Revive a Sunnah

In the name of Allah

Revive a Sunnah: Rinsing the Nose after Awaking from Sleep

Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu) narrated that Allah's Messenger (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: "When anyone of you wakes up, he should rinse his nose three times. Verily Shaytan spends the night inside a person's nostrils."

Collected by Al-Bukharee, 3121; and Muslim, 23

1. Blowing the nose is an obligation in the Hanbali school of fiqh, and a sunnah with the majority of scholars.

2. This hadeeth shows that Shaytaan can't open what's closed or locked. Furthermore it has been reported that when a person yawns he should cover his mouth, so Shaytan can't enter. [Subulus Salaam]

3. Shaykh ibn Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) commented on this hadeeth in his explanation of Saheeh Muslim. He said: "This hadeeth proves that Shaytan has the ability to do things and we don't have the ability to perceive it. Shaytan spends the night in our nose and we don't know how. We can't make out how anyone could shape their body for the size of a nostril. However if it was something that crawled the size of an atom we could see how.

Nonetheless the world of the Shayaateen and Jinn is hidden from us. And likewise the world of the Angels is hidden from us. There is an Angel on our right and left side that accompany us. Do we feel them? We don't feel them, but we believe this to be a fact.

The hadeeth proves that Allah has given Shaytan the ability to overpower us. Therefore he (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) informed us about this act of Shaytan, so we could be aware of his evil and realise our need for Allah." [Explanation of Saheeh Muslim, hadeeth #24]

4. Muhammad Abdur-Rauf Al-Manaawee said: "Shaytan also chooses the nose because the eyes are for looking and pondering over the creations in the heavens and earth. The mouth is for remembering Allah. The ears are for listening to knowledge and Allah's remembrances. However, the nose doesn't have any of these traits. Therefore this is an entrance for Shaytan into man's body to whisper to him. [Faydul Qadeer, #436] 

Allah knows best.