Monday 23 July 2012

TAWEEZ (Amulets) - IS IT A SUNNAH OR IS IT FREE FROM DOUBTS?

TAWEEZ - IS IT A SUNNAH? OR IS IT FREE FROM DOUBTS?





Assalamualaikum. Taweedh (taweez) has become a part of the culture in the Indian subcontinent. more than a religious act, people take it as a mandatory customary act. The moment a baby is born, minutes later we can see his feet or hands or neck covered with a taweedh, for the reason of protection from Evil eye, Jins and etc. However, we'l see if this is what rasool (s.a.w) taught his ummah or not. 



Table of Content :

1- What is an Amulet (taweedh/taweez) : Its Definition 
2- Two Important points to learn before proceeding further 
3- What does the prophet (s.a.w) have to say about Taweedh
4- Some of the Salaaf forbidding or detesting the practice of taweedh
5 - What is the sunnah method of curing the sick and protecting oneself 
6- Important Points to be noted 
7- The prophet (s.a.w) himself was a victim of black magic and this is how he cured himself 
8- Can small children be made to wear taweedh?
9- How can we say or claim that wearing or seeking help from Qur'anic taweedh is shirq
10-  Refutation to the famous hadeeth given in support of Taweedh 
11 - Conclusion
 

 
What is an amulet (taweez): Its Definition?

Defination 1 - An ornament or a small piece of jewelry/ cloth ( containing inscriptions or words) thought to give protection against evil, danger, or disease

Defination 2 - a trinket or a piece of jewelry or a cloth or sea shells and other form of ornaments and objects usually hung about the neck, arm, thigh etc and thought to be a protection against evil or disease and etc ( varys according to belief and usage)


TWO IMPORTANT POINTS TO LEARN BEFORE PROCEEDING FURTHER

 1) Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, [Ref: Quran 5 :92]

 2) And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad)   after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way ( i.e. Way of the prophet and his companions) , We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell — what an evil destination![Ref: Al-Nisa’ 4:115]

WHAT DOES THE PROPHET (S.A.W) HAVE TO SAY ABOUT TAWEEDH 

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) say: “Ruqyah, amulets (taweedh) and love charms (spells/etc) are shirk.” 


[Ref: Narrated by Abu Dawood (3883) and Ibn Majaah (3530): classed as saheeh]


It was narrated that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allaah not fulfil his need, and whoever wears a sea-shell, may Allaah not give him peace.” 


[Ref: Narrated by Ahmad, 16951]

It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir al-Juhani that A group came to the Messenger of Allaah (SAWW) [to swear their allegiance (bay’ah) to him]. He accepted the bay’ah of nine of them but not of one of them. They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, you accepted the bay’ah of nine but not of this one.” He said, “He is wearing an amulet.” The man put his hand (in his shirt) and took it off, then he (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) accepted his bay’ah. He said, ‘Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk.”


[Ref: Narrated by Ahmad, 16969]


It was narrated from Zaynab the wife of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood from ‘Abd-Allaah that he said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (SAWW) say, ‘Spells (ruqyah), amulets and love-charms are shirk.” I said, “Why do you say this? By Allaah, my eye was weeping with a discharge and I kept going to So and so, the Jew, who did a spell for me. When he did the spell, it calmed down.” ‘Abd-Allaah said: “That was just the work of the Shaytaan who was picking it with his hand, and when (the Jew) uttered the spell, he stopped. All you needed to do was to say as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say: ‘Adhhib il-ba’s Rabb al-naas ishfi anta al-Shaafi laa shifaa’a illa shifaa’uka shifaa’an laa yughaadiru saqaman (Remove the harm, O Lord of mankind, and heal, You are the Healer. There is no healing but Your healing, a healing which leaves no disease behind.’” 

Note : In this hadith the sahaba said all you had to do was say the dua and not wear the dua

[Ref: Narrated by Abu Dawood Book 28, Hadith 3874; Ibn Maajah, 3530]

‘Eesa ibn Hamzah said: “I entered upon ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Akeem and his face was red due to high fever. I said, ‘Why don’t you hang up an amulet?’ He said, ‘We seek refuge with Allaah from that. The Messenger of Allaah (SAWW) said: “Whoever hangs up anything (like taweedh for protection) will be entrusted (left) to its care…” 

[Ref:  Abu Dawood and Fiqh-us-Sunnah Vol. 4 : 9, Also in Tirmidhi, Book of Medicine and in Musnad Ahmad, 
A similar narration is found in Tirmidhi, Chapter : On medicine from the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w), Subtitle : What has been related about At- Ta'liq being disliked, hadith no. 2072, on the authority of 'Eisa ibn 'Abdur- Rahman bin Abi Laila but that is da'eef]

Note : Both are Muslims here and they very well know that even if they hang a taweedh, the source of strength or cure is from Allah alone, yet they refrain from doing so because of the order of rasool (s.a.w) 

It is said by the Prophet (s.a.w) - “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allaah not fulfil his need, and whoever wears a sea-shell, may Allaah not give him peace.” 


