17. Irrational (non)problem solving: Believing that the jinn, black magic and evil eye is harming us
Many psychological and physical problems. arise when we don’t prioritise certain knowledge over speculative knowledge.
For instance, some people are constantly worried about the possibility of germs on their hands making them ill. This causes them to wash their hands constantly until they start to chaff and peel from constant washing - an obsessive compulsive disorder. In this case the idea of “germs leading to an illness are on my hand” is speculative and the idea that “there is no reason to think that there are any pathogenic germs on the hand ”, would be more certain since from the observable sensed reality there was nothing to indicate that. Therefore to suspect that there are pathogenic germs present on the hands when there was no incident to place them there would be a case of speculative thinking overriding rational thinking.In this case it leads to anxiety and physical harm.
Similar to this are the ideas that paralyze us from looking for rational solutions to our problems. As an example of cases I have come across: a businessman who blames black magic on the failure of his new venture, rather than the lack of marketing; a man who has problems with his wife blaming evil eye rather than them not understanding the role of husband and wife in marriage and their duties; a young man who doesn’t have a job blaming jinn possession rather than a lack of ambition.
The key to removing this unproductive thinking is prioritising more certain knowledge over less certain knowledge in our thinking.
As discussed previously under the chapter of “what can we know”, the most objective and certain knowledge the human can directly acquire himself is the rational knowledge which is based on his sensed reality. No-one can deny this knowledge otherwise they will not exist very long as they try to deny the reality in front of them (e.g. a car hurtling towards you!).
However, we also mentioned that the transmitted knowledge from the creator to us is also another form of knowledge we could potentially acquire if we could verify that it is indeed from the creator. This type of knowledge would even be more certain than our own rational knowledge as it comes from the creator who created our reality, our universe as well as our limitations of being dependent on our senses to understand the universe. Therefore any information that the creator gives us which we may not be able to appreciate with our senses would be deemed to be certain. So for instance, although we cannot sense life after death we would believe it to be true because the creator revealed it to us in the Quran (which we have verified to be miraculously transmitted to us).
So, if we have established that the creator’s knowledge transmitted to us is going to override our own knowledge based on our senses then what remains is to understand how to classify the various forms of transmitted knowledge that we find in the Divine sources into its various levels of certainty or strength:
Different levels of certainty of Islamic knowledge:
As a source, the Quran is certain in its transmission as it is from the creator, proven through its miraculous nature - being out of the ability of a human to produce. Within the Quran, however are ideas, words and phrases that are certain in their meaning such as :
“Say, He, Allah is One” (Al-Ikhlas: 1)
"Know that there is no god but Allah". [EMQ Muhammad 47:19]
There are also those ideas, words or phrases that can have different interpretations based on:
-the natural characteristics of the Arabic language (or any language for that matter).:
e.g. “Or you have touched(lamastum) women.” (TMQ Al-Ma‟ida: 6)
The word lamastum- touched- has different interpretations
- because it is beyond the human ability to understand: for instance the verses about Allah’s attributes which have no reality for us because we cannot sense it: “And the Face of your Lord will remain” (Surah Rahman:27). We cannot assume that because Allah mentions His Face that it means that it resembles our human faces. it would be speculative and irrational to do so as we cannot see Allah and it would contradict what Allah has also mentioned about Himself: “There is nothing whatsoever like Him”. We just believe in what Allah has mentioned here without having to discuss them as to do so does not bring us any beneficial knowledge.
The Quran establishes another source of knowledge which is the messenger himself. These are based on certain meanings which cannot be interpreted but to follow what the messenger brought :
“And he doesn’t utter from his own desire. Indeed it is an inspired inspiration”. (Surah Najm:3)
“Say, I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord”. (Araf: 203)
“It is not for a believing man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any opinion in their decision” (Ahzaab: 36)
This knowledge that the Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) has been collected in the form of hadith (the sayings, actions and approvals of his). These hadith have been narrated along chains of narrators- starting from the companions of the prophet who would witness what the prophet said/did/approved - up to the collector of this hadith several generations later who would have recorded it in their book. Various books of hadith collection have reached us today named after the scholar who collected them such as Bukhari and Muslim.
