QUESTION:
What do the scholars of the Dīn and muftīs of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: When someone buys a new house, then should he do anything in particular in order to protect the home from shayātīn (devils)? A Mawlānā [scholar], having moved into his new home, prayed the Azān in its four corners and hung a ta’wīz. Is it permissible to do this?
Questioner: Muhammad from UK
ANSWER:
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب
Having moved into a new home, one should recite Sūrah al-Baqarah and Āyah al-Kursī as they are both very effective in ridding shayātīn and evil Jinns. It is also very useful in this regard to pray the Azān in the four corners [of the house], bearing in mind that only the person whose Tajwīd [recitation] is correct should be the one reciting, or the one who is acquainted with [the rules of] Tajwīd. This [method of protection] is because it has actually been mentioned in a Hadīth regarding Sūrah al-Baqarah that wherever it be read, the shayātīn and evils Jinns flee from such place. Just as it is stated in the blessed Hadīth,
“لَا تَجْعَلُوا بُيُوتَكُمْ مَقَابِرَ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَفِرُّ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ الَّذِي تُقْرَأُ فِيهِ سُورَةُ الْبَقَرَةِ“
“Do not make your houses as graveyards. Satan runs away from the house in which Sūrah al-Baqarah is recited.”
[Sahīh Muslim, Hadīth no 780]
Reciting Āyah al-Kursī not only protects your home, but even the homes in one’s nearby vicinity also remain protected from all kinds of evils and calamities. Just as Sayyidunā ‘Alī, may Allāh ﷻ honour him further, said that he heard from the Noble Prophet ﷺ that he ﷺ was stating whilst on the Minbar [pulpit] that,
مَنْ قَرَأَ آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مِنْ دُخُولِهِ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا الْمَوْتُ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَهَا حِينَ يَأْخُذُ مَضْجَعَهُ أَمَّنَهُ اللهُ عَلَى دَارِهِ وَدَارِ جَارِهِ وَالدُوَيْرَاتِ حَوْلَهُ
“Whomsoever recites Āyah al-Kursī after every salāh, nothing other than death can stop such a person from entering Jannah. Also, whomsoever recited this before sleeping, then Allāh Almighty will keep said person’s home protected, as well as the homes of his neighbours; all the homes within his vicinity will be protected.”
[Shu’ab al-Īmān, Hadīth no 2174]
A ta’wīz of Āyah al-Kursī or writing it then hanging it also protects the home and brings [i.e. is a cause of] goodness and blessings in the home, just as ‘Allāmah ‘Abdul Mustafā Āzhamī, upon be mercy, writes in his book Jannatī Zaywar, that if Āyah al-Kursī is written and its blessed writing is hung in a high place in any property, then Allāh ﷻ willing, such home will never be stricken with poverty. Rather, there will be blessings and increase in sustenance, and thieves will never be able to enter such home.
[Jannatī Zaywar, pg 589]
As far as the matter of giving Azān in the four corners of a house is concerned, so this is actually permissible and a meritorious action, just as it is established from other Sahīh Hadīths that Azān rids the Shaytān. It is narrated by Sayyidunā abū Hurayrah, may Allāh ﷻ be pleased with him, in Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Sahīh Muslim, etc that the Noble Prophet ﷺ states that,
إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلاَةِ أَدْبَرَ الشَّيْطَانُ، وَلَهُ ضُرَاطٌ، حَتَّى لاَ يَسْمَعَ التَّأْذِينَ””
“When the Azān is called, Satan takes to his heels and passes wind with noise during his fleeing in order not to hear the Azān.”
[Sahīh al-Bukhārī, vol 1, pg 125, Hadīth no 608/Sahīh Muslim, vol 1, pg 167]
Thus, one should not object to the action of the Mawlānā Sāhib because whatever he did, it is correct in light of Sharī’ah.
واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری
Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadri
Translated by Haider Ali
Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0581] Is it permissible to recite Azan in the four corners of the home to protect it from evil?
Also see:
[Q-ID0525] Which litanies can we recite to protect our homes from devils, jinn and other calamities?