Question
There are some illnesses which inflict people and which they ascribe to the Jinn. There are also people who claim to see and hear the Jinn, and to command them and carry out many actions through controlling them, or through their controlling people. What is the reality of this? Is there any material, sensorially-perceivable relationship between man and Jinn?
Answer
1. The Jinn are from the matters of the unseen; we cannot see them. Allah (swt) says,
«يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ»
“He sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not” (al-A’rāf: 27),
that is, Iblīs and his people, or in other words, the Jinn, given that Iblīs is from the Jinn:
«إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ»
“Except Iblīs – he was from the Jinn” (al-Kahf: 50).
2. The foundation or origin of our relationship with them is that they are able to whisper to us and entice us [waswasa]. Allah (swt) says,
«فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ»
“So Shaytān whispered to them both” (al-A’rāf: 20);
and He (swt) says,
«فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ»
“So Shaytān whispered to him” (Tāhā: 120),
and Shaytān here is Iblīs and he is from the Jinn.
3. The Shayātīn do not have a compelling authority over man, except if man chooses to follow the Shaytān of his own free will. The Exalted says,
«وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي»
“And Shaytān shall say after the affair is decided: Surely Allah promised you the promise of truth, and I gave you promises, then failed to keep them to you, and I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you answered me.” (Ibrāhīm: 22))
And He (swt) says,
«إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ»
“You have no authority over my slaves, except he who follows you of the deviant.” (al-Hijr: 42))
And He (swt) says,
«فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ • إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ • إِنَّمَا سُلْطَانُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِهِ مُشْرِكُونَ»
“When you recite the Qur’ān seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytān. Indeed he has no authority of those who believe and place their trust in their Lord. His authority extends only to those who befriend him and those who associate partners with Allah.” (al-Nahl: 100)
4. Any material relationship other than this fundamental relationship which Allah has clarified requires a particular text establishing it. If a text exists explaining any such relationship then we affirm it in accordance with that text. For example the authority of Sulaymān (as) over the Jinn and his ability to command and prohibit them is a matter about which a text has come, thus we affirm it. Allah (swt) says in surah al-Naml about Sulaymān (as),
«قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ • قَالَ عِفْرِيتٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ مِنْ مَقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ»
“He said, ‘O Chiefs! Which of you shall bring her throne to him before they come to him in submission? An audacious one among the jinn said: I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place; and most surely I am strong (and) trusty for it.” (al-Naml: 38)
And He, the Exalted, says,
«وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَمَنْ يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ • يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَاءُ مِنْ مَحَارِيبَ وَتَمَاثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍ كَالْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَاسِيَاتٍ اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُودَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ»
“And (We made) the wind (subservient) to Sulaymān, which made a month's journey in the morning and a month's journey in the evening, and We made a fountain of molten copper to flow out for him, and of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and whoever turned aside from Our command from among them, We made him taste of the punishment of burning. They made for him what he pleased of fortresses and images, and bowls (large) as watering-troughs and cooking-pots that will not move from their place; give thanks, O family of Dawūd! and very few of My servants are grateful.” (Saba’: 12)
5. The Messenger of Allah (saw) would treat any material occurrence as a human matter, so long as no revelation came establishing that the Jinn had a relation to the matter. All matters were in origin taken as human affairs. If a dead man were found for instance it would not be thought that the Jinn killed him unless a text about such were found. Such was the case in the incident of the dead man found in Khaybar where the search was directed at who from amongst the people killed him, and did not extend to even the possibility of the Jinn having done so.
Muslim relates in His Sahīh that Abdullah ibn Sahl and Muhayyisah set out for Khaybar out of severe fatigue. When Muhayyisah found out that Abdullah ibn Sahl have been killed and thrown into a well he went to the Jews and said, “By Allah, you have killed him!” They replied, “By Allah, we did not kill him.” When the matter reached the Messenger of Allah (saw) he said, “Either they pay the blood-money of your companion or they declare war (by refusing to comply with the Shari’ah rules).” So he (saw) wrote to them and they wrote back, “By Allah, we did not kill him.”...The incident is well-known. Important to our current discussion, at no point did the question of the Jinn having played any role enter the discussion in any way.
6. Hence so long as a text mentioning a material relationship regarding any given incident is not found, the relationship between Jinn and man remains limited to whispering and incitement. Further, because the message of the Messenger (saw) is the seal of the messages, where after the revelation ceased and no new text will come, therefore no material relationship between Jinn and man can be established. There remains only the possibility of whispering and incitement, and as we have mentioned there is no authority in the whispering of the Jinn over man except if man responds to that whispering by his own choice.
This is how material matters were treated in the time of the Khulafa’ al-Rāshideen, such that at the occurrence of no material event, be it murder, theft, deception, or fraud, did the mind turn to the Jinn. It always turned to men, because the relation of Jinn is one of whispering and incitement, except if a text exists to say otherwise. Since no specific texts can come after the Messenger of Allah (saw), all material occurrences are from men, not from the Jinn, for their world is different to ours, and their relationship with us is a relationship of whispering alone.
