Where Ostentation Ends, Satan Is Bankrupted
Satan, the most insidious enemy of humankind, is always searching for a crack through which to enter the qalb (the heart) and corrupt one’s deeds. The largest of these cracks is the habit of seeking the approval of people (riya and ostentation) in acts of worship or good deeds. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Geylānī (may Allah sanctify his secret) gives glad tidings of how those who possess ikhlas (sincerity) are saved from this danger: "Can Satan approach those who do not show off to people?.. Who can draw near to one whose affair is tawhid (the oneness of God) and whose strength is Allah?.. Satan is far from them." When a servant locks their deeds solely and exclusively onto the pleasure of Allah, there remains no worldly valley or desire for Satan to whisper about. Ikhlas is a steel armor through which no arrow can pass.
The Protection of Divine Guardians
Allah does not leave alone the servant who erases shirk (associating partners with God) and hypocrisy from their qalb and turns wholly toward the Truth. Invisible guardians from the realm of the malakūt (the spiritual world) form ranks around that servant. "There is no person who does not have a guardian from the Truth (Allah) over him. That guardian prevents Satan from seizing him." Even if Satan tries to circle around the person of ikhlas in order to deceive him, he is defeated before the swords of those divine guardians and cannot approach. A believer who draws strength not from his own intelligence but from Allah’s protection becomes, in a spiritual sense, the most invincible person on earth.
The Sovereignty of the Inner King
Another step to victory over Satan is to discover the sovereign within one’s inner world. "The king of the person of ikhlas lives within his ruh (the spirit). The sultan is hidden in his breast. Outward appearances are of no value." Those who strive only to make their outward appearance religious become playthings for Satan. However, those who seat only the love of Allah (the faith of tawhid) upon the throne of their qalb, and perform every action with the awareness that they are under His watchful gaze (in the station of ihsan), destroy all of Satan’s schemes and attain eternal security.