The 365 · Sunnah · Day 60 · Family
Reciting the Prophetic Duʿāʾ Upon Entering the Home
The hadith
إِذَا دَخَلَ الرَّجُلُ بَيْتَهُ فَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ عِندَ دُخُولِهِ وَعِندَ طَعَامِهِ، قَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ: لَا مَبِيتَ لَكُمْ وَلَا عَشَاءَ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'When the man enters his home and remembers Allah upon entering and upon his food, the shayṭān says: there is no place for you to spend the night and no dinner.' (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2018, narrated by Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh.) The Prophetic protection from the shayṭān's encampment in the home: dhikr at the threshold and dhikr at the meal.
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'När mannen kommer in i sitt hus och kommer ihåg Allah när han kommer in och vid sin mat, säger Shaytan: det finns ingen plats för er att tillbringa natten och ingen middag.'
The story
Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh ra. preserved this hadith from the Prophet ﷺ. The classical scholars (Imam an-Nawawī in his commentary on Muslim) extended the application: every entry of the home, every meal, every leaving of the home should be bracketed with dhikr. The household becomes a structurally Muslim household when this is practiced consistently.
Why it's here
The home is named in the hadith literature as a place where shayṭān seeks to encamp. The Prophet ﷺ established two structural protections: dhikr at the threshold (entering) and dhikr at the meal (when food is presented). When both are practiced, the shayṭān's encampment is denied: no shelter, no food. The hadith is operational: the household whose entry and meals are dhikr-bracketed structurally excludes the demonic presence.
Try it today
1. Memorize the entering-the-home duʿāʾ: bismillah walaj na, wa-bismillah kharaj na, wa ʿalā Allahi rabbinā tawakkalnā. (Abū Dāwūd 5096.) Or simply say bismillah upon entering. 2. Greet your household with salām upon entering. The Quran 24:61 commands the salām as a greeting upon entering homes. 3. Say bismillah before every meal at home. 4. Pair Day 59 (leaving) with Day 60 (entering) for the complete home-bracketing.
In your day
Most modern Muslim homes have lost the threshold-dhikr practice. The doors open and close without remembrance; meals begin and end without remembrance. The hadith names the consequence: shayṭān encamps. The cure is structural: bracket every entry, every meal, every exit with dhikr. Within weeks, the household's atmosphere shifts.
A reflection to carry
The duʿāʾ when entering the home (revisit): 'Bismi-llāhi walajnā, wa-bismi-llāhi kharajnā, wa-ʿalā Allāhi rabbinā tawakkalnā.' (Abū Dāwūd 5096.) The bismi-llāh-at-threshold blocks Shayṭān's night-stay (Muslim 2018).
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ: when the believer remembers Allah at home-entry and at eating, Shayṭān cannot stay the night nor share the dinner. The structural household-protection is operational: a single phrase at the threshold blocks the entire household from Shayṭānic disturbance. Cure: at every entry to the home, say bismi-llāh (or the longer duʿāʾ); pair with salām to family present; the combined practice is the complete entry-protocol. Modern multiple home-entries daily are multiple opportunities for the named protection; the structural cumulative reward across years is severe.
Sources: Sahih Muslim, Abu Dawud. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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