 | This articlepossibly contains originalsynthesis. Source material shouldverifiably mention andrelate to the main topic. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page.(January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Despite Islamic tradition taking a generally dim view ofsuperstitious brief insupernatural causality for mundane events, various beliefs in supernatural phenomena have persisted in Muslim societies since the advent of Islam.[2] In Muslim scholarship, the variousIslamic schools and branches have contested and probed beliefs and practices that were assumed to be superstitious, but beliefs in Quranic charms,jinn, and the practice of visiting the tombs of religious remain.[3]
Some beliefs, such as the belief in jinn and other aspects of Muslim occult culture, are rooted in theQuran and the culture of early Islamic cosmography. In the same way, shrine veneration and acceptance, and the promotion of saintly miracles, has intimate connections to structures of Islamic religious authority and piety in Islamic history.[3] The study of superstitions in Muslim societies has raised difficult but important questions forIslamic revivalist projects, including by challenging the historical stability, coherence and distinctness of Islam as a religion.[4]
According toAli Rahnema, while superstitious ideas may have been equally common among Christians and Muslims until the 16th century AD, in comparison to theMuslim world, the prevalence and intensity among Christians dramatically declined after reformation movements in Europe.[5]
Muslims facing illness or other crises found strength and reassurance in various religious objects and rituals.[6] According to Travis Zadeh, in spite of talismanic use of the Quran in charms andamulets, tomb visitation evoked much censure in certain orthodox circles. Still in urban centers of the Muslim world, of the pre-modern era active culture of shrine visitation used to be too common. As such both orthodox and folk popular domains of Islamic religious performance build on the power ofbaraka (divine blessing orcharisma) derived through sacred matter. So, various expressions of Quranictheurgy, from charms and amulets to inscriptions on bowls and garments are as much pervasive, converging with ancient attitudes toward divine language and sacred writing.[7][8]
According to Christiane Gruber, Islamic tradition regards water as having healing properties and associates it with cleanliness and godliness.[6] The Quran says water is the source of "every living thing".[6] Since the seventh century, Muslim pilgrims have visited theZamzam Well, believing its water to be curative, and using it in cleaning rituals and prayer.[6] From the 11th century until around the 19th century, Muslim cultures used magic bowls, healing necklaces and other objects like amulets,talismanic shirt, and scrolls in hopes of warding off drought, famine, floods and even epidemic diseases. Anti-plague talismans known as the "Garden of Names", Quranic scrolls and amulets were worn around the neck or otherwise attached to the body, believing that physical contact with the object would unlock the enclosed blessings or life force, known asbaraka in Arabic.[6]
According to Zadeh, the same is true about magic in its various manifestations, which explains a good deal about how the bounds of the licit and the illicit have historically been defined and negotiated. In the modern period, Muslim societies, faced with varied discourses of demystification, the domains of the magical and the enchanted went through substantial reconfiguration in the expressions of Islamic piety, devotion, and learning.[7] Zadeh says the process ofmodernization in Muslim world, with its grounding in European colonialism and post-Enlightenment thought, as well as in Islamic reformism, has contested and reconfigured many historical and traditional practices, often viewed them as being ignorance and superstitious. This can be observed, for example, rather notably in critiques or correctiveadvice literature propagated by a range ofMuslim scholars toward such activities as exorcism, shrine devotion, and the preparation of amulets, most of such discourse is rooted in classicalIslamic exegesis; but, they take on profoundly different expressions in the context of modern Islamic reform. In the competing views ofnormativity, magic, marvel, and miracle ultimately takes role of normative categories designed not only to understand the world but also to shape it.[7]
At least one author, Ali Rahmena, distinguishes between "accidental or autonomous" superstition, and magic such as sorcery and witchcraft, black and white. While superstition is "accidental" (for example, no one intends for a black cat to cross their path, so it is accidental), with magic believers are convinced that the laws of nature can be altered by the sorcerer or witch through supernatural forces. A second distinction, according to Ali, is between superstition connected to religion and superstition that is not.[9]
Ulum al-ghariba ("occult sciences") orUlum al-hafiya ("secret sciences") refers tooccultism inIslam.[10] Occultism in Islam includes various practices liketalismans andinterpreting dreams.[11]Simiyya is a doctrine found commonly withinSufi-occult traditions that may be deduced upon the notion of "linking the superior natures with the inferior...", and broadly described astheurgy.[12]
According to Owen DaviesSufis have been criticized by bothWahhabi and modernist Muslims for some of their perceived superstitious practices.[13] According to J.D.Kila along with other desecration and destruction of Sufi places of worship and cultural heritage, a sacred door ofSidi Yahya Mosque was forcefully destroyed because some people believed that door should not to be opened till end of the world.[14]
In Arabic folklore, theghul is said to dwell incemeteries and other uninhabited places. A male ghoul is referred to asghul while the female is calledghulah.[15] While analyzing beliefs in unseen and supernatural angels likeMunkar and Nakir visits to tombs inIslamic eschatology, John MacDonald says that origination of such ideas is likely to be then contemporary folklore or superstition.[16] When Islam spread outside of Arabia, belief in thejinn was assimilated with local belief about spirits anddeities from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India.[17]
Since the jinn, unlike many spirits and demons in other religions, are thought to be physical beings, Muslims adhere to superstitious practices like utteringdastur before throwing hot water or urinating, warning jinn to leave the place so as to not feel offended by humans.[18]
Due to their physical presence, Islamic scholars debated about legal issues of marriage between jinn and humans, leading to a far reaching belief in sexual union between supernatural creatures and humans.Shayāṭīn (devils), are another type of supernatural creature, deriving fromJudeo-Christiandemons. According to the Quran they frequently assault heaven but are warded off by angels throwingmeteors on them, therefore some Muslims curse theshayatin when seeing a shooting star, believing it was thrown at ashaitan.[19]
Exorcism in Islam is calledʿazaʿim.[20]Ruqya (Arabic:رقية) on the other hand summonsjinn and demons by invoking thenames of God, and to command them to abandon their mischief[21] and is thought to repair damage believed caused byjinnpossession,witchcraft (sihr) or theevil eye.[citation needed] Exorcisms today are part of a wider body of contemporaryIslamic alternative medicine.[22]
Morocco has many possession traditions, including exorcism rituals.[23]
 | This sectionpossibly containsoriginal research. Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(November 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Islam distinguishes between God-given gifts or good magic andblack magic. Good supernatural powers are therefore a special gift fromGod, whereas black magic is achieved through help of jinn andshayatin. In the Quranic narrative,Sulayman had the power to speak with animals and command jinn, and he thanks God for this نعمة (i.e. gift, privilege, favour, bounty), which is only given to him with God's permission.[Quran 27:19][24]
Thetaʿwiz ortaʿwīdh (Arabic:تعويذ) is anamulet orlocket usually containing verses from theQuran or other Islamic prayers and symbols pertaining tomagic. TheTawiz is worn by some Muslims to protect them from evil.[26][27]
The amulet callednazar is supposed to protect against theevil eye, a superstition shared among several cultures including Muslim ones.[citation needed]
While Solar eclipse and Lunar eclipses, Earthquakes, Thunder and lightning are justnatural phenomena as per modern scientific explanations; and Islam avoids irrational connections of the same with other coincidences in human life,[citation needed] still some Muslim individuals and communities are seen singling out specific natural objects and events as signs of God and specialsign prayers (salat al-Ayat) are observed on occasions like Solar eclipse and Lunar eclipses, Earthquakes, Thunder and lightning.[28][29][19]
Miracles in Islam play less of an evidentiary role.[30] TheQuran is considered the main miracle of theProphet Muhammad, though the Quran mentions miracles likeJesus talking in infancy.[30] InSunni Islam,karamat[31] refers tosupernatural wonders performed byMuslim saints. In the technical vocabulary ofIslamic religious sciences, the singular formkarama has a sense similar tocharism, a favor or spiritual gift freely bestowed by God.[32] The marvels ascribed to Muslim walis have included supernatural physical actions, predictions of the future, and "interpretation of the secrets of hearts".[32] A wide-spread belief holds that even ordinary humans can become walis and endowed by God with supernatural powers.[failed verification] Such wali played a significant role in missionary activities (dawah).[30]
It is claimed by some experts that first minerals, fruits, mountains and seas that accepted Islam, Prophet Mohammed andShiaImam AliVelayat include eggplant, gold, fresh water oceans, mount agate.[33][34] Persian melon is said to not have accepted Velayat by prophet's quote according toMohammad-Baqer Majlesi.[35] After the death ofAbbas the Great his burial place was not designated prior to avoid Talisman.[36] Dogs are calledNajis.[37]
According to author Ali Rahnema's analysis of "superstition as an ideology" in the politics of Iran, during the eight-year administration ofMahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–2013) "superstition begot phantasmical claims and practices", immersing a small cross-section of Iranians into "an alarming frenzy of irrationality" (in contrast to emphasis onaql (reason) of his predecessorMohammad Khatami).[38] An example of one of these claims was Ahmadinejad's insistence (in a videoes meeting with Ayatollah Javadi Amoli) that during his (Ahmadinejad's) 28 minute speech to the UN General Assembly in 2005, Ahmadinejad had been enshrouded in a beam of light and that the Assembly audience had been fixated on him and incapable of blinking their eyes while he spoke.[39]
 | Theneutrality of this article isdisputed. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please do not remove this message untilconditions to do so are met.(April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Among Muslims inIndia andPakistan,magical thinking pervades as many acts and events are attributed to supernatural andritual, such asprayer,sacrifice, or the observance of ataboo are followed. The penchant forfaith healers andblack magicians spans society, from the rich landlords of the rural areas to the urban classes ofHyderabad Deccan,Bangalore,Lahore andKarachi.[40][41][42][irrelevant citation] In India and Pakistan,mental illness andpsychological problems are often considered to be an encounter withShaitan (Satan) (Urdu:شيطان,Hindi:शैतान),eviljinn (Urdu:جن,Hindi:जिन) ordemons who have taken over one's body and mind.[40] People, especially children and young girls, weartaʿwiz (amulets) (Urdu:تعویز,Hindi:तावीज़) to ward off the evil eye.Spells,incantations andcurses could also result in ghouls orchurel (Urdu:چڑیل,Hindi:चुड़ैल) haunting a person.[citation needed]
Muslim walis (Imams,Maulvis,Sufis,Mullahs,Faqirs) performexorcism on individuals[according to whom?] who are believed to bepossessed. The homes, houses, buildings and grounds areblessed andconsecrated by Mullahs or Imams by recitingQuran andAdhan (Urdu:أَذَان), the Islamic call to prayer, recited by themuezzin. Some of the popular superstitions in India and Pakistan included thatblack cats crossing one's path will bring bad luck, acrow's cawing announces the surprise arrival of guests,[43][irrelevant citation][44] consuming dairy products with seafood will cause skin diseases, itchy palms means presage monetary gains, resting under trees after dark carries the risk of demonic possession, twitching of the left eye is an ill-omen, and sneezing can be caused by being in another's thoughts.[45][irrelevant citation]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: subsections about responses of: Orthodox Sunni, Sufi, Shia, Ismaili. You can help byadding to it.(October 2020) |
Throughout the history,Mu'tazilite theologians and philosophers have always attempted to answer the questions ofmiracles,jinn,supernaturalism andsuperstition in Islam through rational and dialectical methods.[46][47] Mu’tazilites believe that God and the firmaments of His creation could only operate in accordance with rational rules that He himself has established. The universal realm operates through a system that is determinate in as much as it is orderly, where everything functions in an organised manner, from the smallestatom to the biggestplanets,stars,galaxies and otheruniverse objects. Everything is neatly arranged according to natural rules related to the laws ofphysics,chemistry,biology,mathematics andempirical laws.[48][49]
Many Mu'tazilites believed in the theory of nature (ṭabʽ) put forward by some early Muʽtazilite scholars such asMu‘ammar al-Sulami (d. 215/830),Abū Ishaq Ibrāhīm an-Nazzam (d. 231/845),Abu Uthman Al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255/869) andAbū al-Qāsim al-Kaʽbī (d. 319/931) as well as its consequences are about causality and miracles. Proponents of theṭabʽ theory argue that Allah created all creatures with innate conditions and that these natures determine all movements and events in the universe, and that the necessary causal relationships based on them apply in the universe.[50][51]
However, this understanding was criticized and rejected by the majority of Muslim theologians. Acceptance of necessary causality in the universe would make it impossible for God to intervene in nature, for example in creating miracles.[50] On the contrary, in understanding miracles, the Mu'tazilites believe that God gave theprophets most of the logical prophetic miracles, such as the miracle of the creation of theQuran, which for most Muslims is considered the greatest and most important prophetic miracle. Of course, the creation of the Quran is a logical thing.[52] Whereas, prophetic miracles which have irrational content contained in the Quran or hadith must be considered as somethingmetaphorical, because they considerArabic to be known as a language that contains many metaphoricalidioms, where Arabic is the language contained in these propositions.[53][54]
In matters of superstition such asjinn possession,magic, andmyth which are often mixed with religious beliefs, for the Mu'tazilites this is a deviation from religion. Which for Mu'tazilite, Islam is logical.[55] Some Mu'taziite scholars such asAl-Jubba'i andAl-Zamakhshari reject the possibility of someone being possessed by a jinn, they consider the argument of jinn possession to be based on a misunderstanding of Quranic interpretation.[56][57] Furthermore, a Mu'tazila scholar and biologist,Al-Jahiz, formulated a scientific explanation for why people developepilepsy,mental illness, andinnate fear from abiological andpsychological perspective, far from understanding the majority of orthodox schools of thought that it is all caused by jinn possession or magic.[58][59]
