Can You Explain This Hadith, “No Person Is Born but That He Is Pricked by Satan”?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I have a question about the interpretation of the Hadith, “Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “No child is born, but the devil touches him when he is born, after that he starts crying loudly because of having been touched by the devil, except for Maryam and her son.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) then read, “And I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and her offspring from Satan, the outcast.” [Quran, 3:36]
But what is precisely the interpretation of it because? I heard from several mothers that their children did not cry or scream at birth. Any scholarly interpretation or opinion?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well. Thank you for your question.
Abu Huraira reported the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “No person is born but that Satan pricks him, and he cries from the touch of Satan, except for the son of Mary and his mother.” Abu Huraira said, “Recite the verse if you wish: Verily, I seek refuge for her and her offspring from the cursed Satan.” [Quran, 3:36; Bukhari; Muslim]
What the hadith mentions are a general case, every child does not have to cry, but, if it does, it is due to the pricking and poking of the shaytan. Some narrators have mentioned the word fazun, which means frightening. However, the majority and well-known wording is nazgun, which means pricking and poking. Some say a physical touch does not occur as Imam Razi mentions in his commentary.
[Abdul-Haq Al-Dehlawi, Lama’at al-Tanqih, Sharh al-Mishkat al-Masabih; Taqi Usmani, Takmila al-Fath al-Mulhim; Al-Qurtubi, Al-Mufham li-Sharh al-Muslim; Al-Razi, Tafsir al-Razi]
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on Seekersguidance.
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.