Therefore if someone falls ill there is no connection of this with the Jinn. The illness is to be treated according to the Islamic injunctions, that is, through therapy. This treatment can be material (medicine) or through du’a and ruqya.
As for the former it is like what came in the hadith from Usāmah ibn Sharīk that he said, “I came to the Prophet (saw) and his Companions who were as if they had birds on their heads. I greeted them and sat down. Then came bedouins from various areas and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, should we take medicine’? He replied, ‘Take medicine for indeed Allah has not made an illness except that he has created its cure, except only one illness, death.’ (Abu Dāwūd)
As for the latter, it is like what came in the hadith related by Muslim from Aa’isha, the mother of the believers (ra), that, “The Messenger of Allah used to recite this incantation (ruqyah), ‘Lord of the people, remove the trouble for in your Hand is the cure; none is there to relieve him but you.’ This and the like supplications from the Qur’an and Sunnah or that which accords with them can be used.
As for resorting to those who claim to have a material connection with the Jinn in order to cure an illness, then this is fraud and deception from those fraudsters who fool the common people and unjustly consume their wealth.
11/06/2009
Source
There are some illnesses which inflict people and which they ascribe to the Jinn. There are also people who claim to see and hear the Jinn, and to command them and carry out many actions through controlling them, or through their controlling people. What is the reality of this? Is there any material, sensorially-perceivable relationship between man and Jinn?
Answer
1. The Jinn are from the matters of the unseen; we cannot see them. Allah (swt) says,
«يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ»
“He sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not” (al-A’rāf: 27),
that is, Iblīs and his people, or in other words, the Jinn, given that Iblīs is from the Jinn:
«إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ»
“Except Iblīs – he was from the Jinn” (al-Kahf: 50).
2. The foundation or origin of our relationship with them is that they are able to whisper to us and entice us [waswasa]. Allah (swt) says,
«فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ»
“So Shaytān whispered to them both” (al-A’rāf: 20);
and He (swt) says,
«فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ»
“So Shaytān whispered to him” (Tāhā: 120),
and Shaytān here is Iblīs and he is from the Jinn.
3. The Shayātīn do not have a compelling authority over man, except if man chooses to follow the Shaytān of his own free will. The Exalted says,
«وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَانُ لَمَّا قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدْتُكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ إِلَّا أَنْ دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِي»
“And Shaytān shall say after the affair is decided: Surely Allah promised you the promise of truth, and I gave you promises, then failed to keep them to you, and I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you answered me.” (Ibrāhīm: 22))
And He (swt) says,
«إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ»
“You have no authority over my slaves, except he who follows you of the deviant.” (al-Hijr: 42))
And He (swt) says,
«فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ • إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ • إِنَّمَا سُلْطَانُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُ وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِهِ مُشْرِكُونَ»
“When you recite the Qur’ān seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytān. Indeed he has no authority of those who believe and place their trust in their Lord. His authority extends only to those who befriend him and those who associate partners with Allah.” (al-Nahl: 100)
4. Any material relationship other than this fundamental relationship which Allah has clarified requires a particular text establishing it. If a text exists explaining any such relationship then we affirm it in accordance with that text. For example the authority of Sulaymān (as) over the Jinn and his ability to command and prohibit them is a matter about which a text has come, thus we affirm it. Allah (swt) says in surah al-Naml about Sulaymān (as),
«قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ • قَالَ عِفْرِيتٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ مِنْ مَقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ»
“He said, ‘O Chiefs! Which of you shall bring her throne to him before they come to him in submission? An audacious one among the jinn said: I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place; and most surely I am strong (and) trusty for it.” (al-Naml: 38)
And He, the Exalted, says,
«وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَمَنْ يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ • يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَاءُ مِنْ مَحَارِيبَ وَتَمَاثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍ كَالْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَاسِيَاتٍ اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُودَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ»
“And (We made) the wind (subservient) to Sulaymān, which made a month's journey in the morning and a month's journey in the evening, and We made a fountain of molten copper to flow out for him, and of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and whoever turned aside from Our command from among them, We made him taste of the punishment of burning. They made for him what he pleased of fortresses and images, and bowls (large) as watering-troughs and cooking-pots that will not move from their place; give thanks, O family of Dawūd! and very few of My servants are grateful.” (Saba’: 12)
5. The Messenger of Allah (saw) would treat any material occurrence as a human matter, so long as no revelation came establishing that the Jinn had a relation to the matter. All matters were in origin taken as human affairs. If a dead man were found for instance it would not be thought that the Jinn killed him unless a text about such were found. Such was the case in the incident of the dead man found in Khaybar where the search was directed at who from amongst the people killed him, and did not extend to even the possibility of the Jinn having done so.
