Is It Disbelief to Call Someone Shaytan?


Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I hope you are well, Insha Allah. I have an unusual yet essential question for myself which I hope you can answer, Insha Allah. What is the ruling on calling oneself or someone a shaytan? And mostly, what I mean by this is about being naughty or cheeky, not in its literal sense, which most people understand in its context.

I ask this question because, in my culture, you often hear people calling each other shaytan in the sense they are naughty or even themselves sometimes. Is this a statement of kufr if said with the intentions mentioned?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It is not permissible to call or nickname someone with ‘Satan’ no matter how badly they behave. Also, it is not a statement of disbelief (kufr). However, one should strictly avoid calling some such.

The Quran says, “Do not defame one another, nor call each other by offensive nicknames.” [Quran, 49:11]

Sufyan ibn Abdullah (Allah be pleased with him) reported I said, “O Messenger of Allah, (Allah bless him and give him peace) tells me of a matter I can depend upon?” The Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, said, “Say: My Lord is Allah. Then, remain upright.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, what do you fear most for me?” The Prophet pointed to his tongue and said, “This.” [Tirmidhi]

Check this link as well:
Is It Possible To Leave Islam Due To an Accidental Statement Of Disbelief? – SeekersGuidance
103 – Importance of Speech – Birgivi’s The Path of Muhammad Explained – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani – YouTube
31 – The Tongue and the Majority of Man’s Sins – SeekersGuidance

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SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)

I pray this helps with your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.