# Are there authentic hadith showing the Prophet casting out jinn?

*The three hadith cited for possession: none free of criticism, and al-Nawawi on Uthman ibn Abi al-As*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/lexzvtf9yga/s/4/
- Date: 2018-04-15 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (13:03–19:34)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeXzvtf9YGA&t=783s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/lexzvtf9yga/

**Topics:** Jinn possession; Authenticating hadith; False and fabricated hadith

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** No report of the Prophet expelling a jinn is free of criticism: the Ya'la ibn Murra and Umm Aban reports are weak, and the sound version of Uthman ibn Abi al-As's story in Sahih Muslim mentions no jinn at all, as al-Nawawi points out. Mufti Abu Layth asks why a Prophet sent as a mercy would never have taught about so common a danger.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth holds that no hadith cited for jinn possession is free of criticism, that the sound version of Uthman ibn Abi al-As's complaint in Sahih Muslim mentions no jinn, as al-Nawawi notes, and that the Prophet, sent as a mercy to mankind, never taught about so ubiquitous a danger in any sound transmission.

**Evidence, his words at 13:03:** “not a single hadith that is free of criticism there are a few hadith I mean there are many hadees which are just completely week or week” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeXzvtf9YGA&t=783s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says there is not a single hadith on possession free of criticism: many are outright weak, a few rise above weakness, but none is unquestionably sahih, and he asks how the Prophet, sent as a mercy to all mankind, could have failed to teach clearly about something that would affect everyone daily. The first report is from Ya'la ibn Murra of Thaqif, who said he saw three things on a journey that nobody else saw, one being the Prophet driving a demon from a woman's crying child; it has been criticised in its chain and he finds it absurd that the Prophet would show one man and teach no one how to protect themselves. The second concerns Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi, who came in the delegation of 9 AH: the sound version in Sahih Muslim has him say he struggles with the Quran, the Prophet tapping his chest and telling him to lead his people, who have strong and weak among them, after which the Quran stayed with him. Weaker versions add 'I have a shaytan' and the Prophet blowing on him with the words 'come out, enemy of Allah', which Mufti says is not established; al-Nawawi, commenting on Sahih Muslim, says all the reports describe one incident, nothing in them indicates possession, and the struggle was probably ill health or a touch of arrogance at leading his people. The third, from Umm Aban [?] about her grandfather bringing a sick child from whom something came out, is heavily criticised, some calling it weak or very weak. For so ubiquitous an event, nothing comes in sound transmission. He notes that both sides of the scholarly debate will be heard, and ends by introducing the point that, as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi [?] and others held, we know whether something is true through reason.

## Sources and names cited

- Ya'la ibn Murra [?]
- report: yala ibn murra and the child from whom the prophet drove out a demon on a journey
- Uthman ibn Abi al-As al-Thaqafi
- report: uthman ibn abi al-as said i struggle with the quran and the prophet struck his chest and told him to lead his people
- report: the prophet struck the chest of a man and blew on him to drive out the devil
- Sahih Muslim
- al-Tabarani [?]
- al-Nawawi
- Umm Aban [?]
- report: umm aban's grandfather brought a child to the prophet who said come out enemy of allah
- da'if
- kibr (arrogance)
- Fakhr al-Din al-Razi [?]

## Transcript (machine tier, 13:03–19:34)

[12:44] and I'm sure the chef will be highlighting as well several perspectives but just popularly these are brought to the disco straight away because I want to take a look at the religious kind of aspect first and the kind of rational and then come back to the psychological and stuff like that in the in the second section so there's a few had the three hadith first of all I just want to highlight there isn't a single sorry sorry hadith in this bar not a single hadith that is free of criticism there are a few hadith I mean there are

[13:23] many hadees which are just completely week or week there are certain which rise above that weakness thing and I'll just highlight the two or three that are usually used in this context but there is nothing which is sorry and sorry unquestionably so as in is free from criticism taking into consideration like just take this point into consideration that the messenger of allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has come as a paragon of mercy for mankind not just for the Sahaba or for the people around him for