Muslim relates in His Sahīh that Abdullah ibn Sahl and Muhayyisah set out for Khaybar out of severe fatigue. When Muhayyisah found out that Abdullah ibn Sahl have been killed and thrown into a well he went to the Jews and said, “By Allah, you have killed him!” They replied, “By Allah, we did not kill him.” When the matter reached the Messenger of Allah (saw) he said, “Either they pay the blood-money of your companion or they declare war (by refusing to comply with the Shari’ah rules).” So he (saw) wrote to them and they wrote back, “By Allah, we did not kill him.”...The incident is well-known. Important to our current discussion, at no point did the question of the Jinn having played any role enter the discussion in any way.
6. Hence so long as a text mentioning a material relationship regarding any given incident is not found, the relationship between Jinn and man remains limited to whispering and incitement. Further, because the message of the Messenger (saw) is the seal of the messages, where after the revelation ceased and no new text will come, therefore no material relationship between Jinn and man can be established. There remains only the possibility of whispering and incitement, and as we have mentioned there is no authority in the whispering of the Jinn over man except if man responds to that whispering by his own choice.
This is how material matters were treated in the time of the Khulafa’ al-Rāshideen, such that at the occurrence of no material event, be it murder, theft, deception, or fraud, did the mind turn to the Jinn. It always turned to men, because the relation of Jinn is one of whispering and incitement, except if a text exists to say otherwise. Since no specific texts can come after the Messenger of Allah (saw), all material occurrences are from men, not from the Jinn, for their world is different to ours, and their relationship with us is a relationship of whispering alone.
Therefore if someone falls ill there is no connection of this with the Jinn. The illness is to be treated according to the Islamic injunctions, that is, through therapy. This treatment can be material (medicine) or through du’a and ruqya.
As for the former it is like what came in the hadith from Usāmah ibn Sharīk that he said, “I came to the Prophet (saw) and his Companions who were as if they had birds on their heads. I greeted them and sat down. Then came bedouins from various areas and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, should we take medicine’? He replied, ‘Take medicine for indeed Allah has not made an illness except that he has created its cure, except only one illness, death.’ (Abu Dāwūd)
As for the latter, it is like what came in the hadith related by Muslim from Aa’isha, the mother of the believers (ra), that, “The Messenger of Allah used to recite this incantation (ruqyah), ‘Lord of the people, remove the trouble for in your Hand is the cure; none is there to relieve him but you.’ This and the like supplications from the Qur’an and Sunnah or that which accords with them can be used.
As for resorting to those who claim to have a material connection with the Jinn in order to cure an illness, then this is fraud and deception from those fraudsters who fool the common people and unjustly consume their wealth.
11/06/2009
Source
Comments
Yet another Ahadith states that a devil tried to disrupt the prayer of the Prophet pbuh and the prophet held his neck so tight that he could feel the coldness of the tongue of the devil on his hand.
I was talking to a brother, and he pointed me to a different opinion on the issue.
"The fact that jinn can enter human bodies is proven in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and by the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, and by real-life events
We will mention a little about this below:
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Those who eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: ‘Trading is only like Ribaa’…” [al-Baqarah 2:275]
Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer (part 3, p. 355): “This aayah is proof that those people are wrong who deny that epilepsy is caused by the jinn and claim that its causes are only physical, and that the Shaytaan does not enter people or cause madness.”
Ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer (part 1, p. 32), after mentioning the aayah quoted above: “They will not rise from their graves on the Day of Resurrection except like the way in which the epileptic rises during his seizure, when he is beaten by the Shaytaan. This is because they will rise in a very bad state. Ibn ‘Abbaas said: the one who consumes ribaa will rise on the Day of Resurrection crazy and choking.”
According to a saheeh hadeeth narrated by al-Nasaa’i from Abu’l-Yusr, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray: “Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bika min al-taraddi wa’l-haram wa’l-gharaq wa’l-harq, wa a’oodhu bika an yatakhabatani al-shaytaan ‘ind al-mawt ( O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from being thrown from a high place, old age, drowning and burning; and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytaan at the time of death).” Commenting on this hadeeth in Al-Fayd (part 2, p.148), al-Manaawi said: “[The phrase] ‘and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytaan at the time of death’ means, lest he should wrestle with me and play with me, and damage my religious commitment or mental state (at the time of death) by means of his insinuating whispers which cause people to slip or lose their minds. The Shaytaan could take control of a person when he is about to depart this world, and misguide him or stop him from repenting…” "
Also, there is that hadith (as well as another hadith with Umar ra missing fajr in the mosque because he met Shaytaan on the way)
"It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put me in charge of guarding the zakaah of Ramadaan. Someone came to me and started grabbing handfuls of the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ He said, ‘I will teach you some words by means of which Allaah will benefit you.’ I said, ‘What are they?’ He said, ‘When you go to your bed, recite this aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah! Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), Al-Hayyul-Qayyoom (the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists)…” [al-Baqarah 2:255] – until he completed the aayah. Then Allaah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no shaytaan (devil) will come near you until morning.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked me, ‘What did your prisoner do last night?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, he taught me something, and claimed that Allaah would benefit me by it.’ He said, ‘What was it?’ I said, ‘He taught me to recite Aayat al-Kursiy when I go to bed, and said that no shaytaan would come near me until morning, and that Allaah would appoint a guard for me who would stay with me.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘He told you the truth, although he is an inveterate liar. That was the Shaytaan.’”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3101) "
So, I wanted to know your opinion on this.
