SECOND REMINDER. Thursday. WAYS TO PROTECT OURSELVES TOWARDS OUR RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT. BismilLaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. As mentioned in the first reminder, Satan's priority is to get us away from Allah by influencing us against our religious commitments to Allah. There are lots of ways Satan does that but we can protect ourselves through many ways. It includes the following: 1. Keeping away from any environment that will corrupt one’s religious commitment and morals. We should avoid living around the kufr, and avoid mixing with the evildoers. Whoever keeps away from anything that may lead to corruption will protect his religious commitment from being lost, by Allah’s leave. It is almost certain that living in environments of kufr and mixing with disbelievers will have an impact on the Muslim who dwells among them. We have seen and heard shocking stories of those who drifted away and sold their religious commitment for some fleeting worldly gain. That was because of being so dazzled and impressed by the environment of kufr and the disbelievers, and because of hearts becoming spiritually dead as a result of living among them or mixing with them without knowledge to be able to even do daawah to them. The same may be said with regard to keeping away from any involvement in the battles between Muslims over controversial issues, especially when arguing about those differences leads to boycotting one another, turning their backs on one another and fighting. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Whoever examines the stories of turmoil and arguments that take place among Muslims will realise that no Muslim ever got involved in that and was happy with the consequences of his involvement, because of what may happen to him of harm affecting his religious commitment and his worldly interests. Therefore it is something to be forbidden, and refraining from it is something to be enjoined, concerning which Allah says (to the rearest meaning): “And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah— legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant) should befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them”[an-Noor 24:63]. Minhaaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah (4/410). To be continued in shaa Allaah. May Allah keep guiding us all and protect us from any satanic influences. Aameen.