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SUNNAH HEALTH AND FITNESS

RUQYA

COMPLET GUIDE FOR BODY MIND SOUL THE ISLAMIC WAY

By Y A Dimmock

CONTENTS D

What is Ruqya Magic / Sihr How Black Magic started History of Magic Definition of Sihr Warning against going to Magicians Evidence and existence of Sihr Definition of Jinn Evidence and existence of Jinn Evidence and existence of Evil Eye /Envy Things to avoid in Ruqya Self-diagnosis Performing ruqya on yourself

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BODY MIND AND SOUL The complete Truth to Health and Wellbeing The Breakdown of Tibb-e-Nabawi, The Prophetic Medicine

RUQYA

By Y A Dimmock

SALUTATIONS Asalaam ualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah’ [Aal ‘Imraan 3:103] O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him He created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women, and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship) Surely, Allah is Ever an AllWatcher over you.’ [al-Nisaa’ 4:1], O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth).’ [al-Ahzaab 33:70].”

All Praise be to Allah, the Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) of the Worlds, and Blessings and Peace upon our Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his Sunnah, till the Day of Judgement.”

WHAT IS RUQYA

Ruqya is the recitation of The Quran for the purpose of healing and general wellbeing.

Ruqyah (plural: ruqa) derives from the past-tense verb raqa. It consists of words said or written in the form of dud or Dhikr for the purpose of protection or cure. It is sometimes accompanied with other actions, such as blowing or wiping over the thing ich it is applied.

A synonym for ruqyah in Arabic is "ta'with" and "ta'withah", from which derives the description "alMu'awwidhat" (the protecting ones) for the last three suras of the Qur'an, and "al-Mu'awwidhatan" (the two protecting ones) for the last two suras only (cited below).

People from most cultures and religions use various forms of ruqa. They are usually referred to in English as spells, charms, incantations, and so on. Most of those ruqa contain magic, shirk, senseless words, lies, etc. Because of this, the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) prohibited using ruqa at first. Ibn Masud (RA) reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: 'Indeed, ruqa, amulets, and tiwala*, are all acts of shirk.' Recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani in as-Sahihah no. 331. (*Tiwala: Beads or other objects, usually worn around the neck, believed by some people to have the power of making a husband love his wife.)

Later on, he (Peace and Blessing upon Him) allowed people to use only the ruqa that he approved, or that did not contain shirk. Jabir Bin 'Abdillah (RA) reported that Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) prohibited ruqa. Then, some people from the tribe of 'Umr Bin Hazam came to him and said, "We have a ruqyah that we used to use for scorpion and snake stings; but you have now prohibited using ruqa." And they showed it to him. He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: 'I do not see anything wrong in it. Anyone among you who can benefit his brother should do so.'

Muslim There are some important conditions that must be satisfied in a ruqyah to make it permissible. They were summarized by Ibn Hajar (AR): "There is a consensus among the 'ulama that ruqa is permissible when it satisfys three conditions: 1 - To be with Allah's words or His names and attributes 2 - To be in Arabic or of an intelligible meaning 3 - And to believe that they do not have effect by themselves but by Allah ('Azza wa Jalla)." Fath ul Bari 10/240

In what follows, there are additional guidelines that should be taken into consideration what performing a ruqyah.

1. Adhering to What Is Reported in the Sunnah Ruqyah is a form of supplication. As is the case with other supplications, it is permissible to use any words that fulfill the above conditions. This is approved by Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) who said: 'There is nothing wrong with ruqa as long as they do not involve shirk.' Muslim However, rather than experimenting with ruqa that may or may not be useful, and rather than being doubtful as to whether a specific ruqyah fulfills the correct conditions and guidelines, it is best to adhere to the ruqa that have been reported in the Sunnah.

MAGIC / SIHR HISTORY OF MAGIC

Studying the 51 instances of the usage of the word ‫( سحر‬magic) and its derivatives in the chapters of the Noble Qur’an, such as Taha, Shu'ara, Yunus, A'raf, etc., in connection with the stories of the prophets Musa (a.s.), 'Isa (a.s.) and the Noble Prophet (S), we conclude that magic, according to the Qur’an, can be classified into two categories: Those instances wherein the objective is deception, jugglery, sleight of hand and legerdemain and possesses no reality, as we read: “Then lo! their cords and their rods– it was imaged to him on account of their magic as if they were running.”2 Another verse says: “So when they cast, they deceived the people's eyes and frightened them, and they produced a mighty enchantment.”3 From these verses it can be ascertained that magic does not possess any reality such that it could exert control over things, and leave an impact and influence upon them. Rather, it is jugglery of the magicians that gives the impression of magic.

From some of the verses of the Qur’an it can be inferred that certain kinds of magic do yield an influence, such as this verse, which says: “Even then men learned from these two, magic by which they might cause a separation between a man and his wife.”4 Another verse of the Qur’an says that they learned things that were detrimental to them and not at all beneficial.

“And they learned what harmed them and did not profit them.�

Magic is an old human practice. It is sometimes defined as deception by showing something to an audience, which is contrary to reality. In Islam this is part of magic, which is, however, defined as seeking the help of demons to perform something harmful against somebody.

In the light of the above definition, Islam considers magic to be an act of blasphemy. Thus, the Holy Quran say: "Suleiman (Solomon) did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved teaching men magic" (2:102) In an authentic saying, the Prophet of Islam p.b.u.h. 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.

Thus Islam condemns magic- even what is called the horoscope or luck or reading one's palm to foretell the future is also prohibited in Islam. This is based on the belief that no one knows the future or the unseen except God almighty. That is why the Quran asserts that even Muhammad does not know the unseen. Concerning this, it says: "If I had the knowledge of the unseen, I should have secured abundance for myself, and no evil would have touched me" (7:188).Again, God is described in the Quran as the knower of the unseen and the manifest (6:73) and as the holder of the keys of the unseen (6:59).

In another tradition, Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. says: "Avoid the seven deadly acts which are: ascribing partners to God, magic, killing the human self which Allah prohibited except with right, eating usury, devouring the orphan's wealth, defecting from the battle-field (without a justified reason) and slandering chaste, unwary believing women. Thus Islam has closed the door for practicing magic, simply because it is against its teachings, and it is deceptive and harmful.

Let us now review some of the verses of the Holy Quran that refer to magic: In Chapter two verse 101102, the Quran says: "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 Solomon; for Solomon 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 (magicians) 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).

Although Solomon 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.

Almost 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. While magic is always harmful, miracles are useful. Magic is from devils while miracles are from God. 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.

It may be said that the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. was himself exposed to the effect of magic. How could you explain this? This is true; but God saved him from the spell of magic through the repeated remembrance of God and the recitation of some chapters and verses of the Holy Quran. This took place to confirm the humility of Muhammad p.b.u.h. who was a human like other humans. This made it easier for his followers to imitate him. Two questions are pertinent in context: How to protect one's self from magic? And how to treat a person under the spell of magic?

Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. provided us with the recipe through which we can protect ourselves from magic. We shall be immune from magic 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.

These chapters are also recommended to be recited three times after the dawn prayer and three times after the sunset prayer. Secondly Prophet Mohammed p.b.u.h. encouraged us to recite the greatest verse in the Quran called the verse of the Throne, 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).

This verse should be recited after each and every one of the five daily prayers and before going to bed.

The Prophet p.b.u.h. also encouraged us Muslims to recite the last two verses of Chapter two at the beginning of every night whose translation is as follows: "The Messenger believes in that which has been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah and His angles and His scriptures and His messengers and they say: We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Your forgiveness, our Lord. Unto you is the journeying" (2:285).

"Allah tasks not a soul beyond its scope. For it (is only) that which it has earned, and against it (only) that which it has deserved. Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget, or miss the mark! Our Lord! Lay not on us such a burden as you did lay on those before us! Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear! Pardon us, absolve us and have mercy on us. You are our Patron; so grant us victory over the disbelieving folk" (2:286).

Prophet Mohammed p.b.u.h. said: (whoever recites the last two verses of the chapter called the Cow, they will suffice him). This means that they will protect him from every evil. Again seeking refuge in Allah and remembering his name is an effective protection against all evils including magic. Two main supplications are recommended in this respect. They are: I seek refuge in the complete words of Allah from the evils of what He created; In the name of Allah through whose name nothing on earth or in heaven can cause any harm.

If these two prayers are recited three times in the beginning of the day and in the beginning of the night, then no harm or evil will approach the reciter by the grace of Allah (S.W.T).

It remains to mention how we can treat a person under the spell of magic. It is possible, on the one hand, to learn magic so that one can use the same tactics. All in all, the best cure is to recite the Quran and seek God's help.

Islam’s position on sorcery for both the one who practices magic and the one who believes in sorcery can be summed up in just one sentence. Sorcery is absolutely forbidden. However, let us try to discover why Islam forbids it. Remembering that Islam is a way of life, not just a set of beliefs that people may or may not practice, we find that sorcery is forbidden because of the damage it can do to individuals, families and the community.

Since the dawn of time, human beings have been fascinated by sorcery in all its forms. They have been mystified and awe inspired and often times unaware of the dangers inherent in sorcery. Sorcery is known in Arabic as sihr and it is one of the tricks that Satan uses to lead humankind astray. It is for this reason Islam warns against magic. God warns against it in the Quran.

“And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves, if they but knew.” (Quran 2:102) Sorcery is performed with the aid of the Jinn, whose help is attained when the sorcerer or sorceress does acts of disbelief and worships the Jinn and Satan. Thus they take the Jinn and Satan as lords besides God. Once the Jinn are pleased with the sorcerer or sorceress, they will do what they ask them. Renowned Islamic scholar of the 20th century Sheikh Ibn Baz, may God have mercy on him, said, “Sihr (sorcery) 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. It is a devilish action, most of which is only achieved by means of associating others with God and drawing close to the minions of Satan”.

Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, counselled his followers to avoid the seven destructive sins. “Making anyone or anything a partner with God; practicing sorcery; killing a living being without justification whose life has been declared sacred by Allah; practicing usury; misappropriating the property of an orphan; running away in a battle; and slandering chaste, innocent, believing women.”

During the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad one of the most popular forms of sorcery was to tie knots in a rope and then recite incantations over knots, thus bewitching or harming another person. This is mentioned in the second to last chapter of the Quran where we are encouraged to seek refuge from this evil. “And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow on knots.” (Quran 113:4) This form of sorcery was done to Prophet Muhammad but God did not allow it to cause him any harm. An evil man cast a spell on Prophet Muhammad using a hair that was caught in a comb along with a few fibers of a date palm. After the spell was cast the Prophet began to imagine that he had sexual relations with one of his wives when he had in fact not done so; The effect of the spell was limited and it did not in any way interfere with his responsibility of conveying the Divine Message. His beloved wife Aisha narrates that, “One day he (Prophet Muhammad) made supplication to God and then he said, “Do you know that God has shown me where my cure is? Two men came to me and one of them sat at my head and the other at my feet. One of them said to the other, ‘What is ailing the man?’ He said: ‘He has been bewitched.’ He said, “who has bewitched him?’ He said: ‘Labeed ibn al-A’sam.’ He said, ‘With what?’ He said, ‘With a comb, a hair that was caught onto it, and the fibre of a male date palm. He said, ‘Where is it?’ He said, ‘In the well of Dharwaan.’” He went to the well, came back and said, “Its date palms are like the heads of devils.” I said: “Did you take it out?” He said: “No. God has healed me, and I feared that that might bring evil upon the people.” Then the well was filled in. Prophet Muhammad again warns his followers about the dangers of magic (sorcery or witchcraft) when he states that, "Whoever ties a knot and then says incantations over it has committed sorcery and whoever commits sorcery has associated partners with God and whoever relies on something (other than God) will be turned over to it."

Another form of sorcery that is extremely popular nowadays is listening to predictions made by fortune tellers and consulting horoscopes. It is worth remembering what Prophet Muhammad said about these forms of sorcery, “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” This does not mean that a person is exempt from the prayer it means he will gain no reward from his prayer.

“Whoever goes to a fortune-teller or soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad.”

“He does not belong to us who believes in good or ill omens or asks others to give their views on good or ill fortune based on the motion of worldly objects, 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.”

Sorcery, sihr in Arabic, which includes witchcraft, fortune telling of any kind, astrology or divination is strictly forbidden in Islam. In all cases it involves dealing with the unseen and in most cases it involves ascribing partners with God. These are both very serious sins and will at the very least involve the person, who either practices or believes in sorcery, in behaviour that may lead to his or her eternal downfall.

HOW BLACK MAGIC STATRTED How black magic started – The history and story of Harut, Marut, Prophet Sulaiman, and the devils The events in this post are based on two Quranic verses of Surah Al-Baqara and Ibn Kathir’s writings.

Harut and Marut (mentioned in the Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah) were two angels who are known to be behind bringing black magic to this world. Quran clarifies the misunderstanding related to their role. They are mentioned in connection with the events that took place during the time of Prophet Solomon / Sulaiman (alaihis salam) the wise prophet and king, who came after Prophet Moses / Musa (alaihis salam). Allah’s revelation in the Quran about Sulaiman (alaihis salam) also clears the misconceptions that the Jews had about him that he was “just a sorcerer or idolator who was carried by the wind.”

Prophet Sulaiman’s powers Allah had bestowed Prophet Sulaiman (alaihis salam) with certain powers over mankind, Jinn and all other living creatures. Satan wanted to deprive him of this power. One day, as it was his practice, before going to answer the call of nature, Sulaiman (alaihis salam) gave his ring to a woman called Al-Jaradah.

Satan took advantage of this opportunity, came in the form of Sulaiman, and took the ring from her and put the ring on. As Allah had decreed to bless the holder of the ring to have many powers, all mankind, the jinn and devils submitted to Satan. Later, when Sulaiman came seeking his ring from the woman, she accused him of being an imposter. Prophet Sulaiman endured this with patience as he knew that this was a test from Allah the Almighty.

How black magic and fortune-telling became widespread?

With Satan having new powers, the devils were now free to do whatever they wished. It was at this time that they wrote books of black magic and buried them underneath the throne of Prophet Sulaiman (alaihis salam). Black magic and fortune telling came to the earth through these devils who (after having the new powers) would eavesdrop on the descending angels about matters decreed in the Heavens. The devils would then come down to inspire the soothsayers with it, and the latter would add to it many lies of their own. People would then believe them and regard them as trustworthy. The people started writing down these matters and the word spread among the Children of Israel that the Jinn knew the unseen.

Later, when Allah restored to Prophet Sulaiman (alaihis salam) his kingdom, and all those who had strayed away came to follow the straight path once again, Allah the Almighty informed Sulaiman (alaihis salam) about the magic that had become commonplace among his people. This then drove Sulaiman to quickly seize and gather all these writings and put them in a chest and bury them under his throne. All the devils who tried to even approach the chest were burned alive. Prophet Sulaiman took an even harder stance declaring that he would behead anyone who claimed that the devils knew the unseen.

Asif was Sulaiman’s scribe. He knew the Greatest Name of Allah and used to write what he was ordered to by Sulaiman and then bury it underneath the throne. After Sulaiman’s death, a devil came in the form of a human being to the people and said: “I will lead you to an everlasting treasure that will never run out.” He was referring to the writings of Prophet Sulaiman that were buried under the chest. The Satan led the people to dig under Sulaiman’s throne. To provide credibility to his word he also offered to be killed if he was not correct in his claims. After the people dug out all the writings, the devil told them that it was these writings that had given Prophet Sulaiman power over mankind, the Jinn and the birds. The devils altered these books by adding magical and blasphemous writings. The devils wrote about different types of sorcery meant to fulfill different desires.

For example, the devils wrote about how people could get some wishes fulfilled by standing facing the sun and saying some words, and how they could get other wishes fulfilled by standing with their back to the sun and repeating some other words. They wrote this in a book and sealed it with a ring bearing the inscription found on Sulaiman’s ring and titled it with: “This is what has been written by Asif Ibn Barkhiya by the order of King Sulaiman Ibn Dawud: from the treasures of knowledge.” Then, they buried it under Sulaiman’s throne.

It was rumoured and circulated that Sulaiman had been a sorcerer. Satan established himself as an orator and said: “O people! Sulaiman was not a prophet; he was only a sorcerer! Go and seek his sorcery in his dwellings and luggage.” And he led them to the buried “treasure”. The people said: “By Allah! Sulaiman was a sorcerer who subjected us through his magic.” But the believers from among them said: “Nay, he was a faithful Prophet.”

Quran’s verses and explanation on the reality of black magic During Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.S.) time, the Jews kept these writings and disputed the prophet (s) regarding them. They would ask Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.S.) about matters from the Torah. They said: “Muhammad confounds the truth with falsehood: he puts Sulaiman with the prophets while he was just a sorcerer who was carried by the wind.” When they asked him about sorcery, Allah the Almighty revealed to the prophet (s) the following verses:

islam on How black magic started The history and story of Harut, Marut, Prophet Sulaiman, and the devils They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaiman (Solomon). Sulaiman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (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 (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, “We are only 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 Allah’s Leave.

And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew. · And if they had believed, and guarded themselves from evil and kept their duty to Allah, far better would have been the reward from their Lord, if they but knew! Quran (Surah Al-Baqara, Verses 102103) Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.S) informed the Jews of this narration and they left defeated and humiliated.

Regarding the angels Harut and Marut mentioned in the verses, Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) elaborated that: “The angels Harut and Marut used to warn anyone who came to them to learn magic and would say to him: “We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).”

They knew what is good, what is bad, what is belief and what is disbelief and thus they knew that magic was associated with disbelief. Ibn ‘Abbas continued: “However, if they could not dissuade the person, they would tell him to go to a particular place to learn magic.

Allah the Almighty says:“…And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife,…” (Al-Baqarah, 2:102). i.e., the people learned from Harut and Marut the magic by which they would cause separation between man and his wife though the man and wife might have affinity and affection for each other. Separation between them is caused by the cunning of the devils as transmitted in Imam Muslim’s Sahih from the Hadith narrated by Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah as said by the Prophet (S.A.W.S.): “Iblis places his throne upon water; he then sends detachments (for creating dissension); the nearer to him in rank are those who are most notorious in creating dissension. One of them comes and says: “I did so and so.” And he says: “You have done nothing.” Then one amongst them comes and says: “I did not spare so and so until I

sowed the seed of discord between a husband and a wife.” Satan goes near him and says: “You have done well.” Al-A’mash said: “He then embraces him.”

The dissension between a husband and wife can be created through magic by the devil making each of them imagine something bad — a view, or manner, etc. – about the other. Allah the Almighty says: “But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah’s Leave” (Al-Baqarah, 2:102).

The lesson from the story is that magic is for real and Allah has provided Satan certain powers to harm mankind,especially those who believe in Allah and His message of truth. To prevent us from Satan’s plans and mischief, Allah has also provided us with many verses and adhkar that we can find in the Quran and Hadith. We should, therefore, be regular in reciting those Azkar to avoid getting in the traps of Satan all satanic activities.

Source: Ibn Kathir Stories

HISTORY OF MAGIC HISTORY OF MAGIC Asyro-Babylonian Magic The religion on the ground of today's Iran and Iraq 4000 years ago resembled the ancient Indian (Arian) one. It consisted of two groups of Gods: Ahuras and Daivas. In the beginning these two types of Gods had the same status, but then they segregated. While in India Ahuras became gods and Daivas became demons, in the Asyro-Babylonian civilization Daivas became gods and Ahuras devolved to demons. AsyroBabylonian religion relied heavily on Astrology and, in fact, the oldest concepts of astrology come from the areas around the rivers of Eufrat and Tiger, from ancient Mesopotamia. From here astrology was distributed to India, China, Greece and the rest of the world. The Asyrians were the ones who invented the Zodiac, the twelve signs, the 360 degrees circle, the idea of a "creative rest" day, the week of 7 days, the 12 months, 60 minutes in an hour, and they had very developed mathematics, mostly for the need of Astrology.

From the Asyro-Babylonian tradition originates the words Magic, Mag, and Magus. Magi (Magoi) were the highest priests, or "learned men," in the Asyro-Babylonian kingdom, and their art or science was called magic (or Magia). In the bible they are occasionally mentioned as a "tribe" which may point that the position was hereditary. Originally the Magi were just one of the many tribes in Mesopotamia, but later most of the priests were chosen exactly from this tribe and its name became symbol for magic and magicians. The Magi were known for their worship of fire, and had reputation of being able to control and direct fire and lightening. Eliphas Levi says that the Magi have discovered the secret of electricity and "were able to generate and direct it in ways that are now unknown" (History, 55). In favour of this may speak the artifacts that were found around today’s Baghdad, 400 years old, and which looked like

modern batteries. When scientist filled them with alkaline solution the "Baghdad Batteries" were perfectly able to produce electricity.

In the oldest theologies of the Asyro-Babylonian originally the highest god was Enlil, the Lord Wind, but in other theologies An (Anum) was the ruling god, together with his son Enki (Ea). Anum was the Sky God, and the king of all the other gods, while Ea was the God of Wisdom, and also the Lord of the Earth.

Although Anum was the king of the gods, Enlil had the executive power, which he often usurped. The most important god in the Babylonian tradition was Marduk, who originally was just an aspect of the Sun God. Under Babylonians he achieved supreme status and was equated with Asallunhi, the God of Magic.

The latter cult of Mithraism, that was spread through the Roman Empire in the first centuries of our era and was the main competitor to Christianity, has its origins on Mesopotamian ground. The theologies of the Mesopotamian cultures also contained entities which were usually not counted as gods but were sometimes considered more powerful than gods. Such entities were Tiamat, the mother of gods, which was identified with salt water, and Abzu, her counterpart, who fertilized her with his seed which is identified with fresh water. Tiamat was killed by Enlil when she tried to avenge the murder of Abzu. From the dead body of Tiamat, man was created.

The greatest magical figure of these times was Zarathustra (or Zoroaster in Greek pronunciation). His life is dated differently by different authors and some speculate that there were several Zarathustras. The accepted time period of his life is usually put in the VI-VII century BCE, while some authors date it more precisely "258 years before Alexander [of Macedon]." Zarathustra proclaimed one God from the kind of Ahuras, called Ahura Mazda, or only Mazda, which means "Sage God" or "Sage." Zarathustra was his prophet on Earth. But on the opposite side of this God who represented all good and right, Zarathustra put Ahriman, the representative of all evil. These two forces were in a constant combat with each other which kept the equilibrium of the universe. Zarathustrian religion was basically dualistic, because he gave both Gods almost the same power. Zarathustrian teaching is written in the holy book "Awesta," and the oldest part of it consists of 20,000 verses called gathas. Gathas are written personally by Zarathustra. This verses brought him the reputation of magician, and father of the magic, but they are also beautiful as poetry. Herzfeld says about them: "The gathas are poetry. Be there ever so much darkness in them, the train of thought clears up with the progress of study"(238).

Egyptian Magic The religion of the Ancient Egyptians was inseparably intermingled with magic. The Egyptian religion, alike the early Mesopotamian religion, was streaming directly from Shamanism, and therefore had more close contact with its gods. One of the strongest characteristics of the Egyptian magic and religion was the use of the "words of power." The old Egyptians believed that everything, men and gods included, had its "true name," and if a magician knew that name he could control the entity that bears it. Most of the spells were cast calling the "true names" of the deities who were supposed to obey every wish of the operator when called by those names. These names were usually in a foreign jargon, meaningless to the operator, and hard to pronounce. The failure of such operations was usually ascribed to the mispronunciation of those names.

We have an example of the use of these "words of power" in the legend of Isis and Osiris. The goddess Isis, later the wife of Osiris, the legend says, was a mortal woman who was very skilled in magic. She knew that Osiris was taking walks through his park every day, and one day she concealed a poisonous snake on his path. Osiris got bitten by the snake and he yelled for help, but no one could help him since only Isis had the anti-poison. She came and asked from him his true name in exchange for the cure. In first he didn’t agree, but as death approached him, he whispered his real name to Isis. With this name she became a goddess and married Osiris.

The famous Egyptologist E.W. Budge, says the following about the power of the names in ancient Egypt: "It was believed that if a man knew the name of a god or a devil, and addresses him by it, he was bound to answer him and do whatever he [the man] wished; and the possession of the knowledge of the name of a man enabled his neighbour to do him good or evil"(157). Egyptians had particular love for amulets and talismans. They were everyday thing, worn for health, luck, money, protection, etc. Most of the curing in the Egyptian medicine was done through amulets and spells, and very little through material cures, since Egyptians, despite the mummification process, knew very little of anatomy and physiology, and of the causes of illnesses. Many of the Egyptian amulets are used even today. Such are the "udjat," or the eye of Horus, which was supposed to give the bearer power to see things that other cannot see, also the "ankh," the Egyptian cross, which gives long life, and the scarab, symbol of resurrection, and thus overly used in the mummification process.

Egyptians, alike the surrounding nations, extensively used wax figures for spell casting and enchanting objects at distance. Usually they would ascribe the actions taken during the casting of the spell to some deity, depending on the task, so that the punishment, in case of failure, does not fail on the operator.

There were special formulas for procuring dreams, even for ordering certain kind of dreams, of precognitive or other nature. The Ancient Egyptians, alike the other Ancient Civilizations gave special importance to the dreams, which they considered communication from gods. Fatalism, was wide spread, since they believed the destiny of a man was set before he was born. Therefore astrology, especially natal horoscopes, was very widely used. Connected with this was the belief in "lucky" and "unlucky" days and according to their tables almost every third day in the year was unlucky.

Man was considered to be consisted of nine parts: a physical body, a shadow, a double or KA, a soul or BA, a heart or IB, a spirit or KHU, a power, a name, and a spiritual body. The KA was the double of the physical body and it remained around the grave after death. In the graves of the pharaohs there were special places built for the KA, called "The Temples of KA." The KA was usually shown as two upward hands. The IB or the heart had great influence after the death when the earthly deeds of the individual were judged. The heart was measured against a feather, and if it showed heavier, the person was thrown to a crocodile-like monster to be eaten. In the "Book of the Dead" there are special prayers with which the person prays its heart not to testify against him. The BA or the soul leaves for heaven after death, and it might visit the grave from time to time. It was depicted as a bird with the head of the person.

The process of mummification was the most complicated ritual in the Egyptian magic and religion. The body was anointed with countless perfumes, specially prescribed amulets and formulas were put in special places, talismans and sacred stones were put in their places, and many liturgies and evocations

were held around the dead body. The social strata (or "cast") of the priests, who were the only magicians, was kept very closed from outsiders. Only in the latter days could foreigners receive initiation, and even then very rarely and under terrible oaths of secrecy. The priests considered themselves to be the "guardians of the relics of the former wisdom of nature", in which by definition can be recognized as echoes of the primeval Shamanism.

Hebrew magic With Judaism the polytheistic eon is starting its downfall and the monotheistic eon is arising. There were attempts at creating monotheistic religion already in the Ancient Egypt with the pharaoh Akhenaton who proclaimed the sun-god of Lower Egypt, Aton, as the supreme and only God. He built many temples for Aton, and gave up his deity (pharaohs were considered gods) in favour of his new God. His name, Akhenaton, means in the mercy of Aton. Unlike the other pharaohs, Akhenaton was depicted on the frescos and the pictures as imperfect human, bald and with a good-sized belly. The high priests of the old gods hated him for what he has done, and immediately after his death restored the old religion and erased the name of Akhenaton from every document or inscription they could find.

While in polytheism magic was not only allowed, but also a necessary part of religion and people’s everyday life, with monotheism we have different attitude. The monotheistic God condemns magic, because magic was always man's attempt to seize the power of God. The standard Biblical explanation is that by magic humans violate the order in God’s universe - they try to reach knowledge that is not for them (past, future, etc.); Adam & Eve were expelled from the Paradise because they could "become like one of Us." Monotheistic God doesn't want rivals, and even the personification of evil, the Satan, exists only because God allows it. In such environment only prayer was considered as a mean to influence reality. In the Old Testament there is a reference which suggest that true believer should not allow a witch to live.( Exodus|22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Deuteronomy|18:10 There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Deuteronomy|18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. ) Nevertheless, the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem performed acts of divination using animal innards. It is difficult, nowadays, to make distinction between Hebrew Magic and Kabbalistic Magic, with which, I am sure, many orthodox Kabbalists will strongly disagree. According to the legend, Kabbalah was a divine science given by God to Adam when he was sent to Earth. However, the first Kabbalistic manuscript dates from the seventh century AD, and Kabbalah had developed (or became public) about XII-XV century. After that we find such variations as Christian Kabbalah and Muslim Kabbalah. Because of that and because of the huge influence Kabbalah had on modern western magic, it will be discussed in separate chapter.

Graeco-Roman Magic The Magic of the classical world was formed under the influence of many factors including the preceding cultures and their own traditions. Greek magic was formed under the influence of the Hebrew magic, Egyptian magic, Greece's own Pantheon, and the teachings of the Pythagorean and Platonist philosophy schools. Many Greek scholars (like Solon) went to Egypt to complete their education. They brought parts

of the Egyptian culture, as well as parts of other cultures from the surrounding countries. It is very unfortunate that the Greeks were so amazed by Egypt and its religion that they tended to see everything as magic, even in the most ordinary religious rituals of the Egyptians. Hence along with some real magical information, Greek manuscripts are full of exaggerated stories about adventures in Egypt.

The famous story about Atlantis has its roots in one of Solon’s stories about his studies in Egypt. He was talking to an Egyptian priest, after he spent a lot of time in his temple and gained the trust of the priest, and the priest started reading him on of the texts written on a pillar in the temple. The story was about an ancient race of people that lived long ago from the other side of Gibraltar. The priest said that the Greeks, though they don’t know it, look alike this race. He said that they had developed civilization, command of the air and the water and were very intelligent. He goes on describing their capital which consisted of concentric circles of water and earth with ports on each land circle. On the innermost circle was built the largest and the most beautiful temple the world has seen, and was devoted to the fire, or the sun by some other sources. The priest told Solon how this race was in war with another race and their land was destroyed in that war and went under the sea. The people were forced to settle in the surrounding lands. One of the groups settled on the territory of today southern Greece. When Solon asked the priest why he never heard about such civilization, the priest answered that only the old cultures have preserved some memory of it, and the Egyptians as the oldest culture, have many documents about that and other older civilizations, since, the priest said, "many cultures have lived and died on this earth, and we are neither first nor the last."

Roman magic, alike Roman religion, is mainly a copy of the Greek one, but it was also influenced by their surrounding cultures. Romans inherited the great Greek pantheon, with all the legends and myths, but they also inherited the myths and the customs of the neighbouring Etrurian culture, which is still a great deal unknown. The Etrurians were another people (like the Greeks, the Basks, etc.) that do not belong into any Indo-European ethnical group. They had their own language and alphabet and had developed culture in the time when Romulus and Remus were still sucking milk from their wolf mother. When Romans grew into a powerful civilization they assimilated the Etrurians and they stopped to exist as a separate entity. The Romans accepted many customs from the Etrurians, one of the most important one being the telling the future from the liver of a sacrificial animal or by the flight of birds. Rome was also a place where believes from north like those of the Celts and the Germans, and from south like those of the Hebrews and the Persians, met and mixed. All this, even before the coming of Christianity, produced one very mixed and diverse environment which was very fertile for the development of magic and magicians.

Two most important magicians from this time are Apolonius of Tyana and Apuleius.

Early Medieval magic I consider early middle age as the period between VI and XIV century. In this period we find Christianity already firm on its throne and now the Christian rulers can afford such luxury as forbidding all other religions and any magical work on the territories of their states. However, there are hints that many priests, bishops, even popes have been very active in the magical art. Many books, supposedly written by bishops and popes, like Thomas Aquinas and Honorious II, were published after their death, but in many cases that did not stop the Church to proclaim them as saints.

Since the establishing of Christianity until the revival of magic in the XIX century magic and magicians were fiercely prosecuted, so in this period we can the development of the magical thought mainly through the magical workbooks called "Grimoires." The word "Grimoir" has the same root as the word "grammar," and it refers to a set of rules for doing something. This kind of magical compendiums became very popular especially in the later middle ages, but they were known since Egyptian and Babylonian times. The difference between the ancient Grimoires and the Medieval ones is that the ancient ones are written by learned people devoted to the study of magic for purposes of spiritual enlightenment and wisdom. The medieval ones were mostly random collage of bits collected from various manuscripts, often not on the same topic, with the sole purpose of achieving material wealth or getting the love of women.

It is very hard to find the bits of wisdom among all that junk and many people still perform rituals from some rotten manuscripts written by half-literate editor who collected the stuff from several manuscripts he never understood. This especially goes for the pronunciation and the spelling of various magical formulas and incantanions were the mistakes are sometimes disastrous. The Church and the Christian rulers have always prosecuted the magicians and burned their books, but most of the Grimoires were based on the Christian tradition and worshipped Our Lord Jesus Christ on every page.

Picatrix This is one of the oldest existing Latin Grimoires from the medieval period. The version currently existing of this Grimoir is a Latin translation of an Arabic original that probably is translation of a Greek original.