ms
Although it is true that the scholars differed on this matter of the furu (branches) and that many from the Ahlus Sunnah had the view you mentioned it does not mean that there view is correct.
We must study such issues from the root and not simply take what previous scholars have said regarding them just because they are from Ahlus Sunnah, as many from the Ahlus Sunnah erred in other branch issues of such as:
-Al Qada wal Qadar (fate and destiny) adopting the incorrect view of Kasb ikhtiari
- Some said that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) could have committed minor sins but not the major sins - contradicting the concept of infallibility.
- That breaking of the natural laws could occur to other than to what the evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah has mentioned i.e. karamat in the sense of breaking natural laws for people after the time of the Prophet.
- Some had strange views regarding the attributes of Allah, etc.
The narration you mention is khabar ahad and thus the meaning extracted from it cannot contradict the definitive. Some dispute its meaning saying that the Quran states that the Shaytan cannot teach us anything good and thus the hadith seemingly contradicts this as its meaning indicates that the Shaytan taught the Sahabi a verse from the Quran. Others say its meaning can be reconciled by taking it as an extraordinary happening that we can except because there is a direct evidence for it, such as the Sahaba interacting with Jibreel in his human form, if someone claimed that today they interacted with Jibreel we could never accept that. It is also similar to how we understand the authentic narrations of karamat that happened to the Sahaba, this is explained in further detail at: http://hizb-ut-tahrir.info/info/english.php/contents_en/entry_6829
If a speculative (zanni) matter contradicts a definitive (qati) matter then the definitive must be taken even if there is a zanni narration upon the issue.
Secondly, the actual authenticity of the narrations themselves have been doubted by scholars.
We find that the chains of transmission of this story can be divided into two categories:
A) Hisham – his father ‘Urwah – ‘Aishah
From Hisham several people (Yahya, ‘Isa, Abu Usamah, Ibn Numayr etc) narrate the story, so we can take it back to him with considerable confidence. But we have no way to verify that Hisham heard the story from ‘Urwah, since he is the only one to attribute it to him. And if we do accept that Hisham did relate it from ‘Urwah we cannot be sure that ‘Urwah heard it from ‘Aishah, since he is the only one to attribute it to her.
Hisham was a resident of Madinah, although he later moved to Iraq and died there. Imam Malik, also from Madinah quotes many traditions from him but he does not quote this one. One explanation of this fact is that when he was residing in Madinah in early part of his life Hisham either did not know this story or he did not give credence to it.
It is reported by scholars that Hisham became very feeble-minded in his later years. Thus ‘Uqayli says: qad kharifa fi akhir ‘umr hi (he mentally degenerated in the last part of his life). It may be that Hisham heard the story from some unreliable narrators in his earlier years and in his later years his feeble-mindedness led him to attribute it to ‘Urwah. This would explain why no other narrator transmits the story from ‘Urwah or from ‘Aishah. .
B) The second category of chains of transmission has:
Abu Mu‘awiyah – al-A‘mash – Yazid bin Hayyan – Zayd bin Arqam
These chains are even more problematic than those from ‘Aishah. They are found only in two of the nine collections of Hadith: Nasa`i (4012) and Ahmad (18467) and allow us to take the hadith back with some confidence only to Abu Mu‘awiyah who died in 195. We have only his word that al-A‘mash (d. 147) narrated the story and the same is true about two earlier narrators: Yazid bin Hayyan and Zayd bin Arqam.
Some scholars from relatively early times have rejected the story. Thus Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (305-370 AH), one of the greatest hanafi scholars of the fourth century writes in his Ahkam al-Qur`an:
This type of ahadith has been created by heretics who give importance to low-level people [by allowing the possibility that likes of Labid could cast a spell on the Prophet]. They are fabricated to falsify the miracles of the prophets and to create doubts in them and to show that there is no difference between miracles of the prophets and tricks of the magicians, all being of the same nature.
It is probable that Darimi, Tirmidhi and Abu Da`ud also did not accept the story, since they do not mention it in their collections. It is unlikely that this is because they did not know the story, since the story was well known by the time of these scholars.
