#46: THE DEVIL'S DECEPTION: ESCAPING THE RABBIT HOLE

In the book Talbis Iblis (The Devil's Deception), the renowned Islamic scholar, Ibn Jawzi, did write extensively on how the devil plots and tricks mankind into doing that which is evil.

In this sincere attempt to unravel the facade that enshrouds the devil's plottings, the scholar tries to equip us with the awareness needed to steer clear the path of the devil and his plottings.

It's a book I advice everyone to read. Besides, the best way to protect oneself from an enemy is to understand the modus operandi of that enemy. But here's a caveat; I don't intend to go through the nitty-gritty details of the book.

This article is merely about the basic but profound idea that I've learned from the book; a fragment of the exhaustive explanation made by the scholar.

Given our nature as humans, it's quite an infelicitous fabric of our identity to blame the devil whenever we do something wrong. “Oh, it's the devil that made me do so and so,” we say. But really? Is it?

In some sense, I'd say yes, it's the devil. Because right from time immemorial, the devil is always at work, trying to sway us (we humans) from the right path by inducing ambiguity, confusion and doubts in our hearts.

In the Holy Qur'an, several verses in different chapters keep cautioning us not to fall prey to his plottings.

One of the basic message of Surah An-Nas (Qur'an: 114) is for mankind to seek God's protection from the whisperings of the devil.

It's quite a fallacy that despite being cautioned about the devil, we often end up working in tune with his plottings. And that's where it gets interesting.

So, after reading Ibn Jawzi's book and pondering over what I read for quite a while, I got to understand that when the devil tries to sway a person off into doing the wrong thing, it doesn't just happen in one full sweep. It is something that occurs step-by-step, bit-by-bit and in fits and starts.

To understand this better, let's look at habits.

In 1903, a paper published in the American Journal of Psychology described a habit as “a new or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through a previous repetition of mental experience.”

That's to say the only reason we get stuck doing bad things repetitively even after a commitment not to ever do so is because we've reinforced that act and ingrained it in our subconscious by doing it repeatedly.

This is basically why when one is swayed by the devil into doing that which is wrong over a period of time, the person involved finds it hard to break off from that habit.

Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit, wrote extensively on habits. The core tenet of the book is the habit loop. That said, in order to form a  

new habit, one has to move through the following stages:

                  Cue—Routine—Reward

Now, let's analyze this habit from the lens of masturbation.

For someone to feel like masturbating, that person must have heard or seen something that triggered that desire to masturbate. What triggered or aroused that feeling is called the hint or cue.

And whenever there's such an arousal, there's this sexual urge to ease out oneself by, of course, masturbating. The process of engaging in that act of masturbating is the routine.

And once that person engages in the act, the person feels sexually gratified. This gratification is the reward. 

This operating principle basically applies to every habit. It's not just restricted to addictions or the example above.

Similarly, if I see someone eating fried rice now, I'll definitely feel the urge to eat fried rice (this is a crazy example, I know. I just can't help it. She's my love). And when I feel the urge to do so, I'll probably go and get myself fried rice. And by the time I eat it, I'll feel gratified.

And that's just it. 

Therefore, in order to to escape or protect oneself from the devil's deception, one of the things we should do is to eliminate and/or substitute the cues  and routines that prompts us into doing that which the devil wants. 

Want to stop masturbating?

Then you might want to consider not watching movies or listening to mainstream entertainment outlets and/or platforms and watch something unrelated instead (since most movies today promote sensuality in one way or the other). 

You might as well go for a work instead whenever you feel the urge to masturbate.

The key point is to eliminate and/or substitute the signposts that trigger or arouse that desire in you.

So looking at the habit loop, it becomes even clearer how the devil whispers into the hearts of men.

You see, if you intend to quit a bad habit, you'll certainly have friction. And your old identity might even be fighting with your new identity. And, of course, the devil will continously try to get you back into that habit.

Sometimes when the devil whispers to you, you'll hear this internal monologue in your head playing and playing again and again. You'll hear:

Why not do it just one last time? After this time, you won't be doing it again.

But it's not that bad. Everyone is doing it. Don't be the odd one.

You're young. Please have fun.

You're not a bad person even if you do this. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Whenever you hear things like this, that's the devil whispering into you, trying to get you to do something that'll stray you off the straight path.

The effective strategy (that I find pretty damn useful) is to say NO!

No! No!! No!!!

On the spot, say no I'm not going do this. And then move on to do something else (maybe take a work or anything) just to get your mind of that thing. 

This, however, is easier said than done. But with deliberate practice, you'll get better at it.

But if unfortunately, you succumb and say yes, that's how you'll start going down the devil's rabbit hole that's filled with nothing but deception upon deception.

It's not an easy task. Just keep trying. And yes, pray hard. That should help you.