Magic and Divination in Early Islam - Essay Example

Islam and Magic Introduction The Islam religion is one of the most common religions. The religion has its roots way back and has continued having strong and faithful followers over the years. The religion has a reputation for the manner in which it carries out its activities. The organized manner of activities, the various holidays that it has including the fasting season are some of the issues that make the religion unique as compared to others that do not practice some of this. Islam also has a wide reputation from the strictness of its laws and the rulers. Moreover, the punishment that people who break the laws receive is very tough and this is to ensure that not only they but also other people do not carry out the mistakes. One of the common concepts in Islam is the use and association with magic. Going through the concept of magic with relation to the Muslim religion is effective for it assists people in understanding the culture of the Muslim community in an extended man. Discussion Magic has definition as the use of deception to make someone veer off from reality. According to Islam, this deception is illegal and the religious leaders go further to state that magic is calling on demons to offer their assistance in the accomplishment of something negative that is wrong according to their rules. With regard to definitions, Islam states that carrying out of magic is some form of blasphemy. Prophets of Islam have stated that whoever goes to a fortuneteller for magic to be performed on him is disregarded by the readings and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Islam goes further to state that following the horoscope to determine the luck that he has and the fate that a period has for him is against the teachings of Allah. This is because according to the religion only God who knows the future. The religion even states that Muhammad does not know the future. Despite the fact that Solomon was one of the most trusted Prophets of Allah, some of his opponents accused him of practicing magic. Messengers of Allah had been given the power to perform miracles where they deemed necessary. However, the accusers stated that Solomon did not have the ability to distinguish between miracles and magic. The prophets had the ability to carry out miracles that would assist people. The Quran states the difference between a miracle and an act of magic is that magic has the consequence of having the person being performed the act on getting negative results. However, people on whom miracles were performed on had positive results and often thanked Allah for their good fortunes. Another difference offered by the Islamic teachings is that miracles come from Allah while magic comes from devils. Moreover, miracles are always realistic while magic is mostly deceptive. Prophet Muhammad had been exposed to magic during his time. Allah however saved him from misery because he was consistent in reading the Quran. He ensured that he memorized various verses of the Quran to assist him in maintaining a strong relationship with Allah. Religious readings were the reasons why the Prophet had the ability to resist any amount of temptations that the devil brought. The fact that Allah assisted the prophet go through all these problems and temptations of Magic is a factor that made other Muslims imitate his way of life and through this way many of them have managed to live a complimentary life. Another ruling that the Muslims have against magic is the fact that it is some kind of sorcery. As commonly known, sorcery is associated with devilish acts and given that Islam is a religion, it is difficult to assume that the sorcery does not revolve around negative things. It is this that assures the religious leaders of this community that anyone that performs magic is directly associated with sorcery. Another factor to consider is regarding the fact that Muslims regard magic as illusionism. The religion goes further to state that illusionism is a negative concept and this is because it forms images that are not real and thus affects the person that is receiving the magic notion (Spencer 107). This illusion is termed negative for most of the contemporary magicians do this or rather carry out their acts with the goal of earning money. This is proved by the high prices these magicians set for people that intend to go watch their acts. The fact that these are illusions is one that makes it a sin in that lying or rather deceiving in order to accumulate money is a factor that is condemned in the Muslim community. According to the law of Muslims, people that engage in these acts of magic are punished by death. The reason for this is that, as stated before, these people are deemed sorcerers and the punishment offered for sorcerers according to the Quran is death. This punishment comes straight from Allah and thus it is imperative for everyone who reads and obeys the Quran to follow these strict instructions and refrain from any acts that are associated with sorcery. Moreover, religious leaders have also said that it is wrong for people to support these sorcerers in their works. One of the ways that people support these sorcerers without knowing is by attending their events where they carry out magical acts. It is condemned to attend such gatherings because it does not go along with the rules. Islam does not support magic for it is not right for people to lose their consciousness as Allah requires that all people remain in a sober state. The reason for offering this statement is the facts that when people attend these magic shows they lose their consciousness as they are treated to the illusions provided by the magician. This is a negative aspect and the religion does not recognize whether the person is a magician or is a witness but as long as the person loses their consciousness out of acts that are not supported by the religion they have sinned. The magic is not supported by the religion also for the actions that it may lead the congregation to do. In traditional acts of magic, people go to these magicians where they are supposed to get some answers to some of the questions that they may have and for some health issues they may have (Savage-Smith 134). These magicians normally have results that often have the final consequent