Satan Stabs Every Newborn Except Jesus? The Sahih Hadith Explained
The claim that a Sahih hadith proves Jesus’s absolute preference over Muhammad rests on a distortion of the narration about Satan stabbing every newborn, for classical scholarship demonstrates that this protection either extends to all prophets equally or reflects Mary’s mother’s supplication — not an intrinsic superiority that would elevate Jesus above the Seal of the Prophets.
The failed attempts of Christians continue to prove their weak belief, which, with its superstitions and nonsense, is similar to the earth sliding due to soap. Among these suspicions is that the prophets and all humans are exposed to the temptation of Satan except for our master Jesus, peace be upon him, and the Lady Mary, peace be upon them, and that this hadith is evidence of the preference of our master Jesus over our master Muhammad.
This hadith is authentic in terms of narration and knowledge. It was included in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. In terms of the text, there is nothing in the hadith that calls for its rejection. However, the scholars’ interpretation is that Satan can touch every newborn at birth, but when he tried to touch our Lady Mary the Virgin and our Master Jesus, he was unable to do so.
Grade: Sahih · al-Bukhari and Muslim
The Supplication of Mary’s Mother
This is evident in the supplication of the mother of our Lady Mary when she gave birth:
“So when she gave birth to her, she said, ‘My Lord, indeed I have delivered a female. And Allah knows best what she has delivered. And the male is not like the female. And indeed, I have named her Mary. And indeed, I seek refuge for her and her offspring in You from Satan, the accursed.’”
Qatada said: Every newborn child is poked in the side by Satan when he is born, except for Jesus and his mother. A veil was placed between them, and the poking hit the veil and nothing of it reached them.
“Every newborn child is poked in the side by Satan when he is born, except for Jesus and his mother. A veil was placed between them, and the poking hit the veil and nothing of it reached them.”
Our scholars said: If that were not the case, then the special status between them would be invalidated. This does not necessarily mean that Satan’s poking leads to the possessed person being led astray and seduced, for that is a corrupt assumption. The stab does not inherently cause misguidance; Allah protects His servants from what Satan seeks. Satan has exposed the prophets and saints to various types of corruption and seduction, and despite that, Allah protected them from what Satan seeks.
“Indeed, My servants - over them you have no authority.”
This is despite the fact that each one of Adam’s children has been assigned a companion from the devils, as the Messenger of Allah said. So Mary and her son, although they were protected from his poking, were not protected from his constant presence and company.
Is This a Unique Virtue of Jesus?
This is not a special feature of Jesus, peace be upon him, or that the rest of the prophets were less preferred than him, because the virtue that is considered complete perfection for man is what was through his effort and diligence, and from here came the virtue of the two friends, Abraham and Muhammad, peace be upon them and all the prophets. As for the stabbing of Satan with his hand, it is not something that the servant is rewarded for being safe from it, nor is he punished for it happening to him.
And if we accept that this is a virtue of Jesus, peace be upon him, then we all acknowledge that the less preferred may have characteristics and advantages that the more preferred does not, and that does not affect his preference.
But if we say that the speech here is not general, and that the speaker is not included in the generality of his speech — as a group of scholars said, including Al-Alusi in his interpretation — then our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is also one of those who were not touched by Satan.
“The speech here is not general, and the speaker is not included in the generality of his speech, so our Prophet is also one of those who were not touched by Satan.”
And Judge Iyad chose — as Al-Nawawi narrated from him — that all the prophets share in this characteristic.
“All the prophets share in this characteristic of protection from Satan’s stab.”
Whatever the case, there is absolutely nothing in the hadith that requires that Jesus, peace be upon him, be given absolute preference over our Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. The fact that some priests and monks relied on the hadith to prove one of their false beliefs does not render the hadith invalid or rejected. The responsibility and blame fall on the one who distorted the hadith from its proper context and interpreted it in a way other than its correct meaning.
The narration concerning Satan’s stab at birth establishes no hierarchy of prophetic merit. Whether understood as the answer to a mother’s supplication or as a protection shared by all prophets, it cannot be twisted to subordinate Muhammad to Jesus. The blame lies with those who wrench the hadith from its context to serve doctrines foreign to Islam.