Summary: Suleiman* Magic and the Jinn
Seeking magic or superstition is an old human practice. It is sometimes defined as deception by showing something to people which is contrary to reality. This is only deception on the eyes (illusion) not real power. Claims that people can now somehow seek the help of demons to perform something harmful against somebody needs proof that contradicts what is explicit in the Qur’an. The reality is:
- The Jinn are from the matters of the unseen; we cannot see them but are real and believed in through textual proofs and not rational ones..
- The foundation or origin of our relationship with them is that they are able to whisper to us and entice us [waswasa].
- The Shayateen do not have a compelling authority over man, except if man chooses to follow the Shaytaan of his own free will.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Thus, if a physical event occurs one looks for a physical cause for such an event as a default position. Hence, Islam considers pursuing magic to be an act of blasphemy as it seeks power from other than Allah. Thus Allah says: "Suleiman* did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved…" (2:102)
In an authentic hadith the Prophet* said: Whoever goes to a fortune teller (a soothe sayer) or a diviner and believes him, has, in fact, disbelieved in what has been revealed to Muhammad.
So, the noble Suleiman* had control over the Jinn (who do not know the unseen) and he was neither controlled nor guided by the Jinn, he did not do magic nor became a non-believer.
Lives of the Prophets: Jinns and Suleiman*
Although Suleiman* was the Prophet and Messenger of God, he was accused by some of his opponents to be practicing magic. Those who claimed this could not distinguish between magic and miracles. All messengers of God were granted miracles as a proof of their authenticity. To name only a few: Moses was granted the staff by which he could divide the sea and make water gush from rocks. Abraham was flung in the middle of a huge raging fire, which Allah made cool and peaceful to him. Jesus Christ could heal the blind and the leper and bring back the dead to life.
If we contemplate these acts we find that miracles are totally different from magic. When these divine miracles are rejected other miracles are imposed to inflict severe punishments on rejecters. On the other hand, miracles are real while magic is sometimes deceptive.
Suleiman*'s public work was largely carried out by the Jinns. This was a punishment for their sins of making people believe that they were all-powerful, knew the unseen, and could foresee the future. As a prophet, it was Suleiman*'s duty to remove such false beliefs from his followers.
There were and remain many rumours and propaganda against the noble Prophet Suleiman* with some people (non-Muslims) claiming that Prophet Suleiman was taught by Jinn, or was controlled by the Jinn (demons) or that he was instructed by chief demons and delved into Magic / Black Magic as a consequence – then gaining the anger of God and becoming a disbeliever (may Allah Protect us from such slander). Allah addresses these issues and clears the reputation of Suleiman* in the Qur’an:
"And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah confirming what was with them, a party of those who were given the scripture threw away the book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know. And they followed what the devils gave out falsely of magic of the reign of Suleiman*; for Suleiman* did not disbelieve but the devils disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angles) taught anyone (such things) until they had said: we are only for trial, so don't disbelieve. And from them people learn that through which they would cause separation between a person and his spouse, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's leave; and they learn that which harms them rather than profits them. And indeed they knew that its practitioner would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves if they but knew" (2:101-2).
Hence, we know that Suleiman* controlled the Jinn (not the other way around) and opposed those that delved into Magic and was not involved in magic himself (as that leads to dis-belief = becoming a non-Muslim if you seek magic).
And He, the Exalted, says, “And (We made) the wind (subservient) to Suleiman, 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 Dawud! and very few of My servants are grateful.” (Saba’: 12)
Some scholars have explained that Suleiman* was given the task of controlling the Jinn and banishing magic and those people that sought to do magic. As part of this he gathered up all the so-called manuals on magic and killed all magicians and buried the manuals under his throne. Only after he died did Shaytan whisper to people to check under his throne and when they found he manuals Shaytan spread the rumour that the source of his power was not Allah but the magic. Hence people confused magic with the miracles. That is why many magicians and secret orders try to trace their legitimacy back to Suleiman*.
Allah also clarifies that the source of apparent magic can be traced back to Babylon – specifically the story of Harut and Marut
The story of Harut and Marut
The meaning of these verses is unclear and so there are a few interpretations of the story. The weakest version (likely to be untrue) is that the angels [who do not possess free will and cannot sin] had become astonished at the acts of disobedience committed by the human beings on earth. They began to curse the humans, and could not understand how they could be so sinful. Allah informed the angels that they would have also sinned if they were in the position of human beings. So the angels elected Harut and Marut from amongst themselves and God gave them human attributes and sent them to earth after commanding them to avoid wine, idolatry, fornication and murder. Harut and Marut eventually succumbed to their human lusts and fell into all of these sins. Consequently, God punished them for their transgressions.
Other scholars feel that it is more likely that Harut and Marut were teaching magic for educational purposes, so that the people could recognize its symptoms, properties and effects and avoid it. The reason the two of them were sent down was to teach people what magic was so that they would know the difference between magic and prophethood, and therefore that Suleiman* was not a magician. It was to ensure complete understanding. They did not, in any case, teach anyone magic until they had first cautioned him saying to him, "We are merely a temptation and a trial and a test, so do not become unbelievers by teaching it and using it."
Other scholars said that Harut and Marut were two angels sent by Allah to test the people of Babylon with what appears to be magic or illusion, and these angels were only acting upon the order of Allah and committed no sin, nor even the slightest error. However, they differ as to the nature of the test. They were testing people's faith, for a purpose that has not been identified. The Qur'an exonerates the two angels, confirming that they had explained the nature of their work to the people and given them fair warning, nevertheless, some people persisted with learning this sorcery, thus falling to temptation and causing harm to themselves by becoming non-believers.
Given the differing interpretations there is no clear unambiguous proof of the existence of magic nowadays based upon these verses or of any supernatural powers that people or secret societies claim to possess. What is clear from the verses is that people who seek this knowledge or power are committing disbelief (Kufr) and that Suleiman* was a noble Prophet of Allah. Allah clear him of the false propaganda and claims associated with him.
Suleiman*'s Death
Allah uses the death of Prophet Suleiman* to also dispel myths and propaganda – clearly stating that the Jinn had no control over the Prophet and the Jinn clearly do not know the unseen.
Suleiman* lived amidst glory, and all creatures were subjected to him. Then Allah the Exalted ordained for him to die. His life and death were full of wonders and miracles; thus, his death harmonized with his life and glory. His death, like his life, was unique. The people had to learn that the future is known neither by the Jinns, nor by the prophets, but by Allah alone. Suleiman*'s effort in this direction did not end with his life, for even his death became an example. He was sitting holding his staff, overseeing the Jinns at work. He died sitting in this position. For a long time no one was aware of his death, for he was seen sitting erect. The Jinns continued with their hard toil, thinking that Suleiman* was watching over them.
Many days later, a hungry ant began nibbling Suleiman*'s staff. It continued to do so, eating the lower part of the staff, until it fell out of Suleiman*'s hand, and his great body fell to the ground. People hurried to him, realizing that he had died a long time ago and that the Jinns did not perceive the unseen, for had the Jinns known the unseen, they would not have kept working, thinking that Suleiman* was alive.
Allah revealed:"And We caused a fount of molten brass to flow for him, and there were Jinns that worked in front of him by the Leave of his Lord, and whosoever of them turned aside from Our Command, We shall cause him to taste of the torment of the blazing Fire. They worked for him what he desired, (making) high rooms, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and (making) cauldrons fixed (in their places). "Work you, O family of David, with thanks!" But few of My slaves are grateful. Then when we decreed death for him (Suleiman*), nothing informed them (Jinns) of his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept slowly gnawing away at his stick, so when he fell down, the Jinns saw clearly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment. (TMQ 34:12-14).
Main Topic: The Reality of Jinn and Human-Being interaction
What is the actual relationship, in this current age and time, between humans and jinn-kind – as there are a lot of rumours about people being possessed by jinn, or people talking to jinn or even some people claim even get married to jinn! This issue links back to the rumours and propaganda against the noble Prophet Suleiman* with some people (non-Muslims) claiming that Prophet Suleiman was taught by Jinn, or was controlled by the Jinn (demons) or that he was instructed by chief demons and delved into Magic / Black Magic as a consequence – then gaining the anger of God and becoming a disbeliever (may Allah Protect us from such slander).
Nowadays, any discussion about Jinn needs to start from the known facts and the clear evidences outlined in the Qur’an – which is undisputed. These are that:
1. The Jinn are from the matters of the unseen (al-Ghaib); we cannot see them. Allah says, “He sees you, he and his tribe, from where you see them not” (al-A’raaf: 27), that is, Iblees and his people, or in other words, the Jinn (given that Iblees is from the Jinn: “Except Iblees – 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 says, “So Shaytaan whispered to them both” (al-A’raaf: 20); and He says, “So Shaytaan whispered to him” (Taahaa: 120), and Shaytaan here is Iblees and he is from the Jinn.
3. The Shayaateen do not have a compelling authority over man, except if man chooses to follow the Shaytaan of his own free will. Allah says, “And Shaytaan 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.” (Ibraaheem: 22))
And He says, “You have no authority over my slaves, except he who follows you of the deviant.” (al-Hijr: 42))
And He says, “When you recite the Qur’an seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytaan. 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 physical/material relationship other than this fundamental relationship which Allah has clarified requires a particular text (Qur’an or Sunnah) establishing it. If a text exists explaining any such relationship then we agree with it in accordance with that text. For example the authority of Suleiman* 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 says in surah al-Naml about Suleiman*, “And (We made) the wind (subservient) to Suleiman, 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 physical/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 – without subjecting them to any form of superstition. 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. This was the same for all other matters where an rational explanation was always sought.
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-Raashideen, 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. Even the early scholars ignored the issues of Jinn-Human relationship and there are no books on ‘The Fiqh of Jinn’ nor any hadith collections about ‘Jinn and Human interaction’.
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 Usaamah ibn Shareek 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 Daawūd)
As for the latter, it is like what came in the hadith related by Muslim from Aa’isha 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.
7. As for the interpretation of the “touch” in Ayah 275 in Al-Baqara which is “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]
The most correct opinion regarding the interpretation of the Ayah is 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.
