Solomon’s supplication, he would have been bound by morning for people to see.”

Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd also narrated it from Abū Sa‘īd, with the wording:

“I reached out with my hand and kept choking him until I felt the coolness of his saliva between these two fingers of mine: the thumb and the one next to it.”

He did this during prayer. Scholars have cited this as evidence that such actions are permissible during prayer, like stopping someone from passing in front of the worshipper, killing snakes and scorpions, and praying while engaged in sword fighting.

Scholars have differed over whether a devil from among the jinn invalidates the prayer by passing in front of the worshipper. There are two views, both held within Ahmad’s school, as mentioned by Ibn Hāmid and others.

The first is that it invalidates the prayer, on the basis of this hadith and the Prophet’s statement, when he explained that a black dog passing in front of someone invalidates the prayer:

“The black dog is a devil.”

He thus gave its being a devil as the reason. It is indeed as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: the black dog is the devil among dogs, and the jinn frequently take its form, as they also take the form of a black cat. This is because blackness concentrates satanic forces more than other colours do, and has intense heat.

Sacrificial offerings are among the means used to seek favour with the jinn. Some people slaughter animals for the jinn, which is part of the association of partners with Allah that Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. It is also reported that the Prophet forbade sacrifices offered to the jinn.

If the afflicted person recovers through supplication, remembrance of Allah, giving the jinn commands and prohibitions, and rebuking them