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MAGIC AND TRUTH - II by Bashir Ahmad Abid
JUSTIFICATIONS FROM THE QURAN
As earlier said, the Quran has condemned the Magic as Falsehood and the Falsehood (by its nature) is bound to perish (17:81). According to the Quran, Magicians are wicked men; They never succeed (no matter) whatever means they use (20:69). And they cannot harm or benefit anyone except by God's Will (2:102). God is Just and Righteous. He never recommend fraudulent and deceptive means to prove the Truth. His Will is clearly manifested in the Quran (8:7 & 8:42).
God's Works in nature follow well defined procedures and well established laws which are within the limits of human intellect and knowledge.(65:3 & 12).
Accordingly, it is unjust to justify the realty of Magic (which is erratic and follows no law) from the Quran; But, unfortunately, some scholars have quoted a number of verses in its justification.
In my humble opinion, these scholars have misunderstood those verses and there are definite reasons. We will discuss a few of them here.The first one is the blind following of Hadith.They try to understand the Quran in the light of stories from Hadith books whereas most of the stories in Hadith books are fabrication and misleading. For example, if Hadith about magic did not appear in Hadith's books even a biggest liar could not have said that the Prophet (sas) was spellbound by a Jewish lady or that the last two surahs of the Quran i.e. surah Al-Falaq & surah Al-Naas were sent as antidots against magic. These surahs plus v. 2:102 & v. 113:3, which are specifically quoted in justification of magic (as we discuss later) have no relation with magic at all. Scholars had been merely mislead by the Hadith. They try to understand the meanings of the Quran with preoccupied mind which is entirely a wrong approach. The best way to understand the meanings of the Quran is to study it with a free mind and logic.
The second reason is Sectarianism. Many scholars try to understand the Quran according to religious beliefs and practices of their own sect. For example, a Sunni scholar will not find a single word in admiration of the Ahlul-Bait ( Members of the Prophet's family) over rest of the Ummah whereas a Shia scholar will quote a dozen of verses in this regard. Similarly, the verse (33:40) is clear in its meanings. It proves the Finality of Prophethood of Prophet Mohammad (sas). But the Qadiani scholars interpret it in proof of Prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Mohammad of Qadian. So, when they believe in magic they have to find a justification from the Quran (no matter) even if it comes by twisting the meanings.
The third reason which often mislead many scholars is wrong perception about the Status Of The Quran. The Quran is treated as a religious book which is wrong and unjust. This perception has plummeted its role to serve as a Universal Constitution for all mankind. The Quran has fallen down from its high rank as a guide and as a leader of mankind (46:12) to stand in line with other religious books. Owing to this perception, neither Muslim nor rest of the world could derive benefits from its laws and principles which are cardinal and constitutive to achieve real peace and progress in the world. The world has deprived itself by rejecting it as being a religious book of Muslims alone and Muslims have deprived themselves by following it as religious book usefull only to achieve success in the Life-Hereafter.
In fact, the Quran is neither a religious book nor it is meant for Muslims alone. Its primary objective is to enable all human beings to conduct their affairs in a way which lead them to success which is measured in terms of growth of the society (2:5). But this great objective, due to certain unfortunate events in the early period of Islam, had been pushed under the carpet by unscrupulous forces who had their own vested interests. It was done through manipulation of language of the Quran. The language of Quran is highly classical. It has got an unparallel depth and vastness of meanings and is capable to meet the needs and requirements of all ages and groups in the society. It is equally usefull to a layman and a scholar. It all depends upon the reader - his erudition and intentions.
The scholars have ignored its role as a universal Constitution and dealt with its fundamental terms in the light of religion. For example, the Arabic word "illah" is one of the most important and a fundamental termilnology of the Quran. The Quran has used it in both constitutional as well as religious meanings. Constitutionally, it is used in v. 28:38 where it stands for "A Ruler", and religiously it is used in v. 7:138 where it stands for "an object of worship". The scholars did not make this distinction in meanings of the Quran and contented themselves with the religious aspects alone. This change had deep and disasterous effects on practical role of the Quran. Afterward, it got to be used for amulets, magics, and incantations to ward off evils and to attract good fortunes and in prayers to beseech God for atonement. It ceased to function as a living and vibrant code of life and as an effective solution for social, political and economic problems.
The Arabic word for magic is "Sahar" which in the constitutional lexicon means: Lies; Deceits; Frauds; etc. and in the religious jargon it means Magic, Sorcery, Witchcraft etc. The Quran has used it in both meanings (2:102 & 5:110). Similarly, other terms such as Salat; Zakat; Ziker; Tasbeeh; Ebaadah; Rahma; Maghfirah; etc have been used in both religious as well as constitutional meanings.
The fourth reason is ignorance about the Utility Value of beliefs. There are many beliefs which are held and practiced without knowing their utility in practical life. People do not care whether certain belief is usefull or harmfull. They just follow them blindly. And, when they come across any criticism they try to defend themselves with verses from the Quran even if they have to fabricate lies. The belief in magic belongs to same category. According to Quran it neither harm nor benefit anyone.It has no value or importance in the dictionary of Quran.
