Is it shirk (associating partners with Allah) to hang wolf fangs around children's necks for protection from jinn?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Some people make vows and slaughter animals for other than Allah, and they hold beliefs regarding the graves of some righteous people. Yet, they hang wolf fangs around the necks of their young children to protect them from jinn, believing that the fangs provide such protection. Is this considered shirk (associating partners with Allah) or not?
The Shaykh : As for their first act, which is slaughtering at graves to draw near to the occupant of the grave through this slaughter, it is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion. This is because slaughter is a form of worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and diverting any type of worship to other than Allah is major shirk (associating partners with Allah).
As for the second act, which is hanging wolf fangs on or around the necks of their children in order to ward off jinn, this is minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is because they have established a cause that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has not made a cause, neither in reality nor in the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). This is a type of minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). It is obligatory for them to repent to Allah with sincere repentance, and to remove these fangs from the necks of their children. Nothing wards off the harm of jinn except what Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has made a cause for warding it off, such as reciting Ayat al-Kursi (the Verse of the Throne). Whoever recites it at night, a guardian from Allah will remain with him, and no Shaytan (Satan) will approach him until he rises. And such as when a person says upon entering a dwelling: "I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created." If he says that, nothing will harm him until he leaves that dwelling.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : As for their first act, which is slaughtering at graves to draw near to the occupant of the grave through this slaughter, it is major shirk (associating partners with Allah) that expels one from the religion. This is because slaughter is a form of worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and diverting any type of worship to other than Allah is major shirk (associating partners with Allah).
As for the second act, which is hanging wolf fangs on or around the necks of their children in order to ward off jinn, this is minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is because they have established a cause that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has not made a cause, neither in reality nor in the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). This is a type of minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). It is obligatory for them to repent to Allah with sincere repentance, and to remove these fangs from the necks of their children. Nothing wards off the harm of jinn except what Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has made a cause for warding it off, such as reciting Ayat al-Kursi (the Verse of the Throne). Whoever recites it at night, a guardian from Allah will remain with him, and no Shaytan (Satan) will approach him until he rises. And such as when a person says upon entering a dwelling: "I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created." If he says that, nothing will harm him until he leaves that dwelling.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.