The Ruling on the Practice of Striking with Daggers
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The Shaykh : What is the ruling in the Sunnah regarding those who strike themselves with daggers? And what is the explanation for the claim that the practitioner is not harmed?
Regarding the ruling in the Sunnah on those who strike themselves with daggers, I do not recall any narrated Sunnah on this matter. However, without a doubt, when the ruling of Islam is the governing and effective authority, no room should be left at all for the practitioners of these acts to mislead people with such nonsense. They do this claiming that these are signs of their nearness to their Lord and their affiliation to their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The truth is that even if it were assumed that they have a material lineage to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is innocent of them, as he said (peace be upon him):Sahih Muslim 2699a, and he said: . My true allies are the righteous, and these people do not fear Allah; rather, they disobey Allah by displaying acts that Allah has not prescribed, claiming that they are evidence of their righteousness. Moreover, even if this act were truly a righteous and prescribed act, it would not be permissible for them to publicize such acts, because they do them for show, hypocrisy, and display. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 2986; meaning on the Day of Resurrection. So I do not know, as we said, any explicit text in the Sunnah regarding these people. Their case is left to the opinion of the ruler, who should impose a discretionary punishment sufficient to discipline them and deter them from displaying these acts.
As for the explanation asked about, which is that he is not harmed, this comes down to the fact that the group has practiced this vile trade and knows, as it was said in the past, "how the shoulder is eaten." They stab themselves in places that are not fatal. Therefore, they insist that no one but themselves should perform the stabbing; they do not allow anyone to stab them in the place they choose. Why? Because they know that there are places where if one of them were stabbed, he would die. But they stab themselves in places that do not contain the intestines, do not contain the heart, and contain only the soft flesh they refer to; these are not vital points for a human being.
Furthermore, they do not use any type of weapon, but rather a specific weapon with a very fine, pointed tip so that it does not tear the flesh, but initially pierces it with a very small hole. Then this hole widens due to the tapering thickness of the dagger they use to stab themselves. Many people before us, both in the past and recently, have tried to allow someone other than themselves to stab them, but they do not listen or respond, because they know, as we said, "how the shoulder is eaten."
In summary, these matters come down to training and strength of heart, and nothing else.
Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... regarding the topic, a person came ... .
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : ... I said to him: I asked him a question: I said to him: Do you pray? ... and his answer was ... .
The Shaykh : You did well.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : ... regarding the spears that the Abyssinians used to play with in the mosque of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it true that they are the same daggers known today?
The Shaykh : No, the spears are known for what they are.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : By Allah, Professor, this is difficult to define, and it does not lead to a major consequence; that is, when it first appeared, Allah knows best. The important thing is for me to know that this is an impermissible matter, and that it is not permissible for Muslims to approve of it; because it is certainly not one of the acts that honors its practitioners or brings them closer to Allah. On the contrary, it disfigures Islam and Muslims!
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : And who told you that they do not burn?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : The story of Ibn Taymiyyah is authentic; he narrated it about himself.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : In "Majmu'at al-Rasail wa al-Masail," in "Risalat al-Bata'ihiyyah."
Yes.
The questioner : ... the Fatwas.
The questioner : The Fatwas, volume eleven, in the chapter on Sufism.
Regarding the ruling in the Sunnah on those who strike themselves with daggers, I do not recall any narrated Sunnah on this matter. However, without a doubt, when the ruling of Islam is the governing and effective authority, no room should be left at all for the practitioners of these acts to mislead people with such nonsense. They do this claiming that these are signs of their nearness to their Lord and their affiliation to their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The truth is that even if it were assumed that they have a material lineage to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is innocent of them, as he said (peace be upon him):
he who is slow-paced in doing good deeds, his (high) lineage does not make him go ahead.
مَن بطَّأ به عمله لم يُسرِعْ به نسبُهVerily, the family of so-and-so are not my allies; my allies are only the righteous, whoever they are and wherever they are
ألا إنَّ آل بني فلان ليسوا بأوليائي ، إنما أوليائي المتَّقون مَن كانوا وحيث كانواIf anyone wants to have his deeds widely publicised, Allah will publicise (his humiliation). And if anyone makes a hypocritical display (of his deeds) Allah will make a display of him.
مَن سمَّع سمَّعَ الله به ، ومَن رَاءَى رَاءَى الله بهAs for the explanation asked about, which is that he is not harmed, this comes down to the fact that the group has practiced this vile trade and knows, as it was said in the past, "how the shoulder is eaten." They stab themselves in places that are not fatal. Therefore, they insist that no one but themselves should perform the stabbing; they do not allow anyone to stab them in the place they choose. Why? Because they know that there are places where if one of them were stabbed, he would die. But they stab themselves in places that do not contain the intestines, do not contain the heart, and contain only the soft flesh they refer to; these are not vital points for a human being.
Furthermore, they do not use any type of weapon, but rather a specific weapon with a very fine, pointed tip so that it does not tear the flesh, but initially pierces it with a very small hole. Then this hole widens due to the tapering thickness of the dagger they use to stab themselves. Many people before us, both in the past and recently, have tried to allow someone other than themselves to stab them, but they do not listen or respond, because they know, as we said, "how the shoulder is eaten."
In summary, these matters come down to training and strength of heart, and nothing else.
Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... regarding the topic, a person came ... .
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : ... I said to him: I asked him a question: I said to him: Do you pray? ... and his answer was ... .
The Shaykh : You did well.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : ... regarding the spears that the Abyssinians used to play with in the mosque of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Is it true that they are the same daggers known today?
The Shaykh : No, the spears are known for what they are.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : By Allah, Professor, this is difficult to define, and it does not lead to a major consequence; that is, when it first appeared, Allah knows best. The important thing is for me to know that this is an impermissible matter, and that it is not permissible for Muslims to approve of it; because it is certainly not one of the acts that honors its practitioners or brings them closer to Allah. On the contrary, it disfigures Islam and Muslims!
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : And who told you that they do not burn?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : The story of Ibn Taymiyyah is authentic; he narrated it about himself.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : In "Majmu'at al-Rasail wa al-Masail," in "Risalat al-Bata'ihiyyah."
Yes.
The questioner : ... the Fatwas.
The questioner : The Fatwas, volume eleven, in the chapter on Sufism.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.