Shaykh Rabee’ bn Hādī al-Madkhalī -may Allāh preserve him- said:
“So this is Iblees, he did not say to Ādam and Ḥawwā’, verily I am an oppressive evildoer. Rather, ﴾And he [Shaitan (Satan)] swore by Allah to them both (saying): “Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for you both.”﴿ [al-A’rāf:21]
And this is Fir’aun, he did not say to his people, verily I am a disbelieving arrogant oppressor. Rather, he said to them about Allāh’s prophet, Mūsá:
﴾“I fear that he may change your religion, or that he may cause mischief to appear in the land!”﴿ [Ghāfir:26]
And likewise most of the callers to misguidance and falsehood and the enemies of the truth. None of them would say: Verily, I am an evildoer that wants to make you go astray. Rather, he connects himself with the book and Sunnah and he claims to love the Messenger and Islām and he claims sincerity, honesty and sincere admonition. And beneath these surroundings, he spreads his falsehood, misguidance and poison.”
[Daḥr Iftrā’āt Ahl az-Zaygh wa al-Irtiyābāt p. 173]
