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MAGIC AND TRUTH - III by Bashir Ahmad Abid
JUSTIFICATION FROM THE HADITH
Now, after reviewing the Quran's perception of magic, we will review some of those Hadith which are often quoted in justification of magic. But, it should be made clear that majority of eminent scholars doubt the authenticity of Hadith in all the collections including Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. According to them most of the Hadith in the present collections are fake. They warn us to make sure before accepting any Hadith as true.
We belileve that the most authentic Book on earth is Quran itself. It provides complete, clear and logical guidance on every aspects concerning the spiritual and corporeal growth of human beings. It lays out laws and principles that are cardinal for the progress of society and advancement of civilization. The question arises then what makes the Muslims who have thrown the Book of God behind their backs, as it is something they did not know and have reverted to the Hadith. Isn't amazing? Repudiating the divine guidance which has come down from a source - All-Wise; All-Knowledgeable for a guidance which is the work of feeble, fallible, and faulty human beings must not be a good bargain! Its like bargaining the gold with the dust.
As earlier discussed, the Quran perseption about magic is quite clear and evident. It considers all sorts of magics and sorcery as illusion, frauds and deceptions and call them the works of evil people. Thereafter, we need not to strain our nerves in search of the reality of magic. But, unfortunately, there are people who are not satisfied with the Quran alone point of view. They ask for more evidences, specially, from the Hadith. The following discussion is carried out for their satisfaction otherwise we don't need to knock at any other door. When God Himself says: " And is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is rehearsed to them......? " (29:51). How could we dare to say no! Our answer should be: "Oh Our Sustainer, why not! It is more than enough - for us and for all the generations that come afterward.
The hadith which is often quoted in proof of magic is as follow:
" Narrated Aisha: magic was worked on Allah's Apostle so that he used to think that he had sexual relations with his wives while he actually had not (Sufyan said: That is the hardest kind of magic as it has such an effect). Then one day he said, "O 'Aisha do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I asked Him about? Two men came to me and one of them sat near my head and the other sat near my feet. The one near my head asked the other. What is wrong with this man?' The latter replied that he is under the effect of magic The first one asked, Who has worked magic on him?' The other replied Labid bin Al-A'sam, a man from Bani Zuraiq who was an ally of the Jews and was a hypocrite.' The first one asked, What material did he use)?' The other replied, 'A comb and the hair stuck to it.' The first one asked, 'Where (is that)?' The other replied. 'In a skin of pollen of a male date palm tree kept under a stone in the well of Dharwan' '' So the Prophet went to that well and took out those things and said "That was the well which was shown to me (in a dream) Its water looked like the infusion of Henna leaves and its date-palm trees looked like the heads of devils." The Prophet added, "Then that thing was taken out' I said (to the Prophet ) "Why do you not treat yourself with Nashra?" He said, "Allah has cured me; I dislike to let evil spread among my people." (Book #71, Hadith #660)."
This Hadith is narrated in almost all the collections of Hadith. It does not need much thought to find out that it is a fake Hadith. The enemy of Islam spare no moment to falsify the revelation of the Prophet Mohammad (sas). They had never accepted Islam as a divine religion. Consequently, to accomplish their objectives they have concocted many fake Hadith to create doubts in the divine revelation. This Hadith is also part of the same conspiracy. For Muslims, it has got no importance. It neither helps them in understanding the Quran nor learning the magic. Similarly, it does not help in al-Da'wah. In order to spread Islam and to prove its truthfullness we need to use intellects not magic. But, for the enemies of Islam it has proved an effective tool. Since, the time of the Prophet (sas) they have been using such Hadith to blaspheme the Prophet (sas) and to belie the truthfullness of the Quran. They argue that how can we have faith in a person who had remained under the spell of magic for about a year and used to forget whether he had sexual relations with his wives or not. If he fogets having sex then how can he remember to take a bath which is obligatory. And, if he does not bathe then how can he pray ? We do not have sensible answers to these questions. All the sensible scholars have refuted these Hadith. Here, we will mention the point of view of some of them.
Imam Abu Baker Jasas Al-Razi, an eminent scholars of Hanafi school of thought, has rejected this hadith in strong words. He writes; "Those who accept such hadith as truth they are ignorant of the status of the Prophet (sas). According to him nothing is more contemptible than to say that Prophet Mohammad (sas) had been spell-bound by a Jewish lady. (Aahkamul Quran; pp. 55-56; Egypt).
Allama Shahabuddin Alusi, wrote in his exegesis that Imam Matureedi (944 AH) has quoted Abu Baker Al-Assam regarding authenticity of such Hadith as follow: "These narrations must be rejected straight forwardly. Becuase they not only refute clear verses of the Quran but also imply the acceptance of non-believers' accusations against Islam. The non-believers accused the Muslims of following a person who was spell-bound and used to forget what he has done. (Rooh Al-Mahani; vol 30; p.283).
Allama Ahmad Mustafa Al-Muraghi, a reknown contemporary scholar, says that acceptance of such Hadith is nothing but endorsment of the Kuffars' and Mushrikeens' point of view. He has pointed out an highly technical mistake which has been committed by scholars in the past. It is commonly believed that the last two surahs i.e. surah al-Falaq and al-Nas were sent as antidote against magic. These are early Meccan surahs whereas the incident of magic against the Prophet (sas) has occured much later in Medina. The contradiction is obvious. Therefore, these hadith can not be authentic. (Tafseer Al-Muraghi; 3rd ed.; vol.30; pp. 15-16; printed at Beirut by Islamic Heritage.).
