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Should the worshipper spit to his left and seek refuge in Allah from Satan if he feels the whispering of Satan during prayer or before it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Muslim narrated that Uthman ibn Abi al-As came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and complained to him that Satan had come between him and his prayer and recitation. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "That is a devil called Khinzab. If you sense him, seek refuge in Allah from him and spit to your left three times." The meaning of (Khinzab) is a piece of rotten flesh. The seeking of refuge and spitting should be done during the prayer, at the time of feeling the intrusive thoughts, by the worshipper tilting his head slightly to the left, spitting lightly, and saying in a low voice: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan," and then completing his prayer.

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

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