Setting Out on a Journey

466. Amr ibn Shu’ayb, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “One rider is Satan. Two riders are two Satans. Three is a troop.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Jihad, 79; Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Jihad, 4).

Annotation: Since Satan makes evil things seem good to people, the hadith warns us that those who travel as two people or alone are not safe from certain dangers and evils.

468. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “You should travel during the night, because the land is rolled up at night (i.e. the land is travelled faster at night than it is during the day).” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Jihad, 57).

469. Abu Tha’laba al-Khushani, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “When people alighted in a place, they would go off separately, going off into the ravines and valleys. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Your going off separately into these ravines and valleys comes from Satan.’ Then after that they would always group together when they alighted in a place.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Jihad, 88).

 

Nawawi, Imam. Riyad As-Salihin; The Gardens of the Righteous: A collection of authentic hadiths. Tughra Books Press, Inc. 2014