Food and drink · Daily
Cover food and drink containers
- The practice
- Cover open food and drink containers, saying Bismillah, even with something laid across
- When
- Before bed / at night
- In daily life
- Make it part of your bedtime kitchen check: lids on the pots, cling film over the leftovers, a cover on the water jug, saying Bismillah each time. No lid? Even a spoon or knife laid across will do.
The sources
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِذَا كَانَ جُنْحُ اللَّيْلِ ـ أَوْ أَمْسَيْتُمْ ـ فَكُفُّوا صِبْيَانَكُمْ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ تَنْتَشِرُ حِينَئِذٍ، فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ سَاعَةٌ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَحُلُّوهُمْ، فَأَغْلِقُوا الأَبْوَابَ وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لاَ يَفْتَحُ بَابًا مُغْلَقًا، وَأَوْكُوا قِرَبَكُمْ وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ، وَخَمِّرُوا آنِيَتَكُمْ وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ، وَلَوْ أَنْ تَعْرُضُوا عَلَيْهَا شَيْئًا وَأَطْفِئُوا، مَصَابِيحَكُمْ ".
“Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, "When night falls (or when it is evening), stop your children from going out, for the devils spread out at that time. But when an hour of the night has passed, release them and close the doors and mention Allah's Name, for Satan does not open a closed door. Tie the mouth of your waterskin and mention Allah's Name; cover your containers and utensils and mention Allah's Name. Cover them even by placing something across it, and extinguish your lamps”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
جَاءَ أَبُو حُمَيْدٍ بِقَدَحٍ مِنْ لَبَنٍ مِنَ النَّقِيعِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَلاَّ خَمَّرْتَهُ وَلَوْ أَنْ تَعْرُضَ عَلَيْهِ عُودًا ".
“Abu Humaid brought a cup of mix from a place called Al-Naqi. Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to him, "Will you not cover it, even by placing a stick across its”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
Part of: Your Bedtime Routine
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Get early accessSources: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and narrations of Jami at-Tirmidhi graded sahih or hasan sahih by al-Albani.