Recitation of Soorat al-Baqarah and the qareen
Question

Does playing Soorat al-Baqarah out loud in the house on a recorder, computer or other player prevent the devils from entering the house for three days, or is it essential for one of the members of the household to read it from the Mushaf? Do the qareens or shayaateen who constantly remain with the members of the household not enter the house with them in which Soorat al-Baqarah is recited, or does reciting Soorat al-Baqarah not prevent the qareen from entering the house, because he is always with the person?
Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
Reciting Soorat al-Baqarah is one of the important deeds that the believer should be keen to do. It was narrated that Abu Umaamah al-Baahili said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Read the Qur’an, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection interceding for its companions. Read the two bright ones, al-Baqarah and Soorat Aal ‘Imraan, for they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds or shadows, or like two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading on behalf of their companions. Read Soorat al-Baqarah for reciting it regularly is a blessing and forsaking it is a cause of regret, and the magicians cannot withstand it.” Narrated by Muslim (804).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not make your houses like graveyards, for the Shaytaan flees from a house in which Soorat al-Baqarah is recited.” Narrated by Muslim (780).
Secondly:
It is not stipulated that Soorat al-Baqarah should be recited in a loud voice; rather it is sufficient for it to be read and recited in the house, even in a low voice. It is also not stipulated that it be recited all in one go; rather it can be recited at different times, on several occasions. It is not stipulated that the entire soorah be recited by one member of the household; rather if several people recite different parts of it, that is permissible. However, it is preferable for it to be recited all in one go by one person.
It is not sufficient to hear the voice coming from a radio or tape instead of reciting it in the house, in order to attain its blessing. Rather it must be recited by the members of the household themselves. What happens with the voice coming from the recorder and the like is not actually recitation of the soorah; rather it is a transmission of a recitation of the reciter. Moreover, it does not come from the members of the household; rather it is simply listening to the reciter’s voice, or listening to a recording of his recitation, and is not actually reciting it.
For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 148871 and 48990 .
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
There is a hadith from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) which says that if a person recites Soorat al-Baqarah, the Shaytaan will not enter his house. But if the soorah is recorded on a tape, does that fulfil the same purpose?
He replied:
No, no, the sound of the tape is not anything and does not serve the purpose, because it cannot be said that he recited Qur’an; rather he listened to the voice of someone who recited it before. Hence if we record the adhaan of a mu’adhdhin, and when the time comes we play it over the microphone, and let it give the call, is that acceptable? It is not acceptable. If we record a moving khutbah, then on Friday we put the recorder with this tape in front of the microphone, and the recorder says, “As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu,” then plays the adhaan, then plays the khutbah, is that acceptable? It is not acceptable. Why? Because this is a recording of a previous voice. It is like if you were to write it on a piece of paper, or keep a Mushaf in the house. Will it take the place of recitation? No it does not.
End quote from As’ilat al-Baab al-Maftooh (question no. 986).
But if there is no one in the household who is able to recite Soorat al-Baqarah, and there is no one who can recite it for them in the house, and they use the recorder to recite it, then what appears to be the case, if Allah wills, is that it will bring this blessing to the house: that the Shaytaan will flee from it, especially if there is someone in the house who actually listens to the recitation on the recorder.
See the answer to question no. 69963 .
The specification of the Shaytaan fleeing for three days was narrated in a weak hadith, as has been explained in the answer to question no. 243279 .
Thirdly:
With regard to the qareen (jinn companion), this has been mentioned in the hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no one among you but Allah has appointed a companion [qareen] for him from among the jinn.” They said: Even you, O Messenger of Allah? He said: “Even me, but Allah helped me with him and he became Muslim, so he only tells me to do good.” Narrated by Muslim (2814).
What appears to be the case is that this devil does not flee from or leave the person, but his evil is taken away by doing acts of worship, and the struggle between the person and the Shaytaan will continue until the person meets his Lord, then Allah will reward him for that struggle.
Ibn Hubayrah said, commenting on the hadith: What we understand from this hadith is that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught us that every individual, no matter what he attains of doing acts of worship and acquiring knowledge, a devil will never leave him who has been appointed to accompany him; he will continue to tempt him, prompt evil thoughts and make him doubt religion. And he also has with him an angel who prompts him [to do good] and guides him. Someone once asked me a question and I said to him: Do you see the two angels who are with you? He said: No. He was sitting with me in the house, so I told him: Go out in the sunshine and see whether you can see your shadow or not. What I meant by that was that he did not see the two angels because there is deep darkness in his insight, but if the light of faith shone on him, it would illuminate his insight and he would see what he had not seen before. End quote from al-Ifsaah (2/121-122).
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
But the fact that he flees does not necessarily mean that he will not return after the recitation ends, just as he flees when hearing the adhaan and iqaamah, then he returns and distracts the individual, and says to him: Remember such and such, and remember such and such… as was soundly narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
What is prescribed for the believer is to constantly seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytaan, and to beware of his tricks and whispers and what he calls to of sin.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (24/413-414).
This advice applies to the devils in general, so it is more appropriate that it should be applicable to the qareen.
What supports that is the report that was narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, according to which the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If one of you is praying, he should not let anyone pass in front of him, and if he insists then let him fight him, for there is a devil [qareen] with him.” Narrated by Muslim (506).
Ash-Shawkaani said:
“for there is a devil [qareen] with him” – in the dictionary, the word qareen refers to a companion or one who is with you. The devil who accompanies the individual never leaves him. This is what is referred to here. Nayl al-Awtaar (3/7).
For more information on the qareen, please see the answers to questions no. 26226 and 23415 .
And Allah knows best.