Al-Bukhārī (1) reports—through al-Awzāʿī, from Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr; related to me by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Qatādah, from his father—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“A righteous dream is from Allah, whereas a nightmare is from Satan. If anyone of you sees a dream that frightens him, let him spit lightly to his left and seek refuge in Allah from its evil, and it will not harm him.”

Imām Aḥmad (2) narrates—ʿAbd al-Razzaq informed us; Maʿmar related, from Hammām, from Abū Hurayrah—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“None of you should point a weapon at his brother. He does not know; Satan may cause his hand to slip, and he would fall into a pit of Fire.”

The Two Shaykhs (3) likewise record it through the transmission of ʿAbd al-Razzaq.

Allah, exalted is He, says:

“We have surely adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and made them missiles for the devils, and We have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze.” (al-Mulk 67:5)

He also says: “Indeed, We have adorned the sky of the world with the beauty of the stars and made it a guard against every defiant devil; they cannot eavesdrop on the higher assembly, for they are pelted from every side, repelled, and for them is an unending punishment—except one who snatches something….” (al-Ṣāffāt 37:6–10)

And He says: “We have placed constellations in the heaven and beautified it for the onlookers, and We have guarded it from every accursed devil—except one who steals a hearing, and he is pursued by a clear flaming missile.” (al-Ḥijr 15:16-18)

And He says: “It was not the devils who brought it down; it is not for them to do so, nor are they able. Indeed, they are kept far away from hearing.” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:210-212)

And, relating the words of the jinn, He says: “We probed the heaven and found it filled with stern guards and shooting stars; and we used to sit there in positions to overhear, but whoever now tries to listen finds a flaming missile lying in wait for him.” (al-Jinn 72:8-9)

Al-Bukhārī (4) states—al-Layth narrated to me; Khālid ibn Yazīd from Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl—that Abū al-Aswad informed him, from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾishah, that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“The angels discuss matters that will occur on earth while in the clouds—ʿanān meaning the clouds. The devils overhear a word, convey it to the soothsayer, and whisper it into his ear as one puts something into a bottle; then they add to it a hundred lies.”

Al-Bukhārī recorded this in the chapter on the description of Iblīs as a suspended report from al-Layth, and again in the chapter on the description of the angels (5) through Saʿīd ibn Abī Maryam, from al-Layth, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Abū al-Aswad, from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾishah, with similar wording. These two routes are unique to him; Muslim does not relate them.

Al-Bukhārī in another place—and Muslim—narrate through al-Zuhrī, from Yaḥyā ibn ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, from his father, who said: ʿĀʾishah related:

“Some people asked the Prophet ﷺ about the soothsayers, and he replied: ‘They are nothing.’” They said: