Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3410
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رُمْحٍ، أَنْبَأَنَا اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ " غَطُّوا الإِنَاءَ وَأَوْكُوا السِّقَاءَ وَأَطْفِئُوا السِّرَاجَ وَأَغْلِقُوا الْبَابَ فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لاَ يَحُلُّ سِقَاءً وَلاَ يَفْتَحُ بَابًا وَلاَ يَكْشِفُ إِنَاءً فَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَعْرُضَ عَلَى إِنَائِهِ عُودًا وَيَذْكُرَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ فَلْيَفْعَلْ فَإِنَّ الْفُوَيْسِقَةَ تُضْرِمُ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ بَيْتَهُمْ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Cover the vessel, tie the waterskin, extinguish the lamp, and close the door, for Satan does not untie a waterskin, open a door, or uncover a vessel. If one of you can do no more than place a stick across his vessel and mention Allah’s name, let him do so, for the little vermin can set a household’s home ablaze.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The instruction to place a stick across a vessel is retained literally; mentioning Allah’s name is expressly linked to this precaution.
Al-fuwaysiqah literally means ‘the little mischief-maker’ and is commonly understood here as a mouse; the report says it can set a household’s home on fire.
عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ " غَطُّوا الإِنَاءَ وَأَوْكُوا السِّقَاءَ وَأَطْفِئُوا السِّرَاجَ وَأَغْلِقُوا الْبَابَ فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لاَ يَحُلُّ سِقَاءً وَلاَ يَفْتَحُ بَابًا وَلاَ يَكْشِفُ إِنَاءً فَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَعْرُضَ عَلَى إِنَائِهِ عُودًا وَيَذْكُرَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ فَلْيَفْعَلْ فَإِنَّ الْفُوَيْسِقَةَ تُضْرِمُ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ بَيْتَهُمْ " .
Al-fuwaysiqah is a diminutive epithet meaning ‘little mischief-maker’; the report does not name the animal directly, though it is commonly understood as a mouse.
Should al-fuwaysiqah be translated as ‘mouse’ or more literally as ‘little vermin’?