The Arab culture served as a guard for Greek and Roman works during the dark centuries when the church banned all speculation beyond the Apostolic Canon. The Arab tradition was much more tolerable towards the metaphysical thought and speculations. The Arab learn-ed men may still have some works of Plato, Aristotle and other philosophers still preserved today. The Greek and Latin works were retranslated to their original languages from Arabic manuscripts during the renaissance and Europe rediscovered what she always had. . Picatrix is classical Grimoir with spells and rituals for invoking ghosts, creating talismans, discovering treasures, etc. it discusses the nature of the demons and other spirits, mainly by the neo-platonistic school, and gives several ways of communicating with them. Besides its non-readability, and highly confusing and metaphorical language, this Grimoir is significant because it doesn't have as much Christian influence as the others, so we can trace the transformations of the magical thought.

Salomonis Clavicule This grimoire attributed to the king Solomon is probably the most famous in the European tradition of magic. It exists in countless revisions, rewrites, in manuscripts and printed, on almost all European languages. The oldest sample of the grimoire on Greek originates from VI century, while the newest can be found in the bookstores, since it is frequently reprinted. The grimoire consists of instructions how to make magic circle, how to prepare for evocation of spirits and how to evoke and use them, then it contains instructions on making talismans, sigils, magical squares, etc. The version that is published nowadays is the translation of Samuel Lidel McGregor Mathers who unscrupulously cut a lot of the grimoire’s best parts, judging that "its not for the public," overlooking that the original manuscript can be found in many major libraries. The symbolism of the original Salomonis Clavicule is Hebrew with Egyptian

allusions, but there is a version which has translated all the symbols to their Christian equivalents. There is also a book called Lemegeton or "The Lesser key of king Solomon" which is also known as Goetia, and develops further the evocations of the spirits. There are translations of Goetia from Mathers and Aleister Crowley. There is also a very famous version of Salomonis Clavicule called True Black Magic which deals especially with the darker aspects of the original grimoire.

Kabbalah About hundredth years ago Kabbalah was considered a system of Hebrew religious and mystical philosophy. Only after the destruction of the secret magic order "Golden Dawn" it was revealed that Kabbalah had an occult and magical tradition woven in it. The word "Kabbalah" means "Tradition", or literally "from mouth to ear." The Kabbalistic rituals and methods weren't put on paper until "Golden Dawn." Kabbalah is extremely important for the western magic because most of it is based on the concepts that Kabbalah developed. Kabbalah teaches that all visible world was created by emanations from the "Superior Being" and the Kabbalists describe that process through a diagram called "The Tree of Life" which consist of three veils, 22 paths, 10 sephiroths(fruits), and one hidden sephiroth. Kabbalah teaches that the "Superior Being" emanated itself first through the three veils than in the highest sephiroth which is the plan of God, and continued to emanate itself in more and more dense form until it finally came to the last, tenth sephiroth which is the material plan. Kabbalah attributes certain powers to each of the sephiroths and an essential parts of the Kabbalah are the methods for evoking these powers.

Kabbalah considers the tree of life as a diagram of the universe (macrocosm), as well as the diagram of the man (microcosm). The Kabbalah's teachings in a hidden form, the form for the non-initiated, is given in two main books. The firs called Sefer Jecirah in symbolic way describes "The Tree of Life" and the properties of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet which is attributed to the paths on "The Three of Life."

Sefer Jecirah's oldest versions dates from the VI century, but it claims that it comes from the first men on earth. The second important book is Sefer Zohar or "The Book of Splendor". Opposite of Sefer Jecirah which is about 20-30 pages, Zohar comes in five volumes of the basic contents with thousands of pages, and even more commentaries on the main volumes. Zohar speaks in extremely metaphoric language which is understandable only for the initiates of the Kabbalah. After the destruction of the Golden Dawn order, the parts of the Kabbalah that were never put in writing were published by Aleister Crowley, and later by Israel Regardie.

Later Medieval Magic The second part of the middle century (which I am considering until the XIX century) is marked by the appearing of the press. The hard job of rewriting books now was made easier by the printing press and a real explosion of books, and among them also magical ones, appeared. For the sake of numbers I would like to mention that before the XIV century in Europe were circulating around 20,000 different books, while after the invention of the press the number of the books circulating in 50 years increased to 200, 000 books (Breau 32). Here we also have to look in the Grimoires because the authors were still under pressure from the church and couldn't express their identity publicly.

Pope Honorius

"The sworn book of Pope Honorius" is very infamous grimoire in the western tradition. Partially its reputation is due to the very unfavorable description in Eliphas Levi's book "Transcendental Magic (12936)." The "Sworn Book" started circulating during Pope's life, and it contained spells and evocations for evoking the devil. The book contains some references about sacrificing animals, and some of them Levi interpreted like codes for sacrificing human beings. The book had several editions, as well as some modern reprints.

Pope Leon Another Pope involved in magic, which is not very surprising since the Vatican library especially its secret chambers was, and probably still is, the richest with forbidden books, including magical books. There are rumours that from every heretic or magical book the inquisition burned (together with the author of course), a sample was sent to Vatican for cataloguing. "The Enchrydium of Pope Leon" is another very famous grimoire and it contains exorcists spells for banishing demons but also instructions for holding black masses and evoking demons. After the original on Latin, the book was translated on French, German and English. The first edition on the cover contained a talisman for which the author claimed that have a tremendous power, either for evoking demons or banishing them.

Cornelius Agrippa Agrippa was born in Germany where he spent most of his life. When he started writing (on Latin by the custom of that time) he added to his name the Latin ending "Agrippa." He is most famous by his work in three volumes "De Occulta Philosophiae" in which he defends magic as a science, and gives an outline of all magical teachings with their principles. In this book he also comprehensively discusses Kabbalah and gives many examples for creating Kabbalistic talismans. He also gives the sigils of the planetary spirits used for their evocation. Besides all this ",De Occulta Philosophiae" is mainly theoretical work, but about 100 years after the first publishing of this book another volume called "The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy" started circulating and it contents were much like a classical grimoire. The authenticity of this book is not proved. Agrippa published another book after the "De Occulta Philosophiae" called "De Vanitatie Scientiae" which had quite pessimistic notation, and in which he tries to prove that all sciences are not serving any cause.

Modern Magic The revival of magic is usually taken to begin in 1855-56 with the printing of the Eliphas Levi's books "The Dogma of the High Magic" and "The Ritual of the High Magic." This is the time when the glory of the period of rationalism is passing and people are starting to be disappointed by the rigidness of the rationalistic view of the world. The people are looking for alternatives, and they are staring to rediscover the occult tradition. Many half-forgotten books are traced back on the dark shelves of the old libraries and studied with zeal. New books are written on the old topics and new ideas are appearing. In short, the occultism is blooming.

The end of XIX century is also marked by the creation and destruction of the "Golden Dawn," the most influential magical order in Europe. The original order lasted for less than twenty years, but its successors orders are active even today. But with the new wave of magical thought, the magic itself is understood (by the majority, at least) to have different goals than before. The trends in the modern magic are to shape magic as a form of spiritual path, as a method for accelerated evolution. Discovering treasures, and winning love and favor, are now left to the dilettantes. Most of today's spiritual paths originated at west are trying to fuse the eastern and western wisdom in one universal path.

Eliphas Levi His real name was Alphonse Luis Constant and he took the pseudonym Eliphas Levi when he started writing works about magic. He went to religious school and became a priest of the lowest rank, but he couldn't make a career in that vocation because of his radical views. He was imprisoned because of printing pamphlets with ideas not compatible with those of the ruling class of that time. His first teacher in occultism was the polish mystic Wronski, who wrote in his memoirs that he initiated Levi in the secrets of the High Kabbalah. After that, Levi spent much time studying occult books and Grimoires and he synthesizes all that knowledge in his books "Dogma and Ritual of the High Magic" (translated by A.E. Waite under the name of "Transcendental Magic: Theory and Practice") and "History of Magic." By the style of his writings he was still a magician of the old school because he didn't try to show any concepts of magic as scientific, but by the conciseness and the comprehensives he belongs to the new school. His language is very metaphorical, he makes a lot of references to other books (Crowley says that Levi never read some of them), and his writing has low readability from time to time. In "Transcendental Magic" he divides the chapters by the 22 Tarot Atus and claims that all the wisdom is already contained in a symbolical form in the pictures on the cards. Although he calls his second book "The Ritual of High Magic" it is still a great deal theoretical treatise than practical compendium. Crowley says that the most valuable Levi’s writings are his letters of instruction to his students. Levi could not live only from writing books about magic (unlike today) so he had to give lessons in order to feed himself. This letters are his most valuable works. His "History of Magic" is very comprehensive, but it gives very little facts about the history of magic and is more a discussion of the concepts that Levi believes are fundamental to any magical working. His works are frequently reprinted.

Golden Dawn This secret society made great impact on the European magic of the XX century with the publishing of its secret material by its former members. According to a story that circulated among the members of the society, it is based on a coded manuscript that Win Westcot, one of the founders, freemason and occultist, found in an antique store (Crowley 452). Then Westcot contacted Samuel Lidel McGregor Mathers, who was a respectable magician and Egyptologist in that time, and they together decoded the manuscript which consisted of four complicated rituals. In the manuscript they found an address of a certain person called Mrs. Spriengel from Germany who was responsible for a secret magic order, supposedly from the tradition of the Rosicrucians. From Mrs. Spriengel they received a letter of approval for founding the secret magic order Golden Dawn with the first lodge Isis-Urania in London. The founders

and the heads of the society were Mathers, Westcot, and Woodman, another English occultist and freemason.

The order offered a complex magical (hermetic) training, and it had degrees that corresponded to the sephiroth of the Tree of Life. For earning each degree there was a certain amount of theoretical and practical knowledge that should have been achieved. The obtaining of the degrees and the initiations were performed as group rituals. The Neophyte (the pretender to the first degree of Zelator) was given "knowledge lessons" which contained the symbolism of the Hebrew Alphabet, astrology and Alchemy.

After that there was the initiation ritual and later every pretender for greater degree had to pass exam by the higher degree members. The degrees contained such things as Kabbalistic correspondences, making natal astrological charts, divination with Tarot and Geomancy, Clairvoyance with tattwas, astral projection, Enochian Magic, etc. There were detailed instructions for preparing magical weapons and robes and for their consecration. Every degree had different robe, different emblem, magical motto, symbol, etc. The progress of the members was monitored through keeping magical diaries, which is still wide practice today. The highest degree holders periodically controlled them. This was mainly Win Westcot’s job, and after his death no one could do it with his efficiency, so before the breakdown of "Golden Dawn" it turned more to a bridge club where degrees were given without any real practical basis.

The order fell apart from two basic reasons. First, after the deaths of Westcot and Woodman, Mathers was left as an unquestioned dictator which he used for ruling the order with an iron fist. Because of this many progressive members of the order have left, and because Mathers wasn't interested in the boring jobs of admitting and testing, the new members were of poor quality. The final blow to "Golden Dawn" was given when Aleister Crowley published all its secret materials in his magazine "Equinox." Israel Regardie afterwards reprinted these materials many times in many editions. The public availability of materials with such value, written without metaphors, for instant practice, had bombastic influence on the development of magic orders and on the practicing of magic in Europe. There were several orders that sprang from the ruins of "Golden Dawn" like "Stella Matutina" and today we still have orders that practice the orthodox "Golden Dawn" style of magic like the Oxford based "hermetic Order of Golden Dawn."

Aleister Crowley Crowley was born in England in 1875, the year when Eliphas Levi died. Crowley came from a rich, noble family that enabled him to study at Cambridge where he met for the first time with occultism and magic.

He was initiated in Golden Dawn and under the guidance of his teacher Allan Bennet, very powerful magician at that time, he passed through all the degrees of the order in about year and a half, something that no one else had done before. Allan Bennet was the adopted son of Mathers, the head of the order, and was very talented in the occult sciences. He moved to Crowley’s apartment and taught him everything he knew about magic. Later he was forced to leave for Ceylon, because he had life-threatening asthma. There he became Buddhist monk and spent several years on monastery. He returned to England where he stayed until the end of his life trying to prove the existence of the Astral world empirically.

Crowley saw that he cannot stay in the Mathers dominated Golden Dawn anymore, so he left the order and published all of its secret materials in his newspaper "Equinox." He justified this claiming that he was ordered to publish the secret materials by the "Great Chiefs" of the order. The most significant event in Crowley’s life happened in Cairo in 1904, where he received a message from an extraterrestrial intelligence that called itself "Aivass" and who gave Crowley the text of the sacred book "Liber Legis" later to be called "Liber AL vel Legis" procaliming new religion called Thelema (from the Greek word meaning "will"). Crowley was the prophet of this religion and according to Liber AL he proclaimed the new Aeon under the domination of the God Heru-Paar-Kraat. This Aeon was supposed to be the Aeon of the child, Horus, by the Egyptian sumbology. It was the third Aeon, the first two being the Aeon of the mother, Isis, which was the Aeon of matriarchate and polytheistic religions, and the aeon of the father, Osiris, which was the Aeon of the patriarchate and monotheistic religions.

Crowley spent the rest of his life preaching his religion, although he claimed that he tried to renounce it several times, but it was stronger htan him. He wrote many books about magic, replacing the symbols of the old age in them with the symbols of his new religion. His works on Kabbalistic correspondences which were started already on "Golden Dawn" with Bennet are especially valuable and are published in his book "Liber 777." He formed a secret society called Argentum Astrum which later became the inner organization of O.T.O. It was supposed to be the only real successor of Golden Dawn, but it disappeared within OTO. Crowley was head of O.T.O. during his life. He died in 1947 in an asylum for old people.

O.T.O. O.T.O. or Ordo Templi Orientis claims to originate from the knights Templars. It was founded by Karl Kellner who claimed that three magicians from the east initiated him in the secrets of the order. The order practiced a mixture of oriental Tantra Yoga and western magic, mainly the Freemason tradition, which resulted in a form a sexual magic. However, some forms of sexual magic practiced within OTO like autoeroticism have no parallels in the Eastern Tantric teachings. Before Crowley became head of the order and reformed it, OTO was a mainly rosicrucian order with many Masonic elements.

Crowley was proclaimed head of the English branch by Theodore Reuss, who inherited Kellner after his death in 1905, after the publishing of Crowley’s "Book of Lies" in which he discovered the highest secret of the order accidentally. After the death of Reuss, Crowley became the international chief of the order.

He changed the rituals of the order to be compatible with his Thelema religion, added some new rituals, and put homosexual magic as a compulsory part of the degrees (he actually added the XI degree which was reversed IX degree which involved heterosexual magic). After the death of Crowley in 1947, Karl Germer took the leadership, but Kenneth Grant, influential member of the order who was not too happy with the inside situation, formed his own branch of O.T.O in 1955. After the death of Kellner, the order segregated in two parts, that of Kenneth Grant who excluded homosexual magic, and included some new techniques, and the "orthodox" branch that continued with the old practice Today there are many orders that claim the title "the only original O.T.O" including the voodoo O.T.O.A. of Michael Bertiaux.

Epilogue As we saw through this short presentation, magic tends to incorporate itself in the science again, from where it was banished long time ago. Many fields that were taken as magic now are parts of the science, like hypnosis that became important part of psychology and the same is with suggestion. Today's magic doesn't intend anymore to give the practitioner primarily the power over the world, but to give him a safe method of self-development and self-improvement. Magic, along with the other spiritual paths, tends to fill the hole left in the modern man's soul by the material science that refuses everything spiritual. The final reunion of the spiritual and the material sciences has already begun. How long it will last, depends only on us, the next generation.

DEFINITION OF SIHR Sihr is an agreement set up between a sahir and a Satan, which stipulates that the sahir commit certain illegal or polytheistic acts, in return for the Satan's assistance and obedience in fulfilling the sahir's request.

Literal meaning of Sihr (Black Magic) According to Al-Layth Sihr is an act which brings one closer to, and with the help, of Satan.

According to Al-Azhari The basic meaning of sihr is to make something appear in a form other than its real one.

According to Ibn Mandhur When a sahir makes something false appear to be real, or makes something appear to people appear differently from its true form, it means that he has given an object a status other than its real one.

Shamir reported on the authority of Ibn 'A'isha Arabs have given it the name sihr because, it can transform good health into illness.

According to Ibn Faris Some say that sihr is to make what is false appear to be true.

According to Muhit al-Muhit Sihr is the presentation of an object in its best form, to the extent of tempting the viewer.

Technical meaning of Sihr (according to Muslim tradition) According to Al-Fakhr Ar-Razi According to Muslim tradition, sihr is anything the cause of which is hidden, and which appears in a form other than its real one, with the intention to distort the reality of things and deceive.

According to Ibn Qudama AI-Maqdisi Sihr is a set of 'uqad (knots), ruqa (incantations), and words uttered or written, or carried out in such a way as to affect the body of the subject (al-mashur), his heart or mind, without even coming into

contact with him/her. The reality of sihr is that there are some types that can kill, cause one to fall ill, or act as an obstacle against a man having sexual intercourse with his wife. Other types can separate spouses, and can make them hate or love each other.

