How authentic is this message: "When you take off your clothes, say: (Bismillah, there is no god but He) so that Allah may conceal your 'awrah from the eyes of the jinn. Learn this and teach it to the heedless people, for the jinn fall in love," and is it permissible to circulate it?

The hadith, "To conceal what is between the eyes of the jinn and the 'awrah (private parts) of the children of Adam when one of them enters the lavatory is to say 'Bismillah' (In the name of Allah)," was narrated by Tirmidhi, who deemed it weak. In other weak hadiths, the saying "Bismillah" appears without the addition of "Alladhi la ilaha illa Hu" (He besides whom there is no god).

The hadith of Anas is very weak, the hadith of Ibn 'Umar is very weak, and the hadith of Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri is very weak.

Some scholars, such as Al-Albani, strengthened the hadith by virtue of its multiple chains of narration. Imam An-Nawawi stated that it is recommended to say "Bismillah" followed by "Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min al-khubuth wa al-khaba'ith" (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from male and female evil spirits).

We hope there is no harm in saying "Bismillah" when undressing, keeping in mind that the mentioned dhikr (remembrance) was prescribed for entering the lavatory, and the phrase "Alladhi la ilaha illa Hu" was not mentioned in any narration.