2/131. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 785 — Seeking Refuge from Shaytan
Those Who Do Not Say That "Bismilaahir-Rahmanir-Rahim" Should Be Said Aloud
Seeking Refuge in Allah: A Careful Reading of This Hadith
Sunan Abi Dawud : 785
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 785
حَدَّثَنَا قَطَنُ بْنُ نُسَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرٌ، حَدَّثَنَا حُمَيْدٌ الأَعْرَجُ الْمَكِّيُّ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، وَذَكَرَ الإِفْكَ، قَالَتْ جَلَسَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَكَشَفَ عَنْ وَجْهِهِ وَقَالَ " أَعُوذُ بِالسَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ { إِنَّ الَّذِينَ جَاءُوا بِالإِفْكِ عُصْبَةٌ مِنْكُمْ } " . الآيَةَ . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ مُنْكَرٌ قَدْ رَوَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ جَمَاعَةٌ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ لَمْ يَذْكُرُوا هَذَا الْكَلاَمَ عَلَى هَذَا الشَّرْحِ وَأَخَافُ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَمْرُ الاِسْتِعَاذَةِ مِنْ كَلاَمِ حُمَيْدٍ .
A'isha Narrated from:
‘Urwah reported on the authority of ‘A’ishah mentioning the incident of slander. She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat and unveiled his face and said: “I take refuge in Allah, All-Hearing, All-Knowing from the accursed devil. Lo! They who spread the slander are a gang among you.” Abu Dawud said: This is a rejected (munkar) tradition. A group of narrators have reported this tradition from al-Zuhri; but did not mention this detail. I am afraid the phrase concerning “seeking refuge in Allah” is the statement of Humaid.
[1] An-Nūr 24:11.Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 785In-book reference : Book 2, Hadith 395English translation : Book 2, Hadith 784
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 785
This narration mentions the incident of slander and reports that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم sat, uncovered his face, and said words of seeking refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed devil. It then mentions the verse about those who brought the slander. A key part of this hadith is Abu Dawud's own note. He says this report is munkar and that other narrators reported the hadith from al-Zuhri without this detail. He also says he feared that the statement about seeking refuge may be from Humaid. So the safe lesson here is not to treat the extra detail as firmly established from this wording. The hadith is useful for learning careful hadith reading and respecting narrator notes.
What we learn from this hadith
- The narration mentions seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed devil.
- Abu Dawud clearly warns about the reliability of this specific detail.
- Hadith texts should be read with attention to scholarly notes in the report.
- A reader should avoid building strong claims on a report marked as munkar.
