When He Whispers....

It's a marvel how Evil works. Half the time you didn't even realise it was his doing - the sly whisperings and nudges, the gentle proddings, the promises - until much later when sensibility returned. By the time you did it was too late; you had been duped.

For years I was the unhappy recipient of numerous "gangguans"; those weird, sometimes unexplainable happenings that would prickle the hairs on your nape or send a chill up your spine. Being at the receiving end of such creepy experiences was emotionally taxing; I have never really understood this ability to sense and occasionally see 'things'.

I have, however, taken it in my stride over the years, even if I am still as anxious as always, worrying about all things natural and supernatural, humans and hantus (especially humans behaving like hantus!). I know all I need to do is fortify my faith in God, and keep close to Ayatul Qursi as an added measure.

Truth be told, I found peace and tranquility after the Hajj. God has been so kind and I am humbled in more ways than one. Syukur Alhamdulillah, ya Allah. My life used to be so messed up with such nonsensical things that I couldn't see the woods for the trees sometimes.

Now, there's this issue about Isya' prayers (for the uninitiated, it's the late evening prayer, the last of five for the day) that had been bugging me for a while. While one school of thought says one should never delay one's solat, the other says one should preferably do the Isya' just before turning in so that one goes to bed with one's ablution intact.

While I do not see the merit of praying just before bedtime (praying on the heels of azan is still the best, I think), I sometimes do it because it is convenient. Therein lies this problem.. the seductive whispers of Satan...

There had been occasions when I would do my Isya' just before bed. That would mean way past midnight because I learned a long time ago that ideas came easy at the closing of day, so I would write away until sleepiness overtook me.

Half of me always felt guilty for delaying solat, yet the other half would say soothingly... "Alaah, if you are sleepy, go to sleep first lah and then wake up in the middle of the night and pray. What's the issue?"

Now, that's the whisper of that damnable Satan for you. He's hoping you'll be knocked out till dawn, and so will miss your Isya' and hopefully, your Subuh too! I knew it, yet I still fell prey to it sometimes especially when the bed beckoned ever so invitingly.

Last night, however, I was punished for refusing to succumb to his words. As I stood my ground, I knew he went away disgruntled, planning his next move.

It was past midnight and I had just finished some work at the computer when sleepiness closed in. The Despicable One, somehow, had me tuned to "sleep first, pray later" mode. I was already contemplating slipping under the duvet in the cool comfort of my bedroom when I was 'physically' jolted that I nearly fell off my chair.

I fully believe a kind spirit had a hand in giving me this 'wake-up call', literally. Chastened, I quickly took my ablution, completed Isya' and went to bed. Pak Abu was still finishing some work on his computer at the dining table, and watching TV at the same time.

I was nodding off to sleep when I heard a tremendous roar on the yet-unoccupied side of the bed. The duvet seemed to move in a wavy motion, and a hazy outline of a hand seemed to appear from nowhere, hitting the duvet continuously while the roaring continued.

I found my body completely immobilised but I could move my pupils sideways, only to see the duvet moving on its own. I tried calling out to Pak Abu, but no voice came out. I searched my mind for Ayatul Qursi but couldn't find it. All I could utter was "A'uzubillahi minasyaitanirrajim".

I kept repeating the verse until I could feel my body relaxing ... and then all was quiet once again. Immediately I grabbed the Surah Yasin & Ayatul Qursi booklet on my bedside table and started reading. Moments later Pak Abu walked in.

I wasn't scared, just very annoyed that The Damned One tried to intimidate me for not sleeping first and praying later. I think that was it. He had expected me to just go to bed and hopefully 'terlepas' Isya' altogether. Such dugaan...