[Ref: Narrated by Ahmad (17440); classed as hasan by Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot in Tahqeeq al-Musnad.]

Al-Hasan said: ‘Imraan ibn Husayn told me that the Prophet (SAWW) saw a ring, I think he said of brass, on a man’s upper arm. He said: “Woe to you, what is this?” He said: It is for pain in the shoulder and hand. He said: “It will only increase you in weakness. Take it off, for if you die with it on you, you will never succeed ( As he entrusted the ring to remove his pain instead of Allah)


[Ref:  Musnad al-Imam Ahmad (19498), Ibn Majah no. 3531 or Ahmad 4:445]

Haafidh Ibn Katheer writes that: huzayfah (radiallah anhu) once came for the Ayaadat of a Mareedh. He (radiallah anhu) saw a ta'weedh hanging around his neck, and he immediately took it from him and broke it, and read this verse:
"And most of those who believe in Allah are the Mushrikoon" [Yusuf: 106]

And in one narration it says that huzayfah (radiallah anhu) told him: "If you died in the same condition (i.e. with the ta'weedh), i wouldn't have prayed your funeral prayer." 

[Ref:  Tafsir Ibn Kathir Vol 2, Page 494]]

It is reported from Ibn Mas'ud that "once, when he entered his home, he noticed his wife wearing a knotted object round her neck. He took it away and broke it. Then he remarked: 'The family of'Abdullah has become so arrogant that they now associate with Allah those for whom He has sent down no authority.' Then, he added: 'I have heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying: 'Verily, incantations, amulets, and love charms are acts of shirk (associating false gods ?with Allah).' The people said: 'O Abu Abdullah! We are familiar with incantations and amulets, but what is a love charm (altawlah)'?'He replied: 'It is a sort of magical formula by which women sought to gain their husbands' love'." 

[Ref: Related by Al-Hakim and Ibn Hibban, and both consider it a sahih hadith]

Ruwayfa’ ibn Thaabit (radiyAllaahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah ( s.a.w) said: "Oh Ruwayfa’, perhaps you will live long after me so inform the people that whoever ties a knot in his beard or wears a string necklace (like how arabs during jahiliya used to wear as taaweez) or cleans his private parts with the excrement of animals bones, then verily Muhammad is free from him"

[Ref: Reported by an-Nisaa’ee in az-Zeenah, chapter (12) 8/135-136, no. 5067 with an authentic chain, and Ahmed: 4/108 and 109, and Aboo Daawud, no. 36, and authenticated by our Shaykh al-Albaanee in al-Mishkaat, no. 351 and Saheeh alJaami’, no. 7910]

The above ahadiths thus make it clear that one who puts a taweedh on to himself (any body part) or his animal or etc (especially those kinds of taweedh which have numbers and other inscriptions on them) is commiting shirq ! this will be clear below


SOME OF THE SALAAF FORBIDDING THE PRACTICE OF TAWEEDH :


حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ أَبِي النَّجُود، عَنْ عُرْوَة قَالَ: دَخَلَ حُذَيْفَةُ عَلَى مَرِيضٍ، فَرَأَى فِي عَضُدِهِ سَيْرًا فَقَطَعَهُ -أَوِ: انْتَزَعَهُ -ثُمَّ قَالَ: {وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلا وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ} وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ: "مَنْ حَلَفَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ أَشْرَكَ". رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ

huzayfah (radiallah anhu) once came for the Ayaadat of a Mareedh. He (radiallah anhu) saw a ta'weedh or a strap of leather hanging around his neck, and he immediately took it from himand broke it, and read this verse:


"And most of those who believe in Allah are the Mushrikoon" [Yusuf: 106]


And in one narration it says that huzayfah (radiallah anhu) told him: "If you died in the same condition (i.e. with the ta'weedh), i wouldn't have prayed your funeral prayer."


[Ref:
Hadeeth is Saheeh, Narrated by Ibn Katheer (and Ibn Abi Haatim in his Tafseer: 7/2208, , Also by at-tirmidhi 1535 and further references include abu dawood 3251, ibn hibban 10/200, hakim 1/65, musnad abi a'wanah 4/44, musnad at-taiyalsi 1896, ahmed 2/34, musnaf abdur razak 15926.]




«كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ التَّمَائِمَ كُلَّهَا، مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ وَغَيْرِ الْقُرْآنِ»

Imaam Ibraaheem an-Nakha'ee (Taabi'ee) - the teacher of Imaam Abu Haneefah, said: They (Salaf us-Saaliheen) disliked all kinds of Ta'weedh, either from the Qur'aan or other than the Qur'aan.


[Ref: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah: 23467]

Imaam Ahmed ibn Hanbal was asked about hanging the Glorious Qur’aan (as an Amulet), so he replied: 

"التعليق كلها مكروه"

“Hanging the amulet of any kind is Makrooh”

[Masaail al-Imaam Ahmed wa Ishaaq, narrated by Ishaaq bin Mansoor al-Kosaj: 1/193 # 382]


And thus the correct opinion is that in today's time, it is Haram (or makrooh as per some of the salaf ) to use them (Quranic taweedh) but for any other types of taweedhat even a mixture of qur`anic verses and other numbers and mumbo jumbo of any kind small or big is absolutely haraam and leads to shirq. And this is in according to the fatwa of Ibn Masoud (r.a) and Ibn Abbas (Radiya Allahu Anhuma) and from the sayings of Huzaifa , Uqba Ibn Amar and Ibn Akim  

[see : the book entitled 'Fath Al-Majid', by Shaykh `Abdul-Rahman ibn Hasan who has preferred the same view held by `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud and his disciples on the prohibition of all types of amulets whether containing Ayahs of the Qur'an or anything else]



WHAT IS THE SUNNAH METHOD OF CURING THE SICK AND PROTECTING ONESELF?


To summarize, whenever someone came to rasool (s.a.w) asking for help, a cure or whenever rasool (s.a.w) went to someone who was sick or saw someone who was sick and etc, then in order to cure or protect someone from falling sick or the evil eye and etc, rasool (s.a.w) always taught them duas. he never said "go, hang this around your neck and you'l be fine". He always made them remember the duas, instructed them to recite the verses of Quran and duas and Allah alone is the source of help. 

there are many such duas, but i will be listing only a few so as to explain in brief what and how rasool (s.a.w) taught us to seek a remedy or the method to protect us 


(i) Hadrat Usmaan bin abil-Aas (r.a) says that he once complained about pain in his body to Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) instructed him: Place your hand on the area of the pain and recite: Bismillah thrice and say (the following) seven times:

ِسْمِ اللّهِ  أعُوذُ بِعِزَّةِ اللّهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا أجِدُ وَ أحَاذِرُ

Transliteration : A'oozu bi'izza tillaahi wa qudratihi min sharri maa ajidu wa ahaaziru 

Translation : I seek protection in the great might of Allah and His power against the evil I am experiencing and dread.

Usmaan(R.A.)thereafter says, 'I did this and Allah removed my pain.' 

[Ref: Sahih Muslim 4/1728]

(ii) Hadrat Aa'isha (Radiyallaahu anha) relates: Whenever anyone of us would become sick, Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) would pass his right hand over the affected part of the sick person's body and recite the following dua:

اللَّهُمَّ أذْهِبَ الْبَاسَ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، اشْفِ وَ أنْتَ الشَّافِى، لا شِفاَءَ إلّا شِفاَؤُكَ، شِفاَءً لَا يُغاَدِرُ سِقَماً

Allahumma adhhibal-bas, Rabb-annaas, ishfi wa Anatal Shaafi, la shifaa' 'illa Shiaa'uk, Shifa'al la youghadiru saqama


O Allah, Lord and Sustainer of mankind, remove his difficulty and cure him You are the only One who cures. There is no cure but Yours.Grant such (complete) cure that leaves no trace of illness

[Ref: Sahih Bukhaari, Vol 7, Book 70, Hadith 579 
[Ref: Sahih Muslim, Book 26, Hadith 5435]

(iii) Aa'isha (R.A.) says that During the Prophet's fatal illness, he used to recite the Mu'auwidhat (Surat An-Nas and Surat Al-Falaq) and then blow his breath over his body. When his illness was aggravated, I used to recite those two Suras and blow my breath over him and make him rub his body with his own hand for its blessings." (Ma'mar asked Az-Zuhri: How did the Prophet use to blow? Az-Zuhri said: He used to blow on his hands and then passed them over his face.)

[Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Vol 7, Book 71, Hadith 631 & Also see Sahih Muslim]

Note : The Mu'awwizaat (mu'awidhat) are Surahs al-Falaq and an-Naas. According to some Ulama, it also includes the Surahs al-Ikhlaas (Qul huwallahu ahad) and al-Kaafiroon.

