Satan places his throne upon water; he then sends his troops; the nearer to him in rank are those who are most skillful in creating mischief
Authentic hadithعن جابر رضي الله عنه ، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «إنَّ إبليسَ يضعُ عرْشَه على الماء، ثم يَبْعَث سَراياه، فأدْناهم منه منزِلةً أعظمُهم فتنةً، يجيء أحدهم فيقول: فعلتُ كذا وكذا، فيقول: ما صنعتَ شيئًا. قال: ثم يجيء أحدهم فيقول: ما تركتُه حتى فَرَّقتُ بينه وبين امرأتِه، قال: فيُدْنِيه منه ويقول: نعم أنت». قال الأعمش: أراه قال: «فيَلْتَزِمُه».
Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Satan places his throne upon water; he then sends his troops; the nearer to him in rank are those who are most skillful in creating mischief. One of them comes and says: 'I did such-and-such', to which Satan replies: 'You did nothing.' Then one among them comes and says: 'I did not leave so-and-so until I separated him from his wife.' Satan brings him near him and says: 'You did well.'" Al-A‘mash said: "I think he said: 'He then embraces him.'"
Explanation
Satan places his throne over the water, then dispatches his soldiers from the Jinn to tempt people and mislead them. The closest one to Satan is the one who causes the most mischievous deviation among people. One of those devils will come and say to Satan: I did this and that (i.e. I enticed someone to steal, drink wine, for example). Satan tells him: You did nothing worth the attention. The line continues until one comes up and says: I did not leave so-and-so until I caused dissension between him and his wife to the extent that he divorced her. Satan shall bring him closer, hug him, and say: It is you (i.e. you are the one who fulfilled my wish of misleading and corrupting people).
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).