Allama Syed Qutub, another great contemporary, almost has the same opinion regarding magic. He writes; "Regarding the incident of magic against the Prophet (sas) there are some true hadith also but all of them have incomplete chain of narrators. The Prophet (sas) is a higly respectable person. His sayings and actions are held as part of faith. These Hadith are ignoble and contrary to the holiness of the Prophet (sas). Also, these are contradicting the clear verses of the Quran and implies an endorsement of non-believers' accusations against the Prophet (sas). Therefore, all of them should be rejected totally. The Hadith which are called one-person-narratio ns or have incomplete chain of narrators are not taken as criterion in matters of Faith. In this situation, these cannot abrogate the clear verses of the Quran. Moreover, these Hadith report that the last two surahs i.e. al-Falaq and al-Nas were sent as a remedy against magic. These are early Meccan surahs whereas the incident of magic has occured in Medina. Therefore, this contradiction alone is enough to reject these hadith. (Tafseer Zilalul Quran; vol.6; pp. 8-13; printed by Dar al-Sharooq, 1979, Beirut & Cairo.).
Likewise, some prominent scholars from the Sub-Continent, such as Maulana Chiragh Ali (1895 AC) in " Tehzeeb-ul- Akhlaq vol. 3; and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1898 AC) in "Khutbat-e-Ahmadiah " had a detail discussion on magic against the Prophet (sas). Both of them considered it a Jewish conspiracy against Islam. In the same manner, Maulana Omer Ahmed Othmani in "Fiqah al-Quran" pp. 72-74, and Allama Ghulam Ahmad Pervez (1985 AC) in "Mutalib al-Quran vol. 2, pp. 417-419, have discussed the reality of magic and its effect upon the Prophet (sas) in detail and have refuted it with convincing arguments both religiously as well as logically.
These scholars and many others have rejected the authenticity of all Hadith which are related to the work of magic against the Prophet (sas) on these grounds. Firstly, they all agree that the Hadith of magic refute the absolute and clears verses of the Quran. Secondly, these are blasphemous to the honor and holiness of the Prophet (sas). Thirdly, these are self-contradictory. Fourthly, these have incomplete chain of narrators. And lastly, these imply an acceptance or endorsement of Kuffars' and Mushrikeens' accusations against the Prophet (sas). This is what the Kuffar want us to accept. It was their conspiracy to tarnish the image of Islam and to create doubts in the Final Revelation of God. If we accept the authenticity of these Hadith in any form or upon any pretext we are foolishly supporting them.
The Hadith of magic and alike have done more harm than good to Islam. These have created severe doubts in the hearts of many Muslims and Non-Muslims together and have involved them in unnecessary and useless debates. They have wasted several hours of their precious time in proving or disproving the authenticity of these Hadith. Moreover, such Hadith have become a big source of mischiefs and social malaises. The wicked men have used them as a tool to decieve and plunder the common masses. And, there are many people (literate and illiterate) who have lost their hard earnings and have destroyed themselves at the hands of fraudulent magicians and incanters. I, personally, know a number of highly qualified individuals and families who believed in magic, amulets, talisman etc instead of the right action to solve their problems. Consequently, they have destroyed themselves too.
We know that the universe functions in perfect harmony because it follows certain fixed Laws. It does not function with magic. God has established well-defined measures for everything. When the Quran says: "...Verily, for all things has God appointed a due measure." (65:3)" it means nothing is above the law. If God has measured the rotation of earth; the movement of the planets; the speed of the light then each of them have to follow it exactly. In the same manner, God has established fixed laws for the growth of human beings and societies. No one can defy these laws and no one can succeed against them.
Law is the greatest power in the universe and it is invincible. A law is defined as: " if a thing happens under certain given conditions then it will happen always under those conditions. Briefly, a law means; "If -, Then -, and Always -,". In Arabic it is called 'Al-Haq'. That means, a thing or a phenonomenon that happens with a mathematical accuracy of 2+2=4 or with a scietific precision of r=mc2. That is why 'Al-Haq' is defined as an Absolute Truth. God has created the universe 'Bil-Haq' (6:73) and He wants to establish His Words 'Bil-Haq'. (8:7).
magic does not come true to this definition. It does not follow this sequence. Sometimes it happens and sometimes its not! Therefore, magic is not Truth.
A FINAL WORD
The Quran is not a book of magic. No where in the Quran it is written that this verse could solve this and that problem. It is a guide and leader for all mankind. It gives laws and principles and tells us their importance in the rise and fall of nations - in the growth and development of human societies. It is a constitutional treatise that provides guidance on how to resolves conflicts and overcomes differences (2:213).
God sent it in a very clear and eloquent language in order to enable human beings to use their intellect in the right way un-affected by passions and prejudices. The Quran says; "We have sent it down as an Arabic-Quran in order that you may use the intellect." (12:2). So, it is our fomost responsibility to take action consciously and sensibley and do not depend upon spells and charms.
THE END
Bashir Abid
Nov. 17, 2008.
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