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Is Satan able to move things, and if so, how is the Hadith interpreted in which he whispers to the mouse to tip over the lamp so that the house burns down, and why does he not do it himself?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is authentically established in Sahih Muslim that Satan cannot open a closed door, untie a waterskin, or uncover a vessel if the name of Allah is mentioned over them. If the name of Allah is not mentioned, there is no guarantee. For this reason, Satan resorts to the mouse to start fires, as in the hadith of Ibn Abbas, where a mouse dragged a wick and set fire to the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) khumrah (prayer mat/small rug). So, he commanded that lamps be extinguished when going to sleep, because Satan guides the mouse to do that. Imam An-Nawawi commented on these hadiths, saying that they are comprehensive manners for the benefits of the Hereafter and this world, and a cause for safety from the harm of Satan, and that mentioning Allah when doing these things protects one from the harm of Satan. As for the composition of jinn, there is nothing that helps in answering that.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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