(iv) Narrated Abdul Malik ibn Umayr (r.a) that : Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said " Fatihat al Kitab (surah fatiha) contains healing for every disease 

[Ref: Sunan Al Tirmidhi , Hadith 2170]
[Ref: Darimi and Bayhaqi in Shuaib Al Emaan also transmitted this]

DUA'AS TAUGHT BY THE PROPHET (S.A.W) TO PROTECT FROM EVIL EYE (BURI NAZAR), JINN AND OTHER INJURIES 


The above link enlists the dua taught by rasool (s.a.w) for various occasions and purpose. One may find that the sunnah of rasool (s.a.w) was clearly to recite the duas from Quran, hadith (his own words) and prayer. Nowhere did he advise anyone to weat a taweedh rather he condemned it strongly.



REMINDER : THE SAHAABA STUCK TO  OR GAVE PREFERENCE TO WHAT THE PROPHET DID AS A SUNNAH AND DID NOT USE OTHER MEDICINES EVEN WHEN THEY COULD HAVE 


Nubaih b Wahb reported that the eyes of Umar b. Ubaidnllah b. Ma'mar were swollen, and he decided to use antimony. Aban b. 'Uthman forbade him to do so and commanded him to apply aloes on them, and reported on the authority of 'Uthman b. Affan that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had done that.


[Ref: Saheeh Muslim] 


Of the invocations that are used to cure a sick person is the Hadith that was reported in Sahih Muslim on the authority of `Uthman ibn Abu Al `As that he complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) of a pain in his body since he embraced Islam. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him: "Place your hand on the spot where you feel pain in your body and say Bismillah (in the name of Allah) three times then say: A`udhu billahi wa Qudratihi Min Sharri Ma Ajidu Wa Uhadhiru (I seek refuge with Allah and with His Power from the evil that I find and that I fear) seven times." [Sahih Muslim No. 2202].

As for his saying: "Min Sharri Ma Ajidu Wa Ukadhiru," i.e., from the evil which I find, from pain, and from anything that I fear.

This implies seeking refuge from the pain a person suffers and from the pain he does not know about or fears to occur in the future 


POWERFUL DUA'AS FROM THE SUNNAH AND ISLAMIC LITERATURE TO HEAL SICKNESS, STRESS , WORRY AND ETC. :


Link : http://www.mediafire.com/view/?cv7rei7c1j5bq5c


THE PROPHET (S.A.W) HIMSELF WAS A VICTIM OF BLACK MAGIC AND THIS IS HOW HE CURED HIMSELF 

Rasool (s.a.w) was himself a victim of black magic. A jew by the name Lubaid bin Al A'sam had bewitched rasool (s.a.w). One of the Hikmah of Allah in decreeing this is (wa allahu 'aalam) that if black magic can happen upon the best of creations (muhammad) then it could happen to anyone. Rasool (s.a.w) was cured from this magic using ruqyah (incantations) from Quran and dua'a. A summary of this incident can be found below : 

Narrated 'Aisha: Magic was worked on the Prophet so that he began to fancy that he was doing a thing which he was not actually doing. One day he invoked (Allah) for a long period and then said, "I feel that Allah has inspired me as how to cure myself. Two persons came to me (in my dream) and sat, one by my head and the other by my feet. One of them asked the other, "What is the ailment of this man?" The other replied, 'He has been bewitched" The first asked, 'Who has bewitched him?' The other replied, 'Lubaid bin Al-A'sam.' The first one asked, 'What material has he used?' The other replied, 'A comb, the hair gathered on it, and the outer skin of the pollen of the male date-palm.' The first asked, 'Where is that?' The other replied, 'It is in the well of Dharwan.' " So, the Prophet went out towards the well and then returned and said to me on his return, "Its date-palms (the date-palms near the well) are like the heads of the devils." I asked, "Did you take out those things with which the magic was worked?" He said, "No, for I have been cured by Allah and I am afraid that this action may spread evil amongst the people." Later on the well was filled up with earth.

[Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 54, Hadith 490]

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri r.a. reported that Jibril came to the Prophet (s.a.w) and said, "O Muhammad, are you sick?" He replied, "Yes." He said: "Bismillahi arqik, min kulli shay'in yu'thik, 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."

[Ref: Sahih Muslim, Bab Al Salaam 4056]



Hence if using taweedh was a good practise, or even an easy one for the Ummah then indeed verily the one who loves us the most (Muhammad s.a.w) would have informed us regarding this method but he didn't and a Muslim has to obey the below verse at any and all costs : 

“Whatever the Messenger gives you take it, and whatever he forbids you abstain from it" [Ref: Quran 59:7]


"Indeed in Muhammad you have a good example to follow" [Ref: Quran 33:21]


CAN SMALL CHILDREN BE MADE TO WEAR TAWEEZ ? 


Once again, following the sunnah (practise) of rasool (s.a.w) is an order and better for a Muslim.

