NASIR NARRATES

Months after annihilating the phantom within myself, I embarked once again toward an undesignated destination. This time, with the hope that I would not have to face the devil again. But perhaps that is the trajectory of human life: the devil will always find his way into our path, if only to lead us back to God. This time, he did not take me into the unseen realms, where it felt as though I were falling endlessly toward an event horizon. Instead, I encountered him within sacred boundaries, in the rows of a mosque. The mosque is considered the house of God. So I was intrigued, even baffled, by how the devil could enter such a place. Perhaps God had permitted him to enter, not as a force beyond His command, but as a means to test me. I stood up to pray, perhaps Zuhr or Asr. A friend of mine was there too. He wanted to pray beside me, but after some argument, I stepped a few rows ahead and began my prayer.I was somewhere in the first or second rak'ah when I felt a heavy b...