with human beings; for Allah says:

“And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.”

And He, Most High, says:

“O company of jinn and mankind, did there not come to you messengers from among you, relating to you My verses and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?”

For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade killing snakes found in houses until they had been given three warnings. As reported in Sahīh Muslim and elsewhere, Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“In Medina there are some jinn who have embraced Islam. Whoever sees any of these house-dwelling snakes should give it three warnings. If it appears to him after that, he should kill it, for it is a devil.”

It is also reported in Sahīh Muslim that Abū al-Sā'ib, the freedman of Hishām ibn Zuhrah, visited Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī in his home. He said:

“I found him praying, so I sat down to wait until he finished his prayer. I heard movement among some date-palm stalks in a corner of the house. I turned and saw a snake, so I sprang up to kill it. He gestured to me to sit down, and I sat down. When he finished praying, he pointed to a room in the house and said, ‘Do you see this room?’

“I replied, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘A young man from among us, newly married, used to live there. We went out with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the Trench. That young man would ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for permission to leave around midday and return to his wife. One day he asked his permission, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him, “Take your weapons with you, for I fear for your safety because of Qurayzah.” The man took his weapons and returned home, where he found his wife standing in the doorway. Overcome by jealousy, he lunged at her with his spear to stab her. She said: