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SPELLS
AND SORCERY
Those
who deny spells and sorcery do so
either because they do not believe
in anything related to metaphysics
or what they suppose to be connected
with religion, or because they are
unaware of realities beyond the
physical realm. A man in his fifties
once told me:
Until
last year I did not believe in
spells and sorcery. However,
last year one of my relatives
went mad. When he had a fit, he
became rigid with his eyes fixed
on a certain point. We sought
the help of every doctor, but in
vain. Finally, we went to
someone who could break spells.
He recited incantations and did
some other things. On the way
back, the patient asked in a
normal tone: “Where am I? What
happened to me?” He had
recovered. I now believe that
sorcery is real.
Most
of us have heard of or even seen
many such cases. As the Prophet,
upon him be peace and blessings,
declared that the evil eye is an
undeniable fact, sorcery is also an
undeniable reality. The Qur’an
speaks about (and severely condemns)
the sorcery practiced to cause a
rift between spouses. According to
the Qur’an and Islam, sorcery and
casting spells are as sinful as
unbelief.
While
breaking a spell is a good,
meritorious deed, it must not be
adopted and practiced as a
profession. Although our Prophet,
upon him be peace and blessings, met
with jinn, preached Islam to them,
and took their allegiance, he never
explained how to contact them or how
to cast or break a spell. However,
he taught how jinn approach us and
seek to control us, how we can
protect ourselves against their
evil, and how to ward off and be
saved from the evil eye.
How
can we secured against evil spirits?
The
principles of Islam should be
strictly followed
The
safest way to be protect ourselves
against evil spirits is to have a
strong loyalty to God and His
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings. This requires following
the principles of Islam strictly. In
addition, we should never give up
praying, for prayer is a weapon
against hostility, protects us from
harm, and helps us to attain our
goals.
Prayer
should never be abandoned
Prayer
does not mean to ignore and neglect
material means in attaining goals.
Rather, prayer can be divided into
four types. First is that which
reaches to the Court of God from the
whole universe. For example, plants
and animals pray through the tongue
of their potential to achieve a full
form and to manifest certain Divine
Names. Second is that which is
expressed in the tongue of natural
needs. All living beings pray to
God, Who is the Absolutely Generous
One, to satisfy their vital needs,
for they cannot do so themselves.
Third is that which is done in the
tongue of complete helplessness. A
living creature in straitened
circumstances takes refuge in its
Unseen Protector with a genuine
supplication, and turns to its
All-Merciful Lord. These three kinds
of prayer are always acceptable
unless somehow impeded.
The
fourth type of prayer is the one we
do. This also falls into two
categories: active and by
disposition, and verbal and with the
heart. For example, acting in
accordance with causes is active
prayer. By complying with causes, we
try to gain God’s approval for our
requests, for causes alone cannot
produce the result. Only God can do
that. For example, plowing the soil
is an active prayer, for it involves
actually knocking at the door of the
treasury of God’s Mercy.
Similarly, going to a doctor is an
active prayer for recovery from
illness. For this reason, believers
must seek medical help when ill.
Believing psychiatrists should be
preferred in cases of mental
illnesses, for innumerable cases
show that most mental illnesses are
not due to material causes and that
(physical) therapy cannot cure them.
Most of them require spiritual
therapy. This active type of prayer
is usually acceptable, for it is a
direct application to the Divine
Name the All-Generous.
The
second type of prayer, which is done
with the tongue and the heart, is
the real one. It is to ask God from
the heart for something that we
cannot obtain on our own. The most
important aspect of this sort of
prayer, and its finest and sweetest
fruit, is that the supplicants know
that He hears them, is aware of
whatever occurs to their hearts, has
power that extends everywhere, can
satisfy all their desires, and helps
them because He is merciful to the
weak and helpless.
Prayer
is a form of worship rewarded
primarily in the Hereafter. For this
reason, we must not say that are
prayers are not answered when we do
not receive what we pray for. Just
because a prayer is “answered”
does not mean that it is “accepted”
in all circumstances. There is an
answer for every prayer, but its
acceptance and answer depend on God’s
Wisdom. Suppose a sick child asks a
doctor for a certain kind of
medicine. The doctor either will
give that medicine or something
better, or will give no medicine at
all, especially if there is some
reason to think that it will harm
the child.
Similarly,
God Almighty, the All-Hearing and
All-Seeing, answers His servants’
prayers and changes the depression
of loneliness into the pleasure of
His Company. But His answer does not
depend on our fancies; rather, they
depend on Divine Wisdom, according
to which He either gives what is
requested or what is better, or He
gives nothing at all. However he
answers, we must pray.
We
should request those having nearness
to God to pray for us
As
we pray ourselves, we also must
request those who we believe to be
near to God to pray for us. The
Companions frequently asked the
Prophet to pray for them. As
recorded by Ibn Hanbal, Abu Dawud,
al-Tabarani, and Umm Hani: An insane
child was brought to God’s
Messenger, who touched him and said:
“Come out, O enemy of God!”
Then, he washed the child’s face
and prayed. The child recovered.
Many similar cases narrated in the
Bible. The Prophet Jesus, upon him
be peace, was famous for healing the
mad by God’s permission and power.
We
must refrain from appealing to
exorcists
Some
people go to exorcists. Although a
few people might who know how to
drive out evil spirits, such
activity is usually quite dangerous,
for most exorcists deceive people.
In addition, an exorcist must be
very careful about his or her
religious obligations, refrain from
sin, and be an upright person who
really knows how to exorcise
somebody. Patients usually rely on
exorcists and attribute their
recovery to them, and also rely on
the written charm or amulets they
are advised to carry. However, our
Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings, declared that God would
admit into Paradise 70,000 people
without calling them to account for
their deeds. These people would be
those who do not wear armlets or
amulets, who do not consider things
auspicious or inauspicious, and who
trust completely in God.
We
should go to believing psychiatrists
Believers
should not go to those psychiatrists
or doctors who restrict themselves
to the narrow confines of matter.
Materialist psychiatrists who do not
believe in the spirit and spirit
beings may advise patients suffering
from spiritual dissatisfaction or
possessed by evil spirits to indulge
themselves in pleasure and
amusement. This is like advising a
thirsty person to quench his thirst
with salty sea water.
There
are certain, special prayers to be
recited
God’s
Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, mentioned that special
prayers should be recited to protect
oneself against the evils of Satan
and other unbelieving jinn. The
Verse of Throne (2:255) is one of
them. We also read that: If a
stimulus from Satan occurs to you,
seek refuge in God immediately
(41:36). That is, say: “I seek
refuge in God from Satan, the
accursed.”
As
reported by ‘A’isha, the Mother
of Believers and one of the Prophet’s
wives, God’s Messenger recited the
chapters al-Falaq and al-Nas
three times every morning and
evening, and then breathed into his
joined palms and rubbed them against
the parts of his body he could
reach. He also recited three times
every morning and evening: In the
Name of God, whom nothing on the
earth and in the heaven can give
harm despite His Name, and He is the
All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
This recitation and the following
one are among the prayers advised
for protection against paralysis: I
seek refuge in all of God’s words
from all devils and vermin and from
all evil eyes.
Imam
Ghazali advises us to protect
ourselves against spells, charms,
and evil spirits by reciting: In
the Name of God, the All-Merciful,
the All-Compassionate once, God
is the Greatest ten times, and: The
magician will not be successful
wherever he appears (20:69), and
from the evil of blowers upon
knots (113:4). Another imam
advises us to recite these two
verses 19 times after each sip of
liquid (e.g., water, tea, or soup).
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