Meaning of the Hadeeth "Satan urinated in his ear"
Fatwa No: 239806

Question

Assalamualaikum warahmataluahi wa barkatahu i want to know whether the word word urinte is to be taken literally.... Narrated 'Abdullah (ra) A person was mentioned before the Prophet (saw) and he was told that he had kept on sleeping till morning and had not got up for the prayer. The Prophet(saw) said, "Satan urinated in his ears." (Volume 2, Book 21, Number 245:Bukhari)

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The scholars have disagreed about what is meant by urine here, whether it is the literal meaning or the figurative meaning. Ibn Hajar said in Fat-h Al-Baari: “There is a difference of opinion about the urine of the devil, and it was said that it is the real urine; Al-Qurtubi, and others said: This is possible as this is not impossible because it is proven that the devil eats and drinks and marries, so it is possible that he urinates. It was also said that it is a metaphor for the devil blocking the ear of the person who sleeps and does not perform the prayer so that he would not listen to the Thikr (mention of Allaah). It was further said that the devil filled one's hearing with falsehood and prevented his hearing from the Thikr; and it was said that it is a metaphor for the devil despising him. Moreover, it was said that the devil took hold of him and underestimated him to the point that he considered him as a toilet prepared for urinating in it as it is customary for someone to urinate upon something he disdains." [End of quote]

Allaah knows best.

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