On black magic and sorcery
On black magic and sorcery
First sermon
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He has ordered goodness and righteousness and forbidden evil. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship, except for Allah alone without any partners or peers.
I also witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. He is the Best of His Creation, the Closest to Him. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
O Servants of Allah, I urge myself first and all of you to obey Allah and be submissive to Him. Verily Allah, the Exalted is He, has declared the truth in His holy Book: "and whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out and will provide for him from where he does not expect." (Attalaq: 2-3).
Dear Muslims,
Islam has allowed that which achieves worshippers' interests sooner or later, here in this life or Hereafter. Thus it has calls upon them to use their intellect and has forbidden them from anything that may harm them. Our Master Muhammad pbuh said, "there should be neither harming nor reciprocating of harm."
Among the things, which the Almighty Allah has prohibited are black magic, fortune-telling and superstition because they pose harm and are intended to manipulate people's mind. Allah's Messenger pbuh said, "avoid the seven destructive things." That is, those practices, which are sources of destruction to whoever is engaged in them. He pbuh mentioned black magic as one of these because of its serious danger. It was described as a cause of misery and agent of destruction.
The Exalted is He says, "and the magician strives not (no matter) where he goes” (Taha: 69). In the same regard, our Prophet pbuh said, "he who visits a diviner and asks him about anything, his prayers extending to forty nights shall not be accepted." This means he shall not get any reward out of it.
Those fortune-tellers claim knowledge of the unknown, whereas it is for none but Allah the Almighty to know that which is unknown, as He says “Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah" (Annaml: 65).
Dear worshippers of Allah,
Going to magicians and fortune-tellers is a grave fault, giving way to deceive people and consume their wealth unjustly. It is a path to evil that dislocates households, severs ties of kinship, nurtures animosity, weakens Iman (faith) and spreads utter illusions.
Amongst the erroneous practices is consulting magicians, clairvoyants and soothsayers for solving problems like recovering lost items or finding someone missing or even worse for causing harm to people by separating between a husband and wife, friends and siblings. Woe to those who do that, the fact that prompted our prophet pbuh to renounce them when he said, "he is not of us who practices magic or seeks magicians."
O Servants of Allah,
Please be aware that approaching fortune-tellers and magicians does only harm and never does good. In fact solving problems lies in what our religion has permitted by following the legal and legitimate means and relying on Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He the Almighty says, “and whoever relies upon Allah-then He is sufficient for him” (Attalaq: 3). That is, whoever has trust in Allah shall be enriched and he who adheres to Allah's ordinance shall be protected.
Therefore, anyone, who embarks upon a matter, needs to return to Allah and pray Istikhara (seeking Divine guidance) as well as seek counsel from other people. Then he can rely on Allah, the All-Knowing. So those who face family disagreements let them take positive measures to resolve them and never get down to magic or superstition, as Allah says, "and settlement is best" (Annisaa: 128). And if someone has seen his trade dwindling, he needs to find acceptable ways to make it profitable again.
Further, those who fell ill must consult a doctor for treatment and pray to Allah to alleviate their sufferings. In the following Hadith, Allah the Almighty permits treatment and urges us to seek healing: "make use of medical treatment, for Allah has not made a disease without appointing a remedy for it."
Dear worshippers,
The sensible man is he who arms himself with faith and certainty, and let himself be guided by his intellect. Neither should he heed myths, nor should he yield to illusions or turn to magicians, soothsayers and fortune-tellers. A man of intellect and wisdom knows that Allah alone can bestow benefit or harm, and He alone can give or withhold as He says, “but they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah” (Al Baqara: 102). He also says, "and if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him. And if He touches you with good - then He is over all things competent” (Al Anaam: 17).
Truly, it is a great thing to empower ourselves with the recitation of the holy Quran. In it, we find remedy, blessing, guidance and mercy. Our Lord says, "And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers" (Al Israa: 82). In the same regard, our Guide, Muhammad pbuh said, "recite Surat Al Baqara, for to take recourse to it is a blessing and to give it up is a cause of grief, and the magicians cannot confront it."
