By Shaykh Salim Ghisa

Black Magic and evil Jinn both exist in Islam and have been proven by the Quran and Hadith.

It is evident from the Qur'an and the Hadith that Jinn are the creations of Allah and are made from Fire. Like Angels they cannot be seen by the normal human eye. Because of their fiery nature there are more evil Jinn hence disbelievers and are also referred to as Shaytaans.
They can commit havoc if interfered with but generally keep themselves to themselves. They live in the world and take their place where it suits them, usually remote areas. Evil Jinn tend to stay in impure places like the toilets etc.

The Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) advised the Muslims to pray

‘Allahumma Inni A’oothubika Minal Khuboosi Wal Khabaa’ith’ (Oh Allah we ask for your protection from the evil male and female Shaytaans) [Hisn ul Hasin].

Good Muslim Jinn tend to live in isolated places where they can worship Allah without disturbance and this can be in the Masjid, cemeteries, woods etc. Jinn do not generally get involved with the humans unless they are disturbed or powered by the spirits. There are some spiritual scholars who can control Jinn and the Jinn have given Bay’ah to them but the true scholars do not publicise this fact.

The best protection from evil Jinn is to not go to any false person but to recite the Ayatul Qursi and the 4 Quls (Surahs, Kafiroon, Ikhlas, Falaq & Naas) from the Quran and this will prevent any Jinn from coming near you.

Black Magic - A Myth?

Black magic does exist and it was even performed on the Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

‘A Jew by the name of Labid ibn Asim who outwardly posed to be a believer (Munafiq) carried out black magic on the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). He took the hair of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and made eleven knots and placed it under a rock in a well called Zarwan.

The effect of this was that it created uncertainty in the mind of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) as to whether he had done or not done certain things (although this had no effect on his religious and prophetic obligations)

At times the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) felt he had accomplished something yet he had not done so and vice versa. The angel Jibra’il informed the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) as to what had occurred and came down with the two Surahs, namely Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) together with the Companions (Allah be pleased with them all) went to the well and removed the knotted hair. As each verse was recited, the knots untied miraculously.

At the eleventh knot, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) was relieved from the effects of this black magic. [See: Tafsir Ibn Kathir & Ma’arif al-Qur’an]

The Cure For Black Magic

The above teaches us that black magic exists and what the remedy for it is. There are also other remedies for curing black magic as mentioned in the Ahadith:

'Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) narrates:

“Whenever the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) would become ill, he would recite the Mu’awwizat (Surah al-Falaq & Surah an-Nas) and blow over himself. When his illness was aggravated, I used to recite these two Surahs (and blow my breath) over him and make him rub his body with his own hand, for its blessings.” [Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 4728]

Also, the consuming of Ajwa dates has been prescribed by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) as a remedy for black magic. Amir ibn Sa’d narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said:

‘“He who eats seven Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them.” [Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5130]

Also the use of Taweez (Amulets) is permissible as long as it is written in Arabic and contains verses of the Quran and Allah’s name and this is explained in the famous Hanafi book of Fiqh as follows:

“Using of amulets (Taweez) will not be permissible if they are written in a non-Arabic language, in that its meaning is unknown. They may consist of black magic, disbelief or impermissible invocations. However, if they consist of Quranic verses or prescribed supplications (Duas), then there is nothing wrong with using them.” [Radd al-Muhtar, 6/363]

The reason why non-Arabic charms have been forbidden is because one will be unaware of their meaning; hence it may consist of utterances of disbelief, such as seeking the help of the devil and other such matters.

Dodgy Peers And Shaykhs?

Illiteracy and ignorance is the root to all evil. Many people who are illiterate or ignorant believe that because they may be going through challenging times in their lives they can pick out a scapegoat and therefore blame an outside interference (namely Jinn) for the reasons for their problems. When in fact, it is their lack of knowledge or lack of guidance for their children that has led to the problems.

They then go to false and ignorant so called Peer/Sufi Babas who speak the language they want to hear and then charge them extremely large fees for the solutions to their problems.

Muslims should remember that Allah is the solution to all their problems and items like Taweez can be true but only when made by truly god fearing people of Taqwa and knowledge who themselves are strict practising Muslims and generally NEVER charge for their service.

A clear sign of false money-making Taweez is when set charges are placed and are usually extravagant compared to the service provided and when these facts are advertised by either the TV or leaflets or magazines. May Allah protect us all from these people. One should avoid these false people and instead revert to praying five times a day, recite the Quran and look for the solution by asking Allah for help. All Muslims should be aware that whilst Black Magic exists Allah and His Messengers have also shown us the remedy for it, which is explained above.

How Do You Suss Out Fake Shaykhs/Peers?

The only way to recognise false peers is to recognise the true teachings of Islam and therefore to understand the people who belong to Allah. One of the key aspects of understanding people of Allah is that they will be people who openly and secretly practice the Shariah without caring for the world and its materials. They cannot be people who sit at home and do not attend the Masjids for prayers as this is an obligation for the Muslims. They cannot be people who have no knowledge of the laws of Allah but they are people who practice even the smallest Sunnah of The Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace).

You can recognise fake Shaykhs and peers when you yourself have the understanding of Islam or are closely linked to true scholars and therefore can be guided.

So Who’s A True Shaykh/Peer Then?

One must be aware that Only Allah has the power to cure and whilst the pious have the ability to prescribe the methods Allah has shown it is still the will of Allah that makes things happen.

A person must be aware that a Peer or Sufi must have four qualities for them to be qualified as a Shaykh:

1. He must be of the correct beliefs of Ahl e Sunnah i.e he must have the true beliefs of the Quran, Sunnah and the consensus of the classical scholars.

2. He must not be an open wrongdoer and therefore must follow the Shariah such as praying Salah with congregation, does not perform any wrong acts openly against the Shariah.

3. He must have enough knowledge of the Shariah that he knows the Halal and the Haram and knows basic jurisprudence so that he is aware on how to fulfil his basic obligations.

4. He must be given permission (Ijazah) by his Shaykh and his Shaykh all the way to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) so that true virtue can be obtained.

Muslims when faced with problems should first of all check medical opinion and also look at themselves to see whether their upbringing of their children is according to Islam and hence not waste money on false Shaykhs or Peers.

Of course Allah knows best.