It is related that Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to seek refuge for al-Hasan and al-Husayn (when they were small). He said, 'Your forefather (IBRAHEEM A.S) used to seek refuge with it for Isma'il and Ishaq. and this is the dua the prophet s.a.w recited for them -


A'oodhu bi kalimaat-illaahit taammati min kulli shaytaanin wa haammatin wa min kulli 'aynin laammahMeaning - so I seek refuge with the perfect words of Allah from every Shaytan and poisonous insect and from every envious eye.'"


[Ref: Narrated by Al Bukhari - Hadith no. 3191]


It is clear that rasool (s.a.w) instead of resorting to using taweedh with Quranic verses, he recited the dua and invoked allah for them. one may Also blow upon the children as rasool (s.a.w) used to do that to heal his companions and himself. Apart from this, if one uses his common sense, it will be crystal clear how the prophet (s.a.w) always used to read and ask others to read the dua'as for protection. He (s.a.w) also blew dua'as into water and etc and gave it to the sick, but never did the prophet (s.a.w) hang anything around him, his grandsons, granddaughters and neither did he command,teach, allow or encourage any of the sahaabas to wear a taweedh despite the fact that the sahaabas were constantly under attacks both physically, and internally (hypocrites sowing the seed of division and casting spells for black magic and etc). 

HOW CAN ONE SAY THAT WEARING OR SEEKING HELP FROM QURANIC VERSES IS SHIRQ ? 

Indeed Quran has been revealed as a mercy and cure. the ahlul-'ilm don't say that using Quranic verses or duas to heal one self is shirq. How can one say that when the only halal way or curing or protecting oneself is by using Quran and sunah? The ruling of the scholars regarding wearing or hanging taweedh (amulets) containing Qur'anic verses and dua'as from sunnah is that they are Haraam and not Shirq and there are mainly for three reasons 

1) The hukum of the prophet (s.a.w) on taweedh is a general one which includes all the types of taweedh (qur'anic or non qur'anic) 

2) Secondly, hanging amulets is not proven from the sahaabas as well, and hanging of amulets contradicts the sunnah method for protection and cure 

3) Thirdly, with regards to Qur'anic taweedh, there is a principle (usool) according to which, in such matters, the scholars implement the school of
'Sadd ad-Dara'i' or 'preventing the means (to open a door to sin/evil)' and this is elobarated further below under the conclusion heading.

Here is a Fatwa of Nur `Ala Al-Darb on this topic with detailed explanation here : 

Link : http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaSubjects.aspx?View=Page&NodeID=3253&PageID=146&SectionID=8&SubjectPageTitlesID=66706&MarkIndex=7&0

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta'  has also issued a similar beneficial Fatwa explaining this topic beautifully 

Link: http://alifta.net/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Page&PageID=152&PageNo=1&BookID=7


Refutation to the famous hadeeth given in support of Taweedh 



حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُعَلِّمُهُمْ مِنَ الْفَزَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ: «أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّةِ، مِنْ غَضَبِهِ وَشَرِّ عِبَادِهِ، وَمِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ» وَكَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ يُعَلِّمُهُنَّ مَنْ عَقَلَ مِنْ بَنِيهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْقِلْ كَتَبَهُ فَأَعْلَقَهُ عَلَيْهِ



Amr ibn Shu’ayb reported from his father, from his grandfather that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said, “If any of you gets a nightmare, let him say:
I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah against His wrath and His punishment and the’ mischief of His slaves and from the temptations of the devils and that which they bring.

Then they will not harm him.” So, Abdullah ibn Amr used to teach this supplication to his grown up children. And, he wrote it down on something and hung it on the neck of those who had not attained puberty. 

[Ref: Sunan Abu Dawood, chapter of Medicine, 3893, sunan tirmidhi Chapter 99, hadith 3539, A-Nasa'ee, Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal vol.2, Also quoted by Hafidh ibn Katheer in his tafsir under verse 97 of Surah Al-Mu'minoon; Qadi Shawkaani in Fath-ul-Qadeer under the same verse, Ibn Hibban, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah and Hakim] 

Al Tirmidhi after narrating this said the part of 'Abdullah ibn Amr is Hassan Ghareeb. 


In all the books, this narration is narrated with same one chain; and it contains the narrator "Muhammad bin Ishaaq bin Yasaar" who is a Mudallis and he is narrating it with AN.

1- Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal said: "He (Muhammad bin Ishaaq) commits a lot of Tadlees" 

[Ad-Du'afa al-Kabeer of Ukaylee: 4/28, Chain Saheeh, Also see See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, Da’ira Ma’arif Nizamia, vol.9 p.43]

2- Imaam Ibn Hibbaan said: "He commits tadlees from Weak narrators, thus there occurred a lot of Munkar narrations in his narrations..."