“Those who eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: ‘Trading is only like Ribaa’…” [al-Baqarah 2:275]
Sheikh Abu Rastha explains in his tafsir to this verse that: The Arabic text says "min al-mass", if it should be like they say that this means that someone gets hit by insanity, the text should have said "b-il-mass" with the Arabic letter "ba" instead of the Arabic letter "mim". From a pure grammatical point of view this means that the craziness already existed BEFORE the hitting of Shaytaan. In other words, the person was already insane before Shaytaan hit him.
This is in perfect harmony with the tafsir given by Ibn Abbas (raa) himself in which he says: "The one who consumes ribaa will rise on the Day of Resurrection crazy and choking."
Sheikh Maududi also explains this perfectly in his tafsir by saying: "The Qur'an likens the money-lender to a madman. Just as a madman loses his sense on account of his disordered intellect, so the money-lender is so mad for money-making that he divorces himself from commonsense. He is so senselessly foolish and impudent that he does not mind how his selfishness and greed are cutting at the very root of human love, brotherhood and fellow-feeling, and destroying the common good of mankind. He does not care at all that he is gaining prosperity at the expense of many. That is how he behaves like a madman in this world. In the next world he will rise like a madman at the time of Resurrection, for, in the Hereafter a person will rise in the same condition in which he dies here."
What ever reports are given by the ulama who misguide people, intentionally or unintentionally, by this idea are all false because they clearly contradict what is qatai and definite both in wording and in meaning.
2 From the evil of what He has created,
3 And from the evil of the utterly dark night when it comes,
4 And from the evil of those who blow on knots,
5 And from the evil of the envious when he envies."
The third ayah says that there are people who blow knots or those who practice witchcraft.
So, how one can explain that magic doesn't happen in reality?
Please reply. will be waiting, one of friend is asking me this constantly from past one month or soso.
jazakallah.
Is the isnad of this hadith reliable?
1. Jinn are believed in through textual proofs and not rational ones.
2. If a physical event occurs one looks for a physical cause for such an event as a default position
3. If the texts identifies a jinn caused a physical event then we believe in this whether from Quran or sunnah evidence.
So there may have occurred many interactions with the Jinn as recorded in ahadith but we believe in these interactions like the prophet holding the jinnn by the neck because the prophet (saw) conveyed in. Ie it forms textual proof. Problem we have is people claiming jinn human interaction today. So some claim to have married jinns, to speak to them, to have control over them, to make them cause physical harm onto other humans. Problem is without any direct texts that shows in unequivocal words that jinn human interaction like the ones mentioned as examples above, then we cannot believe in these reports.
Let's face it these reports are found mainly in rural areas of indian subcontinent they haven't been rigourously tested under controlled scientific condition. Every time we see something like this fall under controlled laboratory conditions a naturalistic explanation is found.
And seeking a naturalistic explanation is a sunnah of the prophet the sahaba and the salaf which reaches the level of mutawatir and ijma.
If the Quranic text says it can only whisper then how the Prophets (saw) interacted with jinns or thier interaction was specific to Prophets only like Sulaiman (as) and Prophet (saw) and Allah (swt) made the jinn to interact with them.
Is this aya of Sura Rehman does not indicate that they can interact with humans
حُورٌ۬ مَّقۡصُورَٲتٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡخِيَامِ (٧٢) فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ (٧٣) لَمۡ يَطۡمِثۡہُنَّ إِنسٌ۬ قَبۡلَهُمۡ وَلَا جَآنٌّ۬
Fair ones, close-guarded in pavilions - (72) Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that ye deny? - (73) Whom neither man nor jinni will have touched before them
a question in my mind is that- what about the witchcraft that the disbelievers do(there are satan worshiper cults also) , can i have a detailed explanation of that?
Ruqya is simply a form of dua
It was reported that ‘Aa’ishah (ra) said: “Some people asked the Messenger of Allah (saw) about soothsayers. He said, ‘They are nothing.’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, sometimes they say something and it comes true.’ The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘That is a word of truth that the jinn snatches and whispers into the ear of his familiar, but they mix a hundred lies with it.’” [Bukhari and Muslim]
But I'm assuming this hadith is from those that you mentioned contradicts the definitive. Is that right?
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in
submission to His words, making a sound like a chain striking a rock. When the fear is banished from their hearts, they
say, what is it that your Lord has said? They say: 'The truth; And He is the Most High, the Most Great.' (Qur’an 34.23)
Then the one who is listening out (the shaitaan/jinns hiding and waiting to snatch the news) hears that, and those who are
listening out (i.e. shaitaans/jinns) are standing one above the other” – Sufyaan [one of the narrators] demonstrated with
his hand, holding it vertically with the fingers outspread. – “So he hears what is said and passes it on to the one below
him, and that one passes it to the one who is below him, and so on until it reaches the lips of the soothsayer or fortuneteller.
