Summary
What It Means That The Devils Are Chained In Ramadan
The phrase “the devils are chained” means they are shackled and restrained from their usual corruption of the fasting people, not that they cease to exist or lose all movement.
Al Qurtubi explained that this chaining (safd) is so they do not spoil the fasting, and that the report is understood mainly about those who fast correctly and observe the etiquettes of fasting, so their devils are restrained.
Wrongdoing can still occur because it may come from corrupt souls, entrenched habits and devils from the humans, and because the chaining may concern the rebellious devils in particular, so evil overall becomes less in Ramadan compared to other months. (Al Mufhim lima Ashkala min Kitab Talkhis Muslim 3/136)
Ibn Taymiyyah says that in Ramadan hearts turn towards good deeds and away from sins, so through these actions the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of the Fire are closed and the devils are chained, unable to do what they normally do outside Ramadan. Their influence runs through desires just as Shaytan flows through the son of Adam like blood, and hunger and thirst in fasting constrict these pathways, weakening the devils and reducing their reach, in proportion to the completeness or deficiency of a person’s fasting. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa 14/167, 25/246)
Ibn Muflih mentioned that Paradise is adorned and all its gates opened in Ramadan, while the gates of Hell are shut, and that the devils, especially the rebellious ones, are literally chained and shackled, as indicated by narrations mentioning “the devils and the rebellious jinn” and “the rebellious devils are shackled in it”.
Imam Ahmad took this upon its apparent wording and refused to interpret it away, saying when asked about people still being struck by possession in Ramadan that the hadith is as it came and one should not speak beyond it; the meaning is that their power is reduced and evil becomes less, not that it disappears completely. (Masaʾib al Insan min Makaʾid al Shaytan pg 144)
Ibn al Mulaqqin summarised that the chaining of the devils causes their harm and whispering to decrease and not occur from them in Ramadan as it does outside it, which is shown by people who normally commit sins turning to obedience and leaving the desires they used to follow. (al Tawdih li Sharh al Jamiʿ al Sahih pg 56)
Why Sins And Possession Still Occur In Ramadan
Ibn Uthaymin pointed out that some narrations specify “the rebellious devils are chained”, and that this is from the unseen, so the duty is to accept and believe without over analysing the unseen details. When his attention was drawn to cases of people being possessed in Ramadan, he quoted Imam Ahmad’s answer to his son that the hadith is as it came and one should not argue beyond it.
The apparent sense is that the devils are chained from leading people astray to the extent that their activity is reduced and good deeds increase, but their chaining does not mean complete immobility; they can still move and misguide, only “they cannot reach what they used to reach in other than it”, so sins still occur, though less than outside Ramadan. (Majmuʿ Fatawa Ibn ʿUthaymin 20/75–76)
Full Quotes From The Scholars
Al Qurtubi said: “Shayatin are chained” means that they are shackled and restrained.
The word safd refers to shackling or binding with chains. This occurs so that the devils do not corrupt the fasting people.
If it is said: wrongdoing and sins are still seen frequently in Ramadan. If the devils were truly chained, such wrongdoing would not occur.
The response is from several ways.
The first: they are only restrained from those who fast in a manner that preserves the conditions of fasting and observes its proper manners. As for the one who does not preserve these, the devil is not restrained from him.
The second: even if it were accepted that they are chained from every fasting person, it does not follow that wrongdoing would not occur. Wrongdoing may occur due to other causes besides the devils. These include corrupt souls, bad habits, and devils from among human beings.
The third: the report may refer to most of the devils, meaning the rebellious ones among them. As for those who are not from the rebellious devils, they may not be chained.
The intended meaning is that wrongdoing becomes reduced. This is clearly present in the month of Ramadan, because the occurrence of wrongdoing and immoral acts in it is less compared to other months.
Al-Mufhim limā Ashkala min Kitāb Talkhīṣ Muslim by al-Qurṭubī 3/136
The Prophet ﷺ said: “When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of the Fire are closed, and the devils are chained.”
Ibn Taymiyyah said: This occurs because during the month of Ramadan the hearts turn toward goodness and righteous deeds. Through these deeds, and because of them, the gates of Paradise are opened. People refrain from evils which would otherwise open the gates of the Fire. The devils are chained, so they are not able to do what they normally do when people are not fasting.
The chained one is the one who is restrained and bound. The devils only gain influence over the children of Adam through desires. When people restrain themselves from their desires, the devils are chained.
The Paradise and the Fire whose gates are opened and closed are not the same as what exists within the hearts. Rather, what exists in the hearts is a cause for that, a sign pointing to it, and an effect from its effects.
Allah said:
“إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتَامَى ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا”
“Indeed those who consume the wealth of orphans unjustly are only consuming fire into their bellies.” (Qur’an 4:10)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
“The one who drinks from vessels of gold and silver is only dragging the fire of Hell into his belly.”
It has been said that they eat and drink what will later become fire. It has also been said that it is the cause of the Fire. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.
Majmuʿ al Fatawa by Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah 14/167
It has been established through textual evidence and consensus that the fasting person is prevented from eating, drinking, and sexual relations. It is also authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ that he said:
“Indeed Shaytan flows through the son of Adam like the flow of blood.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 4719)
There is no doubt that blood is produced from food and drink. When a person eats or drinks, the pathways through which the devils move become expanded. Because of this he said:
“Constrict his pathways through hunger.”
