English Translation

Hadrat Jabir reported God’s messenger as saying, “When the darkness of night comes, or in the evening, collect your children, for the devil is abroad at that time, and when an hour of the night has passed let them free and shut the doors, making mention of God’s name, for the devil does not open a shut door. Tie up you buckets, mentioning God's name; cover up your vessels, mentioning God’s name, even though you should just put something on them, and extinguish your lamps.” (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version by Bukhari he said, “Cover up the vessels, tie the water-skins, shut the doors, and gather your children in the evening, for the jinn are abroad and seize them; and extinguish the lamps when you go to sleep, for a mouse often drags a wick and burns a household.” In a verison by Muslim he said, “Cover the vessel, tie up the water-skin, shut the doors and extinguish the lamp, for the devil does not loosen a water-skin, or open a door, or uncover a vessel. If all one can do is to put a piece of wood over his vessel and mention God's name let him do so, for a mouse sets a house on fire over its inhabitants.” In a version by him he said, “Do not let your animals and children go at large when the sun sets till the first and darkest part of the night has passed, for the devil is sent out; from the time the sun sets till the first and darkest part of the night is past.” In a version by him he said, “Cover the vessel and tie up the water-skin, for there is a night in the year when pestilence descends, and it does not pass an uncovered vessel or an untied water-skin without some of that pesti- lence descending into it.”