No Supersitions
The du’as / ruqya are talking about seeking refuge from different types of evil, attempting to seek power from other than Allah which is what they do when attempt magic - it does not mean it is possible. At that time they used to engage in different actions such as blowing on knots etc in order to achieve this.
To attempt black magic is a type of kufr and shirk as it is trying to seek power from shaytan. However it does not have a reality i.e. it is not real magic which can affect things in the world.
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. For those that claim to be in communication with the Jinn - How do tyou know that this was Jinn? Maybe it was an alien? Maybe a super intelligent virus? Maybe it is hypnotism? Or maybe it's a subconscious mental condition? Allahu 'Alim.
Some explain these other phenomena as a mental health problem 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, and is trans-cultural as it manifests with similar symptoms using local contexts. Trance and Possession Disorder makes people, and their bodies, behave very much like someone who has been hypnotized with many people believing that they are possessed or affected by a Jinn, Spirit, Satan, or even aliens. 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.
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.
Infallibility of Prophets
The propaganda around Suleiman* also deals with another issue around which is that of the infallibility of the Prophets. It is a core belief of all Muslims that Prophets cannot sin or make mistakes in the deen. In fact, we believe that Allah chooses the Prophets because of their great belief in Him, their character and ability to spread Islam. He would not chose people as role models that were evil or sinned because people would not follow the message. Linked to this, we should not accept any rumour that our Prophets were under the influence of magic or Shaytaan because Allah would prevent that. Hence, many scholars reject the fabrication that the Prophet* was under the spell of a Jew and nearly all scholars reject the fabrication that Shaytaan inserted verses into the Qur’an. We have previously dealt with the Satanic Verses and will briefly deal with the case of magic on the Prophet* below:
The story about magic on the Prophet* are singular narrations (khabar ahad) that say the Prophet* was affected by magic but the meaning of these cannot be accepted as they contradict the definite matter of infallibility of the Prophet* and that he could not be influenced by Shaytan or evil in any way.
The actual authenticity of the narrations themselves have been doubted by scholars because the chains of transmission of this story is very doubtful – even though some compilers of hadith included the hadith in their books for technical reasons.
Also, there are many contradictions in the various narrations of the story. Some say that the Prophet* imagined he was doing a thing but he was not doing it. Others say that he thought he had done a thing but actually he had not done; or he intended to do something but would forget doing it. In some narrations the objects used in magic (the Prophet*’s comb with his hair sticking to it) are taken out of the well in which they were placed while in others they are not taken out. In some narrations ‘Aishah asks why did the Prophet* not show the objects to the people while in others her question is about why did he not expose Labid ibn al-A‘sam, the Jewish magician who allegedly cast the spell on the Prophet*. These contradictions are found in those narrations that come from Hisham and are acceptable to Bukhari and Muslim. If we include other narrations the contradictions increase. Some say that Jibra`il came and revealed the details of magic. Others say that it were two angels (often not identified by names, but sometimes named as Jibra`il and Mika`il) who made the revelation. Some say that Labid did the magic while others say that his sisters performed the evil deed. Some say that the Prophet himself went to take out the objects used in the act of magic. Others say that he sent some of his Companions for the task. Some say that the Prophet forgave the Jewish magician while one narration says that he was executed. Some narrations talk only of the effect of magic on the sexual relations but others talk of loss of appetite and still others talk of blindness. In many narrations the cure happens when the object used in magic were found, while in others the cure happens when Surahs 113 and 114 were revealed and recited by the Prophet. The objects used in magic are also subject to change. In some narrations instead of the comb and hair the object is a thread with knots. In some narrations the Jewish magician is forgiven but in some he is killed.
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.
In addition, the character of Surah 113 (Daybreak) is one a Meccan Surah not one revealed in Medina – which is the claim for those that support the idea of magic on the Prophet*.
Advice from the Prophet*
Ruqya is simply a form of dua. We are asked to seek protection from evil and those that pursue evil and those that pursue the art of magic – but does not endorse the existence of supernatural powers of magic. Prophet Muhammad* provided us with the recipe through which we can protect ourselves from these evils if we recite - after the five daily prayers - the last three chapters of the Holy Quran which are number 112, 113 and 114. And here is their translation:
(112) Unity
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say: He is Allah, the One! Allah, the eternally besought of all! He begets not nor was begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him.
(113) Daybreak
In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful
Say I seek refuge in the in the Lord of daybreak From the evil of that which he created; From the evil of the darkness when it is intense, and from the evil of malignant witchcraft, And from the evil of the envious when he envies.
(114) Mankind
In the name of Allah the beneficent, the Merciful
Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, The King of mankind, The God of mankind, From the evil of the sneaking whisper, Who whispers in the hearts of mankind, Of the jinn and of mankind.
Secondly the Prophet* encouraged us to recite the greatest verse in the Qur'an called the verse of the Throne (Ayat al-Kursi) after each and every one of the five daily prayers and before going to bed - translated as follows:
"Allah! There is no God save Him, the Alive, and the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. Unto Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedes with Him save by His leave? He knows that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His chair encompasses the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the sublime, the Tremendous" (2:255).
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