Question # 247: What are the etiquettes of moving into a new house? Any specific dua’a?
Bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,
Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).
Dear questioner,
First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.
Shorter Answer: According to scholars, there is no specific dhikr or du’aa’ found in the hadith when entering a new house. However, the following are the etiquettes of moving into a new house:
- Be grateful for the blessing of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), for gratitude is one of the noblest of attitudes.
- Make food and invite people to come and eat, for that is a way of showing gratitude to Allah.
- Reciting the du’aa: ‘Ma sha’ Allah la quwwata illa Billaah (that which Allah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allah) and “Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi bi ni’matihi tatimmu’l-saalihaat (Praise be to Allah by Whose grace good deeds are completed).
- Say Bismillaah and recite the du’aa: “U’eedhuka bi kalimaat-Allah il-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge for you in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and poisonous reptile, and from every envious evil eye).”
- Reciting Soorah al-Baqarah in one’s home is encouraged.
- Staying away from innovations is a must. There is no proof in the Qur’an or Sunnah that justifies holding Qur’an Khwaanis or ‘Khatams’ of ‘Yaa Salaamu’, etc. or taking the Qur’an, taking water and salt before anything else into their new house, burning chilies at the doorstep, etc. These are all superstitions and innovations which are forbidden.
Long Answer: According to scholars, there is no specific dhikr or du’aa’ found in the hadith when entering a new house. However, the following are the etiquettes of moving into a new house:
- Be grateful for the blessing of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), for gratitude is one of the noblest of attitudes.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in Madaarij al-Saalikeen: “Faith is of two halves: half is gratitude and half is patience.” If a person is grateful to his Lord, He will preserve His blessing to him and complete it, and increase it and others. Allah says in the Qur’an: “And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily, My punishment is indeed severe” (Soorah Ibraheem, 14:7)
- Make food and invite people to come and eat, for that is a way of showing gratitude to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
It says in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah: “Holding a feast after acquiring property is mustahabb (recommended), like all kinds of feasts that are given on happy occasions or so as to ward off evil. It is called wakeerah. It is not as important as the wedding feast, and some of the Shafi’is narrated two opinions as to whether it is obligatory because after mentioning feasts, al-Shafi’i said: that includes the wakeerah … and I do not grant a concession allowing one to neglect it.”
- Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Waabil al-Sayyib: Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) said in the story of the two men in the Qur’an: “It was better for you to say, when you entered your garden: ‘That which Allah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allah!’ If you see me less than you in wealth, and children” (Soorah al-Kahf, 18:39)
The one who enters his garden or house or sees something that he likes in his wealth or his family should hasten to say these words, and if he does, no harm will befall the thing that he admired. It was narrated that Anas (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “When Allah blesses a person in his family, wealth or children and he says ‘Ma sha’ Allah la quwwata illa Billaah (that which Allah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allah), he will not see any harm come to them before death.” (Narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat; classed as sahih by Ibn al-Qayyim in Shifa’ al-‘Aleel; classed as da’eef by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah)
And it was narrated that when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) saw something that he liked, he would say: “Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi bi ni’matihi tatimmu’l-saalihaat (Praise be to Allah by Whose grace good deeds are completed).” (Narrated by Ibn Maajah; Al-Nawawi said: Its isnaad is jayyid. Al-Adhkaar).
- It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah (رضي الله عنه) that he heard the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) say: “When a man enters his house, and mentions Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) when he enters and when he eats, the shaytaan says: ‘You have no place to stay and no dinner.’ But if he enters and does not mention Allah when he enters, the shaytaan says, ‘You have found a place to stay.’ And if he does not mention Allah when he eats, he says: ‘You have found a place to stay and dinner.’” (Narrated by Muslim)
This dhikr is not only for a new house, rather it includes all houses and all times of entering. So, start your life in your new house with remembrance of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
Among the ways in which you may seek protection for your new house from the evil eye and destructive envy is to say: “U’eedhuka bi kalimaat-Allah il-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge for you in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and poisonous reptile, and from every envious evil eye).” (Narrated by al-Bukhari)
- The Sunnah encourages reading Soorat al-Baqarah, especially in one’s home.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “Do not make your houses into graves, for the Shaytaan flees from a house in which Soorat al-Baqarah is recited.” (Narrated by Muslim)
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa: “It seems – and Allah knows best – that by means of the reading of all of Soorat al-Baqarah, either on the radio or by the owner of the house, that which was mentioned by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) may be achieved, namely shaytaan fleeing from that house.”
- Stay away from innovations is a must. There is no proof in the Qur’an or Sunnah that justifies holding Qur’an Khwaanis or ‘Khatams’ of ‘Yaa Salaamu’, etc. when a person moves to a new house. We don’t have any authentic reports about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) or the Sahabah reading the different parts of the Qur’an or holding Khatams when they, for example, migrated to Madinah and moved to new houses. As a matter of fact, they didn’t do this ever, at any part of their lives, whether they moved or not moved. Also, there is no proof in the Shari’ah of other innovations that people have invented when they first move into new houses such as taking the Qur’an, or taking water and salt before anything else into their new house, burning chilies at the doorstep, etc. That is all superstition and thus forbidden.
(The above reply is based on the answer provided by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid and from FarhatHashmi.com)
Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.
Wassalaam