For the sake of this discussion, how does the knowledge of the hadith compare to that of the knowledge of the Quran? In principle, there should be no difference from what is conveyed to us from Allah via the Quran or the sayings and actions of His Messenger. However the certainness and strength of the knowledge from each will vary because of the method that each has reached us. The Quran being the miraculous word of Allah means that it is certainly from Him. The hadith however in their wordings are not miraculous by their nature as they are in the style of the speech of the Messenger and his companions who narrate what they witnessed .Therefore these human words were open to corruption by imposters and enemies as well as innocent human mistakes. That is why the scholars of hadith developed systems to determine authentic hadith from non-authentic hadith- even extending to the system of classifying narrators as being reliable or untrustworthy. The hadith themselves were graded into 2 broad categories of strength of narration: ahad and mutawatir. Mutawatir were conveyed similar to the mass transmission of the Quran from the Messenger until it reached the collector of hadith.The mutawatir thus is the report of a large number of narrators whose agreement on a lie is inconceivable on all levels of the chain of narrators- the isnaad- from the beginning until the end.According to the majority of scholars, the authority of the mutawatir hadith is equivalent to that of the Quran. It creates certainty (yaqeen) and the knowledge it produces is equivalent to knowledge acquired through sense-perception. Ahad (or singular) were any hadith that fell short of the category of the mutawatir. The important thing to note here is that the chain of the ahad is susceptible to the mistakes of the humans that narrated them. This could happen innocently by a narrator changing a word that was heard for a word that is similar in meaning when they narrated it to the next person. Human memory is not 100% accurate and humans are not above making mistakes.
In the field of islamic law there is still a value for both types of hadith because they inform the jurist with a source of evidence for forming legal opinions. The ahad hadith in this instance would be further classified into different grades which would indicate how reliable it is based on the strength of the narrators biography, memory and character.
However, in all types of information that is transmitted to us whether from the Quran or hadith there is still scope for the meanings to be incertain based on the wordings of the text itself.
So to summarize the type of knowledge from the various Divine sources and whether it is certain or not, we get:
As we can see the only knowledge that will be certain is that found in the Quran and Hadith Mutawatir which have clear meanings that cannot be interpreted in any other way. This is relevant because the central beliefs that we have should be based on certain knowledge so that our actions and direction and will is unshakeable as there is no room for doubt. This creates a very clear and determined identity in the mind of the muslim who proceeds upon the path of life with a clear direction. The evidence for basing our core belief on certain knowledge comes from Allah Himself.:Allah blamed those who followed their forefathers belief based on conjecture with no certainty, that it will not lead to the correct path:
"Those who believe not in the hereafter name the angels with the female names. But they have no knowledge therein. They follow nothing but conjectures and conjecture avails nothing against the truth". [EMQ Al Najm 53: 27-28]
“If you obeyed most of those on earth they would mislead you far from Allah's way. They follow nothing but conjecture, and they only guess.“ (Al-Anam: 116)
The certainty of belief is established in the Quran in various ayat where Allah tells man to look at the creation in the universe in order to establish from the reality where it could have come from:
“Do they not look at the she-camel - how it was created, And to the sky- how was it raised?” (Al-Ghashiya)
“"Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth, in the disparity of the night and the day, in the ships that course in the sea with that which benefits people, in the water that God sends down from the sky, reviving with it the earth after it was barren, in His spreading in it all kinds of living things, in the changing of the winds and the subjected clouds between the heaven and the earth, indeed are signs for people who have understanding." (2:164)
And it was also established through concurrent transmission [tawātur] which bespeaks certainty that the Arabs were incapable of producing the like of the Qur’ān although it challenged them to do so. The Qur’ān addressed them:
“And if you are in doubt concerning what We have revealed unto Our slave, then produce a chapter of the like thereof; and call your witnesses (if there are any) besides Allah, if you are truthful” [TMQ-Baqarah: 23]
It can be thus seen that the belief of life has been built on certainty rather than doubt and that it is not allowed and also irrational to believe in something less certain over an idea that is more certain.
The clash of different levels of knowledge
So when there is a clash between certain and uncertain knowledge, the certain knowledge should always be taken over the uncertain knowledge.
Now, applying this framework to the supernatural world of evil eye, black magic and jinn possession; when we study the sensed reality we will find that no objective rational proof for these actually exist. Of course there are anecdotal stories that people will narrate and think they have experienced. However none of these acts can be demonstrated to exist under controlled conditions where we can observe the rules of the reality of our physical universe are broken (which is alluded to in the existence of such supernatural phenomena). So for instance, no magician has been able to cause the rules of reality to be broken where they have been shown to cast a spell to cause a supernatural effect that can be measured. Similarly no one who has been able to show any cause of an effect of an evil eye which is supernatural. In fact there has been various challenges (such as the James Randi $1 million challenge) to anyone to prove any such supernatural existence.