[Al-Thiqaat: 7/383]

3- Imaam Khateeb Baghdaadi said: "He commits Tadlees"

[Taareekh Baghdaad: 2/21]

4- Imaam Haythami said: "Muhammad bin Ishaaq is a Mudallis"

[Majma az-Zawaaid: 10/27]

5- Haafidh Ibn Hajar mentioned him in the fourth level of Mudalliseen and said: "He is Sudooq, famous for doing tadlees from weak, majhool, and defective ones among them, he is characterized to be so by Ahmed and Daaraqutni"

[Ta'reef Ahl al-Taqdees: P. 51]

The summary of all the sayings mentioned above is that Muhammad bin Ishaaq is a famous Mudallis, and it is an established principle in the Usool al-Hadeeth that the An'ana of a Mudallis is rejected i.e. the narration which he narrates with AN is Da'eef and unaccepted.

And no where in any of the routes of the hadeeth mentioned above does Muhammad bin Ishaaq affirms his hearing. Therefore, this narration is Da'eef.

Moreover, this hadeeth has been criticized by a number of scholars such as Al-Haafidh Al-Mundhiree as mentioned by Al-Haafidh Adheemabaadee in Awn al-Ma`bood [10/387] saying, "Its isnaad contains Muhammad bin Ishaaq and the critique concerning him has preceded and Amr bin Shu`ayb."

It was also criticised by Abdul Haqq Ad-Dahlawee who said, "This is what is depended upon to hang ta`weedhaat on the necks of young children and it has criticism [feehee kalaam]" as quoted by Al-Haafidh al-Mubaarakfooree in his Tuhfah al-Ahwadhee [9/356].
Shaykh al-Albaanee declares the hadeeth to be hasan without the addition as in his Da`eef Sunan at-Tirmidhee [no. 705], Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmidhee [no.2793], Da`eef Sunan Abu Daawood [no.840] Muhammad bin Ishaaq is a mudallis and reports the hadeeth via an`ana.

Shaykh Abdul Azeez bin Baaz says in his notes to 'Fath al-Majeed' [pg. 109], "The narration (of `Amr bin Shu`ayb) is weak and it does not prove the validity (of hanging ta`aaweedh). This is because ibn `Amr used to teach these words to his older sons and write them on tablets and hang them on the necks of his younger sons. Therefore the clear sense of these words shows that he hung them on their necks so that they could learn the words not that they act as a tameemah (i.e. ta`weedh). The tameemah is written on paper not on tablets. The evidence for what has preceded is that he made his older sons memorize the supplication."


Even if this hadeeth was authentic, some Scholars have explained that Abdullah bin Amr did not hang this du'aa on the neck of Children as a Ta'weedh, rather he hung them so that they can learn it and memorize it.


CONCLUSION : 

Qur'anic Tamaem (taweedh) : There is disagreement among scholars concerning wearing them. Some of the salaaf such as Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Jawzi and etc allowed wearing the Qur'anic taweedh provided certain conditions are met (such as not wearing them at places of impurity, and not wearing them while one is having intercourse and wearing them only and only after one is afflicted and not before, and the dua's should be in Arabic i.e from the Qur'an and hadeeth only, so on and so forth).

But many of the ulema and salaaf prohibited it due to several reasons (as briefed in the above pages and will be explained further below)

The main reasons why wearing Quranic verses as taweedh is considered as makruh (disliked) or more correctly to be haraam (in today's time especially as per some ulema in accordance to many reasons) are : 


1. Rasool (s.a.w) prohibited the use of tameem (amulets/taweedh) in a general context. he never specified which taweedh is allowed and which isn't, rather he forbade them generally and overall

(Note: Ruqyah and taweedh are not the same thing. He allowed ruqyah to be of any kind as long as it did not contain shirq, but with regards to taweedh, then there is no specification reported)

2.  Prophet (s.a.w) said " That which is lawful is Clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them there are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself (i.e. saves himself) in regard to his religion and his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful (i.e sins himself) [Ref: Sahih Muslim 1599 & Bukhari 3.267]

3. It is well known today that many so called aalims and scholars make taweedh containing numbers and other forms of inscription which is completely forbidden, has no basis in islam and hence according to the hadeeth it falls under shirq, further worsening the condition and emaan of the victim

4. Scholars have always utilised a principle in the Shari'ah called, 'Sadd ad-Dara'i' or 'preventing the means (to open a door to sin/evil) ', i.e to prohibit them (doors) all together for fear of what it might lead to i.e closing down the gates/source to sin. This principle reflects the following verdict of the prophet (s.a.w) 

The above statements are deduced from fatawaa of scholars such as  Shaykh Saalih al-Uthaymeen is his commentary to Kitaab at-Tawheed, Also see the commentary of Shaykh Abdurrahmaan bin Hasan, may Allaah have mercy upon him in Fath al-Majeed pg. 109


Atiyyah As-Sa’di reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The servant will not achieve Godfearing piety (taqwa) until he leaves harmless things out of caution that they might be harmful.”