According toDaniel W. Brown a whole genre ofdevout literature exists to ascribemiraculous proofs of Muhammad's prophesy, shaped with the purpose of establishing Muhammad's prophetic credentials, many traditional scholars likeIbn Ishaq described various miracles, like a palm tree sighs as prophet passes, at prophet's command a cluster of dates jumps off the tree, the moon is split down the middle, with very small amount of food the prophet feeds the crowd.[60] Brown says to remain sensitive discomfiture of modern audiences such descriptions of miracles are systematically expunged and hence modern audiences grown with sanitized accounts of the prophet get startled with pervasiveness of miracles in early biographies of Muhammad.[60] According to Brown many modern Muslims and non Muslims may agree that probably, Muhammad would not have performed any miracles, and view such miracles as a relic of superstitions, and hence why many modern Muslims may wish the miracle accounts to disappear since Quran itself implies that Muhammad did not perform any miracles.[60]
Influenced byAl-Afghani's modernist interpretations,Muhammad Abduh, amufti of Egypt revisited then contemporary Islamic thought with hisijtihad post–1899 AD in histafsir al Manar, expressed that, wherever the Quran seemed contradictory and irrational to logic and science, it must be understood as reflecting the Arab vision of the world, as written with available 7th century intellectual level of Arabs; all verses referring to superstitions like witchcraft and the evil eye be explained as expressions of then–Arab beliefs; and miraculous events and deeds in Quran be rationally explained just asmetaphors orallegories.[61]
In their research paper, Jafar Nekoonam, Fatemeh Sadat, and Moosavi Harami discuss the verity of interpretations about the Quranic concept dealt in verses 15:16-18, 37:6-10, 72:8-9,67:5 of stone throwing devils with meteors.[62] According to Jafar Nekoonam et al, 2016, various interpretations for what the Quran means by stone throwing devils with meteors have been put forward by Muslim exegetes over the centuries. In the pre-modern times, the meaning of this Quranic expression was assumed to be clear, Meccan unbelievers would accuse the Prophet of getting the revelation from thejinn. According to Jafar Nekoonam et al, the Quran responded to their allegations by saying that jinn had no access to the heavenly discourse, as the heavens were protected with meteors.[62] But since, in the modern times, scientific community has denied any relation in between meteors and devils and meteors being simply stones that are scattered across the universe, burning and transforming into fire after entering the earth's atmosphere. The way the interpreters of the Quran understood the verses in question has been changed with the modern era scientific developments.[62]
According to Jafar Nekoonam et al, some commentators considered the idea of stone throwing devils with meteors in relation to the immaterial world, presumed beyond human understanding; hence, they would refrain from interpreting it. But according to Jafar Nekoonam et al, such attitude does not explain how mentioning an incomprehensible idea would have functioned as a response to the accusations of Meccan disbelievers of the time of the Prophet. Other interpreters say that it is possible that the meteors actually force away the jinn from the abode of angels, but this theory would not be acceptable either, since angels are not material beings to live in the material sky. Some other scholars suggested non-literal interpretations for these verses. They assumed that these Quranic verses did not refer to material meteors or heavens, but referred to just the fact that jinn were not allowed to enter God's throne.[62] Jafar Nekoonam et al says such interpretation would mean that during the first fourteen centuries of Islam, the verses of the Quran were misunderstood, which would not be in line with the fact that the Quran is the guide for all mankind of all times.[62] Based on this analysis, Jafar Nekoonam et al concludes that the right interpretation would be to say that the Quran employs the idea of stone throwing devils with meteors, which was familiar to its original audience, in order to reject the accusation by Meccan unbelievers that the Prophet received the revelation from devils. Interpreting the Quran to say in fact states in the form of that familiar idea, is that devils are supposed to be incapable of ascending to the spiritual world of angels to receive heavenly guidance. Thus, in this theory, such interpretation, both the literal meaning of the verses in question, which was what Muslim understanding in the past fourteen centuries, and the purity of the Quran from unscientific claims can be preserved.[62]
Beliefs and rituals which could appropriately be labelled exorcism are found in almost all cultures and faith traditions, but in the West are encountered most frequently within Christian or Islamic settings.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)It is believed that if a crow cries at the house or if any utensil slips out of hands while scourging, relatives would arrive.