How can a person know whether finding things being made easy for him and having his prayers answered does not come under the heading of being led step-by-step to his ruin?
Question

                I pray to Allah, may He be glorified, for many things, and I see answers to my prayers, but my heart says to me: This is from the Shaytaan, to make you get carried away and lead you step-by-step to your ruin, by making you feel reassured about your religious commitment!

How can I know that this is not because of the Shaytaan leading me  step-by-step to my ruin? Does the Shaytaan have the power to make things easy for you so as to deceive you?
Praise be to Allah.
	Firstly: 

	The believer always thinks positively of his Lord and 
	negatively of his own self; nothing bad happens to him but he knows that 
	what befell him only befell him as a result of his sin, and nothing good 
	that he loves ever comes to him but he knows that it is by the grace and 
	blessing of his Lord towards him, out of His kindness and generosity.

	Secondly: 

	Supplication is of two types: 

	·       
	supplication as an act of 
	worship; the Muslim should constantly be in a state of worship and obedience 
	towards his Lord;

	·       
	and the supplication of 
	asking, which is asking Allah to bring benefit and ward off harm. 

	The supplication of worship is only for believers. As for the 
	supplication of asking, it is for both believers and disbelievers, righteous 
	and evildoers. Not everyone whose prayers are answered is one with whom 
	Allah is pleased and loves, or is pleased with his deeds. This is in 
	contrast to the supplication of worship, which can only be done with the 
	help of Allah, may He be exalted, and is an indication of His love for that 
	person. 

	Hence the answer to a prayer may be by way of leading a 
	person, step-by-step, to his ruin, or it may be hastening his share of 
	goodness, so that it is limited to him in this life only; or it may be by 
	way of Allah showing His mercy to His slaves, or it may be an answer to the 
	prayer of one who has been wronged, and so on. Or it may be because of a 
	person’s righteousness and piety. 

	To sum up: supplication is one of the means of meeting one’s 
	needs; in fact it is one of the greatest means. If the need is a worldly 
	matter and the supplication is answered, then that is provision from Allah 
	that he has attained by means of the supplication, just as work is also a 
	means of attaining provision, getting married is a means of having children, 
	and treating sickness is a means of healing. But being granted provision, 
	and the hastening thereof, is not an indication that Allah loves the one to 
	whom He granted that provision, just as a lack of response or withholding of 
	provision is not an indication that Allah is angry with the one from whom he 
	withheld it. 

	For more information and further clarification, please see 
	the answers to questions no. 41114 and
	177561 

	Thirdly: 

	Giving and withholding, lowering and raising, wealth and 
	poverty, health and sickness, and all that Allah decrees for His slave of 
	provision, is all in the hands of Allah alone; He decrees it and sends it to 
	whomever He wills of his slaves. None of His creation – neither the Shaytaan 
	and his helpers, nor the angels, nor any created being – has the power to do 
	any of that independently, and no one shares with Allah, may He be exalted, 
	in the control of any of these matters. All of that is entirely in the hand 
	of Allah. Having established that, this does not mean that people cannot be 
	the means of any of the things mentioned above. As healing is only in the 
	hand of Allah, the doctor is but the means; having a child is something 
	granted by Allah, and the husband or wife is a means, and so on. 

	It was narrated and classed as saheeh by at-Tirmidhi (2516), 
	from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings 
	and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “… Know that if the entire nation were 
	to come together to benefit you with something, they would never benefit you 
	except with something that Allah had decreed for you; and if they were to 
	come together to harm you with something, they would never harm you except 
	with something that Allah had decreed against you. The pens have been lifted 
	and the pages have dried.”

	Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in 
	Saheeh at-Tirmidhi 

	Fourthly: 

	Leading someone step-by-step to ruin and allowing him to get 
	carried away in sin is not an action of the Shaytaan at all, and he has 
	nothing to do with it whatsoever. Nothing of that nature is attributed to 
	him in the Book of Allah, or in the Sunnah of His Messenger (blessings and 
	peace of Allah be upon him). He does not have the power to meet a person’s 
	needs for the purpose of leading him step-by-step to ruin, nor does he have 
	the power to withhold anything from him in order to lead him step-by-step to 
	ruin. Allah, may He be exalted, has limited his stratagems to whispering and 
	tempting people. As for control and disposing of people’s affairs, he has no 
	such power at all. 

