The poisonous bald-headed male snake – is it an unseen matter?
Fatwa No: 2106

Question

What is the poisonous bald-headed male snake? Can it be seen in this worldly life? Is it one of the unseen matters that we should believe in? If its characteristics were mentioned in any Sharee`ah (Islamic legislation) text, please mention them.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

 

The poisonous bald-headed male snake was mentioned in authentic Hadeeths (narrations).  The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told us in a Hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah that any person who hoards money and does not pay its Zakah (purifying alms), the money he hoarded will be turned into a poisonous, bald-headed snake on the Day of Judgment and it will torture him.

This snake is an unseen matter because it will be on the Day of Judgment. This in itself is one of the unseen matters that we must believe in, and in everything that will happen on this day as told by the Quran and the authentic Sunnah (tradition).

Perhaps the questioner meant that the snake would be in the grave, which was mentioned in Hadeeths that are inauthentic.

Allaah Knows best.

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