Sunday, October 12, 2008

Kahin - Soothsayer, Munajjim - Astrologer, Arraf - Foreteller, & Aamil/Saahir - Magician



--- S Turkman wrote:


TURKMAN: Now. There was only one of arranging letters, when I went to Mosque.

TURKMAN : This is the new method and its same as all languages of Sub Continent and Hindi.

TURKMAN: You are full of shit and a Liar. Reasons: 1. This Method existed before Arabic and Hebrew languages were born. 2. This Method existed before Semitic Language split in to mother of Ancient Hebrew, Northern Semitic and mother of Ancient Arabic, the Southern Semitic.

TURKMAN: You are full of shit, lying again. It doesn't add up to both names you wrote. It adds up to 'Hari Krishna' though. I can't continue on reading your B.S. Bye.
===============================================

Dear Syed Turkman Sahab,

Nowadays Press Freedom and Newsmedia in Islamic Republic of Pakistan are under restriction and ban but there is no ban on Programs like [Istikhara Pareshaniyon Say Chutkara, Roohani Illaj, Horoscope, Lakeerain Kiya Kehti Hain and what not].

The Ilmul Aadad or Ilmul Abjad i.e. Numerology you are talking of are considered a branch of Sihr [Witchcraft/Magic and all the above programs being relayed of Private TV Channels do belong to several branches of Magic i.e. Kufr/Shirk [Infidelity/Polytheism] but prevalent in the garb of Spirituality and above all Sufiism the right word is quacks.

Since you have started quoting Quran and Hadith to justify Martial Law let see what Quran and Sunnah say on such practices. Furthermore you have quoted Hadith of the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] to justify the so-called Kashf [Influx or Kahanat Ki Zaban mein Aamad] out of bound of Quran and Sunnah [i.e. Zindeeqiyat]. The criteria of a pure dream no matter how pious the dreamer is Quran and Sunnah.

More on your absurd Para Normal Science:

Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "He who acquires a branch of the knowledge of astrology, learns a branch of magic (of which he acquires more as long as) he continues to do so.''[Abu Dawud].

Dear Mr Turkman. You in one of your mail had said that Hazrat Ali Ibn-e-Talib [May Allah be pleased with him] had the knowledge of Ramal [Ramal Faal] [May Allah forgive me for even repeating this lie on lofty person like Ali Al Murtaza Abutarab, Amen]

Read this:

Mu`awiyah bin Al-Hakam (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have recently emerged from ignorance and Allah has favoured me with Islam. There are still some men among us who visit the soothsayers to consult them (on matters relating to the future).'' He (PBUH) replied, "Do not visit them.'' I said: "There are some men who are guided by omens.'' He eplied, "These are the ideas which come up in their minds but you should not be influenced by them (i.e., these things) should not prevent them from pursuing their works.'' I said: "There are some men who practise divination by drawing lines on the ground.'' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) replied, "There was a Prophet Idris [PBUH] who drew lines, the line which agrees with the line drawn by that Prophet would be correct.''[Muslim].

"These are the ideas which come up in their minds'' means that sometimes something appears and one's mind at once takes it as a bad omen. This is something instinctive and natural and one is not accountable for it. But if one acts in accordance with that omen then what he does is wrong and is, therefore, forbidden. For this reason, the Prophet (PBUH) said, "(i.e., these things) should not prevent them from pursuing their works.''

The drawing of a line mentioned in this Hadith is different from the drawing of lines in `Iyafah mentioned earlier. Moreover, that was an act of a Prophet Idris [PBUH] which was done by him in the light of Wahy sent to him by Allah and, therefore, was certainly correct. But now, nobody possesses that knowledge and cannot, therefore, be adopted. The statement of the Prophet (PBUH) that: "The line which agrees with the line drawn by that Prophet Idris [PBUH] would be correct'' was by way of elucidation. It does not mean that that act can also be done by anyone today, for how can it be done without knowing its principles. How did that Prophet of Allah draw that line? What were its principles? Since that knowledge has passed away with that Prophet, it is now no longer valid, nor would it be fruitful.

