Hadeeth about applying olive oil to keep Satan away is fabricated

9-3-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it true that if one applies olive oil on their skin satan will not come near them?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

As far as we know, there are no religious texts indicating that Satan does not come near someone who applies olive oil on their skin. But there is a long fabricated hadeeth that reads, “...O ‘Ali, anoint yourself with oil, because whoever anoints himself with oil and eats it with bread, the devil will not come near him for forty days...”{C}

As-Suyooti said in his book Al-La’aali’ Al-Masnoo‘ah fee Al-Ahadeeth Al-Mawdhoo’ah, “It is a fabricated hadeeth.” 

Al-Booseeri said in It-haaf Al-Khayrah, after mentioning the hadeeth with a chain of narration to Al-Haarith ibn Abi Usaamah, “The chain of this hadeeth is composed of a succession of weak narrators (Musalsal bi Al-Du'afaa'); As-Surri, Hammaad and Abdur-Raheem are all weak narrators.”

Allah knows best.