According to Ibn Al-Qayyim Sihr consists of the effects of evil souls and the reaction of the resultant forces.

Is the Treatment of Sihr with Sihr Lawful?

Ibn Qudama stated: "If sihr is treated with the recitation of some of verses of the Qur'an or some invocations, then there is nothing wrong with it. As for the treatment of sihr with sihr, Imam Ahmad never went beyond this issue."

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar reported: "According to the Prophet's (Peace and Blessing upon Him) hadith, ' Annushra is a work of Satan," an-nushra is a reference to the purpose for which it is sought. For instance, if it is intended for something good, then it is good, but if it is intended for something bad, then it is bad.

However, an-nushra may be two types, and this is, according to Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, is the correct view: 1. Lawful Nushra. Treating sihr with the Qur'an or permissible invocations.

2. Unlawful Nushra. Treating sihr with sihr, which entails seeking the assistance of demons, befriending, or seeking refuge in them or pleasing them. Perhaps this is the type intended in the hadith, 'An-nushra is a work of Satan.' More to the point, how can this type of nushra be lawful, while the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) warned in more than one hadith that going to the Sahara and soothsayers and believing in what they say is disbelieving in what has been sent to Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him).

According to Ibn Al-Qayyim: "An-nushra is curing a person of sihr, and it is two types: 1. Treating sihr with sihr, which is a work of Satan. This is supported by Al-Hasan Al-Basri's view; that through it, both an-nashir (the one who uses nushra) and al-muntashir (the one who has it done for him) befriend the demon by answering to his needs. In return, the demon invalidates the sihr.

2. Treating sihr with ruqyah (words of seeking refuge in Allah from evil) and invocations) is permitted.

Is Learning Sihr Lawful?

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar reported: "The verse (We (the Jinn) are but a temptation; do not disbelieve,) indicates that learning sihr is an act of disbelief." FathAl-Barr.10/225

Ibn Qudama reported: "That learning or teaching sihr is an unlawful act is an uncontroversial issue among scholars as far as we know. The Hanbalists hold that a person becomes an unbeliever if he learns to practise sihr, whether he believes in sihr as lawful or unlawful."

According to Ar-Razi: "Researchers in the subject of sihr agree that knowledge of sihr is not shameful nor unlawful, on the basis that seeking knowledge is an honourable pursuit in itself, and also on the basis of the general meaning of the verse: (Say: "Are those with knowledge and those without knowledge equal?) (39:9) Furthermore, if sihr were not accessible to learn, it would not be possible to distinguish it from a miraculous work; and knowledge of whether or not something is a miracle is obligatory. Therefore, acquiring knowledge of sihr is obligatory and what is obligatory cannot be unlawful or shameful."

According to Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir: "There are, however, arguments concerning Ar-Razi's view. First, if ArRazi meant that learning sihr is not shameful, logically, then there opponents of sihr among the Mu'tazilites deny such a view. However, if he meant that learning sihr is not shameful, legally (under Islamic Law), then learning how to practice sihr has been condemned in the following verse (...and they follow what the Satans recited over Sulayman's Kingdom. Sulayman disbelieved not but the Satans disbelieved, teaching the people sorcery...), and in general, in the following hadiths; "And whosoever has sought the services of a clairvoyant or soothsayer, has in fact disbelieved in the Message sent to Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him)." (Transmitted in Al-Bukhari), and "Whosever ties a knot and blows into it, has committed an act of sihr." (Transmitted in the Sunan).

Second, how can it be that 'researchers on the subject of sihr agree that knowledge of sihr is not unlawful' whilst the Qur'an and the hadith warn against its learning. Furthermore, agreement among researchers requires evidence which proves that the leading scholars, or most of them, hold that it is not unlawful to learn it. But where are their views? Moreover, including the learning of sihr in the meaning of know in the verse: Say: "Are those with knowledge and those without knowledge equal?) (39:9) is disputable, because this verse praises scholars who are learned in the disciplines of the Islamic religion.

Also, the view that knowing the work of a miracle is dependable on learning sihr is weak and incorrect.

This is because, the most magnificent miracles that happened to Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him) was the revelation of the Qur'an. Therefore, knowledge of the Qur'an as a miracle does not necessarily depend on learning sihr. Another argument is that it is common that the companions of the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) scholarly predecessors, contemporary leading Muslim scholars and ordinary Muslims would know a miraculous work and would distinguish it from other acts, and they did not have to know sihr, learn or teach it.

Abu Hayan stated in Al-Bahr Al-Muhif. "The sihr which glorifies other than Allah ('Azza wa Jalla), such as planets and demons is unanimously an act of disbelief, and, therefore, it is unlawful to learn or use.

Also, the sihr which intends to kill or separate between a husband and his wife or between two friends, is unlawful to learn or use. Even the sihr which has purposes other than those stated above should not be learnt nor used. In addition, charlatanism, magic and the like must not be learnt because they are part of falsehood; even if they are used as a means of entertainment."

This is a sound view which should be relied on as far as learning sihr is concerned.

WARNING AGAINST GOING TO A MAGICIAN

Having understood that witches are Kafirs, and that the punishment for witchcraft in Islam is beheading with the sword. We are going to explain that Islam forbids the Muslim to go to witches. In the Musnad of Al-Bazzar it is narrated with a Hasan Isnad that Ibn 'Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "He is not one of us who observes bird omens or has that done for him, who tells fortunes or has his fortune told, who does witchcraft or has witchcraft done for him. Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him)."

In Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Avoid the seven (sins) that doom a person to Hell."

They said: "O Messenger of Allah, what are they?" He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Associating others with Allah (Shirk), witchcraft, killing a soul whom Allah has forbidden killing, except in cases required by Islamic law, consuming Riba, consuming the orphan's wealth, running away from the battlefield, and slandering chaste and innocent believing women."

And he (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Whoever goes to a fortune teller and believes what he says has nothing to do with what Allah revealed to Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him), and whoever goes to him and does not believe him, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days."

A person may say: I am not going to cause harm to anyone, rather I am going to undo witchcraft that was done to me, or for healing, and other such excuses. We say to him: You are like one who seeks relief from the desert heat by throwing himself into the fire.

The jinn often rebel against the witch and cause him sicknesses for which he can find no remedy.

The jinn and devils often let the witch down and do not help him. Allah says: (And Shaytan (Satan) is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need.) (Al-Furqan 25:29)

The jinn often ask the witch to commit immoral actions with the women who go to him, or to write on them with blood in sensitive places.

Witchcraft often produces the opposite effect to what was hoped for, so the one who asks for witchcraft to be done ends up being afflicted. How many women have performed witchcraft on their husbands to make them love them, and not take a second wife, then the husband divorces his wife as a result of witchcraft. Allah says: (But the evil plot encompasses only him who makes it.) (Al Fatir 35:43)

A woman or a man may be healthy, then they go to this man (the witch) who sends jinn to them to cause trouble for them, in order that he may take their money from them.

The demands of the jinn and devils are many and exhausting. Sometimes they demand the sacrifice of an animal, a rooster or a pigeon that must meet stringent conditions, the blood of which is to be smeared on the sick person. Or they may demand that the sick person keep away from people in a room into which no sunlight may come for forty days, or not to touch water for a certain period of time, and other, endless demands. In each region there are jinn who make their own demands, unique to that region. In Upper Egypt there is a well that is called Abu Hashimah, to which the witches send women to immerse themselves on Fridays after Maghrib prayer, seeking a cure for infertility. In this abandoned well there are many jinn who enjoy seeing the 'Awrah (nudity) of these women. A jinn may be attracted to a woman and have intercourse with her. The poor man who brings his wife to this well forgets that the One Who has control over matters of fertility is Allah, may He be exalted. Allah says: To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female (offspring) upon whom He wills, and bestows male (offspring) upon whom He wills. Or He bestows both males and females, and He renders barren whom He wills. Verily, He is the All-Knower and is Able to do all things. (Al-Shura 42:49-50)

The demands of the jinn and devils are endless and exhausting. Allah indeed spoke the truth when He said: And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the males among the jinn, but they (jinn) increased them (mankind) in sin and transgression. (Al-Jinn 72:6) Shaykh Hafiz Al-Hukami (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is Haram to undo the spell of a witch by means of further witchcraft, because that is cooperating with the witch and approving of his action, and drawing close to the Shaytan by various means in order to undo what was done to the victim. Hence Al-

Hasan said: No one regards witchcraft as permissible except the witch. Hence you see many evil witches during times when there is no sword to deter them, deliberately bewitching people, whether they love them or hate them, in order to force them to ask him to undo it, as a means of taking people's wealth unlawfully, taking control of their wealth and misleading them.

Having said all this, we call upon the Ummah of Tawhid, the Ummah of the Qur'an, the Ummah of Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him) those who adhere to correct belief, to tell them that the witch is a Kafir and his actions are Kufr. He does not have the power to bring benefit or harm to himself, he has no power to give life or death or to bring life after death. He has no knowledge of the unseen.

The jinn who serve the witch are also Kafirs and rebels, because the believer among the jinn, like his counterpart among mankind, does not agree to be subjugated and enslaved; he is proud and does riot accept to go down to such a level.

O Ummah of the Qur'an, look at the state of the witches in all places. They beg for the money that they take from the sick, so how can they make you rich? As Islam has closed the door to going to witches, is there any alternative? We say: Yes, there is an alternative in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him).

Signs by which a Witch may be recognised 1. He asks about one's name and one's mother's name.

2. He demands the slaughter of an animal or bird, whether it has specific characteristics or not, and whether the blood is to be smeared on the sick person or not.

3. He tells the sick person to eat a certain kind of food, or to drink a certain kind of drink, for a specific period of time, whilst keeping away from people in a darkened room during this period.

4. He gives the sick person papers to burn and scent himself with the smoke (like incense), or to hang them up, or to bury them.

5. Everyone who writes letters or numbers, or hexagons, or tears up the words of Allah, is a witch.

6. Everyone who mutters incomprehensible words, or words in a language other than Arabic, is a witch.

Punishment under Islamic Law for Practising Sihr

According to Imam Malik, a person who practises sihr (sahir), but does not have it done for himself is similar to the person Allah describes in the following verse: (...and they learned what hurt them, and did not profit them, knowing well that whoso buys it shall have no share in the world to come.) (2:102).

According the verse, Imam Malik believed that the Punishment for practising sihr is the death sentence.

Al-Muwatta (628)

According to Ibn Qudama, the Punishment for practising sihr is the death sentence. This view was reported by 'Umar, 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan, Ibn 'Umar, Hafsa, Jundub Ibn 'Abdullah, Jundub Ibn Ka'b, Qays Ibn Sa'd, and 'Umar Ibn 'Abdul'aziz. It is also the view of Abu Hanifa and Malik.

According to al-Qurtubi, scholars of jurisprudence disagreed as to the punishment of a Muslim who practises sihr and a zimmi who practises sihr. According to Malik, the Punishment for a Muslim person who uses sihr himself that contains words of disbelief is the death sentence. He must not be requested to repent, as his repentance would not be accepted. This is because his sihr is something which he keeps secret, just like a disbeliever or an adulterer. This is also because Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) defines sihr as disbelief: (they taught not any man, without they said, 'We are but a temptation; do not disbelieve.)

(2:102). This is also the view of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Abu Thawr, Ishaq, Ash-shafi'i (Ash-shafi'i held that a sahir should not be sentenced to death for simply practicing sihr, but rather, he should be killed, under al-qasas Law, if he has used a sihr which has claimed a life (quoted by Ibn Al-Mudir and others) and Abu Hanifa (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi (2/48)) According to Ibn Al-Mundir, the punishment for a person who admits to the use of sihr, containing words of disbelief is the death Punishment, if he does not repent, and also if the evidence against him shows that he has used words of disbelief. If he says that the sihr he has used did not contain words of disbelief, then he shall not be sentenced to death. If the sihr he used harmed a person so seriously as to deserve the death Punishment (under qasas law), then he must be sentenced to death, if he uses this sihr with intent to harm. However, if the sihr used does not merit the death penalty, then the penalty shall be blood money. Quoted from Tafsir Al-Qurtubi (2/48) Ibn Kathir argued that according to the verse: (...yet had they believed and been Allah-fearing, a recompense from Allah had been better, if they had but known) (2:103), a sahir does not commit such an act of disbelief when he uses sihr, a view which was held by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and a group of predecessors. However, the punishment for committing such act is the death penalty, according to a previous case reported by Ash-Shafi'I and Ahmad: "Sufyan Ibn 'Uyayna quoted 'Amru Ibn Dinar, 'I heard Bajala Ibn Abda say, "'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab instructed in writing to kill every sahir and sahira, so we killed three.'"

According to Ibn Kathir, this hadith is transmitted by Al-Bukhari in his sahih (Fath Al-Bari: 6/257). Ibn Kathir stated: "The death penalty has another antecedent in the story of Hafsa, Umm Al-Muminin. One of her female servants performed sihr to her, so she ordered that the servant be killed, and the killing was carried out.

According to Imam Ahmad, three companions of the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) confirmed that the punishment for a sahiris the death penalty. Tafsir Ibn Kathir : 1/144 Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar reported that according to Imam Malik, the punishment for practising sihr is similar to that applicable to az-zindiq (a person who does not believe in the Hereafter or who openly declares his faith, but conceals his kufr). His repentance should not be accepted, and he must be killed if it is confirmed that he is really a sahir. This is also the view of Imam Ahmad.

According to Ash-Shafi'i, a sahir should be killed unless the sihr he has used had actually killed a person, in which case his killing must be counted as qisas. Fath Al-Bari: 10/236

The Punishment under Islamic Law for a Non-Religious Person (Dhimmi) Practising Sihr

Ibn Qudama reported: "According to Abu Hanifa, a zimmi who practises sihr should be killed, on the basis of a commonly held view and that, since the death penalty is applicable to a Muslim sahir, then it should also be applicable to a dhimmi sahir" Al-Mughni: 10/115 Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar reported: "According to Imam Malik, a zimmi sahir should not be killed, unless his sihr has killed someone. Malik also said that if a dhimmi sahir has caused harm to a Muslim person, but was supposed to have entered into a covenant with Muslims not to harm any of them, he is, thus, considered to be in breach of the covenant, and should, as a result, receive the death penalty. The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) did not have Labid Ibn Al-A'sam killed because the sihr he used against him was not an act of revenge. Furthermore, the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) was worried that if he had killed him, he would have ignited a conflict between Muslims and his allies from the Ansar (supporters). Fath Al-Bari: 10/236 According to Ash-Shafi'i, a zimmi sahir should not be killed, unless his sihr has killed someone. Fath AlBari: 10/236 Ibn Qudama said: "A dhimmi sahir should not be killed unless his sihr has killed someone. Mostly, it is a sihr that kills, in which case, the death penalty should be applied for as qisas. When it was confirmed that Labid Ibn Al-A'sam had used sihr against the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him), the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) did not order his killing because, his practice of polytheism was more serious than his sihr."

Ibn Qudama added: "The views quoted were based on the analogy drawn between a Muslim sahir and a dhimmi sahir. The difference is that a Muslim sahir is classed as disbeliever when he uses sihr. A dhimmi sahir is already a disbeliever. Therefore, the analogy on which scholars based their judgement is invalid on the basis of the difference between a person being a disbeliever by creed and that of a Muslim uttering words of disbelief. It is also invalid on the basis of adultery, a crime for which a Muslim is sentenced to death, while a dhimmi is not." Al-Mughni: 10/115

EVIDENCE AND EXISTENCE OF SIHR Evidence from the Qur'an ... and they follow what the Satans recited over Sulayman's Kingdom. Sulayman disbelieved not but the Satans disbelieved, teaching the people sorcery, and that which was sent down upon Babylon's two angels, Harut and Marut; they taught not any man, without they said, 'We are but a temptation; do not disbelieve.' From them they learned how they might divide a man and his wife, yet they did not hurt any man thereby, save by the leave of Allah, and they learnt what they hurt them and did not profit them, knowing well that whosoever buys it shall have no share in the world to come; evil then was that they sold themselves for; if they had but known. (2:102) Moses said, 'What do you say this to the truth, when it has come to you? Is this a sorcery? But sorcerers do not prosper. (11:77) Then when they had cast, Moses said, 'What you have brought is sorcery; Allah will assuredly bring it to naught. Allah sets not right the work of those who do corruption. Allah verifies the truth by His words, though sinners be averse.) (11:81-82) And Moses conceived a fear within him. We said unto him, 'Fear not; surely thou art the uppermost.

Cast down what is in thy right hand, and it shall swallow what they have fashioned only the guile of a sorcerer, and the sorcerer prospers not, wherever he goes.) (20:67-69) And We revealed to Moses: 'Cast thy staff.' And lo, it forthwith swallowed up their lying invention. So the truth cam to pass, and false was proved what they were doing. So they were vanquished there, and they turned about, humbled. And the sorcerers were cast down, bowing themselves. They said, 'We believe in the Lord of al-'Alamin (Jinn and mankind), the Lord of Moses and Harun. (7:117-122) Say: 'I take refuge with the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of what He has created, from the evil of darkness when it gathers, from the evil of the women who blow on knots, from the evil of an envier when he envies.' (Chapter 113) According to Al-Qurtubi, (...from the evil of the women who blow on knots) implies female sorcerers (sahirat) who blow on thread knots while making their spells. Tafsir Al-Qurtubi (20/257) Ibn Kathir stated that according to scholars of exegesis, Mujahid, Ikrima, al-Hasan, Qatada and Dhahak, (...from the evil of the women who blow on knots) refers to sawahir (female sorcerers). Tafsir Ibn Kathir (4/573) Ibn Jarir At-Tabari stated that according to Al-Qasimiy and scholars of exegesis, (...from the evil of the women who blow on knots) refers to the female sorcerers who blow on threaded knots during their spell. Tafsir Al-Qasimiy (10/302) Verses on sihr and sahara are profuse and known even to those with little knowledge of Islam.

Evidence from the Sunnah 'Aisha (RA) reported:"A man known as Labid Ibn al-A'sam from the tribe of Band Zurayq performed sihr on Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon him) till Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon him) started imagining that he had done something which he had not really done. One day or one night while he was with me, he invoked Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) for a long period, and then said, 'O 'Aisha! Do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I have asked him about? Two men came to me and one of them sat near my head and the other near my feet. One of them said to his companion, 'What is the disease of this man?' The other replied, 'He is under the effect of sihr (mashur)'. The first one asked, 'Who did it?' The other replied, 'Labid Ibn Al-A'sam.' The first one asked, 'What material did he use?' The other replied, 'A comb and the hairs stuck to it and the pollen of a male date palm.' The first one asked, 'Where is that?' The other replied, '(That is) in the well of Daman!" So Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon him), along with some of his companions went there and returned saying, 'O 'Aisha, the colour of its water is like the infusion of henna leaves.

The tops of the date-palm trees near it are like the heads of the devils.' I asked, 'O Allah's Messenger?

Why don't you show it (to the people)?' He said, 'Since Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) has cured me, I would not like to let evil spread among people.' Then he ordered that the well be filled up with earth." Reported by Al-Bukhari (10/222, in Fath Al-Bari) and Muslim (14/174, in Sharh An-Nawawi), the Book of Salam, Chapter on Sihr.

Abu Hurayra (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said: 'Avoid the seven serious sins (As-sa' Al-Mubiqat)" People asked, 'What are they?' The Prophet Peace and Blessing upon him) replied, 'Shirk (polytheism), sihr (sorcery), unlawful killing of a person, living on money from usury, usurping an orphan's wealth, retreat at the time of Jihad, and accusing innocent married women of fornication'" Al-Bukhari (in FathAl-Bari 5/393) and Muslim (in Sharh An-Nawawi 2/83) On the basis of the above hadith, the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) warned that sihr must be avoided as it is one of the most serious sins, and this is proof enough that it exists.

Ibn 'Abbas (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said: 'A person who has acquired knowledge of one of the sciences of Astrology, has acquired knowledge of one of the branches of sihr, and the more his knowledge of Astrology is enriched, the more expansive his knowledge of sihr becomes." Abu Dawud (No.3905), Ibn Majja (No.3726) In this hadith the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) refers to one of the means of learning sihr, so that Muslims may shun it; and this is an evidence that sihr is a real science that can be learnt. Further evidence can also be seen in the following verse: From them they learned how they might divide a man and his wife... (2:102) It is clear from the above verse and hadith that sihr is a science like other sciences, having its own fundamentals. Nevertheless, both the verse and the hadith condemn learning of sihr.

'Imran Ibn Husayn (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'He is not one of us who practices tatayyur (ominousness) or has it done for him; who practices takahhun (clairvoyance) or has it done for him; who practices sihr or has it done for him. And whosoever has sought the services of a clairvoyant and believed in what he has come up with, has in fact disbelieved in the Message sent to

Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon him).'" Al-Haythmi stated in Al-Majma' (5/20): Tradition reported

by Al-Bazar and the chain of transmission includes authorites which fulfil the requirements of transmitting authentic traditions.

Evidence from the above hadith on sihr lies in the Prophet's warning against practicing sihr or seeking it from a sahir. This shows that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) would only warn against something that really existed.

Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'He who drinks alcohol regularly, believes that the power of sihr to harm an individual is independent of Allah's if intervention, or severs relations with one's kin will not enter Paradise.'" Reported by Ibn Hibban The evidence on sihr from the above hadith lies in the Prophet's warning against believing in the power of sihr to affect an individual independently of Allah's. A believer should believe that sihr or similar practices do not harm anybody or anything except with Allah's Leave, as the following verse suggests: ...yet they did not hurt any man thereby, save by the leave of Allah.) (2:102) Ibn Mas'ud (RA) reported: "He who has hired a clairvoyant, a sahir or a soothsayer, and has believed in what they came up with, has in fact disbelieved in the Message sent to Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon him). Al Mundiri stated in At-Targhib (4/53): Tradition transmitted by Al-Bazzar and Abu Ya'la through a very good suspended chain of transmission.

Difference Between Sihr, Miracles and Charisma According to Al-Mazari, the difference between Sihr, Miracle and Charisma is that sihr is achieved through much efforts, by talking and doing things. Charisma does not require such an effort, and a miracle surpasses charisma in terms of challenge. Tafsir Ibn Kathir : 1/145 According Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, there is a consensus that sihr only comes from a disrespectful person, and that a charisma does not appear on a disrespectful person. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar also stated that one should be aware of the character of the person associated with the extraordinary. If, for instance, the person in question adheres to the principle of Shari'a and shuns the serious sins, then the extraordinary acts he performs are classed as charisma; otherwise it is an act of sihr because it comes from one of its categories such as the assistance of demons. Quoted from Rawa i 'u Al-Bayan : 1/85

Warning People are sometimes puzzled by the fact that although a person may not be a magician, although he may be a serious sinner, an innovator or a tomb-worshipper; and yet extraordinary things can still happen to him. The truth is that the extraordinary things that happen to him are the result of the assistance of demons, who beautify to people this person's bid's so that people follow it and discard the Sunnah.

DEFINITION OF JINN

The word jinn in Arabic refers to something that is concealed and hidden.

Al-Jawhari said: Al-Jaan is the father of the jinn, the plural of which is Jeenaan. It says in Al-Qaamoos AlMuheet: Jannahu Al-Layl means the night covered him. Everything that is concealed from you is Junna Anka (concealed from you). Jinn Al-layl means the darkness of the night. Al-Mijannah refers to the land where there are many jinn. Al-Jaan is the plural of Al-Jinn.

It says in Lisaanul-'Arab: Janana means to cover or conceal. Everything that is concealed from you is Junna 'Anka (concealed from you). Jannahu Al-layl means the night covered him.... The jinn are so called because they are concealed and hidden from view. Hence the foetus is called Al-Janeen because he is concealed in his mother's womb.

Abu 'Umar ibn 'Abd Al-Barr said: According to the scholars of Arabic language, there are different categories of jinn: 1. When they mention the jinn in general terms, they use the word Jinni 2. If the jinn is one of those who live in houses with people, they call him 'Aamir (dweller), the plural of which is 'Ummaar (spirits) 3. If the jinn is one of those who interact with children, they call them Arwaah (spirits) 4. If the jinn is wicked then he is a Shaytaan (devil) 5. If he is worse than that, they call him Maarid (demon) 6. If he is worse than that and is strong, they call him 'Ifreet, the plural of which is 'Afaareet

VIDANCEAND EXISTANCE OF JINN AND DEMONS Evidence from the Qur'an Evidence from the Qur'an of the existence of Jinn and demons is numerous and known. Suffice it to say that there is one whole chapter on the Jinn (Chapter 62), and that statistically, the words Jinn occurs twenty two times, Jan (another variant of Jinn) occurs seven times, Satan occurs sixty eight times, and Satans (demons) occurs seventeen times.

1. (And We turned to thee a company of Jinn giving ear to the Qur'an.) (36:29) 2. (Company of Jinn and mankind, did not Messengers come to you from among you, relating to you My signs and warning you of the encounter of this your day?) (6:130) 3. (0 tribe of Jinn and of men, if you are able to pass through the confines of heaven and earth, pass through them! You shall not pass through except with an authority.) (45:33)

4. (Say: 'It has been revealed to me that a company of the Jinn gave ear, then they said, "We have indeed heard a Qur'an wonderful....") (62:1) 5. (But there are certain men of mankind who would take refuge with certain men of the Jinn, and they increased them in vileness.) (62:6) 6. (Satan only desires to precipitate enmity and hatred between you in regard to wine and arrowshuffling, and to bar you from the remembrance of Allah, and from salat. Will you then desist?) (5:91) 7. (0 believers, follow not the steps of Satan; for whosoever follows the steps of Satan, assuredly he bids to indecency and dishonour.) (24:21)

Evidence from the Sunnah Ibn Mas'ud (RA) narrated: "One night, we were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon him) and we lost him. We searched for him in the valleys and the hills and wondered: 'He has either been taken away (by Jinn) or has been killed. We spent the worst night that people could ever spend.' At dawn, we saw him coming from the side of Hira'. We said: 'O Messenger of Allah, we lost you and searched for you, but we could not find you and we spent the worst night that people could ever spend.' The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) replied: 'There came to me a representative of Jinn, so I went with him and recited the Qur'an to them.' The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) proceeded: Then I went with him and he showed us their tracks and the traces of their embers.' The Jinn asked the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) about their means of subsistence, to which he replied: 'Every bone on which the name of Allah is recited is your provision. The time it falls in your hand it shall be covered with flesh, and the dung of (camels) is fodder for your animals.'

The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon him) said: 'Do not perform istinja (washing one's genitals prior to wudu) with these (things) for these are the food of your brothers (the Jinn). Reported

by Muslim (04/170, in Sharh An-Nawawi) Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said to me, 'I gather you like sheep and the wilderness. So whenever you are with your sheep or in the wilderness and you want to announce azan for salat, raise your voice when doing so, as whoever hears it, be they a human being, Jinn or any other creature, will be a witness for you on the Day of Resurrection."

Reported by Malik (01/168), Al-Bukhari (6/343 Fath Al Bari), An Nasa-i (02/12) and Ibn Majah (1/239) Ibn 'Abbas (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) set out on a journey with the intention of going to Suq 'Ukaz ('Ukaz Market), along with some of his companions. At the same time, a barrier was established between the demons and the news from heaven, so that fire was hurled at them. The demons went back to their own kind, who asked them, 'What is wrong with you?' They replied, 'A barrier has been placed between us and the news from heaven, and fire has been thrown at us.' They said, 'The thing which has been put up as a barrier between you and the news from heaven must be something which has happened recently. Go eastward and westward and see what has put a barrier between you and the news from heaven.' Those who went towards Tuhama came across the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) at a place called Nakhla, on the way to Suq 'Ukaz, where the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) was performing the Dawn Prayer (salat al-Fajr) with his companions. When a group of Jinn heard the Qur'an being recited, they listened to it and

said, 'By Allah, this is the thing which has put a barrier between us and the news from heaven.' They went back to their own kind and said, 'O our people; verily we have heard a wonderful recital (Qur'an) which shows the true path; we believed in it and would not ascribe partners to our Lord.'

Subsequently, Allah % revealed the following verses to his Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him): (Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn heard...) (62:1). In fact, what was revealed to him was the words of the Jinn." Reported by Al-Bukhari (2/253, in Fath Al-Bari) and Muslim (4/168, in Sharh An-Nawawi) 'Aisha (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'Angels were created out of light, Jinn were created from fire and Adam was created out of what has been described to you."

Reported by Imam Ahmad (6/153-68) and Muslim (18/123, in Sharh An-Nawawi) Saffiyya bintu Huyay (RA)narrated: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'Satan circulates in the body of mankind like blood." Reported by Al-Bukhari (4/282, in Fath Al-Bari) and Muslim (14/155, in Sharh An-Nawawi) 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'When you eat, use you right hand, and when you drink, use your right hand, because Satan eats and drinks with his left hand.'" Reported by Muslim (13/191, in Sharh An-Nawawi) Abu Hurayra (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'Any newborn at the time of delivery is kicked by Satan, and cries as a result, except the son of Mariam (Jesus) and his mother."' Reported by Al-Bukhari (8/212) and Muslim (15/120, in Sharh An-Nawawi) 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud (RA) reported: "Asked on his opinion of a man who has slept through the night till morning (after sunrise and missed salat al-Fajr), the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'That is a man on whose ears (or ear) Satan has urinated.'" Reported by Al-Bukhari (3/28, in Fath AlBari) and Muslim (6/64, in Sharh An-Nawawi) Abu Qatada (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'A good dream (vision) is from Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) and a bad dream (al-hulm) is from Satan. Therefore, if you see something you dislike in a dream, spit three times on your left side, seek refuge in Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) from Satan, so it would not harm you. "' Reported by Al-Bukhari (12/283, in Fath Al-Bari) and Muslim (15/16, in Sharh An-Nawawi) Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) reported: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon him) said, 'When you yawn, put your hand on your mouth to stop Satan from entering.'" Reported by Muslim (18/122, in Sharh An-Nawawi) and Ad-Darami (1/321) With the foregoing in mind, it appears that there is no doubt that the Jinn and Satans exist, and only an obstinate person who follows his desires without any guidance from Allah, would dispute such reality.

Widespread reprehensible innovations to do with protection against the evil eye and envy People have introduced many innovations having to do with protection against the evil eye, and they believe that they ward off its evil and the evil of envy. These include the following: 1. Amulets: these are things that the Arabs used to tie onto their children to protect them against the evil eye, or so they claimed. This is a form of Shirk, because the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said, according to a Hadith narrated by Ahmad: "Whoever ties on an amulet has committed Shirk."

2. Wearing Hijabs (amulets) containing words other than the Qur'an and Sunnah, from those who seek the services of the jinn. This is also Shirk.

3. Hanging up shells and the like; these are shells that come from the sea, which are used for protection against the evil eye.

4. Putting necklaces adorned with blue beads and metal pieces in the shape of crescents, or animal teeth and bones, on children and animals.

5. Hanging up the shoe of a horse or donkey, or ears of wheat, or putting a hand made of copper with an eye in the middle, on the doors of houses, around the necks of riding animals and in cars.

6. Wearing rings adorned with blue beads on which are written some words, in order to ward off the evil eye and protect oneself against its evil.

7. Hanging up the skulls of animals in houses and on farms.

8. Sprinkling salt over wedding guests - this is done in some countries to ward off the evil eye from the newly-weds.

9. Using strange words and phrases, in the belief that they will ward off the evil eye, such as saying "Khamsah Wa Khumaysah [Khamsah means five; Khumaysah refers to an ornament in the shape of a hand, worn as a talisman against the evil eye. (Hans Wehr dictionary] " or "Imsiku'l-khashab (touch wood)" - which comes from a Hindu belief. The Hindus regard wood as holy, and that it wards off harm from them.

10. Writing phrases on cars, such as, " 'Ayn Al-husud Fiha 'ud (A stick in the eye of the envier)"... and so on.

11. Believing that incense wards off harm from one who is sick.

These are some of the reprehensible innovations which people believe offer protection against the evil eye and envy.

EVIDENCE AND EXISTANCE OF EVIL EYE / ENVY

Evidence from the Qur'an The Verse in Sura Yusuf: (And he said: 'O my sons! Do not enter by one gate, but enter by different gates, and I cannot avail you against Allah at all. Verily, the decision rests only with Allah. In Him, I put my trust and let all those that trust, put their trust in Him.) (Yusuf12:67) The majority of Mufassirin are agreed that the brothers of Yusuf were handsome and good looking, and Ya'qub feared that the people might affect them with the evil eye, for the evil eye is something real.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir —Al-Tabari - Al-Qurtubi - Al-Alusi - Al-Suyuti — Al-Fakhr Al-Razi.

The passage in which Allah says: "And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred) when they hear the Reminder (the Qur'an), and they say:

"Verily, he (Muhammad) is a madman!" But it is nothing else than a Reminder to all the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).) (Al-Qalam 68:51-52) Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid and others said: "Make you slip with their eyes" means, they will put the evil eye on you. This Verse is evidence that the effect and impact of the evil eye is something real and happens by Allah's will.'

Evidence from the Sunnah It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "The evil eye is real," and he forbade tattoos.

It was narrated from 'Aishah (RA) that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Seek refuge with Allah from the evil eye, for the evil eye is real."

