We request clarification of the meaning of his statement (peace be upon him): “Satan flows through the son of Adam as blood flows.”
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The questioner : Now, regarding the hadith: Sunan Abi Dawud 4719Sahih (Al-Albani) They asked: Does the meaning of this statement imply that every person is afflicted with possession by jinn?
The Shaykh : No, this statement, or this interpretation of the authentic hadith, is something it cannot bear. From here, we enter into a very important discussion that many students of knowledge may overlook, or rather, some scholars, or at least some who claim to be scholars, may overlook. His statement (peace be upon him):Sunan Abi Dawud 4719Sahih (Al-Albani) has a context. This context explains and clarifies to the listener of the hadith the correct intended meaning of the hadith, so that he cannot then attribute to it a meaning it cannot bear. The hadith is in *Sahih al-Bukhari*, specifically in the chapter on i'tikaf, or the book on i'tikaf which follows the book on fasting: : They did not know her, naturally, because the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to veil even their faces, as an obligation and a special privilege for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, the noble women among the distinguished Companions also covered their faces, imitating the wives of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the Mothers of the Believers. So these two men did not recognize this woman with whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was standing.
If we connect this hadith to its context, its intended meaning becomes clear to us. Sunan Abi Dawud 4719Sahih (Al-Albani):
Through whispering, and not through harm or possession by jinn, as was claimed in the questioner’s statement.
Now we move on to hear a second question.
The devil flows in a man like his blood.
يجري الشيطان من ابن آدم مجرى الدمThe Shaykh : No, this statement, or this interpretation of the authentic hadith, is something it cannot bear. From here, we enter into a very important discussion that many students of knowledge may overlook, or rather, some scholars, or at least some who claim to be scholars, may overlook. His statement (peace be upon him):
The devil flows in a man like his blood.
إن الشيطان يجري من ابن آدم مجرى الدمThat the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in i'tikaf in his mosque, and his wife Safiyyah visited him and sat with him for a while. Then he went out with her to take her back to her family. He stopped with her by the side of the mosque on the road, and he was talking with her. Two men from the Ansar passed by, and when their eyes fell upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and a woman beside him
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم كان معتكفًا في مسجده فزارته زوجتُه صفية وجلست عنده مُدة، ثم خرج معها يقلِبُها إلى أهلها، فوقف معها بجانب المسجد في الطريق، وهو معها يتحدث مرَّ رجلان مِن الأنصار فلمَّا وقع بصرهما على النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وبجانِبه امرأةthey hurried their walking. He said to them, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him: “Go slowly, for she is Safiyyah, my wife.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, if we were to doubt anyone, we would not doubt you, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Indeed, Satan flows through the human being—and in some narrations: through the son of Adam—as blood flows
فسارعا السير المشي، فقال لهما عليه الصلاة والسلام: على رِسلكما إنها صفية زوجتي، قالا: يا رسول الله إن كنا نشك في أحدٍ فما كنا لنشكّ بك يا رسول الله، قال: إن الشيطان يجري مِن الإنسان -وفي بعض الروايات-: من ابن آدمَ مجرى الدمflows in a man like his blood
يجري من الإنسان من ابن آدم مجرى الدمThrough whispering, and not through harm or possession by jinn, as was claimed in the questioner’s statement.
Now we move on to hear a second question.