All praise be to Allaah Ta’ala and may peace and salutations be upon our august master, Hadrat Muhammed (SallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), through whom Allaah Ta’ala taught us tauheed (true monotheism) and through whom Allaah Ta’ala refuted and negated all superstition and baseless thoughts.
During the era of ignorance, prior to the approach of the month of Safar, the people would become worried, believing that the month of Safar brings bad luck. Rasulullaah (SallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam), on being informed of this notion, refuted it by saying, “There is no such thing as bad luck in Safar.”
Among the Arabs there existed the belief that work done in the month of Shawwaal would never be fruitful.
Rasulullaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) exposed the fallacy of this belief by marrying Ayesha (radiyallahu anha) and bringing her into his home in this very month.
Whenever the Arabs intended setting out on a journey, they would frighten birds from their nests and then take careful notice of the direction the birds would fly off to. If the birds would fly towards Yemen they would proceed with their journey, feeling that the word Yemen signifies “yumn” which means good fortune. If the birds would move in the direction of Sham they would cancel their trip, fearing that the word Sham could signify “shu’m” which means ill fate. Rasulullaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade the Sahaabah (radiyallaahu anhum) from continuing with this practice by saying three times:
الطيرة شرك
“Taking omens from the direction birds fly in is tantamount to shirk!”
Rasulullaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) began his mission amongst Arabs who were drowning in superstition, but within a few years, he was able to transform their nonsensical beliefs into pure tauheed, i.e. the belief that nothing happens except by the will of Allaah Ta’ala.
Abdullaah ibn Masood (radiyallahu anhu) used to say,
وما منا إلا ، ولكن يذهبه الله بالتوكل
Shaitaan still whispers in our hearts, hoping to create the fear of superstition, but our trust in Allaah does not allow us to pay any attention to these whisperings. (Ibn Hibbaan)
May Allaah Ta'ala also, through the teachings of our most beautiful Shariah remove the silly superstitions, which we harbor within our hearts! There is no such thing as bad luck if Friday occurs on the 13th, a black cat crossing our path does in no way signify that an accident is going to occur. Breaking mirrors do not cause bad luck and hearing cats crying at night does not mean that someone is going to die. To believe in superstition is like urinating in milk. Our tauheed is like milk, pure and delicious. Superstition is dirty and filthy. It can never mix with tauheed.
Similar is the case of our fears and misconceptions regarding black magic (Jadu/Sihr). Yes, black magic does exist. Mention of it has been made in the Noble Qur’aan. Rasulullaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) himself was affected with black magic. Our Shariah however has also taught us the reality behind it, how to protect ourselves against it, and what to do if afflicted with it. Due to our ignorance of these teachings, we corrupt our Imaan with false notions regarding black magic.
Amongst the many teachings our Shariah has provided regarding black magic are the following:
1) Black magic can cause no harm except with the permission of Allaah Ta’ala.
فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ وَمَا هُمْ بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ
They learned from them (Harut and Marut) the means to sow discord between man and wife (through the principles of black magic). But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah's permission. (Baqarah)
2) The power of black magic can never be stronger than the power of the Qur’aan.
3) To accuse anyone of having practiced black magic, without strong shar’ee proof, is slander and thus totally impermissible. Even an Aamil has no permission to take anyone’s name. Rasulullaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) was informed of the name of the person who had made jadu upon him through wahi, yet he did not reveal the man’s name to the Sahaabah. An Aamil does not get wahi. The most that happens is that a jinn informs the Amil of the culprit. Jinnaat are well known for their lies. Thus trusting the information of the jinn and accusing an innocent person, especially some family member and then breaking off ties, such an act invites the wrath of Allaah Ta’ala.
Another aspect affecting us is the fear we harbour for the Jinnaat. Jinnaat are a creation of Allaah Ta’ala made of fire, like how angels have been made from light and man and animal from sand. They see us, but we are unable to see them. They are all around us and are prone to mischief, thus merely hearing noises from them or noticing curtains shaking because of them should not frighten us.
Allaah Ta’ala has appointed angels to protect us from their harm. Had these angels not been there, the jinnaat would have torn us to pieces long ago. Due to this divine protection the jinn avoid man and chose to live in uninhabited areas. But when man interferes and expresses awe at the jinn, they become bold and start causing trouble.
Mention of this has been made in Surah Jinn, under the verse:
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مّنَ الإنس يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مّنَ الجن فزادوهم رهقا
And they would seek the protection of the jinn, thus increasing them in haughtiness and pride. (Surah Jinn)
During the era of ignorance, whenever the need arose to spend the night in the forests, the people would call out in a loud voice, seeking the protection of the leader of the jinn, from the harm of the jinn under his control, from wild animals and from all evil men in the area. This call for protection would make the jinn feel important. Thereafter, whenever anyone would pass by, they would shake the leaves and make frightening sounds and would only stop when the traveller would cry out, “O master of the forest, I seek your protection!” The more people gave them importance, the more they increased in boldness.
If the jinnaat are ignored, they will soon stop troubling. Constantly being with wudhu protects one from their evil. Remaining in a state of janabat (major impurity), without any valid reason, exposes one to their mischief. The recitation of Aayatul-Kursi, with complete conviction, is that weapon against which they have no power.
The incident of a saint is mentioned in the book “Miftaahul-Faraj” that while spending the night in an old, uninhabited musaafir-khana (traveller’s guest-room), he awoke to the terrible sight of a monster approaching him. Realizing that it must be a jinn, he began reciting Aayatul-Kursi. The monster stopped in its tracks.
When he reached the verse:
(و لا يؤوده حفظهما) (And the protection of the heavens and the earth does not tire Allaah in the least bit),
the monster let out a scream. He continuously repeated this verse and watched with amazement as the monster shrank and finally turned to ash.
He then heard a voice saying, “Today you have destroyed a very powerful jinn!”
He asked, “How did I destroy it?”
He received the reply, “By your continuous recital of, (و لا يؤوده حفظهما).
May Allaah Ta’ala enable us to understand the power of our beautiful religion and our Glorious Quraan. May He bless us with pure tauheed and save us from falling into superstition and becoming overwhelmed with jadu and jinnaat. Aameen!