When the Angels see the jinn they attack them with fireballs/flames. Maybe the fireballs/flames will hit him before he
can pass anything on, or maybe he will pass it on before he is hit. He (soothsayer/fortune-teller) tells a hundred lies
alongside it. But it will be said (by people), Did he (soothsayer) not tell us that on such and such a day, such and such
would happen? So they believe him because of the one thing which was heard from heaven.”
We should first look to see if its possible to reconcile the meaning of the hadith with the definitive matters. In this case there are various possible explanations that don't contradict the hadith or the definite e.g. the shayateen who are jinn gain this knowledge and pass it to men in the form of dreams, as it is mentioned in the hadith dreams can possibly be from shaytan, also they could pass it to men in the form of waswasa (whispering) which are just thoughts. But this in no way means that they can possess man and control him.
I just wanted to add a very small comment.
I understand the need to follow the Quran and Sunnah to the "T" and that things need a textual evidence which needs to be understood in a comprehensive manner etc
But I can tell you I have experienced jinn possession first hand. If I were to tell you that when I perform Ruqyah on myself by listening to the verses of Quran related to Jinn my limbs start to move by themselves (I mean move!). I perform Ruqyah lying down and my arms, legs, torso and head take a life of their own. I also experience growling and laughing coming from my mouth. I have had friends brothers witness it, they were skeptical at first.
I know it sounds far fetched. I have seen it happen to other people who have been performing ruqyah too.
You can rationalise and debate the strength of evidences all you want but some things you will only understand firsthand.
May Allah protect and guide us all.
Similar things have been witnessed occur to Christians and Hindus when they recite their own scriptures - the power of belief is a strong thing!
Let's accept that your limbs started to move when you listen to Qur'an.
How do you know that this was Jinn? Maybe it was an alien? Maybe a super intelligent virus that purposely responds to religious text? Maybe it's because someone has hypnotised you?
Or maybe it's a subconscious mental condition that you have? Allahu 'Alim.
The point is, the reality is clear (your limbs moving) but the cause is not clear... and we shouldn't jump to conclusions without a basis.
I have myself had similar experiences so I know what you're talking about, but you must understand that the ONLY reason why we believe in the existence of Jinn is because Allah (swt) has told us about their existence. If He did not tell us, then we wouldn't know about them, and you would contribute the movement of your limbs to another cause.
What is important here is: You CANNOT contribute the movement of your limbs, which no one is doubting, to the Jinn UNLESS Allah (swt) is ALSO telling you that Jinn has that ability.
Jinn belongs to the subject of al-ghaib, hence every single bit of information we collect about them must never be from "experience", it must be collected from the source of al-ghaib, ie. the Quran, otherwise you don't know what you're dealing with. Since no single valid text exists, neither in Quran nor in Hadith, we CANNOT contribute anything to the Jinn except for the waswas.
Now, what you are experiencing is not the Jinn, rather it is called Trance and Possession Disorder. It is a psychological "disorder" some people get when they believe that they are possessed or when they believe they are visited by "spirits" etc.
Trance and Possession Disorder makes people, and their bodies, behave very much like someone who has been hypnotized.
Once you understand that the Jinn cannot possess you, and you believe that fact, then their waswas will no longer affect you and the hypnotic effect of their waswas will stop. Then nothing will happen any longer.
How the "Trance and Possession Disorder" surfaces is different from person to person depending on what they believe.
So a "witch doctor" from some pygmy tribe in Africa, who believes that he can become a media for communication of dead spirits, will behave in accordance with that belief when he believes a spirit has possessed his body and you'll see him shake and turn his eyes and talk in riddles.
Some people, here in the west, believe that they has been abducted by aliens from space. Some believe that the aliens are using them as medias for communication and their manifestation of "Trance and Possession Disorder" makes them behave as such. Talking with strange voices, doing strange things, etc.
It is the same power of the mind that a hypnotist is preying on when he manages to make people believe they are frogs, dogs, or that their body is on fire. So they behave as they believe.
The belief that people can be possessed or controlled by the Jinn is something the Jinn themselves are preying on. Hence via the usage of waswas, which is confirmed in the Quran, when a person believe that he or she is possessed it makes it very easy for the Jinn to influence the mind of such a person with strange behavior.
One could actually say that the Jinn is "hypnotizing" the person using waswas and because the person believes in possession, he or she will get the Trance and Possession Disorder and act as possessed.
May Allah (swt) rid our Ummah from this demoting belief once and for all!
You need to explain this further.
The majority of scholars says that the vers from Al-Baqarah 275 is evidence that Satan, ie. Jinn, can hit or strike people so they become insane.
"Those who eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: 'Trading is only like Ribaa'…" [al-Baqarah 2:275]
Also someone mentioned that Shaikh Ata explains something about the insanity appears before the hitting of Satan, how does that help? Satan is still hitting? In that case does the hitting mean "waswas"? As Job complained to Allah about Satans touch, yet he was not insane?
According to the majority of scholars this ayah proves that Satan can hit people so they become insane.
Please provide a textual explanation from Shaikh Ata in English as I cannot understand the explanation above.
