Answered by Ustadh Abdullah Anik Misra
Question: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah, a friend once told me that the Holy Prophet (saw) did not hang his clothes but only folded them; because the Shaitan gets into clothes that are hung. Is folding our clothes a sunnah we should try to emulate?
Answer: In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate,
Wa alaikum as salam wa rahmatullah,
Thank you for your question. I have not come across a basis for the claim that the sunna is to fold one’s clothes rather than hang them, or that the Shayton enters folded clothes. To the contrary, two examples show that the Prophet [Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him] did in fact hang up his clothes.
First, it is mentioned that his shirt became wet due to rain while traveling, so he removed it from his noble body, and hung it up on a tree to dry (and in some versions, also hung up a sword), falling asleep under the tree while waiting. This is when Dathur ibn al Harith of the Ghatafan tribe tried to ambush and assassinate the Prophet [Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him], but was miraculously unable to do so. [Ibn Hibban, al-Seera]
Secondly, Ibn Abbas [may Allah be pleased with father and son] reports that as a boy, he spent the night at our mother Maymuna’s home, who was his maternal aunt and wife of our beloved Prophet [Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him]. He saw his aunt prepare the bedding of the Prophet [peace be upon him], while he removed his shirt and hung it up before getting under the covers with her to sleep. [al-Solihi, Subul al Huda wal Rashad]
Hence, from this it would seem to be a sunna to hang up one’s outer garments before going to sleep. And Allah knows best.
Wassalam,
Abdullah Anik Misra
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani