Based on "Eedah
ad-Dalaalah fee 'Umoom ar-Risaalah", from
volume 19 of "Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa" (A
Collection of Religious Rulings); volume 35 of
"Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa" and Ibn Taymeeyah's
classic, " Al-Furqaan Bayna Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan
wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan."
Note: All remarks
that are bracketed in the text are made by Bilal
Phillips
THE AUTHOR
Ahmad ibn 'Abdul-Haleem
ibn Taymeeyah was bron in the town of Harran [near
Edessa, in what was once Northern Iraq, but is now
called Orfa and is a part of Turkey.], in the year
1263 CE. His father was a leading scholar of the
Hanbalite school of Islamic law and so was his
grandfather, who authored Muntaqaa al-Akhbaar, the
text of ash-Shawkaanee's Hadeeth classic Nayl al-Awtaar.
Ibn Taymeeyah
mastered the various disciplines of Islamic study at
an early age and read extensively the books of the
various sects and religions in existence at that
time. Much of his time and effort was spend
defending the orthodox Islamic position against a
tidal wave of deviation which had swept over the
Muslim nation. Consequently, he faced many
difficulties from both the prominent sectarian
scholars of his time and from the authorities who
supported them. His clashes with them led to his
imprisonment on numerous occasions. Ibn Taymeeyah
also fought, not only against internal enemies of
Islaam, but also against its external enemies by
both his Fatwaas (Islamic legal rulings) and his
physical participation in battles. His ruling
allowing the taking up arms against groups which
recognized the Shahaadataan (declaration of faith)
but refused to uphold some aspects of the
fundamental principles of Islaam, greatly affected
the resistance movement against the Tartars who had
declared their acceptance of Islaam but did not rule
according to divine law.
During these
struggles he wrote countless books and treatises
demonstrating his extensive reading and knowledge,
not only of the positions of the early scholars, but
also those of the legal and theological schools
which had subsequently evolved. Ibn Taymeeyah also
had a major effect on the open-minded schoars of his
day, most of whom were from the Shaafi'ite school of
law. Among the most famous of his students were IBN
KATHEER, ADH-DHAHABEE and IBN AL-QAYYIM. The author
died in 1328 while in prison in Damascus for his
Fatwaa against undertaking journeys to visit the
graves of saints [Ibn Taymeeyah's ruling was based
on the authentic statement reported by Abu Hurayrah
wherein the Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, "Do
not undertake a journey except to three masjids;
this masjid of mine, Masjid al-Haraam (Makkah) and
Masjid al-Aqsaa (Bayt al-Maqdis)." Collected by
Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]. His Fatwaa had been
distorted by his enemies to say that he forbade
visitingthe Prophet Muhammad's (saws) grave.
CHAPTER THREE:
DEMONIC VISIONS
Those involved in
incantations and oaths often swear by some devils to
help them against others. Sometimes the evil JINN
fulfil their request but frequently they do not,
especially when the JINN against whom help is sought
is honored among them. Neither the one chanting
incantations nor his incantations have any power to
force the devils to help them. The reciter of
incantations earnestly entreats a being whom he
considered great - which may or may not be the case
- to harm others who may conceivably be greater. In
the case where someone entreats the JINN to harm
someone whom the JINN hold in high esteem, they will
ignore him. In fact, it may prevent them from even
responding at all. Their situations is quite similar
to that of humans except that human beings are
generally more intelligent, truthful, just and
trustworthy while the JINN tend to be ignorant,
untruthful, oppressive and treacherous.
The point is that
though the oaths and incantations of
devil-worshippers may contain statements of idolatry
and disbelief, they are frequently ineffective
against the JINN. When requested to kill or
apprehend another JINN who has possessed a human,
the JINN will often mock those who make the request
by falsely giving them the impression that they
killed or detained the offending JINN. This is
especially so in cases where humans believe in the
illusions created by the JINN. The JINN usually
communicate by either visions or voices ["The
gleaning of hidden information by way of visions and
voices has been well documented among clairvoyants
and mediums. 'A medium' may be defined as a person
through whose agency or through whose orgainsm there
are received communications ostensibly from deceased
human beings or other discarnate or remote entities.
In what is called 'clairvoyant mediumship' -now
popularly known as channelling- the meduim 'sees' or
'hears' the deceased friends and relatives of
persons persent and relays messages from them.
Generally speaking, the experiences concerned seem
not to have the distinctness of ordinary perception
but are rather a seeing or hearing 'in the mind's
eye' or ear. Sometimes, however, the figures seen or
voices heard may attain as hallucinatory vividness;
the medium's experience then resembles that of one
who witnesses an apparition." (Benjamin B.
Wolman. ed., Handbook of Parapsychology, New York,
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1977, pp, 579-580)]
with those seeking information among the
idol-worshippers, Christians, Jews, and heretical
Muslims driven astray by the devils. JINNS may take
the form of a live picture portraying whatever the
sorcerers and fortunetellers wish to know about.
When these deviants see the image of what they
sought, they then inform other humans about it. Some
of them may know that the image is actually an
illusion, while others may be deluded into believing
that they are actually wintessing the real scene.
JINNS may also make humans hear the voice of those
whom they call upon who are far away. Such cases are
frequent among idolaters, Christians, Jews and
ignorant Muslims who seek refuge in those whom they
consider holy. When some devotees call on their
spiritual masters for help saying, "Oh my Lord
so and so!" the JINN will address them in the
voice of their masters. When the masters answer
their request, the JINN, in turn, answer the
devotees in the masters' voice. This has happened to
many people some of whom are known to me. The devils
will often respond while talking the form of the one
besought, whether dead or alive, even if he is
unaware of those who call on him. Those committing
Shirk in this fashion believe that the person
beseeched has actually replied when in fact it is
the JINN replying. This frequently happens to
Christians who call on those whom they edify,
whether dead or alive, like George or other holy
figures [ROME, Feb 24 1989 (AFP) - A retired Italian
roadman Renato Baron claims that he has been seeing
and talking to the Virgin Mary for nearly three
years now. Visions by Baron and about THIRTY others
have attracted tens of thousands of people from
Italy, France, Belgium, and West Germany to a hill
near Venice, causing huge traffic jams.
Ambridge,
Pennsylvania - A small Roman Catholic Church in a
western Pennsylvania mill town is preparing for a
deluge of pilgrims after a reported Good Friday
miracle in which the eyes of a statue of Christ
suddenly closed. The Rev. Vincent Cvitkovic, a
Franciscan friar, and many of his parishoners
reported that the eyes of a life-size statue which
depicts the crucified Christ, which have been open
for 60 years, closed during a prayer meeting. (The
Times, Monday, April 10th 1989, no. 63, 364, p.8)
In 1981 a group of
five children were playing on a hill just outside of
a village in the Yugoslavian Republic of Bosnia -
Herzegovina called Medugorje when a vision of a
beautiful woman claiming to be the Blessed Virgin
Mary appeared before them. Since 1981 some seven to
eight million pilgrims from different countries,
cultures and Christian traditions have climbed up
the holy hill of Medugorje. At 7:30 every evening
pilgrims and tourists anxiously crowd around the
dark rectory of a nearby church staring at the
stream of light which will signify that once more
the children, who still gather there daily, are
having their private audience with the Blessed
Mother. (IRF, Newsletter of the International
Religious Foundation, Inc., Vol II, No. 6, Nov-Dec
1987, pp 1-2).
Divine grace
(salvation) is felt to be especially potent in
places visited by Jesus Christ or Saints or by Mary;
where they have appeared in visions. Major
pilgrimage centers include Lourdes where visions of
the Virgin Mary were first seen in 1858 and where
healing has been occuring since that time. (John R.
Hinnells, ed., Dictionary of Religions, Middlesex,
England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1984, p. 284)]. It also
occurs to heretical Muslims who call on the dead or
those not present, and the devils take the form of
the one called upon even without him realizing it. I
know of many cases where this has occurred and the
people called upon have told me that they did not
know that they were called upon, though those
beseeching them for help saw their images and were
convinced that it was the actual person. More than
one person has mentioned that they called on me in
times of distress, each telling a different story
about how I have responded. When I told them that I
never answered any of them nor did I know that they
were calling on me, some said that it must have been
an angel. I told them that angels do not benefit
those committing SHIRK and that it was actually a
devil trying to further misguide them.
Sometimes the Jinn
will take the form of those admired and stand at
'Arafat, and those who believe well of him will
think that he actually stood in 'Arafat. Many others
have also been actually carried by the devils to
'Arafat and other sacred places. In such cases they
pass the Meeqaat (boundaries that may not be crossed
while on Hajj, around Makkah) without formally
entering the state of Ihraam, or performing many of
the obligatory rites of Hajj like making the
Talbeeyah (chant of response to God's call) or
circulating the Ka'bah, and walking between the
mounts of Safaa and Marwah. Among them are some who
do not even pass through Makkah, others who stand at
'Arafat without performing the pre-requisite rite of
casting stones at the Jamaraat etc. It is by these
and other similar feats that Satan leads seemingly
pious people in misguidance. Sincere devotees among
heretics are in this way enticed to do acts wich are
prohibited (Haraam) or despised (Makrooh) in the
religion. Satan is able to make such misdeeds
appealing to them by convincing them that they are
among the Karaamaat (supernatural or
quasi-miraculous feats) of the righteous. However
they are, without a doubt, Satanic deceptions
because Allaah cannot be worshipped by any religious
injunction which is neither compulsory (Waajib) nor
recommended (Mustahabb). Whoever performs an act of
worship which is neither Waajib nor Mustahabb
believing that it is so, has been deceived by Satan.
Even if it is decreed that such a person will be
forgiven due to his good intention and striving, the
act itself is still unacceptable to Allaah [An
example may be seen in the mistaken belief held by
some that a man's head must be covered while he is
in formal prayer - Salaah - as is the case among
Jews or that a woman's hair to be covered while
reading the Qur'aan. However, the Prophet saws did
not order that it be done nor recommended it but
merely followed the customs of his people during
that time.]. Such acts are not among the things with
which Allaah honors His pious servants who are close
to Him, as there is no honor in performing
prohibited (Haraam) or despised (Makrooh) acts [Such
is the case of the celebration of the Prophet's saws
birthday - 'Eed Meelaad an-Nabee - which probably
began among ignorant Muslims trying to outdo or at
least compete with the Christians's celebrations of
Christmas. Meelaad celebrations are a form of
innovation - Bid'ah - in religion which has been
forbidden by the Prophet saws who said:
"Whoever innnovates in this affair ouf ours -
i.e. Islaam - something which does not belong to it
will be rejected. - Reported by 'Aa'eshah and
collected by Al-Bukaaree and Muslim]. Divine honor
lies in protecting one whom Allaah loves from such
acts and preventing him from doing them. For,
committing misdeeds debases one who does them and
does not in any way favor him, even if he is not
punished for doing them. Doing despised or Haraam
acts MUST decrease the spiritual level of both the
one who does them as well as his followers who
praise such acts and glorify him. For, heaping
praise on prohibited and despised acts, and honoring
the one who does them is definitely a form of
deviation from the path of Allaah. The more and more
a man innovates in the religion as a result of
independent judgement (Ijtihaad), the further he
becomes from Allaah, because innovation (Bid'ah)
removes him from Allaah's path; the divine path of
"those who Allah has blessed from among the
prophets, the sincerely truthful, martyrs and
righteous" [An-Nisaa 4:69] unto the path of
"those with whom Allaah is angry and those who
have gone astray" [Al-Faatihah 1:7]. Ibn
Taymeeyah mentioned the following [This begins a
segment from vol.35 of Ibn Taymeeyah's compendium,
Majmoo' al-Fataawaa.] historical incident concerning
al-Hallaaj [Al-Husain ibn Mansoor al-Hallaj (858-922
CE) studied under the eminent Sufi teachers of his
time (Tustaree, 'Amr Makee and Junaid) then broke
with them and went out into this world to preach
asceticism and mysticism in Khurasan, Ahwaz, Fars,
India and Turkistan. On his return to Baghdad from
Makkah in 908, many were attracted by his teachings,
and disciples rapidly gathered around him. He taught
that the five pillars of Islaam may be replaced by
other works. He also taught about the existence of
an uncreated Divine spirit (Rooh Naatiqah) which
becomes united with the created spirit of the
ascetic through desire of and submission to
suffering. In his teachings the Saint (Walee) became
the living and personal witness of God (H.A.R. Gibb
and J.H. Kramers, Encyclopedia of Islam, Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 1st ed., 1953, pp 127-80).
Consequently he stated in his book: "If you do
not recognize God, at least recognise His sign, I am
the creative truth -Ana al-Haqq-, because through
the truth, I am eternal truth. My friends and
teachers are Iblees (Satan) and Pharaoh. Iblees was
threatened with Hellfire, yet, he did not recant.
Pharaoh was drowned in the sea, yet he did not
recant, for he would not acknowledge anything
between him and God (i.e. Hallaaj felt that Iblees'
refusal to prostrate to Aadam and Pharaoh's
statement "I am your Lord, most High" were
correct!). And, I, though, I am killed and crucified
and though my hands and feet are cut off; I do not
recant." - Kitaab al-Tawaaseen, Massignon
Press, Paris, 1913, vi, 32. The leading scholars
from all orthodox schools of Islamic law as well as
the leading Shi'ite scholars and some of his former
Sufi teachers declared him a heretic and he was
subsequently executed due to his refusal to retract
his claim to be the personification of God on
earth.] and a group of his followers, "Some of
them requested some sweets from al-Hallaaj, so he
got up and went to a spot a short distance away,
then returned with a plateful of sweets. It was
later discovered that it had been stolen from a
candy shop in Yemen and carried by a devil to that
area." Ibn Taymeeyah went on to say,
"Incidents similar to this have happened to
others who, like al-Hallaaj, also achieved the
pinnacle of satanic states, and we know of quite a
few such people in our time as well as other times.
For instance, there is a person presently residing
in Damascus whom the devil used to carry from the
Saaliheeyah mountain to villages around Damascus. He
would appear out of the air and enter the windows of
houses in which people were gathered to witness his
'miraculous entrance.'" Ibn Taymeeyah also
quoted another mystic master who admitted that he
used to fornicate with women and sodomise young
boys. The former mystic master said, "A black
dog ["Abu Dharr reported: The Messanger of
Allaah said: 'When any one of you stands for prayer
it should be towards something that shields him
equivalent (in height) to the back of a saddle,
otherwise his prayer will be broken by passing of a
donkey, a woman or a black dog.' I asked 'O Abu
Dharr, what is the difference between a black dog, a
red dog and tan-colored dog?' He replied, 'O son of
my brother, I also asked Allaah's Messanger as you
are asking me, and he said: 'The black dog is a
devil.'" (Saheeh Muslim and all other in the
six Saheeh books with the exception of Saheeh al-Bukhaaree)]
with two white spots between his eyes would come to
me and say, 'Verily such and such a person has made
an oath by you and he will come to you tomorrow to
inform you about it. I have already fulfilled his
need for your sake.' [When questioned during his
trial, the infamous New York City mass murderer of
the seventies, "Son of Sam", claimed that
a dog used to come in backyard of his house and tell
him to kill his victims. It was assumed by the court
and his psychiatrists that he was mentally deranged
and the dog a figment of his imagination.] The
person would then come to him the next day and the
Sufi master would reveal the details of his oath to
him and how it was fulfilled. The Sufi master went
on to say, 'I used to walk about the city and a
black pole with a light on top of it would lead the
way.' " Ibn Taymeeyah said, "When the Sufi
master repented and began to pray, fast, and avoid
the forbidden, the black dog went away." He
also narrated the following about another mystic
master who had the aid of devils whom he would
despatch to possess people: "When the family of
the possessed would come to him seeking a cure, he
would send a message to his demon companion and they
would leave the possessed persons, as a result, the
Shaykh would be given many dirhams for his services.