ASAP as our family is deeply affected by this issue!
Jzk.
http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.info/arabic/index.php/HTAmeer/BookTafseer
I cannot translate it though since my Arabic skill are not that good, but I really hope someone else can do it.
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah 's Apostle ordered me to guard the Zakat revenue of Ramadan. Then somebody came to me and started stealing of the foodstuff. I caught him and said, "I will take you to Allah's Apostle!" Then Abu Huraira described the whole narration and said: That person said (to me), "Please don't take me to Allah's Apostle and I will tell you a few words by which Allah will benefit you. When you go to your bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi, (2:255) for then there will be a guard from Allah who will protect you all night long, and Satan will not be able to come near you till dawn." (When the Prophet heard the story) he said (to me), "He (who came to you at night) told you the truth although he is a liar; and it was Satan."
Reference: Volume 6, Book 61, Number 530: (Sahih Bukhari).
Don't believe what you read in the English translation of Sahih al-Bukhari by Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali, whether published by Al Saadawi Publications or Dar-us-Salam, both authors are notoriously known to mistranslate in order to misguide and serve the purpose of the salafi saudi movement. Especially be careful when reading books from Dar-us-Salam publications.
Just by looking at the last part of the arabic text you can see that while it is translated as in definite article, the text is in reality indefinite, which means that "ذَاكَ شَيْطَانٌ" (dhaaka shaitaanun) should be translated into "That was a satan." Ie. a human satan, not a Jinn.
Besides from the clear mistranslations, the text in the hadith itself contains a lot of problems. Abu Huraira (raa) disregards the order of the Prophet (saaws) not once, not twice, but trice. That is even though it was his duty to guard the zakat. Also this happens in the islamic state, during the Madina period, where clear laws regarding theft has been revealed.
Not to mention the contradiction in the words refered to the Prophet (saaws) in which the person who gave Abu Huraira (raa) this information has told the truth even though he is a confirmed liar?
Abu Huraira reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying: A highly wicked one amongst the Jinn escaped yesternight to interrupt my prayer, but Allah gave me power over him, so I seized him and intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque in order that you, all together or all, might look at him, but I remembered the supplication of my brother Sulaiman: "My Lord, forgive me, give me such a kingdom as will not be possible for anyone after me" (Qur'an, xxxvii. 35). [Sahih Muslim, Book 8, Number 1104]
As for the interpretation of the Ayah that contains "touch", it is as if you mean Ayah 275 in Al-Baqara which is:
الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لَا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا
"Those who swallow usury will not rise, except as someone knocked by Satan from the touch. That is because they say, "Commerce is like usury." But God has permitted commerce, and has forbidden usury. Whoever, on receiving advice from his Lord, refrains, may keep his past earnings, and his case rests with God. But whoever resumes—these are the dwellers of the Fire, wherein they will abide forever."
(al-Baqara: 275)
And here is the following about its interpretation:
1. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has made an example for those who swallow usury as the one who flounders due to epilepsy, he stands and falls so he is confused in his walk and standing and sitting so insanity has defeated him, and that is because he used to consider usury like commerce, and Allah سبحانه وتعالى has prohibited usury and permitted commerce.
الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا
"Those who swallow usury"
(al-Baqara: 275)
Or those who take it, and he generalizes all who benefit from it. And the word يَأْكُلُونَ "swallow" is used in the Quran to indicate fault,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتَامَى ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًا
"Those who consume the wealth of orphans illicitly consume only fire into their bellies; and they will roast in a Blaze."
(al-Nisa': 10)
يَتَمَتَّعُونَ وَيَأْكُلُونَ كَمَا تَأْكُلُ الْأَنْعَامُ وَالنَّارُ مَثْوًى لَهُمْ
"They enjoy themselves, and eat as cattle eat, and the Fire will be their dwelling."
(Muhammad: 12)
لَا يَقُومُونَ
"will not rise"
(al-Baqara: 275)
Or the Day of Resurrection.
إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ
"except as someone knocked by Satan"
(al-Baqara: 275)
or they will be sent from their graves, and arise like the floundering epileptic in this world – or the insane – and that is a disgrace for them on that day and it is an allegory for the forbiddance of usury whose forbiddance is repeated in these Ayahs.
مِنَ الْمَسِّ
"from the touch"
(al-Baqara: 275)
Or insanity, and it is said: The man was touched then he is touched so he is insane. And Khabt (knocking) is uneven blows like random knocking.
And many explanations were given in the interpretation of
إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ
"except as someone knocked by Satan from the touch"
(al-Baqara: 275)
And the most correct of them is that when a person is afflicted by insanity the Shaytan has a greater influence on him through his whisperings, so he imagines many things which leads the insane person to be confused.