It was narrated that Ibn 'Abbas (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "The evil eye is real and if anything were to overtake the divine decree, the evil eye would do so. If you are asked to wash (to treat someone for the effects of the evil eye) then do so."

Imam Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This Hadith affirms that both the divine decree and the evil eye are real; it is powerful, but neither the evil eye nor anything else can cause harm or do any good or any bad except by the decree of Allah.

It was narrated that Asma bint 'Umays said: "O Messenger of Allah, the sons of Ja'far are smitten with the evil eye; should I recite Ruqyah for them?"

He said: "Yes, for if anything were to overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye."

It was narrated that Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "The evil eye may follow a man by Allah's Leave, until he climbs up a high mountain then falls from it."

It was narrated that Ibn 'Abbas (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "The evil eye is real and can bring down a person from a high mountain."

What is meant here is that the evil eye follows a person by Allah's will, until it causes him to fall from a high mountain. Musnad Ahmad; Al-Tabarani; Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak. Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is Hasan It was narrated that Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said:

"Most of those who die of my Ummah, after the will and decree of Allah, will die because of the evil eye." Narrated by Al-Bukhari in Al-Tarikh, and by Al-Bazzar. Shaykh Al-Albani said: a Hadith Hasan Sahih Al-Jami', 1217 It was narrated that Jabir (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "The evil eye will put a man into his grave and a camel into the cooking pot." Hilyat Al-Awliya' by Abu Na'im. Shaykh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is a Hasan Hadith - Al-Silsilah AlSahihah, 1250.

Imam Ahmad, Al-Nasai, and Ibn Majah narrated, in a report that was classed as Sahih by Ibn Hibban, that Abu Umamah Sahl ibn Hanif said: Abu Sahl ibn Hanif did Ghusl in Al-Kharar (Al-Kharar: it is said that this was a well in Madinah, or one of its valleys). He took off his cloak, and 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah was looking at him. Sahl was very white, with beautiful skin. 'Amir said: "I have never seen anything (as beautiful) as this, not even the skin of a virgin." And Sahl fell to the ground and became very sick. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) was told about his sickness, and it was said to him: "He cannot raise his head." He said: "Do you accuse anyone with regard to him?"

They said, "'Amir ibn Rabi'ah." The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) called him and rebuked him strongly, then he said: "Why would one of you kill his brother? Why did you not pray for blessing for him? Wash yourself for him." So 'Amir washed his face, hands, forearms, knees and the sides of his feet, and inside his Izar (lower garment) in a vessel, then it was poured over him from behind, and Sahl recovered straight away. Muwatta' Malik, 2/938.

The evil eye is real From the evidence quoted above from the Qur'an and Sunnah, it is clear that the evil eye is real and that its effects are proven and do exist. It can follow a man until it makes him fall from a high mountain, and if it is able to overpower a healthy man it can kill him and put him in his grave, and if it overpowers a camel, it will fall and be injured, and its owner will slaughter it and cook it in a pot. So the evil eye is real and its effects are real. It may kill, or it may affect the spot or the things that the envier likes in the body of the person affected, or in himself or his possessions. This is the view of the scholars of this Ummah, such as Malik, Al-Shafi'i, Ahmad and others.

The difference between the evil eye and envy The word Hasid (envier) is more general in meaning than the word 'Ain (one who puts the evil eye on another), hence in Sura Al-Falaq mention is made of seeking refuge with Allah from the evil of the one who envies.

The Hasid (envier) is an envious man whose envy is accompanied by resentment, so he wishes that the blessing be taken away, whereas the 'A'in (the one who puts the evil eye on another) simply likes a thing. Hence the evil eye may come from a righteous man or woman, and a man may put the evil eye on

his own wealth, child or family without realizing it. But the evil eye and envy have the same effect, which is causing harm to the thing that is liked or envied.

Envy (Hasad) Envy (Hasad) means resenting the blessings of Allah that are enjoyed by the one who is envied, and wishing that it be taken away. In other words, the envier wishes that the blessing be taken away from the one whom he envies, whether the blessing comes to him or not.

So the envier resents the blessing of Allah and wishes that it be taken away, and he may even make efforts to take it away.

Evidence for the existence of envy Allah says: Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves, even after the truth (that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger) has become manifest unto them. (Al-Baqarah 2:109) And Allah says: Or do they envy men (Muhammad and his followers) for what Allah has given them of His Bounty?

Then, We had already given the family of Ibrahim the Book and Al-Hikmah (As-Sunnah - Divine Revelation to those Prophets not written in the form of a book), and conferred upon them a great kingdom. (Al-Nisa 4:54) And He says: And from the evil of the envier when he envies. (Al-Falaq 113:5)

Evidence from the Sunnah Al-Tirmidhi narrated that the freed slave of Al-Zubayr (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "The disease of the nations who came before you has started to spread among you: jealousy and hatred. This is the 'shaver' (destroyer); I do not say that it shaves hair, but that it shaves (destroys) faith. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of that which will strengthen love between you? Spread (the greeting of) Salam amongst yourselves."

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "My Ummah will be stricken with the disease of the other nations." They said: "What is the disease of the other nations?" He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Insolence, arrogance, accumulation (of

wealth), competition in worldly gains, mutual hatred and envy, until there will be wrongdoing and then killing."

Characteristics of the envier - so that they may be avoided The issue of the evil eye includes all people, even those who are righteous if they do not pay attention to it, whereas envy is limited to certain people. Hence the envious person has certain characteristics by which he may be distinguished, such as the way he looks and smiles, the expression on his face, and the way he speaks. All of that points to what is in his heart. Whatever a person conceals in his heart will inevitably show on his face and through slips of the tongue, in the way he looks and smiles, and in all his movements and expressions.

By His wisdom, Allah has made man's face a mirror which reflects the thoughts that are hidden in his mind and heart. The effects of sickness are seen in the sick man's face, and the sorrow of one who is grieving and depressed shows on his face, and the good health of one who is sound is reflected on his face. If a person is happy and content, his hidden thoughts show on his face and through slips of the tongue. If a believer is true and sincere in his faith and humble before the Most Merciful, and reads the Qur'an frequently, that joy and light will show on his face; his nature will be humble and kind, and his speech will be polite and noble. The opposite is also true: the effects of an evildoer's immoral actions and sin will be reflected in his face and in slips of the tongue, even if he outwardly resembles those who are righteous.

By the same token, the envier who resents the good things that people have and wishes that the blessings of Allah be taken away, is sick at heart and lacking in faith. No matter how much he tries to conceal what he feels inwardly, he will soon let out the envy that he feels.

What are the characteristics of the envier?

1. The envier is always angry at the decrees of Allah.

2. The envier always complains and rarely thanks Allah even if he owns the whole world.

3. He follows up the mistakes of the one whom he envies, and tries to seek out his faults, and exposes them and exaggerates about them before others.

4. He conceals or ignores or belittles the good qualities and distinguishing characteristics of the person whom he envies.

5. So you will notice that the envier cannot speak in front of the one whom he envies without addressing him in a laughing, jocular manner, but deep down he is filled with hatred and resentment that is clear from the way in which he looks at him.

6. He clearly criticizes the one whom he envies, with or without evidence.

7. He looks for opportunities and makes the most of any chance to harm the one whom he envies in himself or his wealth.

8. Finally, the envier is a troubled man, due to the resentment that is always festering in his heart, so depression and dullness show on his face.

Conclusion We will close with the words of light spoken from the mouth of the noble Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessing upon Him).

It was narrated that Ibn 'Abbas (RA) said: I was riding behind the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) one day when he said: "O young man, I will teach you some words (of advice). Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help from Allah. Know that if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would benefit you only with something that Allah has already decreed for you, and if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something that Allah has already decreed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried." Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, 4/667, no. 2516.

According to another report He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him before you. Remember Allah in prosperity and He will remember you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by could not have befallen you, and what has befallen you could not have passed you by. Know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction and ease with hardship."

We ask Allah to guard us and protect us, and to keep us in His care, for He is Able to do that.

THINGS TO AVOID IN RUQYA

Shirk 'Awf Bin Malik al-Ashja'i (RA) narrated that he said to the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him), "O Allah's Messenger! We used to apply ruqa during Jahiliyyah. What do you think of that?" He (Peace and Blessing upon Him) replied: 'Present your ruqa to me. There is nothing wrong with them as long as they do not involve shirk.'

Muslim Ibn Mas'ud's wife Zaynab (RA) narrated that he saw on her neck a string and asked her, "What is this?" She replied, "It is a string on which a ruqyah was made for me." He cut it off her neck and said: "You, family of Ibn Mas'ud, are in no need for shirk. Truly, I heard Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) say: 'Indeed, ruqa, amulets, and tiwala, are all acts of shirk.'

She said, "Why do you say this? I was having spasms of pain in my eye; so I went to such and such a Jewish man, and whenever he treated it with ruqyah, it soothed it." He replied: "That is the doing of Satan. He (Satan) pinches it with his hand; and when the ruqyah is applied to it, he removes his hand. It would have been sufficient for you to say what Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) used to say: 'Athhib il-ba's, rabb an-nas, washfi ant ash-shafi, la shifa illa shifa uk, shifaan la yughadiru saqama.'

Meaning: '— a cure that will not leave any sickness.' Recorded by Abu Dawud; judged hasan by alAlbani (Mishkat ul-Masabih no. 4552).

Seeking It from Magicians or Soothsayers One may never go to a magician for help, regardless of whether the magician were true or false. False magicians are liars who pretend things to attract people's awe, money, or both. True magicians rely on jinns and the devil, and apply procedures containing kufr to produce their spells. Thus all of their spells, including ruqa, are prohibited, and any Muslim who seeks their help belies his belief in the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him). Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: 'Whoever goes to a soothsayer or fortuneteller and believes in what he says has indeed rejected that which has been revealed to Muhammad.' Recorded by Ahmad and al-Hakim. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih ul-Jami no. 5939).

As indicated in the Qur'an, (the magicians can never be successful) (Taha 20:69), nor (can they benefit anyone) (al-Baqarah 2:102). Because of all of this, and from the rule established earlier that Allah did not make our cure in anything that He prohibited, we clearly conclude that it is not permissible at all to seek a ruqyah from a magician.

Using Unintelligible Words or Phrases As has been indicated earlier, a ruqyah must be in intelligible and well-understandable words.

Otherwise, it could contain shirk, magic, or other evils covered by cryptic characters and mysterious words.

Applying It in Prohibited or Strange Situations Some people require that a ruqyah be accompanied with bizarre actions or conditions, such as applying it in a graveyard or bathroom, or applying it to a person who is unclean or covered with najasah. These and other similar requirements, beside conflicting with what has been reported in the Sunnah, demonstrate a devilish tendency that must be totally avoided.

As for writing a ruqyah on a piece of paper and attaching it to the body of the patient, or soaking the paper in water and making him drink that water, or blowing and spitting over a water container while

reading it and then making him drink that water, all of this has no basis in the Sunnah (There are some authentic reports indicating that Imam Ahmad (AR) and some other 'ulama of the salaf have allowed some of these actions, but this by no means gives them a stamp of approval without a supportive evidence from the Sunnah.), and should therefore be totally avoided.

Using Prohibited Words or Phrases A ruqyah may not include evil words, such as cursing, offensive descriptions, or profanity. All of this is prohibited, and, as has been indicated earlier, Allah did not make our cure in anything prohibited.

Relying on the Power of the Ruqyah Neither the person applying a ruqyah, nor the person to whom it is applied may assume that it has an independent power of cure or protection. They must both put their full trust in Allah, rely fully on Him, and believe that the ruqyah is a means that He created for them. As Ibn Al-Qayyim indicates (Al Jawab Al Kafi), one should view a ruqyah like one does a sword: it can be of no use without three conditions: a) It should be strong and sharp. b) The person using it should be well versed and experienced. c) There should be no obstacles hindering it from being most effective.

Ruqa from the Sunnah Various forms of supplications for prevention or healing, some of which may be classified as ruqa, have been presented in this site. In what follows, we include some more, or refer to earlier ones, as the discussion warrants.

Ruqyah with Allah's Name Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) reported that Jibril came to the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) and said:, "O Muhammad, are you sick?" He replied, 'Yes.' He said: "Bismillahi arqik, min kulli shayin yuthik, min sharri kulli nafsin aw ayni hasid - With Allah's Name I shelter you (give you ruqyah), from all that ails you, from the evil of every soul, or that of the envious eyes. May Allah cure you; with Allah's Name I shelter you." Muslim and others.

Ruqyah with Allah's Book 'Aishah (RA) reported that Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) came into her house and saw with her a woman who was treating her with ruqyah. He told her: 'Treat her (only) with Allah's Book.' Recorded by Ibn Hibban; verified to be authentic by al-Albani in as-Sahihah no. 1931.

In what follows, we present ruqa with specific suras or ayat as is recorded in the Sunnah.

1. Ruqyah with al-Fatiha Abu Sa'id al-Khudri and Ibn Abbas (RA) reported that a number of the Prophet's (Peace and Blessing upon Him) companions were on a journey. They stopped one night by the dwellings of a bedouin tribe who refused to host them and give them food.

The chief of that tribe was then stung (by a snake or scorpion). His people tried everything possible to treat him, but to no avail. One of them suggested to seek help from the travellers. When they came to them, one of them said, "By Allah, I can perform ruqyah; but you have refused to host us. So I would not perform the ruqyah until you pledge to give us an offering."

They agreed to give them a flock of thirty sheep, and the companion started blowing (with light spit) on the stung man's sting and reading al-Fatiha. He was immediately cured, like one who was tied and then set free. He stood and walked as if nothing happened to him, and they gave them their pledged offering.

Some of the companions said, "Let us divide this flock among us." Others said, "No, you may not take any pay for reading Allah's Book! Let us not divide the goats until we reach the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him), tell him what happened, and see what he commands us."

When they reached al-Madinah, they came to the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) and told him what happened. He said (approvingly): 'How did you know that it (al-Fatiha) is a ruqyah? You have done well! And indeed, the best thing to be paid for is Allah's Book*. So, divide it among you; and allot a share for me.' Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others. (*One may not be paid for praying or reading Qur'an, because these are acts of worship that should be done purely for Allah ('Azza wa Jalla). However, it is permissible to be paid a compensation for the time or effort that one sometimes puts into matters associated with these acts of worship in order to serve the Muslim community. For example, a regular imam in a masjid should be compensated for devoting his time to that position, otherwise he would have to work in a profession that would prevent him from fulfilling all of the servicesneeded from him. Furthermore, based on this hadith, some scholars conclude that it is also permissible to be paid for a benefit that reaches others because of one's reading Qur'an.)

2 .Ruqyah with al-Muawwidhat As explained earlier, al-Muawwidhat are the last three suras of the Qur'an. The last two of them carry a clear meaning of ruqyah, and are presented below. Surat ul-Ikhlas (112) does not carry such meaning in an explicit manner, but contains concise and strong words of praise for Allah ('Azza wa Jalla), making it an important introduction to the succeeding two suras:

(Say, "I seek refuge with the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of what he created, and from the evil of darkness when it settles, and from the evil of the blowers in knots, and from the evil of an envier when he envies.") 113 (Say, "I seek refuge with the Lord of the people, the King of the people, the God of the people, from the evil of a retreating whisperer, who whispers (evil) in the breasts of the people, (whether he is) from among jinns or the people.") 114 'Aishah (RA) reported: "When Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) went to bed, he would bring the palms of both hands together, and blow into them while reading "Qul huwa Allahu ahad" 112, "Qul a'udhu bi rabb il-falaq" 113, "Qul a'udhu bi rabbi n-Nas" 114. He would then rub with them whatever he could reach of his body, starting with his head, face, and the front part of his body. He would do this three times. When he got very ill, he asked me to do that for him." Al Bukhari and Muslim 'Aishah (RA) also reported: "In the final sickness in which he passed away, the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) used to blow over himself with al-Mu'awwidhat. When he became very ill, I blew with them for him, rubbing over him with his own hand because of the blessing in it." Al Bukhari and Muslim We can use these suras for scorpion stings like it as been reported in ahadith.

3. Ruqyah with Ayat ul-Kursi Ubayy Bin Ka'b narrated that he had a harvest of dates. He noticed that it shrunk every day, and decided to watch it at night. He did and noticed a beast that looked like a boy who attained puberty.

He gave him salam, and it responded to him with salam.

He asked it, "Are you human or jinn" It replied, "Jinn."

He told it, "Show me your hand."

It showed him its hand, and he saw that it looked like a dog's, with fur like that of a dog covering it.

He exclaimed, "Is this how jinn are like!?" It then told him, "All jinns know that there is no one among them stronger than me." He asked it, "What brought you here?" It replied, "We have been informed that you like to give charity, so we came to get some of your food." He asked it, "What would protect us fIt replied, "This ayah from Surat ul-Baqarah: (Allahu la ilaha illa huwa Al-Hayy ul-Qayyum,) (2/255) - whoever says it in the

evening will be protected from us until the morning, and whoever says it in the morning will be protected from us until the evening."

