The Lizard Hole: Are We Blindly Following the Modern World?
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “You will most certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, arm’s length by arm’s length, forearm’s length by forearm’s length, hand span by hand span, until even if they entered a hole of a mastigure (lizard) you will enter it too.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?” He said: “Who else?” - (Sunan Ibn Majah 3994; Kitab Al Fitan; Book 36, Tribulation, Hadith 69)
This hadith is powerful, striking and deeply relevant to our lives today.
The Prophet ﷺ was teaching us something profound about human nature. People often follow the crowd without thinking. They copy what others do, accept what society normalises, and walk down paths that may be harmful simply because those paths have become popular.
The Lizard Hole Is Not Just Narrow - It Traps
The image of a person entering the hole of a lizard is not only strange; it is deeply uncomfortable.
A lizard hole is narrow, dark and unsuitable for a human being. Once a person enters such a place, it is not easy to move freely. It becomes difficult to turn around, difficult to breathe, difficult to escape and difficult to come back out.
This gives the hadith even more meaning when we reflect on modern life.
Many harmful habits begin as small choices. At first, they seem easy to control. A person may think, “I can stop whenever I want.” But over time, repeated choices become routines, habits become lifestyles, and lifestyles can begin to trap us.
This is one of the dangers of blind imitation. We do not always realise we are entering a harmful path until we are already deep inside it. By then, getting out requires effort, awareness and a conscious decision to change direction.
The Prophet ﷺ was warning us not only about following others, but about following them so far that we may end up trapped in a place we were never meant to enter.
Following Without Questioning
The danger highlighted in this hadith is not simply that people are influenced by others. Human beings naturally learn from families, communities and societies. Not every form of influence is wrong. We learn language, manners, skills and customs through other people.
The danger is blind following.
Blind following means accepting something without reflection. It means doing something simply because everyone else is doing it. It means allowing society, advertising, convenience and trends to shape our lives without asking whether those things are good for our bodies, our hearts, our families or our relationship with Allah ﷻ and the Prophet ﷺ
This is why the hadith is so relevant today. The Prophet ﷺ warned us that people would follow others so closely that even if those people entered a lizard hole, others would follow them into it.
The Modern World Has Its Own Lizard Holes
In today’s world, the “lizard hole” may not be physical in the ground. It may be a lifestyle, a habit, a way of thinking or a routine that everyone accepts, even though it quietly harms them.
The danger is that modern lizard holes do not always look harmful at first.
They may look attractive, convenient, fashionable, successful or even necessary. But once they become part of daily life, they can trap a person. A person may spend hours scrolling on a phone because everyone else does. A family may rely heavily on convenient but poor-quality food, fast food and junk food because that has become normal.
A young person may feel pressured to dress, speak or behave in a certain way because social media presents it as success. A person may neglect sleep, movement, prayer, family time and reflection because the modern world praises busyness and constant productivity.
Slowly, without realising it, we may enter the lizard hole. Not because we consciously chose harm, but because we followed a path that everyone else seemed to be walking.
How Normal Becomes Invisible
One of the most dangerous things about modern habits is that they can become invisible. When something is repeated around us every day, we stop seeing it as unusual. When everyone around us accepts a certain lifestyle, it begins to feel natural.
This is how harmful habits become normal. They do not always arrive with a warning sign. They often arrive dressed as convenience, entertainment, progress, fashion or success.
At first, we notice them. Then we become used to them. Eventually, we may even defend them because they have become part of our identity or routine.
This is why reflection is so important. They can inherit the thinking of the age without asking whether it is wise.
The Question We Must Ask
The lizard hole hadith should make us ask a simple but powerful question:
“Am I choosing this because it is truly good, or because everyone else is doing it?”
If the answer is, “I am doing it because everyone else does it,” then we need to pause.
Not everything popular is wrong. But everything popular should be questioned.
The believer should not be passive. The believer should be awake.
Returning to Prophetic Wisdom
The purpose of reflecting on this hadith is not to create fear or guilt. It is to create awareness. Once we become aware, we can begin to choose differently.
Returning to Prophetic wisdom means returning to balance. It means looking again at the simple, wholesome and meaningful ways of living taught by the Prophet ﷺ.
A Framework for the Series Ahead
This article is the beginning of a wider educational journey. In our upcoming blogs, we will focus on one area at a time. Many modern problems begin when people follow harmful lifestyles without questioning them.
Final Reflection
The Prophet ﷺ warned us that people would follow others so closely that even if those people entered the hole of a lizard, they would follow them into it.
Today, every one of us must ask: Are you ready to reflect on whether you can identify habits that can be harmful to you?
And most importantly: Are you willing to pause, reflect and choose a better path towards Wholesome Lifestyle?