mohammed asked 1 year ago
Growing up people would always say don’t whistle, don’t walk with one shoe because shaytaan does that, are these claims from Hadith or Quran or what?
Mufti Wahaaj Staff answered 1 year ago
بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم
الجواب حامداً ومصلياً
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
An Important Point
Before answering your question, and important point should be kept in mind. At times, we hear things from our elders and assume that they are “wives’ tales”, superstitions, or fabrications which have no basis in the Qurʾān or Sunnah. What we fail to understand is that though they may not know the individual proofs for each act of Islām that they convey to us, what they say is usually correct. This is because the dīn was passed down to them by people who lived it generation after generation. For this reason, though they may not know the proofs, their practice is deeply rooted in the Qurʾān and Sunnah.
Related to this, my respected Shaykh حفظه الله once wrote in response to a question:
“There are some aspects of our Dīn which have been passed on through tawāruth (continuance inheritance). There is no need to look for an individual dalīl (proof) for them.
For example, when we were young, our mothers would always call us in the house at Maghrib time. They had learned this through tawāruth. If we asked our mothers the dalīl for that, they would not be able to provide it. When I started teaching Mishkāt al-Maṣābīh, I came upon the ḥadīth, “And gather your children at nightfall, because the shayāṭīn spread out at that time.” My mother’s words echoed in my mind.
Similarly, most aspects of our Dīn have been passed on to us through tawāruth. Our elders were much more pious and God fearing than us. They might not have had so much information available as we have today, however, their knowledge of Dīn was much more solid and profound.”
Whistling
I was unable to find a clear ḥadīth stating a ruling on whistling. However, in Sūrah Anfāl, Allāh makes reference to the mushrikīn’s clapping and whistling as blameworthy acts that desecrate the sanctity of the kaʿbah.[1]
وَمَا كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَاءً وَتَصْدِيَةً ۚ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ (الأنفال: ٣٥)
“Their Prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and handclapping. Taste, then, this chastisement for your denying the truth.” (8:35)
However, it should be noted that the ruling of whistling will be affected by the intention behind it. The mushrikīn would whistle by the kaʿbah either thinking that it was a form of prayer or to distract Rasūlullāh ﷺ while he was praying. In these cases, it is undoubtedly a sin. Similarly, if used for music, it will be prohibited. On the other hand, if the whistle were to get someone’s attention, it would be permissible.
Walking with One Shoe
There is a ḥadīth in Bukhārī (#5856), Muslim (#2097), Abū Dāwūd (#4136), and Ibn Mājah (#3617) stating:
لا يَمْشِي أَحَدُكُمْ فِي نَعْلٍ وَاحِدَةٍ لِيُحْفِهِمَا جَمِيعًا، أَوْ لِيَنْعَلْهُمَا جَمِيعًا
“None of you should walk, wearing one shoe only; he should either put on both shoes or put on no shoes whatsoever.”
The famous commentary of Bukhārī, Fatḥ al-Bārī states:
وقال بن العربي قيل العلة فيها أنها مشية للشيطان
“Ibn ʿArabī stated that it has been said that the reason for prohibition is that it is the walk (with one shoe) of Shayṭān.” (Volume 10, Page 310, Dār al-Maʿrifah)
The commentaries of Muslim, Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim (Volume 4, Page 142, Maktabah Dār al-ʿUlūm Karachi), and Abū Dāwūd, Badhl al-Majhūd (Volume 17, Page 12, Rashīdiyyah) also make reference to this.
Additionally, it is narrated by Imām Ṭaḥāwī in Mushkil al-Āthār (#1358):
عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن المشي في النعل الواحدة، وقال: إن الشيطان يمشي بالنعل الواحدة
“Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrates that Rasūlullāh ﷺ prohibited walking in one sandal and said, ‘Verily, Shayṭān walks with one sandal.’”
والله تعالى أعلم وعلمه أتم وبه التوفيق
And Allāh Taʿālā Knows Best
Muftī Mohammed Wahaajuddin bin Salauddin
(May Allāh forgive him and his parents)
—
[1]
التفسير المنير تحت قوله تعالى {وَمَا كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَاءً وَتَصْدِيَةً ۚ فَذُوقُوا الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ}، ج٥ ص٣٣٣، دار الفكر
وتضمن الآية أيضاً استحقاق كفار قريش عذاباً دون عذاب الاستئصال؛ لما ارتكبوا من القبائح والأسباب، ولكن لكل أجل كتاب، فيعذبهم الله بالقتل والأسر يوم بدر وغيره. ثم أبان الله تعالى سلب الولاية والأهلية عن الكفار على المسجد الحرام، لكفرهم وعداوتهم للنبيﷺ، وانتهاكهم حرمة البيت بالتصفير والتصفيق، والطواف به عراة، رجالاً ونساء.