In the morning, Ubayy came to Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessing upon Him) and told him of that incident. He told him, 'The evil one has said the truth!' Recorded by an-Nasa i and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani.

Muhammad Al Jibaly

The passage in which Allah says: "And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred) when they hear the Reminder (the Qur'an), and they say: "Verily, he (Muhammad) is a madman!" But it is nothing else than a Reminder to all the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).) (Al-Qalam 68:51-52) Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid and others said: "Make you slip with their eyes" means, they will put the evil eye on you. This Verse is evidence that the effect and impact of the evil eye is something real and

SELF DIAGNOSIS If you have four or more from one or all categories then there is a problem and you should seek Ruqyah.

1.

Do you see your face pale or dark?

Do you feel hopeless, careless, lazy?

Do you say I have had enough I wish I die?

Have you thought of suicide?

Do you find it hard to sleep at night?

Do you feel sleepy during the day?

Do you sweat from your forehead, back, hands and feet especially at night?

Do you have pain in your shoulders and lower back?

Do you go to toilet a lot to urinate?

2.

When you look in the mirror do you think you are ugly?

When you brush your hair do you lose a lot?

Does your body smell even if you had a shower?

Does your breath smell?

Does your belly get bloated?

Do you have spots on your body?

Do you have scratch marks that you don't know how you got them?

Do you have bruises that you don't know how you got them?

Are you suspicious?

3.

Do you have bad dreams snakes, scorpions, see yourself falling, graveyards, blood, water?

Do you have anxiety and depression?

Do you scare for no reason?

Are you lazy of doing your prayer?

Do you feel distant from your family?

Do you have panic attacks?

Do you have doubts about the religion Allah?

Symptoms of jinn possession

Those who have written on this topic have listed several symptoms of jinn possession. These symptoms may be real, but we must point out that some of these symptoms may also occur for other reasons, such as staying up all night, or confusion and uncertainty. So we must try to protect ourselves from the whispers that the Shaytan tries to instill in our hearts, when reading this list of symptoms. These symptoms have been divided into two categories: those which occur when one is awake, and those which occur when one is asleep.

A - Symptoms when one is awake

1. Turning away, in particular, from acts of worship and obedience, the remembrance of Allah (Dhikr) and reading the Qur'an. Allah says: (And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allah) (i.e. this Qur'an and worship of Allah), We appoint for him Shaytan (Satan - devil) to be a Qarin (a companion) to him. And verily, they (Satans/devils) hinder them from the path (of Allah), but they think that they are guided aright!)(Al-Zukhruf 43:36-37) 2.Erratic behaviour in one's words, deeds and movements. Allah says Those who eat Riba will not stand

(on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytan (Satan) leading him to insanity. (Al-Baqarah 2:275) 3.Seizures (with no medical cause); there are signs to indicate that a seizure has devilish causes.

4. Paralysis of a limb (with no medical cause).

5. Being quick to get angry or weep with no apparent cause.

6. Sitting in the toilet for a long time, and talking to oneself.

7. Constant headache (on one or both sides of the head) with no medical cause, which is not eased by painkillers.

8. Irregular menstruation in women.

9. Not producing children altoough both husband and wife are medically sound and able to reproduce.

There are other signs when one is awake, but they may be caused by other life circumstances, such as not succeeding in efforts to get married, repeatedly failing to do so, or a wife becoming very distressed when her husband has intercourse with her.

B - Symptoms when one is asleep 1. Frightening nightmares, which includes seeing various kinds of creatures such as ghosts or apparitions, seeing oneself falling from a high place, seeing people in strange forms, and snakes. A man may see a woman who wants him to have intercourse with her (and vice versa) constantly in his dreams, or he may see someone threatening him.

2. Insomnia, anxiety and fear upon waking.

3. Talking loudly in one's sleep, or moaning and groaning.

Note: A person should not be regarded as being possessed by the jinn if any of these symptoms occur.

No one can be certain that a person has been possessed by the jinn until after the Qur'an has been recited over him, so these symptoms cannot be taken as definitive evidence of jinn possession.

Delusion Delusion is a serious mental illness. If a person is overcome by delusions, it is difficult to escape from them. No person is free of delusions that sometimes come to him, and in some cases life is delusion upon delusion, to such an extent that the delusions have a greater influence on a person than does reality. With the spread of treatment by means of the Qur'an and people seeing cases of epilepsy, and the spread of stories, whether from people who have gone for treatment or from books, delusions have

started to encroach upon the minds of many people as a result of the many problems of life. Even those who are righteous and upright in their religious commitment are not free from the problems of delusion.

In fact if the disease of delusion strikes a man, it is one of the most serious kinds of disease, for jinn possession may be dealt with by reciting the Qur'an as a Ruqyah, but the disease of delusion is a vicious circle. Similarly, some people may imagine that they have been bewitched or that so-and-so has put a spell on them because of some problem between them, so their thinking becomes confused and their lives become chaotic, and they tell themselves that they have been bewitched.

If the delusion of having being possessed by the jinn or having been bewitched takes hold of a person, then his thinking becomes confused and his life becomes chaotic; his glands start to malfunction and the signs of possession or bewitchment appear in him. He may suffer convulsions or lose consciousness as the result of what modern psychology calls autosuggestion.

Then anxiety accompanied by intense fear starts to take over his life. His nervous system begins to malfunction, the muscles of the heart tense up and physical symptoms appear. The sick person feels pain in the area of the heart and the pain increases as the fear grows. Other symptoms appear as the result of the malfunction in the nervous system, and there is no part of the body which is not affected by this case of anxiety.

The heart rate increases and may become irregular, the blood pressure rises, the digestive system malfunctions, pains develop in the stomach and the patient's sexual desire may be affected so that he feels no attraction towards his wife; The muscles of the body become tense, and muscle tension in the head leads to migraines.

In fact many of those who go to those who offer treatment using the Noble Qur'an are suffering from delusions. Very few of them are actually possessed by the jinn, even though they may show symptoms of jinn possession. The fact of the matter, as supported by psychology, is that ongoing anxiety does indeed cause real physical illness, so the pain becomes a physical reality, not just tension. Anxiety may cause stomach ulcers, angina and other problems, which changes a person's life and causes him to lose ambition and neglect his work; it also causes disruption in his marital life, and he becomes a prisoner to delusion and fear.

There is a real remedy for this problem, to be found in psychology if the person has been overtaken by delusions for a long time. If the problem has only recently begun, however, he must recite prayers for protection.

Epilepsy Definition of epilepsy Doctors have not been able to give a comprehensive and definitive definition of epilepsy, because of the numerous clinical manifestations of epilepsy, including convulsions.

Epileptic seizures Doctors use the phrase "epileptic seizure" to describe the sudden attack that happens to a patient, characterized by tension and snaking, accompanied by loss of consciousness. Doctors divide epileptic seizures into two types, grand mal and petit mal. Grand mal seizures are accompanied by a loss of consciousness, whereas petit mal seizures may occur in the early stages and may not be noticed by the patient or by those around him. They last for 3-10 seconds and are not usually accompanied by convulsions. They usually occur suddenly, whereby you will see the patient stop speaking for a moment and then carry on with some loss of focus, or moving from speaking in detail to mumbling. The patient may stare into space for a moment and the go back to what he was doing.

Causes of epilepsy Doctors link epileptic seizures to three factors, namely: 1. Individual potential and heredity 2. Problems in the brain 3. Changes in neurological activity But there is another important cause of epilepsy which is that it may be caused by jinn possession. This is something which many doctors do not wish to acknowledge, despite the fact that they admit that there are some kinds of epilepsy for which modern science cannot discover the cause. What is even stranger is that many of those who deny this are from among our own people, whereas many doctors in the West acknowledge this kind of epilepsy.

Depression

Depression refers to intense sadness. It is a widespread mental illness, indeed one of the most widespread. As for mild sadness or feeling "blue", this is a normal and natural emotion which hardly anyone can escape, not even a believer. Allah says: Secret counsels (conspiracies) are only from Shaytan (Satan), in order that he may cause grief to the believers. (Al-Mujaddilah 58:10) If that sadness increases and takes over a person, it becomes depression.

Signs of depression: 1. Feeling distressed and sad 2. Loss of appetite 3. Lack of focus, forgetfulness 4. Sleep disturbances, weight loss 5. Lack of sexual desire Causes of depression 1. External causes These are factors that are outside a person, such as life events like losing a loved one, or losing money

or social standing. If this person does not have the protection of faith, he will go through several stages until he reaches the stage of depression.

2. Internal causes These have to do with the person's physical make-up, such as brain cells, a lack of thyroid hormones or a lack of certain vitamins.

Kinds of sickness and harm caused by the jinn

The jinn may cause many different types of sickness and harm to humans, affecting their psychology, moods, body, wealth, possessions, business, relations with others or studies.

The sicknesses that we are going to discuss may happen either because of the human being overpowered by the jinn, or because of witchcraft. We will discuss the remedies for these sicknesses in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah. These sicknesses include the following: 1. Intense fear 2. Psychological and nervous diseases (insanity, depression, anxiety, tension, epilepsy, waswas (whispers from the Shaytan), personality disorders) 3. Physical sickness (i.e., physical sickness that human medicine is unable to treat, and for which there is no medical cause) 4. Hallucinations 5. Stirring up hatred between people, causing enmity and division between people such as husband and wife, business partners, friends, family 6. Female diseases (infertility, heavy bleeding and menstrual irregularities, infections) 7. Sexual problems (impotency, premature ejaculation) 8. Tampering with and causing damage to houses and material possessions (causing fires, throwing furniture about, throwing stones at the house)

Different Types of Sihr Sihr of Separation

Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) says: (...and they follow what the Satans recited over Sulayman's Kingdom.

Sulayman disbelieved not but the Satans disbelieved, teaching the people sorcery, and that which was sent down upon Babylon's two angels, Harut and Marut; they taught not any man, without they said, 'We are but a temptation; do not disbelieve.' From them they learned how they might divide a man and his wife, yet they did not hurt any man thereby, save by the leave of Allah, and they learnt what they hurt them and did not profit them, knowing well that whosoever buys it shall have no share in the world to come; evil then was that they sold themselves for; if they had but known.) (2:102)

Jabir (RA) reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Iblis would lay his throne on water and would send his brigade of demons. The lowest among them in rank is the one who is most notorious in stirring up fitna. One of the demons would, after a mission, come and say to Iblis, 'I have done so and so.' Iblis would reply, 'You have not done anything.' Another one would come and say: 'I have not left such and such person until I separated him from his wife.' Iblis would come closer to his demon and say, 'How good you are.'" Muslim in An-Nawawi : 17/157

Definition of Sihr of Separation It is a sihr which aims to separate between two spouses, or stir up hatred between two friends or two partners.

Types of Sihr of Separation 1. Separating a person from his/her mother 2. Separating a person from his/her father 3. Separating a person from his/her brother 4. Separating a person from his/her friend 5. Separating a person from his/her business partner 6. Separating a person from his/her spouse. This is the most dangerous and prevalent type

Symptoms of Sihr of Separation 1. A sudden change in attitude from love to hate.

2. A great deal of suspicion is aroused between the two people concerned.

3. No excuses are accepted by either party, even if one of them is in the wrong.

4. Exaggerating the causes of disputes between two people, even though they may be trivial.

5. Changing the mental image that a woman may have of her husband, or changing the mental image that a man may have of his wife; so that the man would see his wife in an ugly way, even though she were beautiful. In reality, it is the demon who is entrusted with the task of performing this type of sihr is the one who would appear to the husband in her person, but in an ugly way. By the same token, the woman would see her husband in a horrible way.

6. The person affected by sihr hates anything the other party does.

7. The person affected by sihr hates the place in which the other party stays. For instance, a husband may be in good mood when he is outdoors, but when he returns home, he feels quiete depressed.

According to Al-Hafidh Ibn Kathir, the cause of separation between two spouses through this sihr is that each of them appears to the other as an ugly or ill-mannered person. Tafsir lbn Kathir: 1/144

How does the sihr of separation take place?

A person goes to a sorcerer and requests that a certain person be separated from his wife. The sorcerer would ask his client to provide the name of the person and that of his mother, and traces of the person's smell from his/her hair, garment or handkerchief etc... If this is too difficult to obtain, the sorcerer would perform sihr on some water, then ask his client to spill it along the way which that

person normally uses. If person crosses the place of water, then he/she would be affected by sihr.

Another way of doing it is by adding the water into his food or drink.

Sihr Al-Mahabba/At-Tiwala (Love)

The Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) said: "Ar-ruqa, at-tama'im and at-tiwala are acts of polytheism." Transmitted by Imam Ahmad (1/381), Abu Dawud (3883), Ibn Majja (3530) and Al-Hakim (4/418) According to Ibn Al-Athir, at-tiwala is a type of sihr which makes a man love his wife. The reason why this type of sihr is classed by the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) as an act of polytheism is because those who have it done for them believe that it has an effect and does the opposite of what Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) has prescribed. An-Nihaya: 1/200 I would like to emphasise that the ruqyah referred to in the above hadith is the one which seeks the assistance of Jinn and devils and consists of acts classed as polytheistic. However, the ruqyah which is based on the Qur'an and lawful supplications of Allah is lawful, according to scholars. It is reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) was quoted as saying: "There is no harm in using ruqyah as a means of treatment provided it does not consist of anything polytheistic."

Symptoms of Sihr of Love 1. Excessive love and passion.

2. Extreme desire to have sexual intercourse.

3. Impatience of remaining without having sexual intercourse.

4. Extreme lust at the sight of one's wife.

5. Blind obedience to one's wife.

How the Sihr of Love Takes Place?

Marital squabbles often happen and are resolved within a short time, and life goes back to normal between a man and his wife. However, a woman who cannot show patience, would immediately go to a sahir and ask him to work out a sihr which would let her be very much loved by her husband. This may be due to a defect in her faith, or to her ignorance of the fact that this is unlawful. The sahir would ask her to provide a trace of her husband's scent (a handkerchief, cap, piece of cloth or flannel) provided that these items contain the smell of her husband's sweat so they should not be new or clean. The sahir would take some threads from these items, blow on them, tie a knot around them, and ask the woman to bury them in a deserted place. The sahir would also prepare a spell in water or food -the worst sihr is done in filth or menses discharge- and ask the woman to put it in her husband's food, drink or perfume.

Adverse Effects of Sihr of Love 1. Sometimes a man falls ill as a result of this sihr. I even heard that a man was ill for about three years.

2. Sometimes the sihr backfires, and the man would hate his wife. This is due to a lack of knowledge of the principles of sihr.

3. Sometimes a woman asks the sahir to prepare a double-effect sihr which makes her husband love her alone and hate all other women. This results in the man's hating his mother, sisters, maternal aunts, paternal aunts and all female kinship.

4. Sometimes the double-effect sihr backfires, and the man ends up by hating all women, even his wife.

I knew a similar case in which a man hated his wife and eventually divorced her. The woman went back to the sorcerer to cancel the sihr, only to find that the sahir had died.

Causes of Sihr of Love 1. Marital squabbles 2. The woman runs after her husband's wealth, especially if he is rich.

3. The woman suspects that her husband is going to marry another woman - although this is lawful under Islamic Law- and there is no harm in it. However, a woman of the present time, especially one influenced by the destructive media, would believe that if her husband wants to marry another woman it means that he does not love her anymore. This is a gross mistake because there are several factors which cause a man to marry up to four women, despite his love of the first wife. There is, for instance, his desire to have many children, his inability to stay without sexual intercourse during his wife's menstruation, during her post-natal bleeding {damu an-nifas), or his intention to establish a relationship with a certain family.

Lawful Manners-----Advice for a wife This is my advice to a Muslim woman that if she wants to enchant her husband, she can do so by: - Making herself look very beautiful and attractive to her husband, without letting him come across any ugly feature or unpleasant smell in you.

- Giving him a nice smile.

- Talking to him nicely.

- Keeping good company with him - Safeguarding his wealth - Taking good care of your children - Obeying him in all matters, except a matter in which he obliges you to disobey Allah.

However, there is a stark contradiction in our society today, concerning these matters. For example, if a woman is invited to a party at her friend's, she would wear her best dress and her best jewellery as if she were on her wedding night. When she comes back home, she takes off her jewellery and puts it back for the next party or the next visit, whilst her poor husband, who has bought that jewellery and that dress is deprived of enjoying her wearing them. He always sees her in old garments, with the smell of cooking, onions and garlic.

