Go On, Zap Shaytan

Go On, Zap Shaytan is an Islamic picture book for children aged 7 to 9 in which a little boy explains, in rhyme, how Shaytan tries to lead him into doing wrong, and the words and good deeds that keep Shaytan away.

The boy is not afraid of Shaytan, because he knows how to protect himself. Wherever he goes, a sneaky Shaytan tries to follow, creeping around his ears and whispering naughty ideas: to snatch, shout, kick or scratch, to be lazy, mean or messy. The boy knows that Shaytan swore to Allah from the start to lead people away from the straight path, and that he is a liar.

But the boy will not follow him. When he calls the adhan or recites the Qur'an, Shaytan squeals and cowers. When Shaytan tells him to shout at his mother or stick his tongue out at his little brother, he says, "A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim": I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan the accursed. When he says Bismillah before he eats, changes his clothes or puts on his shoes, Shaytan flies away with his fingers in his ears. And by doing good deeds all day, like greeting his family with salam, he hopes to please Allah and be rewarded with Jannah.

The book, subtitled Seeking Shelter with Allah, gives children a picture of Shaytan that is not frightening, and short words they can use themselves when they feel tempted to do wrong. It is written by Razana Noor and illustrated by Omar Burgess. It takes about two minutes to read.

The boy in this book knew something: wherever he went, a sneaky Shaytan tried to follow him, quietly creeping around his ears and whispering his naughty ideas. Shaytan had sworn to Allah from the start to lead him away from the straight path, so the boy had to be careful, because Shaytan was a liar.

Whenever Shaytan told the boy to do something bad, he sniggered and giggled and was ever so glad. He whispered that it was fine to snatch, to shout, to kick and even to scratch. He loved it when the boy acted lazy or mean, and he wanted him to be messy and unclean.

But the boy would not follow him. He knew how to protect himself from the pesky jinn. When he stood tall and called the adhan, or recited the words of the mighty Qur'an, every word he said had an awesome power that made Shaytan squeal and cower.

When Shaytan told him to shout at his mother, or to stick his tongue out at his little brother, the boy said the words that made Shaytan scream: "A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim", I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan the accursed.

And when he said Bismillah before he ate, changed his clothes or put shoes on his feet, the pesky Shaytan quaked with fear and flew away with his fingers in his ears.

So the boy knew how to keep Shaytan away: by doing good deeds throughout the day, like greeting his family with salam and learning the beautiful words of the Qur'an. That way, he knew, he would be rewarded with Jannah for zapping Shaytan and pleasing Allah, insha'Allah.

• Surah An-Nahl 16:98: When you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the accursed.
• Surah Al-A'raf 7:12-17: Iblis says he was created from fire, and swears to lie in wait for people on the straight path.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 608: When the call to prayer is made, Shaytan runs away so that he cannot hear it.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3282: The Prophet ﷺ said that if an angry man said "I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan", his anger would go.
• Sahih Muslim 2018: When a person mentions Allah on entering the house and before eating, Shaytan says he has no place to stay and no dinner.