Dear Mr Turkman Since you have strated from the sunnah of the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] I will be doing the same.......
--------------------------------------

Kahin (soothsayer), Munajjim (astrologer) and Arraf (foreteller) have similar characteristics but with a slight difference. All of them make predictions about the future. Kahin would overhear some jinn and disclose the secret to people which would sometimes prove true, because the jinn's source of information was Satan who sometimes stole away some information from the angels. But after the annunciation of the Prophet (PBUH) it was made impossible for jinns and satans to overhear anything in the skies. Moreover, Kahin and others of his ilk would make predictions on the basis of certain signs and circumstantial evidence which could go wrong or right. This is so even to this day. Astrological prediction is also a form of foretelling but this is often wrong. Al-`Irafah, or what is known to be as divination is also an indication of some future occurrence on the basis of certain causes and events. All the three occult arts supplement each other and also take the help of similar other things. In other words, these are all different forms of soothsaying. Geomancy also tries to tell about the invisible future. At-Tarq is the art of taking omen by striking birds with gravel on their wings or by throwing barley, etc., before them. In the latter formula, if a bird flies towards the right side, it would be a good omen; and if it goes towards the left it will be a bad one. All such things are unlawful and have been strictly forbidden by Islam. If anything predicted by these means comes by chance true, it does not furnish any justification for their validity.


Sihr is a serious crime and is one of the kinds of kufr. It is one of things with which people have been tested, in the past and currently, among the nations of the past, during the Jaahiliyyah and in this ummah. The Qur’aan and Sunnah have described the kinds of sihr and the rulings on these matters. Sihr is so called because its means are hidden or secret, and because the practitioners of sihr deal with things in secret which enable them to perform illusions to confuse the people and deceive their eyes, and to cause them harm or steal their money, etc., in a secretive manner so that in most cases nobody realizes what is happening. Hence the last part of the night is called sahar, because at the end of the night people are unaware and they do not move about much. And the lungs are also called sahr, because they are hidden inside the body. According to sharee’ah, the meaning of sihr is what the magicians do to delude and confuse people, so that the one who is watching thinks that it is real when in fact it is not.

As Allaah said concerning the magicians of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning):

“They said: ‘O Moosa! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?’ Moosa said: ‘Nay, throw you (first)!’ Then behold! their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast. So Moosa conceived fear in himself. We (Allaah) said: ‘Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand. And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician’s trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain.’” [Ta-Ha 20:65-69]

Sihr may involve things that the magician does when tying knots on which he blows, as is referred to in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning):

“And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots”[al-Falaq 113:4]

And it may involve other things which they manage to do through the shayaateen (devils), so they do things that may affect a man's reason or make him sick; they may cause division between a man and his wife, resulting in her looking ugly to him, or by making her hate her husband or be put off by him.

This is blatant kufr as the Qur’aan states. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They followed what the Shayaateen (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaymaan (Solomon). Sulaymaan did not disbelieve, but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic” [al-Baqarah 2:102]

Allaah informs us that they (the shayaateen) committed kufr by teaching men magic. Then He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).’”[al-Baqarah 2:102]

Then Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah’s Leave”[al-Baqarah 2:102]

i.e., this magic and any harm that results from it is subject to the prior decree and will of Allaah, for our Lord cannot be overwhelmed and nothing can happen in His Dominion against His Will. Nothing happens in this world or in the hereafter except by His prior decree and His great wisdom, as He wills. So some people may be tested by sihr, and others may be tested by sickness, or by being killed…etc. Allaah is All-Wise in all that He wills and decrees, and in all that He prescribes for His slaves.

Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah’s Leave” [al-Baqarah 2:102]

“They said: ‘O Moosa! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?’ Moosa said: ‘Nay, throw you (first)!’ Then behold! their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast. [Ta-Ha 20:65-66]

Allaah says (interpretation if the meaning):

“by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast” [Ta-Ha 20:66]

And in Soorat al-A’raaf Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“He [Moosa] said: ‘Throw you (first).’ So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic” [al-A’raaf 7:116]

But in fact their sticks and ropes did not change; it was the people’s sight which changed because of the sihr, so they thought they were snakes, because of the illusion brought about by the magicians. Some people call this taqmeer, which is when the magician does things to make a person not sense reality as it really is, so his eyes do not see what is really there and things may be taken from his shop or his home without him realizing it, i.e., he does not know what is really happening. So he may see a rock as a chicken or as an egg, and so on, because reality has been changed in his eyes because of the confusion wrought by the magician, and because his eyes have been bewitched. There are things that the magicians do with certain substances to make people’s eyes not see what is really happening.

This is the kind of magic which Allaah describes as “great” [i.e. serious, powerful] in Soorat al-A’raaf (interpretation of the meaning):

“… So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic” [al-A’raaf 7:116]

Sihr (witchcraft or magic) is a word referring to something hidden. It is real and there are kinds of witchcraft that may affect people psychologically and physically, so that they become sick and die, or husbands and wives are separated. Its effects happen by the will of Allaah. It is a devilish action, most of which is only achieved by means of shirk and drawing close to the jinn and shayaateen (devils) by means of that which they love, and it is based on associating others with Allaah (shirk).

There are doctors who are also practitioners of witchcraft, who treat people by means of seeking the help of the jinn. They claim to have knowledge of the sickness with no need to identify it, and they prescribe for the patient foods and drinks that bring him closer to his allies among the devils. He may tell them to slaughter a pig whilst saying “Bismillaah” over it, or to slaughter a permissible animal without saying “Bismillaah”, or when saying the name of one of the devils.

This is kufr or disbelief in Allaah, and it is not permissible under any circumstances to go to people like these. The hadd punishment for these people is execution. It has been proven from three of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) that the practitioners of witchcraft are to be put to death. Seeking treatment through human medical doctors and using permissible medicines is sufficient.

It was narrated in a saheeh report that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” Narrated by Muslim.

And it was narrated by the authors of al-Sunan and by al-Haakim, who classed it as saheeh, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad.”

This man and his companions from among the jinn are regarded as being among the fortune-tellers and soothsayers, so it is not permissible to ask them anything or to believe them. The ruling on these people is that they are kaafirs and misguided, because they claim to have knowledge of the unseen.

Muslim narrated in his Saheeh that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.”

And it was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).”

Narrated by Abu Dawood and by the four authors of al-Sunan; classed as saheeh by al-Haakim who narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller or soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).”

And it was narrated that ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“He does not belong to us who observes bird omens or has that done for him, or who seeks divination or who has that done for him, or who practices witchcraft or has that done for him. Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).” Narrated by al-Bazzaar with a jayyid isnaad.

Secondly:

With regard to witchcraft (sihr), it is real and is not an illusion, and it may have an effect by Allaah’s leave.

Al-Quraafi said: Sihr is real, and the person against whom it is done may die, or his nature or habits may be changed, even if he does not deal with it himself. This was the view of al-Shaafa’i and Ibn Hanbal…

The evidence of Ahl al-Sunnah concerning that is as follows:

1. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, “We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).” And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah’s Leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not”
[al-Baqarah 2:102]

This verse clearly indicates what we are trying to say, which is that sihr (witchcraft) is real, and that the practitioner of witchcraft may create a division between a man and his wife thereby, and that he may harm people by means of his witchcraft, but he cannot do any harm except by Allaah’s leave.

2. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots”[al-Falaq 113:4]

“those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots” refers to female [male too] witches whose witchcraft involved tying knots then blowing into them. If witchcraft were not something real, Allaah would not have commanded us to seek refuge from it.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: The witchcraft which can cause sickness, lethargy, mental sickness, love, hatred and delusions is something that does exist and is known by the masses. Many people know it from experience.

Al-Tafseer al-Qayyim, p. 571

Thirdly:

There are many kinds of witchcraft, including illusions and deceiving the eyes. But not all sihr is like that. Some of the scholars listed different kinds of witchcraft, and counted eight kinds, the most well known of which are:

1. Knots and incantations

i.e., reciting words and mumbo-jumbo by means of which the witch is able to use the devils to do what he wants of harming the person being bewitched. But Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah’s Leave” [al-Baqarah 2:102]

2. Sleight of hand.

They become skilled in this by means of practice and training to do things quickly, and bring out something hidden. For example, the magician may bring a dove and strange it in front of the audience, then he hits it with his hand and it gets up and flies. But in fact there was a kind of anaesthetic in his hand and he made it smell it and made the audience think that he had strangled it and killed it, then when he hits it, he wakes it up from that stupor.

3. Bewitching the eyes.

This is very common among the liars; the magician does not really put a sword in his body, rather he bewitches the eyes of the audience, and puts the sword by his side, but the bewitched people think that he puts it through his middle.

These tricksters have become well known among us, because among the audience there are those who protected themselves with Qur’aan and dhikr, and remembered Allaah a great deal whilst sitting in the gathering watching the magician, so they saw what really happened, unlike what those who were bewitched saw.

4. Using chemicals

This is done well by those who know how substances react with one another, thus producing a substance that is not affected by some other substances, such as the Sufi Rifaa’iyyah who make people think that they are not affected by fire, when in fact they coat themselves with some fireproof substances. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) challenged them to wash with hot water before entering the fire and they refused because this would have exposed their deceit.

And there are many other things that the practitioners of witchcraft do, which could not happen unless Allaah decreed it. Astrology, horoscopes, superstition and fortune-telling are all actions of jaahiliyyah (ignorance) which Islam came to show as false and to explain that they are shirk, because they involve depending on something other than Allaah and believing that benefit and harm come from something other than Him, and believing the words of fortune-tellers and soothsayers who falsely claim to have knowledge of the unseen in order to cheat people of their money and change their beliefs.

The evidence (daleel) for that is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever learns anything of astrology has learned a branch of witchcraft (al-sihr)…”

And al-Bazzaar narrated with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Imraan ibn Husayn that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“He is not one of us who practises augury or has it done for him, who tells fortunes or has his fortune told, or who practises witchcraft or has that done for him.” Whoever claims to know some matter of the unseen either is a fortune-teller or is acting like a fortune-teller in some sense, because Allaah is the only One Who has knowledge of the unseen.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning);

“Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghayb (Unseen) except Allaah…’” [al-Naml 27:65]

Hazrat `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: Some people asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) about soothsayers. He (PBUH) said, "They are of no account.'' Upon this they said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! But they sometimes make true predictions.'' Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "That is a word pertaining to truth which a jinn snatches (from the angels) and whispers into the ears of his friend (the soothsayers) who will then mix more than a hundred lies with it.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

"The angels descend in the clouds and mention matters which has been decreed in heaven; Satan steals a hearing (listens to it stealthily) and communicates it to the soothsayers who tell along with it a hundred lies.'' [Al-Bukhari]

References

Quran

Hadiths (Traditions) of the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]

Muqaddama Ibn-e-Khaldoon [Chapter on Sufiism, Kahanat, Arraf, Magic and Astrology]

Adapted from Majmoo’ Fataawa Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), 2/123

See Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/146; Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/178; al-Sihr by Shaykh ‘Umar al-Ashqar.

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li’l-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 6/371

Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 8, p. 112.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/408, 409

From Majmoo’ Fataawaa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), p. 65

Al-Furooq, 4/149.

No comments: