Brothers & sisters, do you often get confused whether you’ve broken your wudhu’, or the number of raka’at that you’ve prayed, or feel tired & yawn – but only when you’re praying? Check out the following 3 ahadith:
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🔵 A man asked Prophet Muhammad ﷺ about a person who thought that he had passed wind during the prayer. The Prophet ﷺ said: “He should not leave his prayers, unless he hears a sound or smells something.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari 137]
We should continue praying & ignore the whispers of shaytan, unless we’re absolutely 100% sure (and not 99%!) that we have released gas from the body – either by hearing a clear sound, or finding a clear smell, or both.
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🔵 A companion told Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that the shaytan would intervene between him & his prayers, his Qur’an recitation, until he got confused. The Prophet ﷺ said: “That is (the doing of a) shaytan known as Khanzab; so when you perceive its effect, seek refuge with Allah from it, & spit 3 times to your left.” The companion did as what was told & the effects of shaytan was thus dispelled. [Sahih Muslim 2203a]
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that there is a special designated shaytan for salah known as Khanzab. To stop his whispers from ruining our prayers, we need to do the following:
1. Seek Allah’s refuge by saying: “A’udzu billahi min ash-shaytan.” We need to say this with sincerity & desperation to Allah. Make sure every word comes from the heart!
2. Blow a slightly wet blow 3 times to our left. When we do all these, shaytan would be defeated in shaa Allah.
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🔵 Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “The yawning is from the shaytan. So when one of you yawns, he should try to restrain it as much as he possibly can.” [Sahih Muslim 2994] In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said: “When one of you yawns, he should keep his mouth shut with the help of his hand, for it is the shaytan that enters therein.” [Sahih Muslim 2995a]
The shaytan enters into us when we yawn! So do our best to hold ourselves from yawning – for example, we can bite on our lips, or place our hand over our mouth.
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May Allah grant us khushoo’ in our prayers, and protect us from the whispers of shaytan, ameen.
