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Refutations

The Hadith "Satan Sleeps in the Nostrils" — Explanation, Scholarly Commentary, and Satan in the Bible

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The Hadith and Its Linguistic Analysis

The hadith of Abu Hurairah regarding the command to blow one’s nose states: “For Satan spends the night on one’s nostrils.”

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani stated in Fath al-Bari, his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari:

— Fath al-Bari, Vol. 6, p. 343 The word — with the opening of the kha’, the sukoon of the ya’, the damma of the voiced letter, and the sukoon of the waw — is the nose. It was also said: the nostril.

His saying “so let him blow his nose” is more beneficial than his saying “so let him sniff it,” because blowing the nose is similar to sniffing, not the other way around. One may sniff but not blow his nose. Blowing the nose is a complete benefit of sniffing, because the reality of sniffing is drawing water with the wind from the nose to its furthest point, and blowing the nose is removing that water. The purpose of blowing the nose is cleaning the inside of the nose, and blowing the nose is removing that dirt with the water — so it is a complete benefit of sniffing. It was said: blowing the nose is taken from the tip of the nose. It was also said: the nose itself. Based on this, whoever blows his nose has blown his nose, because he believes that he took water with his nose or the tip of his nose, and there is a view on this.

Then the apparent meaning of the hadith is that this happens to every sleeper, and it is possible that it is specific to the one who does not guard against Satan with any remembrance, due to the hadith of Abu Hurairah mentioned before the hadith of Sa’d, in which it says: “So it was a protection for him from Satan,” and likewise Ayat al-Kursi, and it was mentioned before: “And no Satan shall come near you.” It is possible that what is meant by denying closeness here is that he does not come near the place where he whispers, which is the heart, so he spends the night on the nose in order to reach the heart from it when he wakes up. So whoever blows his nose, it prevents him from reaching what he intended from the whispers — so in that case the hadith is applicable to everyone who is awake. Then sniffing water from the nose is one of the Sunnahs of ablution, according to consensus, for everyone who wakes up or is awake. A group said that it is obligatory in ritual washing and a group said that it is obligatory in ablution as well. Is the Sunnah fulfilled by it alone without sniffing water from the nose, or is there no disagreement? This is a subject of research and contemplation. What appears is that it is not completed without it, due to what was mentioned above. And Allah knows best.

Fath al-Bari — text on Satan sleeping in the nostrils, first image
Fath al-Bari — text on Satan sleeping in the nostrils, first image

Fath al-Bari — text on Satan sleeping in the nostrils, second image
Fath al-Bari — text on Satan sleeping in the nostrils, second image

Fath al-Bari — text on Satan sleeping in the nostrils, third image
Fath al-Bari — text on Satan sleeping in the nostrils, third image

The Hadith of the Singing Girl and the Phrase “The Devil Has Blown into Her Nostrils”

It was stated in The Biography of Sayyida Aisha, Mother of the Believers (p. 86):

Musnad of Imam Ahmad 3/449 — on the authority of Al-Sa’ib ibn Yazid — also narrated by Al-Tabarani in Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabir 8/158, No. 6686 A woman came to the Messenger of God ﷺ and he said: “O Aisha, do you know this one?” She said: “No, O Prophet of God.” He said: “This is the singing girl of the Banu So-and-so. Would you like her to sing to you?” She said: “Yes.” So he gave her a plate, and she sang to her. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The devil has blown into her nostrils.”

Grade: Al-Haythami said in Majma’ al-Zawa’id 8/130: It was narrated by Ahmad and Al-Tabarani, and the men of Ahmad are the men of Sahih.

This means that the Prophet ﷺ disliked such songs.

Some have interpreted his statement “The devil has blown into her nostrils” as praising and commending her singing and her activity in singing.

The author of Shama’il al-Habib al-Mustafa (p. 181) says:

Shama’il al-Habib al-Mustafa, p. 181 “The devil has blown into her nostrils: it is a compliment to her that she is good at singing.”

It is stated in Al-Fath al-Rabbani li-Tarteebi Musnad al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Shaibani (17/232):

Al-Fath al-Rabbani, Vol. 17, p. 232 — footnote 4 “Its meaning, and Allah knows best, is that the devil has made singing seem attractive to her, so she indulged in it with activity and without boredom.”

The Two Scholarly Interpretations of “Satan Sleeps on the Nose”

The scholars have offered two interpretations of the phrase “the devil sleeps on his nose”:

First Interpretation — Literal

The first interpretation is that this is as it appears — that the devil literally spends the night in this place. Ibn al-Qayyim (may God have mercy on him) said:

— Commentary on Sunan Abi Dawud, Vol. 1, p. 85 “And in the devil spending the night in the nostril there is a secret that is known to whoever knows the rulings on spirits, and the association of devils with the places they inhabit. For the devil is filthy and filthiness suits him, so when the servant sleeps, he does not see on the outside of his body anything dirtier than his nostril, so he settles in it for the night.”

Second Interpretation — Metaphorical

The second interpretation is that the meaning is that whatever harm and filth is in the nose is in agreement with the devil, because devils are evil and are found in evil places. So it is prescribed for the sleeper, when he wakes up, to clean his nose by blowing it — which is drawing water into the nose and then expelling it.

Judge Iyad said:

— cited in ‘s Commentary on Muslim, Vol. 3, p. 127 “It is possible that this is true, or that it is a metaphor, because what forms from dust and moisture in the nostrils is filth that suits the devil.”

The apparent meaning of the hadith is that this applies to every sleeper. It is possible that it is specific to someone who does not protect himself with any remembrance before sleeping, such as reciting Ayat al-Kursi.

Satan in the Bible — A Comparison

Now let us look at how Satan is portrayed in the Christian Bible.

Satan Is True and God Is a Liar

Genesis 2:17 (ESV) “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:4–5 (ESV) “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

What the serpent (Satan) said came true — and the Lord God’s warning did not come to pass as literally stated.

Satan Is the Messenger of God

Job 1:8 (ESV) “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’”

Satan is presented here as appearing before the Lord and conversing with Him — functioning as a messenger sent against Job by God’s own permission.

Peter, Jesus’ Disciple, Is Called “Satan”

Matthew 16:23 (ESV) “But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’”

Jesus calls his own chief disciple “Satan” — a designation placed in the mouth of the one Christians worship as God.

Satan Hindered Paul the Apostle

1 Thessalonians 2:18 (ESV) “Because we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, again and again — but Satan hindered us.”

Paul declares that Satan was able to obstruct and hinder the plans of the Apostle of Jesus Christ — including preventing him from reaching his own congregation.

The hadith that Satan spends the night in the nostrils of the sleeper is explained by Ibn Hajar, Ibn al-Qayyim, Judge Iyad, and al-Nawawi across two possible interpretations — literal and metaphorical — both grounded in the nature of Satan’s association with filth and his path to the heart of the human being. The prescribed remedy is blowing the nose upon waking, which is a Sunnah of ablution by consensus. As for those who mock this hadith while believing in a Bible that calls Satan truthful where God was not, makes Satan God’s own messenger against Job, gives Satan the face of Jesus’ chief disciple, and allows Satan to obstruct the plans of the Apostle — they would do well to examine their own scripture first.
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