of having a person hurt. For example, A Muslim woman may go to a magician wanting to find out the reason as to why her husband gets home late. Probably the right reason for why the man is always late to get home is that he is often busy at work. However, when the woman goes to the magician, he carries out magic and answers the woman that the reason why the man is often late is that he is always with another woman (Ahmad 186). This answer can cause a lot of drama and the consequent of this is the innocent family breaking due to what the magician said. This is a very negative consequent and the reason is that it is against the rules of Islam for a family that had got together and married to divorce. Magic is disregarded in the Muslim community and the reason for this is that it may lead to death. This is in a situation where a person ailing may opt to go to a magician rather than going to a hospital to receive professional help (Daniels 96). When the person goes to the magician who carries out acts of sorcery he may create an illusion in the mind of the sick person and make him or her think that he will get well. The sick person thus goes home assured that he will feel better. However, rather than getting better, the person gets more ill. In worse situations, the person ends up dying. Some other important information to bear is the manner through which to break a magic spell. The most advisable way of getting rid of a lingering spell is by reciting specific lines from the Quran (Dilleyb 124). It is stated that Allah gets to have mercy on the victim and consequently the spell is raised. The victim in the manner that a specific prophet, Sallallahu Alayhe Wa Sallam words them should specifically word these specific verses. The reason for this is that a prophet is the means through which Allah reaches out to his congregation. The other important aspect to consider with regard to this is the manner in which muslims protect themselves from any magical prospects that may be directed towards them. The Islam religion is very strict with regard to the manner in which people react to people that tend to show or rather perform magic (Esposito 97). The best way through which the Quran advices on protecting oneself from magic is by fasting. During the month of Ramathan, the people ought to carry out serious fasting where they are not supposed to eat (Houston 164). Through this fasting, it is difficult for anyone performing magic to reach to these people. The reason for this is the fact that when fasting, Allah is more appreciative of the efforts that the people make with regard to their faith. Fasting is important to Muslims for it ensures that they maintain their faith. Another way through which Muslims can protect themselves from any form of magic or spell cast upon them is by ensuring that they live dignified lives. There are those Muslims that state that they are faithful to the Islam religion and they go ahead to live two types of lives (Sijpesteijn 89). The two types of lives is where they practice religion on the given Sabbath day but on other days of the week they are out carrying out activities that are not pleasing to the mighty Allah. If such a person exists, Allah does not protect him during times of temptations to carry out or engage in magic through any given manner (Damina 68). These people often fall into temptations for they do not respect God and the consequent effect of this is Allah having or rather bestowing wrath upon them. It is thus important for a Muslim to show trust and faith in Allah so that he may in turn treat him or her in his favor. The other manner through which people can receive favor from Allah is by reciting the Surah of al-Baqarah. Through this recitation, there is the assurance that Allah will spare all the people that may be at fault. The reason as to why Allah forgives those at fault is because they have shown interest in the teachings of the mighty Allah and consequently there is a high possibility of these people getting redemption (Diller 59). According to the read, the Muslim asks Allah to forgive him for the sins that he may have previously committed and consequently he or she is freed from any form of harm that may come from magic. Socerers are known for carrying out high levels of magic. Some of the magic that these people perform is not allowed not only in the Islam religion but also in the general social environment as a whole (Phillips 86). It is imperative to note that the people who practice these forms of magic should be banned from society not from a religious view but from the societal view that ought to be very strict with the manner it treats people in the society. Conclusion Magic is a concept that started very many years ago and has been practiced in many societies. In the contemporary world, magic has continued being performed and the reason for this is that people have made a source of income. This is a source of income for people that do not intend on carrying out serious work. The Islamic community is one that does not support any form of magic performed. This lack of support has not started in recent days but has always existed and is present in the Quran and thus ought to be respected. Work Cited Ahmad, Ibrahim, Sharon Siddique, and Hussain Yasmin. Readings on Islam in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012. Print. Damian, Sterling. The Islamic Religion. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2013. Print. Daniels, Matilda. Crisis Management. New York: McGraw Hill Graw Hill Publishers Dilley, Roy. Islamic and Caste Knowledge Among Haalpulaaren in Senegal: Between Mosque and Turmite Mound. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012. Print. Esposito, John L. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 2009. Print. Houston, Timothy. Magic and Repercussions. New York: Palgrave McMmillan, 2012. Print. Phillips, Marcus. Changes in Religions. London: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. Savage-Smith, Emilie Magic and Divination in Early Islam. Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate, 2009. Print. Sijpesteijn, Petra, and Lennart Sundelin. Papyrology and the History of Early Islamic Egypt. Leiden: Brill, 2010. Print Spencer, Meagan. Magicians in the 21st Century. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More