[Ref: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2451 or Arabic print : Book 37, Hadith 2639; Ibn Maajah Book 37, Hadith 4355] 


Aisha reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to her, “O Aisha, had your nation not recently left ignorance, I would have had the Ka’bah demolished and rebuilt to include the portion which had been missing, and I would have made it level with the ground with two doors, one towards the east and the other towards the west; then, by doing so it would have been upon the foundation laid by Abraham.”

[Sahih Bukhari, Book 26, Number 656]

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “He left that which was better in his view so as to avoid putting people off. Similarly, if a person thinks that it is better to say the benediction (speech, lecture, talk, wishes) out loud but he is leading in prayer people who do not like it, or vice versa, and he does what is in accordance with their view, then he has done the right thing… The Prophet, peace be upon him, moved from the better option to another option because this would achieve harmony and soften people’s hearts, as he said to Aisha: Were it not that your people have only recently left behind ignorance, I would have demolished the Ka’bah and given it two doors; in this case, he left what was better for the sake of harmony and softening hearts.”

[Majmu’ Al-Fatawa 22/268, 26/91]

In surah al-Baqarah, Allah instructs the believers with the following command:

‏‏يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقُولُوا رَاعِنَا وَقُولُوا انْظُرْنَا وَاسْمَعُوا وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“O you who believe! Do not say, ‘attend to us,’ but say, ‘bear with us,’ and listen. And the unbelievers will have a painful punishment.” [2:104]

In his book of tafsir, Imam al-Sa’di has mentioned the following points of benefit 
concerning this ayah:

كان المسلمون يقولون حين خطابهم للرسول عند تعلمهم أمر الدين‏:‏ ‏{‏رَاعِنَا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ راع أحوالنا‏,‏ فيقصدون بها معنى صحيحا، وكان اليهود يريدون بها معنى فاسدا‏,‏ فانتهزوا الفرصة‏,‏ فصاروا يخاطبون الرسول بذلك‏,‏ ويقصدون المعنى الفاسد، فنهى الله المؤمنين عن هذه الكلمة‏,‏ سدا لهذا الباب، ففيه النهي عن الجائز‏,‏ إذا كان وسيلة إلى محرم، وفيه الأدب‏,‏ واستعمال الألفاظ‏,‏ التي لا تحتمل إلا الحسن‏,‏ وعدم الفحش‏,‏ وترك الألفاظ القبيحة‏,‏ أو التي فيها نوع تشويش أو احتمال لأمر غير لائق، فأمرهم بلفظة لا تحتمل إلا الحسن فقال‏:‏ ‏{‏وَقُولُوا انْظُرْنَا‏}‏ فإنها كافية يحصل بها المقصود من غير محذور،

During their addresses to the Messenger while he was teaching them the matters of the deen, the Muslims used to say, “attend to us”, meaning take care and bear in mind our situation, so they intended a good and honest meaning by this. But the Jews intended a wicked meaning by this*, so they seized the opportunity and they began to address the Messenger with that, intending thereby a wicked meaning. So Allah prohibited the believers from this phrase, thereby closing off this avenue. So in this is the prohibition of something permissible when it is a gateway to what is forbidden. And in this is a point of etiquette, in using wordings which only convey good (meanings) and the opposite of vulgar (meanings), and abandoning despicable wordings or those which have some kind of muddled or deranged meaning, or those which convey something inappropriate. So He commanded them with wordings which only convey good (meanings), so He said, “but say ‘bear with us’“, for verily that is sufficient in conveying the intended meaning without any problem.


[Taysir al-Kareem al-Rahman pg. 54; via Tulayah]




قال الشاطبي الْمَصَالِحَ الْعَامَّةَ مُقَدَّمَةٌ عَلَى الْمَصَالِحِ الْخَاصَّةِ57 الموافقات

Ash-Shatibi said, “A general benefit takes precedence over a specific benefit.”[Al-Muwafaqat 57]


قال ابن نجم وَهِيَ دَرْءُ الْمَفَاسِدِ أَوْلَى مِنْ جَلْبِ الْمَصَالِحِ فَإِذَا تَعَارَضَتْ مَفْسَدَةٌ وَمَصْلَحَةٌ قُدِّمَ دَفْعُ الْمَفْسَدَةِ غَالِبًا
290 الأشباه والنظائر على مذاهب أبي حنيفة النعمان


Ibn Najm said, “A principle of law is that the prevention of corruption is more important than the attainment of benefit, such that if one is presented with something evil and something good, then defending from corruption should prevail.” [Al-Ashbah wa Natha’ir ala Madha’hib Abu Hanifa 290]