Some people mention this wording as a report raised to the Prophet ﷺ.
The pathways of the devils which are the blood become constricted. When they become constricted, the hearts turn toward performing good deeds through which the gates of Paradise are opened, and toward abandoning evil deeds through which the gates of the Fire are opened.
The devils are chained, so their strength and activity become weakened by their being chained. Because of this they cannot do in the month of Ramadan what they used to do in other times. The Prophet ﷺ did not say that they were killed or that they died. Rather he said:
“They are chained.”
The chained devil may still cause harm, but this is less and weaker than what occurs outside Ramadan. This varies according to the completeness or deficiency of a person’s fasting. Whoever’s fasting is complete repels Shaytan in a way that the fasting which is deficient does not repel him.
This connection is therefore clear regarding the prevention of the fasting person from eating.
Majmuʿ al Fatawa by Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah 25/246
Question 432 – The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked: With regard to the days of the noble month of Ramadan, the Messenger ﷺ said about it: “The devils are chained.” Yet we see that some people are afflicted with possession during the daytime of Ramadan. How can the devils be chained while some people are still afflicted with possession?
Furthermore, does the meaning of the hadith indicate that if there is a house inhabited by jinn, or if there are jinn that appear to people in the open land and appear in different forms such as snakes and dogs, that they do not appear during Ramadan?
For example, there is a house in a certain area whose residents place their belongings inside it, but when evening comes they do not find the belongings inside the house. Instead they find them outside the house. Are such cases something that only appear during Ramadan, while the matter of possession is what occurs?
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen replied: In some narrations of the hadith it is reported: “The rebellious devils are chained.” Or it is reported: “They are shackled.” This wording is reported by al Nasa’i.
Such matters belong to the unseen. Our position regarding them is to accept and believe in them, and not to speak about what lies beyond that. This is safer for a person’s religion and leads to a better outcome.
For this reason, when ʿAbdullah the son of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said to his father: “Indeed a person is afflicted with possession in Ramadan,” Imam Ahmad said: “This is what the hadith says, and do not speak about this matter.”
The apparent meaning is that they are chained from leading people astray, and this is indicated by the abundance of good and the turning back to Allah during Ramadan.
Question 433 – The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked: How can the chaining of the devils in Ramadan be reconciled with the occurrence of sins from people?
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen replied: The sins that occur in Ramadan do not contradict what has been authentically reported that the devils are chained in Ramadan. This is because their being chained does not prevent them from moving.
For this reason it is mentioned in the hadith:
“The devils are chained in it, so they cannot reach what they used to reach in other than it.”
The meaning is not that the devils do not move at all. Rather they do move and they lead astray whom they lead astray. However, their activity in Ramadan is not like their activity in other than it.
Majmuʿ Fatawa Ibn ʿUthaymeen 20/75–76
Ibn Muflih Al Hanbali said: t is also reported in the hadith that Paradise is adorned during the month of Ramadan. Part of its complete adornment is that all of its gates are opened. The same may be said regarding Hell, may Allah grant protection from it. Outside the month of Ramadan, some of its gates are closed while others are open. It may have large gates and smaller gates, and smaller openings within the gates. When Ramadan arrives, all of them are closed.
As for Paradise, after the believers enter it, its gates remain open. Hell, however, after its people enter it, will have its gates closed and secured with pillars.
Regarding the devils, they are chained and shackled in Ramadan according to the apparent meaning of the hadith. Or the meaning refers specifically to the rebellious devils, as occurs in this wording. This was decisively affirmed by Abu Hatim Ibn Hibban (d. 354 AH) and others from the ulama. This does not mean that evil disappears completely, but rather that evil becomes less due to their weakness.
In al Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah it is reported: “The devils and the rebellious jinn are chained.” In al Nasa’i it is reported: “The rebellious devils are shackled in it.” Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH) understood this upon its apparent meaning.
Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad, said: “I said to my father: we sometimes see a possessed person being struck down during the month of Ramadan.”
He replied: “This is how the hadith has come, so do not speak about it.” The principle of Ahmad is that hadiths are not interpreted away except when the Salaf themselves interpreted them. Whatever the Salaf did not interpret, he would not interpret.
A group claimed that the meaning of “the devils are chained” is that the evil and corrupt soul is restrained during Ramadan by the rebellious people among mankind, and that they refrain from what they usually do of drinking wine, committing adultery, killing, and other sins. Likewise, the rebellious jinn and devils, since the term “devils” can refer to every rebellious one among mankind and the jinn. However, the first interpretation is more correct.
Masāʾib al Insān min Makāʾid al Shayṭān by Ibn Mufliḥ pg 144
Ibn Ak Mulaqqin said: The devils are chained, their harm and their whispering decrease, and this does not occur from them in the same way as it occurs outside Ramadan. This is indicated by what is mentioned regarding the shackling of the devils and their rebellious ones when the people who normally commit sins enter into acts of obedience and distance themselves from the desires they previously followed. This is a clear indication of that.
al Tawḍīḥ li Sharḥ al Jāmiʿ al Ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn al Mulaqqin pg 56
