Stages of Satan's influence and ways to deal with it Based on the analysis of the thematic content of the Imam Ali’s (AS) sermon

Man is a perfectionist being and needs to identify obstacles in his path to promote growth. One of the greatest hindrances to human perfection is the devil or Satan. Considering the role of Satan in misguiding man and the concurrent advice of Imam Ali (AS) in this regard can be found in his highest and most important sermon known as Qaseh, which was delivered after the battle of Nahrawan. In this sermon, the Imam vigorously tried to explain the nature of the devil, to provide a comprehensive picture of the stages of his influence on man and the strategies to deal with it. Accordingly, using the method of "content analysis" and the technique of "qualitative content analysis" in this research, the most important themes and conceptual components expressed in relation to the devil have been identified. This is while extracting the main and secondary themes, citing the words of Imam Ali (AS) in the sermon of Qaseh, to explain components such as: examining the word Satan and Iblis (the titles of the devil), representatives and confirmers of Satan, the scope of Satan's vicious activity, the factors of Satan's disgust, Satan's strategies to deceive man and the stages of his influence and finally, the doctrinal and practical strategies that can prevent the influence of the devil on man. Finally, based on the words of the Imam, an attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive picture of the category of "knowing the devil".