Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
I was told that letting my child play outside around maghrib time is wrong. Is this related to a hadith?
Imam al-Nawawi mentions in his Majmu` (4:75) that al-Bayhaqi said, “It is disliked to walk outside at the beginning of the night because of the hadith of Jabir, may Allah be well pleased with him, who said, the Prophet, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, Do not send your property [s. such as animals] and your children outside when the sun disappears until the blackness of the night is gone, for verily the devils spread out when the sun sets, until the blackness of the night is gone.’ It was related by Muslim.”
Also mentioned in the Majmu`, (1:321-324) “Note, about what is connected to what preceded and is affirmed in the Sahih of Muslim and others, that the Prophet, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him said, When the night has covered over and the evening has come over you, prevent your children [s. from going outside], for verily the devils spread out at that time. So when an hour of the night is gone, leave them and close the doors and remember God, for verily the devils do not enter unto a closed door .'”.
Al-Khadimi adds a note in the Bariqa, commentary of the Tariqa of al-Barkawi (4:92), to the meaning of the hadith that the devils repeatedly visit the doors of homes because of the overwhelming darkness and blackness, for it suits their origin. So they are more probable to move around in the night than in the day, because the darkness is more conducive to gathering the strengths of the devils.
After having read the above hadiths, one can easily gather from them that the Prophet, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, advised against sending one’s children out at night. It is safer for their religion in the spiritual sense, and it is generally more conducive to their physical safety, as well.
And Allah knows best.
Shazia Ahmad