As for saying that the Shaytan is the one who caused him to become insane, the Ayah does not state that, for Allah Almighty did not say (the Shaytan knocks him with the touch) meaning that the Shaytan afflicted him with insanity, but instead he said:
يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ
"knocked by Satan from the touch"
(al-Baqara: 275)
Meaning that the Shaytan knocks him due to his insanity, so the insanity was prior to the knocking of the Shaytan.
This is most correct in my opinion regarding the interpretation of the Ayah, that the swallower of usury is as the one who the Shaytan knocks from the touch, or due to insanity, as in the insanity is prior to the knocking of the Shaytan of the person, so the person is insane for some reason then the Shaytan knocks him with his whispering and imagination.
So the Shaytan does not make one insane, or else the Ayah would be (the one who the Shaytan knocks with the touch) with the "Ba'" affixed to insanity, meaning that he afflicted him with insanity, and this allegory is a stark sensory description due to the severity of the crime of the one who swallows usury.
If black magic was not successfully done on Prophet (SWS), then what happened to him before the pair (if it is so) revelations of the last two Surahs of the Qur'an?
What should be the Shan-i-Nujul or the context & reason of revelation of Surah Falaq & Naas (113 & 114)?
JazakAllahu khair!
When a person is affected by possession and trance disorder he or she is highly affected by waswas and as a result the jinn are whispering all kinds of stuff to the person.
This resembles when a hypnotist makes people talk like they can talk another language, which they cannot. However to the ignorant it may sound like it.
It is similar to this (play forward to about 1:40): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T7EAcGxxoA
When a person thinks he or she is possessed, the jinn has full access to whisper freely, which actually affects the person much like hypnosis.
"There is no hypnosis without self-hypnosis!"
This is why people act like this when think they are possessed.
I have researched this subject in much detail in many years and are soon releasing a completely new book on the subject (in Danish), I hope in time to have the book translated into English as well inshAllah.
Please do not believe all this nonsense, the only thing that makes people affected by these issues are fear and ignorance.
It is very sad how many ulama are spreading these ideas without thorough research!
You are confusing the matters.
The existence of Allah (swt) is proven through rational proof due to clear and absolute evidence, not through any kind of textual proof.
We cannot see or sense Allah, The Creator, but we can see and sense His creation. From that we know without doubt that the creator exists.
Regarding all other unseen things we cannot rationally prove anything. Because no sensation is possible. All such matters can only be proven textual.
When you sense the sun, the moon, people, etc., there is a clear and absolute sensation which rationally tells you that these things cannot exist of-and-by themselves, ie. "something" has created these things.
But when you sense that a person is sick there is no sensation of anything except the sickness. You cannot reach any conclusion whatsoever that makes a connection between this illness and anything unseen unless a clear and absolute revelation tells you about such a connection.
Any connection you make in your mind will be based solely on imagination and not on revelation or sensation.
So if Allah (swt) tells us that Jinn can cause illness, we accept such information and we know that some kinds of illness may be caused by Jinn, but even then we're not able to know which kind of illness if He (swt) doesn't mention that specifically in detail.
The fact is that no authentic revelation exists which in a clear unambiguous way proves that Jinn can cause any harm what so ever to mankind - except for the whispering, which is absolutely confirmed.
The verse in the Quran about Ayub (saws) doesn't speak about illness, but only mentions harm from Satan in a general manner, this verse is not unambiguous and it can be understood in several ways. The same goes for the verse about eating usury.
Hence, no textual proof exists about Jinn causing any physical illness or harm to people what so ever.
Regarding the infallibility of the Prophets (saaws with them all) then that is a rational matter firstly and a textual matter secondly.
It is a rational matter because if a prophet could make a mistake then such a mistake would invalidate the entire revelation and the entire purpose of revelation, meaning you wouldn't know which is from the Lord of all creation and which is from this human being making mistakes. Wa audhubillah such an idea goes against the purpose of revelation and it goes against the perfection of The Creator (swt). Revelation from the Almighty Creator is rationally contrary to mistakes. Secondly, this subject is also confirmed textually when Allah (swt) mentions that the Prophet (saaws) doesn't speak of his own accord, but it is indeed revelation send down.
No rational proof of the existence of Jinn, Angels, or any other unseen matter exists and any connection between an unseen matter and reality can only occur through revelation and even then we cannot use that for anything unless it is unambiguous. Only when it is unambiguous, as the verses about whispering (waswas), then we're able to make a connection between the reality and this unseen matter, but not due to sensation, due to textual explanation.
Even when you feel the desire to do something you cannot confirm without doubt that this is due to the whispering of a Jinn. It might be due to your own instincts (nafs).
Hence, we confirm that the whispering exists due to textual proof, not due to sensation or rational proof, but we cannot say when a specific desire or a specific idea that pops up is caused by whispering. Only that whispering occurs and that it is sometimes a cause of these things.
And Allah (swt) knows best!
May Allah (swt) grant us good and may He (swt) guide us to the truth and make it very easy to separate from the falsehood. Amin!