If she were a bit considerate, she would realise that her husband is the one who deserves to see her in such a beautiful appearance. Therefore, when your husband goes to work, try to finish the housework, then wash yourself, make yourself look beautiful and attractive, and wait for him. When he comes back home, and sees a beautiful woman before him, finds dinner ready and a tidy home, his love for you will increase and he will feel very much more attached to you. Hence, this is the lawful form of attraction, especially if your intention in making yourself look beautiful is to obey Allah and help your husband

abstain from looking at other women. A person who is full up (has eaten food) does not have a desire for food, but a person who is deprived of food has a craving for it.

Sihr At-Takhyil (False Appearance of Objects)

Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) says: They said, "Moses, will you throw something down or shall we be the ones to throw." He said, "You throw!" So when, they charmed people's eyes and overawed them. They produced a splendid sihr. And We revealed to Moses: 'Cast thy staff.' And lo, it forthwith swallowed up their lying invention. So the truth came to pass, and false was proved what they were doing. So they were vanquished there, and they turned about, humbled. And the sorcerers were cast down, bowing themselves. They said, 'We believe in the Lord of al-'Alamin (Jinn and mankind), the Lord of Moses and Harun. (7:117-122) They said, "Moses, either you will cast (something) or shall we be the first to cast (a spell)? It seemed to him under the effect of their sihr that their ropes and stuff were sliding. (17:65-66)

Symptoms 1. A fixed object would appear to be mobile, while a mobile object would appear to be fixed for the viewer.

2. A small object would appear large, while a large object would appear small for the viewer.

3. The false appearance of objects: Under the effect of the magic of Pharaoh's sorcerers, ropes and rods appeared to viewers as real snakes.

How this is Achieved A magician would show the viewers a familiar object; then with an incantation and the support of some demons, the object would appear in a form other than its real one.

Someone told me that one day a magician recited an incantation and made an egg turn at a high speed.

Another told me that a magician recited an incantation which made two stones fight like a pair of rams.

These are all the tricks a sahir uses in front of people in order to obtain their money or display his dexterity. Sometimes, he includes this type sihr in other types. In the sihr of separation, for example, a man would see his wife in an ugly image, and in the sihr of love, he would see the opposite. These types of sihr are different from charlatanism, which relies on the rapid movement of hands.

Sihr Al-Junun (Lunacy)

Kharija Ibn salat reported that his paternal uncle went to the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) and declared his conversion to Islam. On his way back, his uncle passed by a people who had fettered a

lunatic in chains. They said: "We were told that your companion (the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him)) has brought good with him. Do you have anything with which to cure our lunatic?" I recited alFatiha and he was cured. They gave me one hundred sheep and then approached the Prophet (Peace and Blessing upon Him) to inform him of it. He asked: "Did you say anything other than this?" I replied: "No." He said: "Take it, for by my life, some would accept in return for a false ruqyah, but you have done this with a genuine one." According to another narration, "the man cured him by reciting al-Fatiha for three days, day and night; whenever he finished reciting it, he would gather his saliva and spit."

Symptoms 1. Severe absentmindedness and forgetfulness 2. Confused speech 3. Bulging eyes and deviation of sight 4. Restlessness 5. Inability to do a task regularly 6. Disinterest in one's appearance 7. ln severe cases, one can tell from a lunatic's face that he does know where he is going, and he would probably sleep in derelict places How is it done?

The Jinn entrusted with the sihr enters into the targeted person and settles in his brain, as instructed by the sahir. He then begins pressing on the brain cells for thought, memory and behaviour; or managing them in a way which only Allah ('Azza wa Jalla) knows. As a result, symptoms appear on the victim.

Sihr Al-Khumul (Lethargy) Symptoms 1. Love of seclusion 2. Absolute introversion 3. Constant silence 4. Anti-sociability 5. Absentmindedness 6. Frequent headaches 7. Quietness and constant lethargy How this happens A sahir would send a Jinn to the targeted person, instructing him to settle in his brain and make him introverted and lonely. The Jinn would do his best to carry out the mission, and the symptoms of this sihr would appear, according to the strength and weakness of the Jinn entrusted with the task.

Sihr Al-Hawatif (Bad Dreams & Hearing Voices) Symptoms 1. The patient experiences nightmares.

2. The patient sees in a dream as if someone were calling him.

3. The patient hears voices talking to him when awake, but cannot see where these voices are coming from.

4. The patient hears much whispering (Al-Waswas).

5. The patient is very suspicious of his/her friends and relatives.

6. The patient dreams of seeing himself/herself falling from a high place.

7. The patient dreams of seeing himself/herself being chased by animals.

How this is Achieved The sahir instructs a Jinn to appear to a person both in dream and in reality, in the form of savage beasts attacking him; to call him when awake in voices which he recognises and which he does not; to cause him to suspect people that are close to him and people who are not. Symptoms may vary according to the power and weakness of the sihr. They may increase to the point of reaching lunacy and may also diminish to the point of being a mere whispering.

Sihr Al-Maradh (Illness) Symptoms 1. Constant pain in one part of the body 2. Epilepsy 3. Paralysis of one area of the patient's body 4. Total paralysis of the body 5. Disability in of one of the sense organs I would like to emphasise that some of these symptoms may be similar to those of a normal physical illness. In order to distinguish between the symptoms, the healer should recite the ruqyah over the patient. If the patient feels dizzy, becomes numb, has a headache, or if there is a change in the patient's body during the recitation process, then the healer should assume that these symptoms pertain to the use sihr. But if the patient does not react to the ruqyah, the healer should advice the patient that he/she suffers from a physical illness and should consult a doctor.

How this is Achieved It is common that the brain is the main regulator of the body. This means that every human organ has a control centre in the brain, from which it receives codes. For example, if you try to put your finger in a fire, the finger sends a fast code to the sense centre in the brain, and then receives orders from this centre, warning it to keep away from the source of danger. In response, the hand moves away from fire.

This interaction takes place within a fraction of a second: This is Allah's Creation; now show me what those have created that are part from Him!(31:11) Through this sihr, a Jinn settles in a person's brain, in the sensual centre of hearing, sight, feeling of the hand or the leg, as directed by the sahir. As a result, the response of a limb may be one out of three conditions:

1. The Jinn may -with Allah's Ability- completely prevent signals from reaching a limb or organ. As a result, a limb stops functioning, so the patient may become blind, dumb, deaf or physically paralysed.

2. The Jinn may -with Allah's Ability- sometimes prevent signals from reaching a limb or organ, and may sometimes let them reach it. As a result, the limb or organ sometimes functions and sometimes does not.

3. The Jinn may cause the brain to send fast successive signals without any reason. Consequently, the limb may become frigid and unable to move, even if it were not paralysed.

However, any harm a person sustains, under the effect of sihr depends on Allah's M Will, which should not surprise you: ...yet they did not hurt any man thereby, save by the Leave of Allah. (2:102) Yet in the past, many doctors would neither acknowledge nor believe this fact. However, when they witnessed several cases, they had no choice but to believe and submit to Allah's ('Azza wa Jalla) Ability.

One day, a doctor came to me and said: "I have come to see you about an issue which has shocked me."

I said: "What is it?"

He said: 'A man brought his paralysed to me for treatment. When I examined him, I found that he was suffering from a disease in his vertebrae; a disease which, according to doctors, is incurable, whether through surgery or otherwise. A few weeks later, the man came and I asked him about his paralysed son. He said, 'Praise be to Allah, my son now can sit down and walk.' I said, 'Who has treated him?' He replied, 'Wahid (author from the book 'Sword against black magic & evil magicians). This is the reason I have come, to find out from you how you treated him.'

I said: "I recited some verses of the Qur'an over him, then recited a ruqyah on al-habba as-sawda' (black seed oil) and advised them to rub it over the paralysed areas of his body."

Sihr An-Nazif (Bleeding Following Menses) How it is achieved This type of sihr affects women only. A sahir sends a Jinn to the targeted woman and instructs him to cause her to bleed. To do so, the Jinn enters the woman's body and circulates in her veins and arteries with the blood. This notion of circulation has long been warned about by the Prophet S in the following tradition: "Satan circulates in man's body like blood." Al-Bukhari (Fath Al-Bari: 4/282) and Muslim (AnNawawi. 14/155) When the Jinn reaches a known vein in the woman's womb, he stomps it so that the vein bleeds. This fact was also pointed out by the Prophet S when Hamna bint Jahsh asked his opinion on the issue of

bleeding outside the period of menses, and he said: "Such bleeding is but one of Satan's stomping."

According to At-Tirmidhi, the above tradition is sound and authentic According to another tradition, the bleeding "is the result of Satan's stomping on a vein rather than from a normal menses." Imam Ahmad and An-Nasai (a very good chain of transmission) Therefore, according to both traditions, a menstruation that occurs outside its normal period is one of the Satan's stomps on one of the womb's veins.

According to scholars of Fiqh (jurisprudence), an-nazif refers to al-istihadha (continuous menstruation), and according to doctors, it refers to bleeding.

According to Ibn Al-Athir, al-istihadha means bleeding following a normal menses.

This bleeding may last for months, and the amount of blood could be little or large.

Siihr of Impeding Marriage How it is achieved A grudging person would go to a wicked sorcerer and requests that a sihr be done to a certain person's daughter to thwart her marriage. The sahir would request her name, her mother's name and a trace of her hair or smell (on a piece of garment). Once these are provided, the sorcerer would work out the appropriate sihr and instruct one Jinn, or more, to stalk the girl until the opportunity comes to enter her, which is often during one of the four occasions: 1. Extreme fear 2. Extreme anger 3. Extreme unawareness 4. Indulgence in pleasure

The Jinn has Two Options 1. If he can enter the girl, then he would cause her to feel uncomfortable with any prospective husband and; thus, turn him down.

2. If he cannot enter the girl, then he would use the sihr of imagination, from outside. As a result, a suitor would see the girl in an ugly image under the effect of the Jinn's whispering, and so would the girl.

Under the effect of this sihr and under the Jinn is whispering, a suitor, who would have initially agreed to the marriage, would decline after a few days, without any valid reason.

In cases of a strong sihr, a suitor would, upon entering the house of his prospective wife, feel very uncomfortable and see darkness before him as if he were in prison, and so would never return.

During the period of this sihr, the Jinn may cause the girl to experience occasional headaches.

Symptoms 1. Occasional headaches, which persist despite medication.

2. Severe tightness in the chest, especially between al-'asr and midnight.

3. The patient sees the suitor in an ugly image.

4. Absentmindedness.

5. Anxiety during sleep.

6. Occasional constant stomach-aches.

7. Pain in the lower part of the back.

Al Sihr Ar-Rabt (Penile Erection Problem during intercourse), Al- 'ajz al-jinsi (impotence) and Adhdhu'f al-jinsi (sexual weakness) Ar-Rabt The man affected by this type of sihr feels active and energetic about having sexual intercourse with his wife. His penis is even erected as long as he is distant from his wife. Nevertheless, as he approaches her, his penis shrinks and is unable to have sexual intercourse.

How Sihr Ar-Rabt is done The Jinn entrusted with the task of sihr settles in a man's brain, precisely in the centre of sexual excitement which sends codes to the sexual organs; and lets the sexual organs function normally. But, when a man approaches his wife, with the intention of having sexual intercourse, the Jinn thwart the centre of sexual excitement in the brain and blocks the signals sent to the organs which pump blood into the penis for erection. Consequently, the blood drawbacks rapidly from the penis, and the penis shrinks.

A man, for instance, may be normal when making love to his wife; that is, with an erected penis.

However, when he is about to penetrate intercourse, his penis shrinks, so he cannot have sexual intercourse; and erection is an essential ingredient in achieving sexual intercourse, as we know.

Sometimes a man with two wives may be affected with the sihr of rabt, but only with one wife. This is because the Jinn of this type of sihr only hinders the centre of sexual excitement when the man approaches that specific wife.

Ar-Rabt in Women (sexual frigidity) Just as a man suffers from ar-rabt (penile erection failure) and is unable to have sexual intercourse with his wife, a woman, too, may suffer from ar-rabt (frigidity). There are five types of rabt in women: 1. Rabt al-man'(obstruction): It occurs when a woman prevents her husband from having sexual intercourse with her by tightly joining her legs together and obstructing his penis from entering into her vagina. This reaction is automatic and beyond her control, but one young man whose wife was affected by this type of sihr, criticised his wife for her response, so she explained that it was beyond her control.

One day, she told him to put iron shackles between her legs to keep them apart before, starting sexual

intercourse. He did that, but it was to no avail. Alternatively, she told him to give her a drug injection if he wants to have sexual intercourse with her. It worked, but only one partner benefited.

2. Rabt at-taballud (lack of sexual feeling): The Jinn entrusted with the mission of sihr settles in the centre of sexual feeling in the woman's brain and causes her to lose her sexual feeling, at the moment of sexual intercourse with her husband. As a result, she feels no sexual pleasure and does not respond to her husband. Her body becomes numb even if her husband does what he wishes with her. In this type of sihr, the glands do not release the fluid which lubricates the vagina, and therefore, the sexual act cannot be achieved.

3. Rabt An-nazif (bleeding at the time of sexual intercourse): This is different from sihr an-nazif in one aspect. While, rabt An-nazif is confined to the time of sexual intercourse, sihr an-nazif may last for several days. In this type of sihr, the Jinn causes heavy bleeding to the targeted woman at the time of sexual intercourse with her husband, and thus prevents the man from having sexual intercourse with his wife. One day, one man, who was a soldier, told me that whenever he came home for holidays, his wife would bleed as soon as he arrived home. The bleeding would last for the holiday period which was approximately five days, but would stop as soon as he went back to work.

4. Rabt Al-lnsidad (blockage in the vagina): It occurs when a man finds an obstacle of flesh in the vagina which prevents the penetration of the penis, so the sexual intercourse is not achieved.

5. Rabt At-taghwir (loss of virginity): It occurs when a man marries a virgin woman, but finds her to be without her virginity at their first sexual intercourse. As a result, doubts are raised concerning her past.

However, the virginity returns once the sihr is neutralised.

Al-'ajzal-jinsi (sexual inability / impotence): It means a man's inability to have sexual intercourse with his wife, whether he is distant from or near her, as his penis cannot erect.

Adh-dhu'f al-jinsi (sexual weakness): A man can only have sexual intercourse with his wife after long periods. Sexual intercourse takes place for only a short time; after which the penis looses its rigidity.

Types and Causes of Sterility There are two types: 1. Organic Sterility: This type may be treated by doctors if they could.

2. Sterility caused by Sihr. This type is caused by the Jin/is presence in a man's body.

It is treated with the Qur'an and invocations of Allah Generally, fertility in men requires that the sperm count be at least twenty million per cubic centimetre of semen. Sometimes, a Jinn may interfere with one of the teste which produce spermatozoa, by pressing it or by other means; so that the testis would not produce the required sperm count to fertilise an ovum.

When the spermatozoa move from the testes to the gonocyte, they require much clear fluid which is secreted and poured into the gonocyte by a specific gland. This fluid acts as nourishment for the

spermatozoa stored in the gonocyte. Again, the Jinn interferes in this process by preventing the gland from secreting the clear fluid; and thus, denying the spermatozoa stored in the gonocyte of their nourishment. As a result of this Satanic interference, the spermatozoa die and fertilisation is not achieved.

Difference between Natural Sterility and Sterility caused by Sihr Sterility caused by sihr has the following symptoms: 1. A tightness in the chest, which begins at al-asr and may last until midnight.

2. Absentmindedness.

3. Pain in the lower part of the spine.

4. Anxiety during sleep.

5. Nightmares.

PERFORMING RUQYA ON YOURSELF

To recite The Quran as ruqya for healing whether it be for suspected Jinn problems, magic or just medically confirmed illnesses, is fine and most warranted, advisable to gain recovery inshaAllah.

Glorify Allah first before reading a selection of verses. There are the obvious verses used, but in all essence you can recite any that you like or find that are most affective for you. This will become noticeable over time as you try out various verses and feel the effects from them.

Recite also Darood and the names of Allah in continuous flow, respetedly.and the verses numerous times in repetition. This is all by what you feel you can do in any one session devoted to ruqya. Don’t overdo it, but set a time limit and increase it slowly each time you start a new session.

Always start with surah Fatiha, then include Ayat al Kursi, and the last three surahs of the Quran., then as mentioned before use what verses you like. You can also listen to the Quran via tape, CD, YouTube or a selected YouTube ruqya shiffa, or ruqya for Jinn etc, made and recorded for this purpose.

You will also need to listen attentively, concentrate and take in the sheer power of every word, or recite with sheer concentration, with a clear mind and in a state of purity. Make sure your room is clean, quiet, and that you will not be disturbed. Lay or sit comfortably, and try not to move around.

To make ruqya a part of your routine is advisable for just general health and wellbeing, as well as a means of healing. So for healing purposes make it a routine, same time each day and do it it for as long as it takes.

Have patience and perseverance. Your duas, healing will come, inshaAllah, so long as you have the right Aqeedah too.