ONE:
Do not travel in a group of less than three. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “One on his own is a shaytān, two travellers are two shaytāns and three people are a travelling party.” [1]
TWO:
Do not sit in partial shade and sunlight. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) forbade that a man should sit in partial shade and sunlight. [2] He (ﷺ) forbade that one should sit straddling between sunlight (unshaded) and shaded areas, and he said: “It is the sitting place of shaytān.” [3]
THREE:
Do not walk in one shoe. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Indeed Shaytān walks in one shoe.” [4] He also stated, “Let not any of you walk in one sandal, rather wear both together, or take both of them off.” [5]
FOUR:
Do not eat and drink with the left hand. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “When one of you eats, let him do so with his right hand, and when he drinks, let him do so with his right hand, for indeed Shaytān eats with his left and drinks with his left.”
FIVE:
Do not give and take with the left hand. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “…for indeed Shaytān gives with the left and he takes with the left.” [7]
SIX:
Shaytān comes with a piece of stick or something else that he throws onto the bed, so do not become angry with your family. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Shaytān comes to the bed of some of you after his family has prepared it for him, and he throws a stick, a stone or something else onto it so as to make him angry with his family. So if someone finds that, let him not become angry with his family because it is from the deeds of Shaytān.” [8]
SEVEN:
One should not be in seclusion with an unrelated member of the opposite sex. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “A man is not secluded alone with a woman (who is not permissible for him) except that Shaytān is the third.” [9]
EIGHT:
If you are riding a means of transport, isolate yourself on your journey with Allah and remembering Him. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “There is not a rider who isolates himself during his journey with Allah and in His remembrance, except that an Angel follows him, and he does not isolate himself with [blameworthy] poetry, or backbiting and tale-carrying except that Shaytān follows him.” [10]
NINE:
Try and withhold from yawning as much as possible. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “When one of you yawns, he should try his best to stop it, for when one of you yawns, Shaytān laughs at him.” And in a narration, he said, “He should withhold his yawn with his hand because Shaytān enters therein.” [11]
TEN:
When mounting a camel, say bismillāh. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), “On the back of every camel there is a Shaytān. So when you mount it, say bismillāh, then you will not be prevented from your needs.” [12]
ELEVEN:
Do not speak about the private matters of your spouse. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Perhaps a man will speak about what happens between himself and his wife (of intimacy). Or perhaps a woman will speak about what happens between her and her husband. Do not do so! That is like a devil who meets a female devil on a road and he copulates with her whilst the people look on.” [13]
TWELVE:
Do not allow Shaytān come between the gaps whilst standing in congregational prayer. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Come close together in the rows for verily Shaytān stands in the gaps.” [14]
THIRTEEN:
Do not narrate your dreams except to one whom you love or a person of knowledge who can interpret dreams. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “The righteous dreams are from Allah and the bad dreams are from Shaytān. So if anyone has a dream and he dislikes something from it, let him spit (lightly without expelling saliva) to his left side and seek refuge with Allah, for verily it will not harm him, and he should not narrate it to any person. If he has a good dream, then it is a glad-tiding and he should not tell anyone of it except one whom he loves.” [15] He also said, “He should not tell anyone what he saw in his (good) dream except a beloved person or one who knows how to interpret it.” [16]
FOURTEEN:
Deliberate carefully over affairs, and beware of hastiness. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) stated, “Careful deliberation is from Allah, and haste is from Shaytān.” [17]
FIFTEEN:
One should not forget to remember Allah before eating. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Shaytān makes lawful for himself food on which Allah’s name (i.e. bismillāh) has not been mentioned.” [18]
SIXTEEN:
Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah and with seeking His forgiveness. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “The Shaytān said: By your Might and Honour my Lord, I will not cease enticing your servants so long their souls are in their bodies. So the Lord said, ‘By my Might and Majesty, I will not cease forgiving them so long as they seek My forgiveness.” [19]
SEVENTEEN:
Guarding oneself against secretive speech. Allah, the Most High, said, “Secretive conversation is only from Shaytān that he may grieve those who have believed, but Shaytān will not harm them at all except by the permission of Allah. And let the believers rely upon Allah.” [20] Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “When you are in a gathering of three people, then two of you should not engage in a private discussion to the exclusion of the third until you are in the company of a larger number of people otherwise that will bring him sadness.” [21]
EIGHTEEN:
Do not go to the marketplaces and shopping malls except for a need. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “If you are able, do not be the first to enter the marketplaces and do not be the last to leave them, for verily the marketplace is the battleground of Shaytān and he plants his standard there.” [22]
NINETEEN:
Avoid unnecessary wastage of wealth and provision. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “A sleeping place for a man, a sleeping place for his wife and the third for a guest. The fourth (therefore) is for Shaytān.” [23]
TWENTY:
Blowing one’s nose upon waking up from sleep. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) stated, “Whenever any of you wakes up from sleep, let him blow his nose three times for the Shaytān spends the night in his nostrils.” [24] The Prophet used the term istinthār which means to expel water from the nose after istinshāq, and that is to draw water into the nose by sniffing it up so that it reaches the nostrils and the whole interior of the nasal cavity. [25]
References:
Benefits were taken from the book “Kayfa Tarqi Nafsak” (Dar al-Qabs Publishing, Riyadh, 1434AH)
[2] Al-Hākim in Al-Mustadrak (4/2071) and authenticated by him, Adh-Dhahabi agreed, Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (6840).
[3] Ahmad in Al-Musnad (3/413), As-Saheehah (838), Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (6823).
[4] As-Saheehah (348), Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (6845).
[5] Al-Bukhāri (5855), Muslim (2097). As for the hadeeth ascribed to the Prophet that he would walk in one sandal (Tirmidhi 1777), then it is weak as pointed out by Al-Albāni in As-Saheehah (348).
[6] Muslim (2020).
[7] Saheeh Ibn Mājah (3266).
[8] Saheeh Adab al-Mufrad (1191).
[9] As-Saheehah (430), Saheeh At-Tirmidhi (1171).
[10] Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (5706).
[11] Al-Bukhāri (6226), Muslim (2995).
[12] Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (5706).
[13] Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (4008).
[14] Ahmad (3/154, 260), Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (3454).
[15] Muslim (2261).
[16] Saheeh Abu Dawood (5020), Saheeh Ibn Mājah (3914).
[17] Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (3011), As-Saheehah (1795).
[18] Muslim (2017).
[19] Ahmad (3/29,41), Saheeh Al-Jāmi’ (1650).
[20] Al-Mujādilah, 10.
[21] Bukhāri (6290), Muslim (2184).
[22] Muslim (2451).
[23] Muslim (2084).
[24] Bukhāri (3295), Muslim (238).
[25] See Muslim (226) Sharh of An-Nawawi (3/90).
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