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Fatwa CenterDo Jinn live in houses left empty for long?
Question
I would like to know if it is true that when you purchase a home, and if you leave it empty for however long, do jinn come and live there? Does one need to ask the jinn to leave the home before moving in? How long can a house be left empty? Shukran
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We have already mentioned in Fataawa 24671 and 34098 that it is possible that the jinn dwell in homes, and we mentioned there how to protect the homes from them, so please refer to the above Fataawa.
We do not have decisive evidence regarding leaving the home empty and we do not know from the guidance of the Salaf (our righteous predecessors from among the Companions and the generations who came after them) that they used to ask the jinn to leave before the buyer enters the house. But if a person sees signs which prove that they are present in the house, like if he sees a snake (as jinn may appear in the form of snakes as clarified in Fatwa 9591), then it is legislated for him to warn it and order it to leave the house for good; and if it appears after three days, it should be killed. Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri 
narrated that the Prophet said: “Some Jinn in Madeenah have embraced Islam and if you see any of them, then you should give it respite for three days. If it appears again after three days had passed, you should kill it because it is a devil.” [Muslim] This is about snakes as stated in other Ahaadeeth.
Among the legislated means to protect the home from the evil of the devils are the following:
- The recitation of Soorah Al-Baqarah [Quran 2]. The Prophet said: “Do not make your homes as graves; indeed the devil flees from the house where Soorah Al-Baqarah is read." [Muslim]
- Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet appointed him as guard over Zakat-ul-Fitr (of Ramadan); (It is a long Hadeeth which reads): "….and he [the devil] said to me [Abu Hurayrah], “Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayatul-Kursi from the beginning to the end, 'Allaahu laa ilaaha illa huwa-l-Hayy-ul Qayyum.' He further said to me: '(If you do so), Allaah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you [and protect you], and no devil will come near you till morning.' The Prophet said: "He has spoken the truth, although he is an absolute liar. Do you know whom you were talking to, those three nights, O Abu Hurayrah?" He said, "No." He [the Prophet] said, "It was the devil."" [Al-Bukhari]
- Reciting the last two verses from Soorah Al-Baqarah: An-Nu’maan ibn Basheer narrated that the Prophet said: "Verily, Allaah wrote a book two thousand years before he created the creation, from it He sent down two verses with which He concluded Soorah Al-Baqarah. The devil cannot approach a house in which they are recited for three nights.” [At-Tirmithi]
- Mentioning the name of Allaah when entering the house and when eating food. Jaabir said that he heard the Prophet say: "If a person mentions the name of Allaah, The Almighty, when entering his house and at meal times, the devil says to his companions, "You have no place to spend the night and no evening meal." But if a person enters his house without mentioning the name of Allaah, the devil says, "You have found a place to spend the night and an evening meal."" [Muslim]
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 90651.
Allaah Knows best.
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