Question:
As shaytan can take the form of those besides the Prophet(s), how do we have any way to know that a vision was not shaytanic? Plenty of karamat or visions was reported from the earliest periods of Islam, yet how did they know with certainty that this is not the work of shaytan and was a trustable vision or vision which can be acted upon ? In the absence of a way, the default would be skepticism and neutrality. What turns the tide towards the certainty of the vision?
Jazakallah khair
Answer:
Allah Most High promised a Furqan or “Determining Criterion” (8:29, 2:282) for those who fear Him, as there is no room for skepticism in religion but rather it is built on certainty (yaqeen), which has its teachers, namely “the ulema of the hereafter” as defined by Imam Ghazali in the first book of Ihya Ulum al-Din (Book of Knowledge). That is why Allah Most High made it non-negotiable for Muslims that they must “keep the company of those who are truthful” (9:119), namely the Awliya beginning with Abu Bakr and `Umar (Allah be well-pleased with them) and those of their rank in succeeding generations down to our time.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
