Answering Islam

For articles on a possible influence of Satan on Muhammad's life, see the entry Muhammad and Satan.

Iblis is the Islamic name for Satan. The Qur'an and the authoritative hadiths provide a set of interesting exploits of Satan: puts knots, stays in nose at night, touch babies, make babies cry, cast aspersions into prophecy, tries to steal a hearing, urinates into ears, laugh at one who yawns and enters a person when yawning.

The figure of Satan is somewhat controversial in the Qur'an; was he a jinn or a fallen angel who became a jinn later? Some of the problems of Satan's role in the story of creation and fall are outlined in Allah, Adam, and the Angels.

• one of the Jinn, al-Kahf 18:50

• puts three knots at back of head when one is asleep,

  Narrated Abu Huraira:

  Allah's Apostle said, "Satan puts three knots at the back of the head of any of you if he is asleep. On every knot he reads and exhales the following words, 'The night is long, so stay asleep.' When one wakes up and remembers Allah, one knot is undone; and when one performs ablution, the second knot is undone, and when one prays the third knot is undone and one gets up energetic with a good heart in the morning; otherwise one gets up lazy and with a mischievous heart." (Sahih Bukhari 2.243)

• stays in upper part of nose at night,

  Narrated Abu Huraira:

  The Prophet said, "If anyone of you rouses from sleep and performs the ablution, he should wash his nose by putting water in it and then blowing it out thrice, because Satan has stayed in the upper part of his nose all the night." (Sahih Bukhari 4.516)

• touch and make babies cry when born

  Narrated Said bin Al-Musaiyab:

  Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'There is none born among the off-spring of Adam, but Satan touches it. A child therefore, cries loudly at the time of birth because of the touch of Satan, except Mary and her child." Then Abu Huraira recited: "And I seek refuge with You for her and for her offspring from the outcast Satan" (3.36) (Sahih Bukhari 4.641)

  It is interesting that all humans, except Mary and Jesus, were supposed to be touched by Satan at birth. So, what happens when one was supposed to be touched by Satan.

• tries to cast aspersions into prophecy, al-Hajj 22:52.

  Satanic Verses?

• tries to steal "a hearing", al-Hijr 15:17-18; as-Saffat 37:8.

  This belief is also found in Jewish traditions, chapter VI:1, which says that demons "listen from behind a curtain" in order to obtain a knowledge of future events. (Tisdall, The Sources of the Quran, p. 124, quoted by Abdul-Haqq).

• urinates into ears of those who fall asleep during prayers,

  Narrated 'Abdullah :

  A person was mentioned before the Prophet and he was told that he had kept on sleeping till morning and had not got up for the prayer. The Prophet said, "Satan urinated in his ears." (Sahih Bukhari 2.245)

• yawning

  • Allah dislikes yawning, Sahih Bukhari 8.242

  • enters a person when he/she yawns!

    Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri:

    Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you yawns, he should try to restrain it with the help of his hand since it is the Satan that enters therein. (Sahih Muslim 42.7131)

  • from Satan and will he laugh at you if you yawn and say "ha",

    Narrated Abu Huraira:

    The Prophet said, "Yawning is from Satan and if anyone of you yawns, he should check his yawning as much as possible, for if anyone of you (during the act of yawning) should say: 'Ha', Satan will laugh at him." (Sahih Bukhari 4.509. see also Sahih Bukhari 8.242 and Sahih Bukhari 8.245)

• al-Baqarah 2:34,36,168; Âl 'Imran 3:36,155,175; an-Nisa' 4:38,60,76,116-117,119-120,140,145; al-Ma'idah 5:90-91; al-An`am 6:38,43,68; al-A`raf 7:11-12,20-21,27,175,200-201; al-Anfal 8:11,48; Yusuf 12:5,42,100; Ibrahim 14:22; al-Hijr 15:30-40; an-Nahl 16:63,98; bani Isra'il 17:27,53,61,64; al-Kahf 18:50-51; al-Kahf 18:63; Maryam 19:44-45; Ta Ha 20:53,116,120; al-Hajj 22:52; an-Nur 24:21; al-Furqan 25:29; ash-Shu`ara' 26:95; an-Naml 27:24; al-Qasas 28:15; al-`Ankabut 29:38; Luqman 31:21; Saba' 34:20-21; al-Fatir 35:6; Ya Sin 36:60; as-Saffat 37:65; Sad 38:41,74-85; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:36; az-Zukhruf 43:62; Muhammad 47:25; al-Mujadilah 58:10,19; al-Hashr 59:16

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