2.2.3 - His Illness, and Being Saved by Surat Yaasiin

As much as one is gifted, blessed and successful, he is abound to have more enemies and rivals who may try to trap him, besiege him, or discourage him from reaching his noble goals. Eventually, they may either overcome him and turn him back on his heels, or with the help of Allah, he will be granted success, and will come out with grace and triumph. Every scourge will make him stronger and more determined, although one must always avoid conflicts to overcome the obstacles that may discourage him from achieving his goals, or at least delay them.

As for the enemies of this worldly life, it is easy to avoid and assimilate them, simply by leaving what they are fighting for and resorting to asceticism, so that there is no more reasons to dispute with them. This is precisely what should be done by anyone who wants to enter the Way of Sufism, and this is what Muhammad did in his early life.

However, there are still other enemies lurking on every side and they do not want to compete in money or status. On the contrary, they may use these worldly fascinations to tempt and discourage him from the noble goals. These are the demons and evil spirits, and we cannot deny their existence, although this is not something that has yet come under the umbrella of modern science, but religion and faith oblige us to believe in that even though we still believe that in the end nothing can do any harm or benefit apart from God Almighty. Were it not for the existence of such evil spirits, we would not have been ordered to seek refuge in the Holy Quran, especially some verses or Suras that relate to the expulsion and elimination of these spirits, such as al-Mauadhat, Ayat al-Kursi and Surat Yaasiin.

Ibn al-Arabi recounts that he was once so sick that those around him thought he was fighting death or that he had died already, because he was unconscious and hallucinating due to sever fever. He says that he saw horrific and ugly people trying to harm him, but suddenly a strong and gentle person appeared to him, having a pleasant scent that he could inhale and feel in his breath, so he started defending him until all of them were defeated. Muhammad said to him: Who are you? He said: I am Surat Yaasiin, I am your guard. Muhammad soon regained consciousness, and he saw his father standing near him in tears, and he had just finished reciting Surah Yaasiin [Futuhat: IV.648].

Thus, God Almighty has harnessed his father to save him from death by reading this blessed Surah, known to be the heart of the Quran. This Surah was the guardian for Shaykh Muhyiddin from these evil spirits that were trying to eliminate him.