How do we reconcile the chaining of the devils in Ramadan with the sins committed?
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The questioner : How do we reconcile the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to the effect that when Ramadan arrives, the devils are chained and they do not reach what they used to reach in other times, with what many people do in this noble month of sins, such as the devil leading them to abandon some of the prayers or other sins?
The Shaykh : First, it is obligatory for us to know an important rule, which is that what is established in the Book and the Sunnah will never contradict reality. Pay attention to this rule: what is established in the Book and the Sunnah will never contradict reality. So, if we find in the known, tangible reality something that appears to contradict the Book and the Sunnah, what do we do? We say that in that case, it is obligatory to interpret the Book and the Sunnah, because our understanding in that case would be wrong. It is obligatory to interpret the Book and the Sunnah, because our understanding in that case would be wrong. It is possible that Allah did not intend what we understood, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not intend what we understood. So, we have two rules here. They are the guidance of Allah. That is, it supports the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Qur'an. Yes, and what? This is one. Okay, if something occurs in reality that contradicts the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunnah? Yes.
It is interpreted, and our understanding is that what is intended is what contradicts the apparent meaning, which is a wrong understanding, because the speech of Allah and His Messenger cannot possibly contradict reality in any way. So, what the questioner mentioned, that the devils are chained in Ramadan and do not reach what they reach in other times, and reality, as he said, shows that there are people among the open sinners whose sinfulness increases in Ramadan.
So, are the devils chained from them or chained with them? With them, yes. Allah knows best. It is possible they are chained with them. In any case, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said that in some narrations of this hadith, it is the worst of the devils that are chained. The worst of the devils, not all the devils, are chained. Only the worst are chained. Based on this, the non-worst devils exert their influence over these open sinners, and there is no objection to that. Some of them said that all the devils are chained, and mentioning the worst in some wordings does not imply restriction, because we have a rule, what is it? We read it in fiqh, my brothers.
Good. It is that mentioning some individuals of a general term with a ruling that matches the general term does not constitute a restriction. Understood, my brothers? Okay, so how is it understood? It is said that it is understood with respect to the people of truth and faith. The devils are chained from them, so they do not reach what they reach in other times. And in that case, we are rid of the devils exerting their influence over the open sinners in this month. Yes.
The Shaykh : First, it is obligatory for us to know an important rule, which is that what is established in the Book and the Sunnah will never contradict reality. Pay attention to this rule: what is established in the Book and the Sunnah will never contradict reality. So, if we find in the known, tangible reality something that appears to contradict the Book and the Sunnah, what do we do? We say that in that case, it is obligatory to interpret the Book and the Sunnah, because our understanding in that case would be wrong. It is obligatory to interpret the Book and the Sunnah, because our understanding in that case would be wrong. It is possible that Allah did not intend what we understood, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not intend what we understood. So, we have two rules here. They are the guidance of Allah. That is, it supports the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Qur'an. Yes, and what? This is one. Okay, if something occurs in reality that contradicts the apparent meaning of the Book and the Sunnah? Yes.
It is interpreted, and our understanding is that what is intended is what contradicts the apparent meaning, which is a wrong understanding, because the speech of Allah and His Messenger cannot possibly contradict reality in any way. So, what the questioner mentioned, that the devils are chained in Ramadan and do not reach what they reach in other times, and reality, as he said, shows that there are people among the open sinners whose sinfulness increases in Ramadan.
So, are the devils chained from them or chained with them? With them, yes. Allah knows best. It is possible they are chained with them. In any case, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said that in some narrations of this hadith, it is the worst of the devils that are chained. The worst of the devils, not all the devils, are chained. Only the worst are chained. Based on this, the non-worst devils exert their influence over these open sinners, and there is no objection to that. Some of them said that all the devils are chained, and mentioning the worst in some wordings does not imply restriction, because we have a rule, what is it? We read it in fiqh, my brothers.
Good. It is that mentioning some individuals of a general term with a ruling that matches the general term does not constitute a restriction. Understood, my brothers? Okay, so how is it understood? It is said that it is understood with respect to the people of truth and faith. The devils are chained from them, so they do not reach what they reach in other times. And in that case, we are rid of the devils exerting their influence over the open sinners in this month. Yes.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1410هـ - 2 — binothaimeen.net (48:32)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.