Story of Barsisa: We provide the following in-depth story of Barsisa from the characters in the book that Wahb ibn Munabbih related in order to illustrate Shaitan’s strategy for deceiving humanity. Humans are cautioned in the story of Shaitan’s “sincere advise.” The thing Shaitan is advocating for must be opposed. Says Wahb

Story of Barsisa

There was a worshipper of Bani Israel named Barsisa who was very devout. He was the most devout man in his era. There were three brothers and a sister in his time. She was unmarried. And she was the only sister they had. They were all on their way out of town to participate in war. They were unsure about who they should leave their sister with and who they could entrust to take care of her.

They all agreed to let that pious man take care of her. They all had faith in him. They approached him and requested permission to leave her in his care. She would wait for them to return from the war in the building next to him. Barsisa rejected their request and turned to Allah for protection from them and their sister. They persevered, and eventually, he gave in. ” Put her in the home next to my place of worship”, he said. They then left her there after having placed her in that home. She continued to live next to a devout person’s house for some time. Barsisa would leave her food in front of his house of worship. He would close the door after that and go back to his place of prayer.

Then Barsisa would call her to leave her home and take the food. Then Shaitan (Satan) carefully walked up to him. He urged him to be courteous to her. He advised him against forcing the woman to leave her home during the day since she might be discovered. He would be rewarded more if he delivered the food right at her door.

Without saying a word to her, he kept going to her door and leaving the meal there for a while. Iblees then returned and urged him to conduct good deeds in order to get greater rewards.

“You would get a higher reward if you took her the meal and put it in the house for her,” he remarked. He persisted in praising him. He then started carrying the food into her home. He carried on in this manner for some time.

Iblees then continued to visit, encouraging him to act right. Because she is scared and alone, he said, “If you chat to her for some time, she will be put at rest by your conversation.” He then began conversing with her while standing atop his seat of worship.

Then Iblees returned. “It would be even more reassuring for her if you had to come down to speak to her while she sits at her door and talks to you,” he remarked. He kept encouraging him till he went downstairs, sat at his door, and started talking to her. The girl would exit her building, sit at her door, and the two of them would converse for some time.

Iblees then returned and urged him to treat her well in order to reap tremendous rewards. ” It would be even more comfortable for her, he continued, if you went from the door of your house of worship and sat close to her’s.”  He kept urging him till he complied.

He kept up that conduct for a while. Then Iblees returned. This time, he added, “It would be even better for you if you went into her house and talked to her without making her expose her face in public.” He persisted in urging him till he finally went to her house and talked to her all day. He then went back to his place of prayer as dusk set.

Iblees then approached him and kept making her more alluring to him. Up until the worshipper hugged her and gave her a kiss. And until he actually had sex with her, Iblees kept making her attractive in his eyes and making him want her. She became pregnant and delivered a boy.

Then Iblees appeared and warned the worshipper, “Do you not realize what the brothers of the girl might do to you when they see she has gotten pregnant with your son? You will not be safe if your matter becomes clear,”. ” In order to hide your affair and avoid repercussions for what you did to her, you should go to the boy and kill and bury the boy.”  Then he asked him, “Do you think she’ll keep what you did to her and the murder of her son from her brothers? She should be taken, murdered, and buried with her son.” He kept encouraging him, and when he finally killed her and dropped her in the ditch along with her son. Then he leveled it by placing a huge rock over them.

He then went back to his place of worship and offered up prayers there. He remained in that state for however long Allah wished until the brothers returned from the war. They approached him and inquired about their sister. He shed tears in sorrow for her passing. ” She was the best of women, and it is her grave, he remarked.”  The brothers visited their sister’s grave, wept over her, and begged Allah to have mercy on her. They spent a few days at her grave before returning to their homes. When night fell and they went to sleep, Shaitan appeared to them in the form of a traveler in their dream.

He began by questioning the oldest brother about their sister. The brother described how they were shown to her grave and what the holy man had said. The holy man had lied, Shaitan informed him. “He didn’t tell you the truth about your sister,” he said.  “he got her pregnant, gave birth to his son, killed her, and buried her and her son. Then, to the right of the entrance to the house where she was staying, he hurled them into a ditch he had dug behind the door. You can find everything I told you about on the right side of the entry to the house where she stayed.”

He then proceeded to do the same with the middle brother. Then he went and did the same thing to the youngest brother. They were all shocked by what they had witnessed when they awoke. When they first met, they all said, “I saw a wonderful sight last night,” and they shared their experiences with one another.

“That dream has nothing to do, so just disregard it,” the eldest remarked. “I won’t leave it until I go and look at that place,” the youngster remarked. They all moved forward until they came to the door of the residence where their sister was staying. They pushed open the door and started looking for the location their dreams had shown them.

As they were informed, they discovered their sister and her son buried in a ditch. The worshipper accepted what Iblees had informed them when they questioned him about it. He was then taken by them and was going to be crucified. ” You know that I am your friend who lured you by the woman till you became pregnant and killed her and her son,” Shaitan whispered to him when they placed him on the wooden cross. ” I will deliver you from your plight if you obey me today while disbelieving Allah, who created and formed you.” Then, the worshipper denied Allah. Shaitan left from being in between him and the others when he denied Allah, allowing them to crucify him. and he died as an unbeliever who committed zina and murder.

Many academics included this tale in their comments on the verse that follows,

“Or the likeness of Shytan when he tells man to disbelieve, then, when he disbelieves, says to him,  “Lo! I am innocent of you. Lo! I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds”  (Surah al-Hasr 16).

They point out that this line alludes to him and other worshippers who are like him. Allah is the wisest.

This Story of Barsisa and others like it may be found in the Israaeeliyaat, or tales, which are based on Jewish and Christian literature. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Narrate stories regarding the Tribe of Israel if there is no harm in that.” We do not declare it is true nor do we say it is false.

Lessons learned from the Story of Barsisa

We can learn from the Story of Barsisa how Shaitan plots his schemes step by step, little by little. From tiny steps of sin, to minor sins, he leads you to major sins and ultimately ruins your life. He even lured the people of Sheeth A.S. into fornication.

We have to tackle every trap, and every calling towards sin and keep moving on the right path. If you commit a sin by mistake, do a sincere Tawbah and move on. Don’t get indulged in sin again and again. Don’t lose hope thinking that Allah will not forgive your sins and keep committing more sins. Trust Allah and come back to him, for he is the most merciful. and remember Shirk is the most dreadful sin of all. and don’t even get close to Zina.

May we learn from stories like this Story of Barsisa and strengthen our iman further. Read more Islamic Blogs or Follow us on social media for daily Islamic reminders.