Hadith Two

Ibn ʿAbbās reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When one of you is about to approach his wife, let him say: ‘In the name of Allah. O Allah, keep Satan away from us and keep Satan away from what You grant us.’ If it is then decreed that a child be conceived from that union, Satan will never harm him.”

Overall meaning

In this noble ḥadīth the Prophet ﷺ lays down some of the etiquettes of marital intimacy. A man who wishes to have relations with his wife—or with his bond-woman—is advised to begin with the phrase “In the name of Allah,” for every matter that is not opened with the name of Allah is cut off from blessing. He should also recite the beneficial supplication, “O Allah, keep Satan away from us and keep Satan away from whatever You provide for us.” If Allah Most High decrees a child from that act, then—by the blessing of the divine name and this blessed supplication—that child will be safeguarded and Satan will never harm him.

With such dignified etiquettes a person’s ordinary habits become acts of worship, provided they are coupled with the prescribed manners and a righteous intention in carrying them out.

Note

Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ stated that he did not apply this ḥadīth universally to every form of harm, whispering, or temptation. Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd, however, observed that it could be understood as covering all harm, including spiritual harm, though it could also be taken as applying only to physical harm; he considered the latter interpretation more plausible. Restricting a text is normally contrary to the default, he said, but if we were to take the statement as absolutely comprehensive it would imply that the child is protected from every sin, and that is not always the case—yet whatever the Prophet ﷺ foretells must necessarily occur.

The soundest approach in this and similar matters is to remember that the Lawgiver has assigned causes and circumstances for every outcome. When the causes are present and the impediments absent, the effect follows; when the causes are missing—or present but accompanied by impediments—the effect does not occur. Thus someone may pronounce the divine name and seek refuge, yet other factors may nullify or weaken the cause, and the desired protection will not be realised. In this way the difficulty that perplexed Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd regarding this issue is resolved.