So if the certain rational knowledge we have informs us that these phenomena do not exist and then we have divine knowledge that informs us of the opposite, how should we reconcile the contradiction? If the knowledge that we have been given from the creator is certain then we would have to accept it- even if we do not perceive it with our limited senses since the creator cannot be incorrect. However if the knowledge is not certain then we do not have to accept it over our certain rational knowledge. This is confirmed even by the creator Himself blaming those who followed conjecture in the Quranic verse mentioned above.
So what remains is then to examine these evidences and determine the level of knowledge that they provide. None of the evidences that are put forward to support a supernatural understanding of these phenomena is based on certain knowledge i.e. Qur'an or Hadith Mutawatir with a clear certain meaning. Rather they can be interpreted to have a rational meaning or the strength of the chain of narration- the isnaad- is based on a single (ahad) narration which may be prone to human error.
Taking for instance the issue of the evil eye. The knowledge that we have related to it is from the ahad hadith. The narration that mentions it (العين حق: the eye is a reality) is also open to rational explanation: the jealous person who seeks to harm you can do so physically as they can try to damage your property that they are jealous of or spoil your reputation by spreading gossip or rumours about you.
Taking the issue of magic, there is mention of it in ahad Hadith but also in Quranic ayat. Again these can be interpreted with a rational understanding rather than a meta-physical one. The mention of the magicians at the time of Musa performing their tricks can be understood to be illusions and that is why they submitted straight away when Musa was able to destroy their illusion with the help of Allah. Also the verse that mentions the evil teachings of the people who learnt magic at the hands of two angels- what could separate man from his wife-
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 own selves, if they but knew." (Surah Baqarah: 102)
Again there are physical tricks that one can play to get the man and wife to doubt each other's faithfulness and loyalty to each other which then escalates until they are divorced. There is even much guidance provided to us from Allah and His Messenger to create a harmonious relationship between the two people. For instance falsely accusing the chaste person of infidelity is a serious crime in the shariah law which protects the dignity of the woman and man and the whisperings of people that can lead to problems in the marriage. These are physical realities that occur and not meta-physical or mystical.
The other common misconception is that of Jinn possession. Again there is no certain evidence of their ability to possess humans. They- the jinn- are mentioned in the Quran so we would believe that they exist in the same way we believe in the existence of the unseen realities that are mentioned- such as angels. However there is no definitive evidence to mention that they can possess us and have control over us. On the contrary we even find quranic verses that mention the opposite:
"إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ إِلَّا مَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْغَاوِينَ
"You have no authority over my slaves, except he who follows you of the deviant." (al-Hijr: 42)
This shows us that humans are the ones to choose to follow evil actions or to choose not to. This is no different to the free-will that humans have in the choices of their actions to do good or bad:
“And We Guided him to the two paths” (Al-Balad)
Any material relationship other than this fundamental relationship which Allah has clarified requires a particular text establishing it. If a text exists explaining any such relationship then we affirm it in accordance with that text. For example the authority of Sulaymān (as) over the Jinn and his ability to command and prohibit them is a matter about which a text has come, thus we affirm it. Allah (swt) says in surah al-Naml about Sulaymān (as),
«قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ • قَالَ عِفْرِيتٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ مِنْ مَقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ»
"He said, ‘O Chiefs! Which of you shall bring her throne to him before they come to him in submission? An audacious one among the jinn said: I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place; and most surely I am strong (and) trusty for it." (al-Naml: 38) And He, the Exalted, says,
«وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَمَنْ يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ • يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَا يَشَاءُ مِنْ مَحَارِيبَ وَتَمَاثِيلَ وَجِفَانٍ كَالْجَوَابِ وَقُدُورٍ رَاسِيَاتٍ اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُودَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُورُ»
"And (We made) the wind (subservient) to Sulaymān, which made a month's journey in the morning and a month's journey in the evening, and We made a fountain of molten copper to flow out for him, and of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and whoever turned aside from Our command from among them, We made him taste of the punishment of burning. They made for him what he pleased of fortresses and images, and bowls (large) as watering-troughs and cooking-pots that will not move from their place; give thanks, O family of Dawūd! and very few of My servants are grateful." (Saba': 12)
The above specific reality was only for Sulayman who was given this power over the jinn as a miracle since he was a prophet of Allah.