Al-‘Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim – may Allaah have mercy on him – gave ninety-nine examples illustrating this principle of forbidding or closing the door to something for a greater good, even if that "thing" was permissible in principle. , and after giving the ninety-ninth example he said: “Taking preventative means is one-quarter of responsibility, for there are commands and prohibitions. The commands are of two types, one of which is the end in itself and the other is the means to that end. And prohibitions are of two types, the thing that is prohibited because it is evil in and of itself, and the means that lead to that evil. So preventing the means that lead to that which is haraam is one quarter of the religion.(I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, 3/143)



5. Another argument from a mannerly perspective is that If one wears an amulet (of Quranic verses and duas), there is no doubt that when he enters the bathrooms, or enters haraam places and in haraam activities, it will be against the adab of carrying the Qur'an and etc, because no sane person would hold a qur'an in his hand or a page of some verses and enter the bathroom or indulge in something unlawful, atleast from the mannerly perspective.  


All mistakes are mine and All good is from Allah.

8 comments:

  1. Assalaamualeykum Brother,

    Brother i dont know if you are getting the ahadeeth..The Prohibitions are made to those Taweedh which does not contain any Allah's Dhikr or Quranic verses..these are views of Sunni Scholar for example Ibn Hajar Asqalani says in Fath Al-Bari,Vol 6,Pg 142

    "…As for those amulets which contain formulas of dhikr, then there is no prohibition against them, for these are used to gain blessings and protection by the Divine Names and dhikr of Allah…”

    And Ibn Abd Al-Barr quote Imam Malik in Tamheed,Vol 17,Pg 161 saying:

    “Imam Malik said, there is no blame in hanging written ruqyas which contain the Names of Allah upon the necks of the sick, to derive the healing blessings contained therein, so long as he does not intend by that to prevent the effects of the evil eye before they fall. If some effects of the evil eye have already befallen one, then it is permissible to employ ruqyas according to Imam Malik, and to hang written ones upon oneself.”

    There are also others scholar also who also accept this view that
    other than Dhikr of Allah the wearing Taweedh is Haram or Shirk.
    All the hadeeth you have quoted does not talks about prohibition of Taweedh which contain Allah Dhikr.

    Keep me in your prayers
    Wa aleykumsalaam.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walaikum Assalaam brother. It is good to hear from you after a long time. May allah reward you.

      I will sum up my reply in a brief manner

      (i) The title of my document says " Taweedh (even of Quranic dhikr) is not Sunnah" or free from doubts. I did not say wearing Quranic verses are shirq.

      (ii) I agree to you that what is deemed as shirq is wearing or hanging anything which has a content not from Qur'an or sunnah" But i have explained why some scholars have declared wearing Quranic taweedh as haraam or impermissible and all those reasons are enlisted under the Conclusion title at the end of the doc.

      there are 5 such reasons which i have enlisted. Please re-read them again.

      Thirdly, what Imam ibn Hajar and Imam Malik and other scholars have quoted, we don't oppose that provided certain conditions are met (in today's time)

      the time of imam malik and ibn hajar was different, the people were more god fearing and Islam was not in ruins as it is now. No scholar or Imam would ask someone to wear a taweedh if that person can by heart the dua'as or can read it and in today's world not only can we by heart it but we can read it everyday whenever we want on our emails/fones etc

      Hence, the permissibility to wear taweedh have many conditions, some of which are

      1. the person cannot by heart the dua'a or is insaane and has no one to look after him/ her that he/she can be blown over (with dua'as) or taken care of

      2. the person is blind or mentally challenged or severely sick (in coma) and there is no way for him to recite the dua'as

      3. One does not mishandle or humiliate it by entering the bathroom, or indulging in haraam matters (such as gossip and back biting) while wearing or carrying the taweedh because this is disrespect to the Quranic verses one is with .

      so on and so forth.

      And today, no one can abide by these rules (especially the last point above) hence the scholars say " why use an alternative method instead of the sunnah? why open the door to evil ?"

      It is like " why go to a club when you know there is no good but more of evil? " similarly, why allow taweedh when you know it can and is in today's world leading to kufr and shirq and taking the people away from reciting dhikr and dua'as?"

      A father is cruel to be Kind, similarly, the prohibition of Quranic verses (except in few/rare exceptions) is for the better good of a Muslim and not to take him away from sunnah :)

      Delete
  2. MashaALLAH.. i AGREE TOTALLY..

    ReplyDelete
  3. References are wrong in this heading "What dost the prophet said about the taweez", please don't spread the knowledge of hadees without a proper reference. Please change the references or remove this heading from your article.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i don't understand your objection. Kindly elaborate

      Delete
  4. SUBHANALLAH
    Thnks to explain bcz now with sure refernce i can also xplain it to othrs

    ReplyDelete

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