From Sr. Shahin
Letter 8: Screwtape advises Wormwood not to rejoice upon the patient's wavering religious conviction because if a person comes out of their low phase triumphantly he may actually become closer to God. The last paragraph of the letter was especially powerful, because it really sows dedication to Allah when a person continues to do good deeds, even when they are "undesirable."
It's interesting how much that bothers the devil and ties in nicely with the ayah in which Iblis tells Allah that he will lead everyone astray, except the chosen ones.
"[Iblees] said, "My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make [disobedience] attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all. Except, among them, Your chosen servants." (Al-Hijr 15:39-40)
Letter 9: In this letter, Screwtape advises Wormwood on how to play with the thought processes of a person who is feeling low. I thought it was really interesting how he emphasized on the word "phase" and the devastating connotations it can have, as if religion is a part-time amusement that you can put away when your heart is satisfied with the spiritual high it gives you, and then go back to when you "need" Allah, although you always need Him and are obligated to obey Him, even when you don't wish to do so.
Letter 10: I think the problem with bad friends and the personality crisis mentioned in this letter was so real and so common that it's scary to think about. I mean, there are loads of people who live double lives, being one way at home and another way outside, without reflecting on whether their lifestyle is pleasing to Allah or not. I also like the great detail that Screwtape went into to explain the thought processes of the person getting influenced by his skeptic and worldly friends. It's only a matter of time before he starts thinking and behaving like them. There's a hadith that explains this very accurately:
"The likeness of a righteous friend and an evil friend is the likeness of a (musk) perfume seller and a blacksmith. As for the perfume seller, he may either bestow something on you, or you may purchase something from him, or you may benefit from his sweet smell. And as for the blacksmith, he may either burn your clothes, or you may be exposed to his awful smell."
Letter 11: This letter completely caught me off guard and kind of threw a whole new idea into my face like a flying soccer ball. It's so interesting how the misuse of humor can cause a person to do evil and then justify it by getting people to laugh. It's scary how often this happens and yet nobody notices nor talks about it. This letter gave me the realization of how many "small" evil things people do that go unnoticed just because we are too oblivious. These "small" deeds then have major consequences that are nearly impossible to ignore. One example of this may be of "Islamophobia." This tactic, coined by anti-Islamic people is designed and used to scare people and now radio and news stations sometimes use it as a "humorous" way to degrade Muslims. What's worse is that even Muslims find the word funny sometimes.