From the above it can be seen that these issues of supernatural effects of black magic, evil eye and jinn possession are not based on any certain knowledge and in fact contradict the knowledge of reality which is more certain.
Conclusion:
In terms of believing in these things - these are not matters of aqeedah/creed to believe in as there is no certain evidence from the islamic sources to affirm it.Based on the ayat from the Quran where Allah blames those who follow conjecture- it is not allowed for us to believe in these as matters of faith. Secondly, if they were matters of belief then they would not be ignored by Allah or His Messenger in leaving them out from the certain transmissions like the Quran and Hadith Mutawatir instructing that they are matters of belief like we have in the articles of faith such as in Surah Nisa:
:“يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِيَ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلالاً بَعِيدًا”
“O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.”
Finally, these beliefs seem to be part of the social-cultural thoughts at the time which they used to explain current events based on their scientific thinking. So when they came across narrations (even if weak or ahad) of such phenomena they would have no problem accepting them as it made rational sense to them. For instance, it used to be thought that vision used to work by rays exiting from the eye which would strike the object that was viewed. Now we know that our vision works because it is actually rays of light that reflect off of objects and enter our eyes. Therefore based on the previous understanding of vision it would seem to be normal that if a person fires out rays from their eyes that would not be far off from firing out harmful rays too- hence the mystical understanding of the evil eye! Nowadays though we would look at those statements at the time of the prophet regarding the evil eye from an angle more consistent with our current understanding of the eye and conclude that the harm is based on actual physical harm through actions that the envious perpetrator would carry out against his victim - so he eyes up his victim with evil!
When it comes to practice and solving problems in everyday life then , it is wholly unproductive for us to look for reasons that are not connected to reality. Rather we should be trying to tackle our issues from the matters that are connected to it. To ignore this leads us to base our actions on superstitions and mythology which is what the messenger of Allah came to remove. Isn’t it ironic that you see muslims who claim to believe that Allah is the Ultimate Power but then worry about the supernatural power that people have in black magic or evil eye? Where is the belief that only Allah can harm or bring good to whomever He wills? Now they believe that humans also share in that supernatural power? This backwards thinking led the Arabs in their days of ignorance (jahiliya) to look at the birds flying in the morning or to cast lots of sticks to decide on their fortune whether it would be good or bad. This is the same type of thinking that allowed the pharaohs to rule over the people with their tyranny - because they could use the threat of their magicians to harm the people and to show their false power. This is the same type of thinking that paralyses the person today from tackling their problems head on by looking for a rational solution.The prophet came to change this type of superstitious behaviour and that is why when any of us fear such superstitious nonsense he taught us prayers like:
(O Allaah, there is no good except Your good, no birds (the sign of omens used by the Arabs) except Yours, and there is no god beside You).”
Narrated by Ahmad (7045); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah
Additionally, any practice of recitation of Quranic verses by the one afflicted with any illness (known as Ruqya) are to remind the believer of the power of Allah over any perceived supernatural power that people may incorrectly believe. The messenger has even left us with prayers to the effect of reminding us that only Allah has any power over us. such as
بِسْمِ اللَّه الَّذِي لاَ يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَىْءٌ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ فِي السَّمَاءِ) (وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
In the name of Allah With Whose Name nothing on earth or in heaven harms and He is the All-Hearing the All-Knowing
Moreover, the companions of the messenger would have been more aware than us of any revelation of such matters of the reality of magic, evil eye and jinn possession, since they lived at the time of the prophet who would explain these matters to them. However when they proceeded in life we never saw them looking for supernatural causes for their troubles. We don’t see them blaming jinn possession for the committing of crimes for instance or the increase in drinking alcohol during the caliphate of Umar. On the contrary we see the caliph Umar increasing the punishment from 40 lashes to 80 lashes to try and prevent this evil. We never see them discussing these matters in criminal trials. If the issue was jinn possession or black magic then how can a person be accountable for their sins if they are under the influence of another power and have no control over their actions? Such thinking makes a mockery of the justice system and the laws of punishment in Islam! All Praises are for Allah who gave us the mind and with it the ability to save us from destructive thinking!
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