Is Satan a real being or a tendency within us?

Both. Satan is first of all an inclination to evil built into every human being. Beside it there is also an outer reality of evil, and people who completely silence the voice of goodness within them become its very image.

Everyone knows this moment. Before we make a decision, we hear two voices within us. One urges us towards what is selfish and wrong. The other calls us to what is good. This is true of everyone, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim or someone who does not believe in God.

Islam calls the voice that urges towards evil the Satan within a person. It is present in everyone, and the hadith above says it is as close to a person as his own blood. The other voice is the voice of the angels. A human being stands between the two, as at a fork in the road. This very freedom to choose is what makes him human. Angels do not have it, because they only do good. The inclination to evil does not have it either, because of itself it can only call to evil.

Yet the Holy Qur’an also shows that these inner voices have an outer source. What we feel within us as angelic or satanic is like a reflection of real forces outside us. And there are people who stifle the voice of goodness within them entirely. Only evil remains in them, and they themselves become an image of Satan. Such people often appear when God sends a prophet, just as Pharaoh stood against Moses (as).

How does one overcome Satan? By listening again and again to the good voice and seeking refuge with God. The more often one follows it, the stronger it becomes. The second verse above gives hope: Satan has no power over those who sincerely serve God.