Q: There is hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'Aas (radhiyallahu anhu): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: A single rider is a devil, and a pair of riders are a pair of devils, but three are a company of riders. Grade: Hasan Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 2607 In-book reference: Book 15, Hadith 131
I travel alone for my college which is far, so what does this hadith mean?
A: It is permissible in Shariah for one to travel alone, however it is better for one to travel in a group of pious people.
The reason is that when one travels in a group, then one will remain safe from danger and harm e.g. people wishing to steal one's luggage, or people wishing to interfere, etc.
Similarly, when one travels in a pious group, one will not be enticed and tempted towards committing sins on account of being in pious company. His nafs and shaitaan will not be able to easily influence him towards committing sins due to the pious company.
As far as the Hadith which you have quoted is concerned, then the reason for a single traveller being referred to as a shaitaan, and two travellers being referred to as two shaitaans, is that it is easy for shaitaan to influence them towards committing sins. However, when they are travelling in a jamaat of pious people (i.e. more than two people), then it is quite difficult for shaitaan to cause them to slip. Hence, this Hadith encourages people to travel in a jamaat.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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