The Ship that will never sink (part 8) By Farzana Qamar The actual concept of polytheism started during the period of Prophet Nuh, when he sailed far away with his family and a few believers leaving behind his son who was also among them. Only those who boarded the ship were the true monotheists as they sought protection and help from Allah alone. ‘Ar-Ruqa'a' means incantations and magic spells, ‘Tama'im' means wearing an amulet to protect the wearer from the effects of the evil eye and ‘Tiwala' means bewitchment, which is to make a person fall in love with another. These three things are forms of Shirk without any exception. According to a belief ‘Tiwala' is a type of bewitchment that makes the woman more beloved to her husband and vice versa. This is a type of magic which is Shirk and hence Kufr. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent a messenger to tell the people, “Let not any necklace of bowstring, or any other kind of necklace remain on the necks of your camels, except that it is cut off.” (Bukhari and Muslim) The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) also said, “Verily ‘Ar-Ruqa'a', ‘Tama`im' and ‘Tiwalah' are all forms of Shirk.” (Ahmad and Abu Dawood) In another narration the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever hangs (trusts) something is entrusted to it.” (Ahmed and Tirmidi) The word “something” includes all things in general. Thus, every person who hangs something to protect himself or ward off evil is entrusted to it. If a servant is entrusted to other than Allah, the Almighty then verily loss is sure to surround him from all sides. A servant's honor, success, prosperity, good intent and deeds are saved only when his attachment is to Allah, the Most High. If ‘Tama'im' is used for the fulfillment of some benefit or to remove some harm then this is against the Islamic legislation of the divine decree of Allah. If one hangs the head of an animal like a gazelle, or a horse shoe, or black shreds of paper, or charms or amulets in the form of an eye believing that they are only a means of bringing about protection or removing affliction then it will be considered as minor Shirk. Some of the Salaf allowed the ‘Tama'im' which had Qur'an written in them but others prohibited it. The companions used to hate ‘Tama`im' and they used to remove them (wherever they found them) – whether they were from the Qur'an or from other sources. If the ‘Tama'im' consists of verses from the Qur'an and is worn when one enters the toilet to perform Istinja' (cleansing the private parts with water after urination or defecation), or while having sexual intercourse and so on, he will be committing the sin of disrespecting the Qur'an. To be on the safe side one must avoid all types of amulets. As far as Ruqya is concerned it has been given a specific exception as mentioned in the Hadith. “There is nothing wrong with Ruqya as long as it is not shirk.” (Muslim) This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed Ruqya and ordered others to do so if need be. This proves that not all types of Ruqya are shirk. “There is a consensus among the scholars that Ruqa'a is permissible when they satisfy three conditions: 1. To be with Allah's words or His names and attributes; 2. To believe that they do not have effect by themselves but by Allah; 3. Words must be clearly understood. The best way to heal one by Ruqya would be by reciting Surah Al-Fatiha, Surah Ikhlas and Al-Muawwidhat(last two surahs from the Qur'an), Ayat ul-Kursi and authentic Duas taught by our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Allaahumma Rabb al-naas, adhhib il-ba's, washfi anta al-Shaafi laa shifaa'a illa shifaa'uka shifaa'an laa yughaadir saqaman (O Allah, Rabb of mankind, remove the harm and heal him, for You are the Healer and there is no healing except Your healing, with a healing which does not leave any disease behind).” This may be repeated three times or more. (Abu Dawud) Allah may heal the sick person and the person affected by Sihr and others, without any Ruqya and without any action on the part of other people, because He is able to do all things, and He is wise in all that He does. Allah said, “Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!' and it is!” (Qur'an, 36:82) __
