening wide as she realized and explained to me what was going on. My friend explained that when you are far from Allah, shaitan does not bother you much since you are already doing what he wants you to do. But when you begin to draw closer to Him, he will try his utmost to keep you from the straight path. She explained how shaitan tries by any means to keep you from doing things that are good for you. So my doing wudu before bed was something good he was trying to prevent me from doing. She suggested I begin reading ayat al-kursi before bed as well. Wouldn’t you know it, the next night I was free from nightmares!
My point here is twofold. When you first want to start doing something good you will most likely hear the whispers of shaitan in the form of “You can do it later,” “It’s not that important,” “Take your time” etc. But once you have overcome that first hurdle you may still have to deal with whispers like “Here is something more interesting!” “This isn’t worth it, just quit,” or “It’s too hard, you’ll never be able to finish it” etc, ad nauseam. Sometimes just knowing where these thoughts are coming from is enough to get through them. Realizing it’s not your own voice telling this to you can help you get to your task and not be deterred from it, like how once I realized it was not really my husband saying those things I was no longer hesitant about waking my husband for fajr. And if the knowledge is not enough to shut down those voices, there is the power of dua and the Qur’an. So don’t delay! Start memorizing more Qur’an, revive that sunnah, study for that test, do more voluntary fasts, make that complicated meal to break you fast, learn some fiqh, listen to that lecture, and show to shaitan you live for Allah and he has not power over you!
My Jihaad 