	Rather leading people step-by-step to their ruin is something 
	that Allah, may He be exalted, does to whomever He wills of His slaves. 

	Imam at-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	The basic meaning of leading someone step-by-step to his ruin 
	is when the one who is subject to that misinterprets the kindness of the one 
	who does that to him, so that the one who is subject to that thinks that the 
	one who is doing it to him is being very kind to him, until he finds himself 
	in trouble.

	End quote from Tafseer as-Sa‘di (13/287) 

	The individual should think more positively of Allah with 
	regard to what He has bestowed upon him of blessings, but he should also pay 
	attention to giving thanks for it, and combine that with fearing the plan of 
	Allah. Thus in his journey to Allah he should combine fear and hope, love 
	and apprehension. 

	Al-Marroodhi said: I said to Abu ‘Abdullah – i.e., Imam 
	Ahmad: How many people there are who are praying for you.

	I said: I fear that this is leading me step-by-step to my 
	ruin. Why do I deserve all of that? 

	End quote from Taareekh al-Islam (18/76) 

	Fifthly: 

	One of the greatest signs that give rise to fear of being led 
	step-by-step byAllah to ruin and that Allah despises a person, is when Allah 
	grants him provision when he is disobeying Him and turning away from Him.

	Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the 
	meaning):

	“Those who 
	reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, 
	etc.), We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive 
	not”

	[al-A‘raaf 7:182]. 

	Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Ad-Dahhaak said: The more they disobey Us, the more blessings 
	We bestow on them. 

	It was said to Dhu’n-Noon: What is most deceiving for a 
	person? 

	He said: When he is given a life of ease with a lot of 
	blessings … 

	It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir, that the Prophet 
	(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: If you see Allah giving 
	someone what he likes of worldly gains despite his disobedience of Him, then 
	this comes under the heading of leading him to ruin, step-by-step. Then the 
	Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited the 
	words (interpretation of the meaning):

	“So, when 
	they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to 
	them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their 
	enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to 
	punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and 
	sorrows”

	[al-An‘aam 6:44]. 

	Narrated by Imam Ahmad (17311); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani 
	in Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh (no. 5201) 

	Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A person 
	may be tested with times of ease, such as abundant wealth, wives, children 
	and so on, but he should never think that this is a sign that he is loved by 
	Allah, if he is not obedient to Him. It may be that the one who is granted 
	that is loved by Him, or he may be hated by Him. It depends. Being loved by 
	Allah is not indicated by high status, numerous children, great wealth, high 
	status and so on; rather the sign of being loved by Allah is righteous 
	deeds, fear of Allah, turning to Him, and doing one’s duty towards Him. The 
	more a person fears Allah, the dearer he is to Allah. 

	It was narrated from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and 
	peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: Allah grants worldly gain to those 
	whom He loves and those whom He does not love, but He does not grant faith 
	to anyone but those whom He loves. 

	Narrated by al-Haakim (94), He classed it as saheeh, and 
	adh-Dhahabi agreed with him. 

	Whoever is granted religious commitment is dear to Allah, but 
	whoever indulges in disbelief and sin, this is a sign that he is hated by 
	Allah, according to his situation. 

	Moreover, it may be a test and a means of being led, 
	step-by-step, to ruin. A person may be tested with blessings so that he gets 
	carried away until he falls into evil, and ends up in a worse situation than 
	before. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

	“Those who 
	reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, 
	etc.), We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive 
	not.

	And I respite them; certainly My Plan is strong”

	[al-A‘raaf 7:182-183]. 

	Or people may be tested with sickness, illness and so on, not 
	because Allah hates them, but in accordance with divine wisdom, so as to 
	raise them in status and erase their sins. 

	End quote from Fataawa Ibn Baaz (7/147-148) 

	And Allah knows best.