And last but not the least, many scholars are mislead because of following a particular School of Thought, blindly. They do not dare to differ with the past scholars. The past scholars had yielded great respect in the hearts of people and if a contemporary scholars try to challenge their point of view the people react violently. So they are constrained to keep in line with the past which often lead to severe mistakes and illogical interpretation of the Quran.
These are main hurdles in the way of understanding true meanings of the Quran. These are created by the scholars themselves either to serve their own vested interests or the interests of the kings and the rulers of their era. The Quran calls them burdens and shackles which hinder to think freely (7:157). In order to seek truth or knowledge from the Quran it is imperative to follow the path of Free Inquiry instead of Taqleed. We should study the Quran with mind like a clean slate. It is then possible to find the truth. For instance, if we leave aside all the above noted reasons and make a free inquiry in the Quran we will find no justification for magic. The reality of magic could not contest the reality of free inquiry. Having said that now let us see how people dare to justify magic from the Quran. The most often quoted verse in this regard is v. 2:102. It reads as follow:
" They followed what the evil ones gave out (falsely) against the power of Solomon: the blasphemers were, not Solomon, but the evil ones, teaching men magic, and such things as came down in Babylon to the angels Harut and Marut. But neither of these taught anyone (such things) without saying: "We are only for Trial; So do not blaspheme." They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife. But they could not thus harm anyone except by God's permission. And they learned what harmed them, not what profited them. And they knew that the buyer of (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the hereafter. And vile was the price for which they did sell their souls, if they but knew!" (2:102)
The meanings are very clear provided our minds are clear. This verse tells us about certain false beliefs of the people of the Book and then refutes them. It, in no way, speaks about the reality of magic. At the time of descent of the Quran such stories were popular among the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) that during the reign of Solomon (pbuh) there were some evil people who had practiced magic and in order to justify their evil practices they had fabricated stories about Solomon (pbuh) and his power; about Harut and Marut and that what sent to them.
But, the Quran refutes all these stories as lies and fabrications. Neither Solomon (pbuh) had practiced anything other than to abide by the God's Laws nor there were any angels in Babylon who taught magic to the people. The purpose of magic is to inflict harm or to seek good fortunes. The Quran says that nothing could happen against the Laws of God nor anyone could do harm except by God's permission.
What God's permission (Izn-Allah) is? God's permission consists of all the commandments which are sent through revelation and of all the laws under which function the universe. No one can succeed against these commandments and laws no matter how skillfull a magician he may be.
There are few more verses which are quoted in proof of magic from the Quran but these are too the result of misunderstanding. Their true meanings are quite different. For example, v. 113:4 which reads: "From the mischief of those (feminine) who blow on knots." If we reject the Hadith about magic (which is also rejected by a number of eminent scholars) then no one on earth could relate this verse to magic against the Prophet (sas). There is no mention of the Prophet at all.
The Arabic words in this verse are: "Al-Nafathat fil Huqad"; which literally means: " those (feminine) who blow on knots". It is generally understood that this refers to those perverted women who practiced witchcraft. This is a naive interpretation. The Quran being the constitution for mankind is far beyond such naiveties. Actually, the Quran presents a System and wants to protect it from all kind of disruptive forces that destabilize the human society. The Quran, after outlining the System, enlists the most disasterous one of these in surah Al-Falaq and surah Al-Nas and warns the believers to take full precautions against them. There are both men and women who could destroy the unity of a nation through the spreading of false rumours or slanders to frighten men or to deter them from right action. They have the skill to untie the most strong bonds of human relations just as by a blow of breath. They cause psychological terror. This verse (113:4) points out towards the same evil forces and warns the masses to remain alert against their mischiefs.
There is an incident in the struggle of Moses (pbuh) against the despotic rule of Pharaoh which is also quoted in proof of magic from the Quran (20:57-69). The Egyptians accused Moses (pbuh) of a design to deprive them of their land, and of excercising black magic. Both charges were palpably false. What Moses (pbuh) wanted to do was to free his people from bondage. The Egyptians had all the power in their possession; they wanted to use the Israelites as untouchable helots; and anyone who wanted to mitigate this injustice was branded as a dreadful person who wished to deprive them of their lawful rights. As to magic the Egyptians judged the Moses (pbuh) by themselves. They practiced sorcery to deceive the people. They accused the man of God of doing the same, though both his mission and the source of his strength were altogether different.
The Quran has called all this show of sorcery as faked tricks of magicians (20:69). I think, what is said here, it should be the final word on the falsity of magic. It says:
"Throw that which is in your right hand: quickly will it swallow up that which they have faked. What they have faked is but a magician's tricks: and the magicians succeed not (no matter) where he goes or whatever skill he may achieves." (20:69)
But woe to scholars who, inspite of, a notable clarity of thoughts and plainess of expressions yet find out some verses and twist their meanings in proof of magic from the Quran. They are sick-mind and incurable folks. We can not help but to pray for them.
THE END
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