At a glance
The story
Al-Muwatta relates from Jabir ibn Abdullah (may God be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God ﷺ said: close the door, tie the waterskin, upturn or cover the vessel, and extinguish the lamp; for the shaytan does not open what is closed, untie what is tied or uncover a vessel, though the mouse may set fire to people's houses 1 Muwatta 31:2686.
The meaning
In this hadith the shaytan has ways into people's houses, and the precautionary sunnahs close them: shutting the door, setting the waterskin, covering the vessel and extinguishing the lamp 1.
Notes
Among the texts of protection from devils in the Sunna; this browser shows it in the devils section 1.
Connections
People and things also explored
The good dream is from God and the bad dream is from the shaytan· The shaytan lays Bilal down in the Mecca journey· The shaytan at the well of the traveller· Disheveled hair and beard like a shaytan· The fitna rises where the shaytan horn rises· Whoever raises his head before the imam — his forelock is in a shaytan's hand· Saying "if only" opens the shaytan s work· An ifrit of the jinn seeks the Prophet on the Night Journey
Sources
- Muwatta, recension of Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi (ed. Bashar Awwad Ma'ruf)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Guarding the house from the shaytan: door, waterskin, vessel and lamp”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/shaytan-household-protections/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-11.
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