Sometimes the Jinn would bring him dirhams and food
which they stole from people, so much so that the
Shaykh would request dates from his devils and they
would take them from beehives in which some poeple
had hidden their dates. When the beehive owners
would look for their dates they would find them
gone." About yet another mystic, Ibn Taymeeyah
relates, "There was a Shaykh knowledgeable in
the religious sciences and Qur'anic recitation to
whom the devils came and eventually managed to
seduce. They told him that Salaah was no longer
required of him and that they would bring him
whatever he wished. As soon as he complied with
their wishes, they began to bring him a variety of
sweets and fruit. This continued until he was
advised to repent by some scholars that he visited
who were firmly following the Sunnah. He
subsequently repented and repaid the owners of the
sweets for what he ate while under the influence of
the JINN." He then went on to say, "Many
of those who call on Shaykhs in time of need saying,
'O master so and so, or Shaykh so and so, fulfill my
need' have seen an image of the Shaykh saying, 'I
will fulfill your need and put your heart at ease,'
then it fulfills their needs or repels their
enemies. In such cases it is a devil taking the
Shaykh's form when they committed Shirk by
associating partners with Allaah and calling on
others beside Him." Ibn Taymeeyah then went on
to enumerate similar instances involving himself
saying, "I know of many such incidences even
among a group of my companions who called on me in
times when they were struck by calamities. One was
afraid of the Romans and another of the Tatars. Both
of them mentioned that they called out to me, they
saw me in the air and I repelled their enemies for
them. I informed them that I did not hear their
cries no did I repel their enemies. It was a devil
taking my appearance to seduce them when they
associated partners with Allaah the Almighty.
Similar incidents have also happened to the students
of my contemporaries among the scholars, whereby
some of their students have sought refuge in them
and have seen them fulfill their needs. The scholars
have also denied doing so and indicated that it was
in fact the work of devils." [Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa,
Vol. 35, pp. 112-116]
In another book,
Ibn Taymeeyah said, "I know people whom the
plants greet and inform them of their beneficial
ingredients, however it is, in fact, Satan who has
entered the plants and spoken to them. I also know
of others to whom stones and trees speak saying,
"Congratulations, Oh friend of Allaah" and
when the people recite Aayatul-Kursee it stops. I am
acquainted with yet others who have gone
bird-hunting and the sparrows addressed them saying,
"Take me so that the poor may eat me."
Such are cases of the evil JINN possessing the birds
in the same way that others who, while in their
house with the doors and vice versa [Many of those
in our times who have claimed what is known as
'out-of-body experiences' or 'astral-travel' have
recorded in vivid detail incidences simialr to those
mentioned by Ibn Taymeeyah. Others have met beings
which claimed to be guides, guardian spirits or
their higher selves. However, the common thought
which links most of these experiences is the
ultimate expression of idolatry: that man is God, as
was expressed by Al-Hallaaj and countless others
before and after him.] He may even be taken through
the closed city gates and back again swiftly by the
JINN. Lights may shine on him or someone looking
like his friend may call on him but, if he recites
Aayatul-Kursee continually, it will all dissappear."
He also said, "Some mystics have also said that
the JINN showed them something shiny like water and
glass in which images or pictures of whatever they
sought information would appear and they in turn
wold inform people." Ibn Taymeeyah me tioned
other instances and then concluded by saying,
"This is a so vast a topic that if I were to
mention all that I knew, it would fill a very large
volume." [Ibn Taymeeyah, Al-Furqaan Bayna
Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan, pp.
87-92]
