What is meant by the hadith that the black dog is a devil?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The Qur'an says, meaning, it is like the heads of sheep. Be patient.
The Shaykh : And what did the Qur'an say?
The questioner : No, I mean the characteristics here.
The Shaykh : And what did the Qur'an say? Recite the verse, or do not leave off reciting the Qur'an.
The questioner :[As-Saffat 37:64] from the blazing Fire, its heads
The Shaykh : its fruit. That is it. Its fruit.
The questioner : its leaves are like the heads of devils. Here the Qur'an describes the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the black dog is a devil. I mean, how can this be?
The Shaykh : I mean, do you think you are reciting that its fruit is like the head of a dog? Huh?
The questioner : I mean, is it like that?
The Shaykh : No, no, that is not the meaning. The meaning is that a devil is a devil in everything according to its nature. So the intended meaning is that it is the devil of dogs, meaning it is the rebellious devil among dogs.
And for this reason, you find that black dogs are generally more evil and corrupt than red ones, yellow ones, and the like. So much so that some of the scholars of knowledge (may Allah have mercy on them) said that the game of a black dog, even if it is trained, is not lawful, for this reason.
And this is analogous to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)Sunan Ibn Majah 769Hasan (Darussalam) It does not mean that they are better than devils. The devil was created from fire, and they were created from water [Al-Anbya 21:30] But the meaning that they were created from devils is that they have the nature of devils: arrogance, pride, and the like. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said that harshness is in the owners of camels. Did you understand?
So it is not necessary for us to say, for example, that the heads of devils, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named the black dog a devil, means that the fruit of the tree of Zaqqum is like the heads of black dogs. No, rather the meaning is that it is like the heads of devils who are devils in reality. And this description, or this comparison, even though we do not know or see the heads of devils, is for the purpose of condemnation and aversion, and may Allah protect us from that. Yes. What is that? You and the jinn? The devils of the jinn. No, the meaning of the verse is the devils of the jinn who were the devils. Yes.
The Shaykh : And what did the Qur'an say?
The questioner : No, I mean the characteristics here.
The Shaykh : And what did the Qur'an say? Recite the verse, or do not leave off reciting the Qur'an.
The questioner :
Indeed, it is a tree issuing
إِنَّهَا شَجَرَةٌ تَخْرُجُThe Shaykh : its fruit. That is it. Its fruit.
The questioner : its leaves are like the heads of devils. Here the Qur'an describes the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the black dog is a devil. I mean, how can this be?
The Shaykh : I mean, do you think you are reciting that its fruit is like the head of a dog? Huh?
The questioner : I mean, is it like that?
The Shaykh : No, no, that is not the meaning. The meaning is that a devil is a devil in everything according to its nature. So the intended meaning is that it is the devil of dogs, meaning it is the rebellious devil among dogs.
And for this reason, you find that black dogs are generally more evil and corrupt than red ones, yellow ones, and the like. So much so that some of the scholars of knowledge (may Allah have mercy on them) said that the game of a black dog, even if it is trained, is not lawful, for this reason.
And this is analogous to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)
in the camels' resting-places, for they were created from the devils.
في الإبل إنها خلقت من الشياطين.and made from water every living thing
وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّSo it is not necessary for us to say, for example, that the heads of devils, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named the black dog a devil, means that the fruit of the tree of Zaqqum is like the heads of black dogs. No, rather the meaning is that it is like the heads of devils who are devils in reality. And this description, or this comparison, even though we do not know or see the heads of devils, is for the purpose of condemnation and aversion, and may Allah protect us from that. Yes. What is that? You and the jinn? The devils of the jinn. No, the meaning of the verse is the devils of the jinn who were the devils. Yes.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2420 - 4600 ما المقصود بالحديث أن الكلب الأسود شيطان؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.