In a related note, observing Dhikr and Istighfar during periods of the night and at the ends of the day brings worshippers further under the care of Allah the Almighty as He says, "O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance And exalt Him morning and afternoon" (Al Ahzab: 41). He also says, "unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured" (Arraad: 28).
Indeed regular rememberance of Allah is a protection for us and security. Our Prophet says, "whoever says (upon leaving his house), '[I begin with the Name of Allah; I trust in Allah; there is no altering of conditions but by the Power of Allah],' it will be said to him, 'you are guided, defended and protected.' The devil will go far away from him."
In another Hadith, Allah's Messenger pbuh said, "be mindful of Allah and He will protect you." So by observing Allah’s orders and avoiding his prohibitions, He will protect us and strengthen our faith in this world.
Bearing this in mind, may Allah save us from every temptation and evil and spare us all that is bad. We also plead with Him to help us obey Him, His Messenger Muhammad pbuh and those He has decreed on us to obey in compliance with His orders: "O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you." (Annisaa: 59).
May Allah direct us all to the blessings of the Glorious Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger pbuh and benefit us all in whatever is in them.
I say this and ask Allah the Great, the Most Honoured for forgiveness for me, you and all the Muslims for every sin, so invoke Him for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Second sermon
Praise be to Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Him, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, may the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his pure family, his Companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
Servants of Allah,
Please know that you are asked to obey Him, the Almighty, as it ought to be by observing Him in private and in public and know that all good or evil which may be revealed through magic, fortunetelling, astrology or inference from omens and stars is none but mere lies. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said “O Allah's Messenger, the kahins (fortune-tellers) used to tell us about things (unseen) and we found them to be true." To this, he pbuh replied, 'that is a word pertaining to truth which a jinn snatches and throws into the ear of his friend, and makes an addition of one hundred lies to it'."
Knowing this, it is incumbent upon one to keep away from such prohibitions as palm-reading, astrology, and asking soothsayers.
Bear in mind that you are asked to offer prayer and greetings upon our most noble Prophet pbuh for Allah says, "indeed, Allah and His angels sends blessing upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace." (Al Ahzab: 56).
On the same matter, the Prophet pbuh said, "for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah." He also said, "nothing turns back the Decree except supplication."
May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad pbuh, his family and all his Companions. May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and his wives the mothers of the believers, as well as those who will follow them in piety till the Day of Judgment.
Oh Allah fill our hearts with the certainty of Your faith, guide us to put trust in You, protect us, watch over us, and deliver us from all evil and evil-doers, oh Lord of the Worlds.
O Allah, we implore You at this instant not to let a sin unforgiven, a distress unrelieved, an illness unhealed or a handicapped without relief, a dead without mercy or a debt unsettled. Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.
O Allah, may we ask You to help us with what gets us closer to Paradise and furthers us from hell. O Allah we seek Your grace to admit us, our parents, whoever has done a favour to us and all Muslims to Your Paradise.
May Allah grant success and continued good health to our leader HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. May Allah also ensure success to his Deputy, HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and provide strength and assistance to his brothers, Their Highness The Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
O Allah, forgive all of the Muslims, men and women, living and dead, and make blessings follow us and them. May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Maktoum and all their brothers, the Late UAE Sheikhs. O Lord, forgive and show mercy to our parents, relatives and whoever has done a favour to us.
O Allah, we pray to You to grant Your forgiveness to who built this mosque and to his or her parents as well as to anyone who gave to this mosque. O Allah, we also supplicate to You to forgive whoever built a mosque where Your name is remembered.
O Allah, make this gathering one of compassion, and our dispersion after it one that is infallible. O Allah, do not let anyone amongst us deprived, desperate or unhappy.
We pray to Allah, the Most Gracious, to preserve the UAE from all temptations, both apparent and hidden, and continue blessing the UAE and all Muslim countries with safety and security.
"Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded." (Annahl: 90).
O servants of Allah, remember Allah and He will remember you. Be grateful for His benevolence He will increase His blessings to you. Allah, the Most High, says, "and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do." (Al Ankaboot: 45).
Translation
Mostapha El Mouloudi
Note: The English translation of the Quran and Hadith is an interpretation of their meanings, and does not have the status of their original Arabic version.
Page | 4