[13:58] ever and he never transmits this he doesn't teach people about this and thinking about it this is going to impact us all every day and he forgets to tell us or he chooses not to tell us clearly I mean think about it so the hadith that are usually used is a hadith to do it there's a transmitter yeah like Nomura that he accompanies the Prophet he's a person from beneath a thief who accompanies the Prophet on a journey and he says that I saw three things which nobody else saw and one of them was that when the Prophet was

[14:37] walking past this lady on a journey she had a baby was crying and the Prophet said okay and exercises this and he brings out this diamond this is one narration that is used not a stab not sorry I mean some have tried to argue it to be sorry but not unquestionably sorry so as in is not free from their owie is usually the popular worth of it is man jalapeno armor it's been criticized you've got people like Abdul Rahman but whoever is in the chain has had criticism okay second hadith too high and the fact that this hadith actually says I saw three things one of them this which nobody else saw and the gene

[15:16] affects everybody in the Prophet decided to just show one person and never tell the other people in itself is absurd that the Prophet wouldn't teach us how to protect ourselves second understanding a second hadith is one of Earthmen enable us once again from beneath that leaf is thought of he who comes to the Prophet in a delegation in 93 and he complained now this hadith is transmitted in different books one in Sahih Muslim and in other books even imagine the brawny and the naration kind of varies a bit the sahi narration which is sound is that it comes to the prophet and he says

[15:54] that I'm struggling with the Quran this is what he says and he says I'm struggling with this inside Muslim and he doesn't mention exactly what the struggle is but he says that I struggle with the Quran and the Prophet says to him he tells him and in the hadith he kind of fedorova Sabra who beardie like he kind of like taps his chest with his hand and he tells him that on McCormick's go and lead your people for in them in home of the evil Cahuilla and they've got different mixed abilities in them you are strong people weak people so on and he says after that wallahi the Quran was always with me like I never

[16:33] now in other narrations that narration is sahi other narrations which are criticized and weak and some people have tried to say they're okay but they they not sound as in they're not unquestionable they've been questioned and weakened by some people that he says oh I've got a Shaitaan or and the Prophet says he kind of aspirates like just that kind of tougher what we call in Arabic and it's like slightly with salivated aspiration I've got like this towards him and and and he opens his mouth and and he says Oh ROG I do Allah come out the enemy of Allah and and

[17:11] something comes out this is not established okay Imam no we when commenting on this inside Muslim says all of these rewires they are talking about one kissa and he says that and there is no evidence in these that is to do with jinn possession he says that this is most likely he says when he was struggling with the Quran it was either health o Imam no he says maybe it was cable that he felt arrogant that he was leading his people and so this is what Imam no we highlights on this and he says that this is the narration in which none of this is mentioned there's another hadith which

[17:50] people bring quite a bit which is to do with a woman a burn once again very criticized that she speaks about her grandfather saying her grandfather came with the child saying that the child is ill and the Prophet says you know same kind of thing overage I do Allah come out or enemy of Allah they saw something coming out heavily criticized some people just say bye Eve some people said it's very weak and some people try to strengthen these incidents but once again nothing sorry sorry for such a ubiquitous event for something that would affect everybody the Prophet

[18:29] doesn't really transmit anything in sound transmission so it's important to to take this this understanding we will be hearing a lot more about allah ma does that have taken certain positions that have what they've said and on both sides and i want to go into some psychological cases as well to explain things like that but the most important thing here is i what i want to highlight something and that is that it's actually I mean it's been said earlier on today you heard earlier on today but also people like a mom or as early of highlighter and many of the people that bill Oakley you are a force it would

[19:09] deem that we only know whether something is accurate through reason when the Quran came to people you see this is people's logic today people's logic today is why is this true because they say some here well how do you know that's true because it's a ha like so for example how do you know the Quran is true well I say so in the Quran that's an illogical statement that's not even how that's not how the Quran came to us to to invite us to the Quran Allah said

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment LeXzvtf9YGA/s/4. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/lexzvtf9yga/s/4/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.