A talk on the obsessions that people mistake for sorcery or jinn.

The Shaykh : But I wanted to say that people today have been afflicted with many illusions, such that when one of them is struck by something, even if it is a natural matter, they imagine that there is sorcery in it, or that there is a jinn possessing them, preventing the Muslim man or woman from what they desire. This happens frequently. Just yesterday, in fact last night, two women called me. The first was the mother of three daughters. In her introduction, she said, "I want to present my problem to you. Please, go ahead." She said, "I have three daughters who are receiving marriage proposals, but things do not go as they should, and of course, this is not their destiny. Naturally, the mother, as a mother, is frustrated with this situation, so she thinks there is sorcery, or writing, or something like that. She asks for treatment from this method in which some people specialize today, such as writing or communicating with one who is thought to be possessed by a jinn, and so on. In truth, I took my time with her and explained to her that this is a natural phenomenon, like 'Oh, daughter of the free,' especially since I had to ask her, 'How old is the eldest of the three daughters?' She said, 'Twenty-seven.' And the youngest? She said, 'About seventeen.' I said, 'This situation is a natural one, especially since young people today are busy with studies and work, and they are delaying marriage, and with this kind of study that Allah has not sent down any authority for.' In conclusion, she was finally convinced by me that the situation is natural and has no connection to the matter of sorcery and jinn, and so on. A little while later, a girl called me to ask me—I think she meant Dr. Adel in Zarqa—asking me, 'What is your opinion of him? There is a person who treats some people who think they are afflicted with something of the touch.' I said to her immediately, 'Are you not the daughter of the woman who was speaking with me a few minutes ago?' She was surprised, of course. She denied it. I took the opportunity to speak with her as well, and in conclusion, I delved deeply with her in questioning: What does this man do? And here is the point now: Does it mean that if a woman goes to him, he extends his hand to her? She said, 'He places his hand on her forehead.' I said, 'I, this is not permissible.' She said, 'Then he recites.' The answer is that it is from above, what? The garment, meaning the covering or something similar. I said, 'In any case, I cannot answer you with a negative or positive answer unless I know the truth of this man's work. Do you know it or not?' She said, 'I do not know.' I said to her, 'I have no answer, and peace be upon you.' The point now is that there is an obsession regarding this aspect, even though it is in fact a reality, and they have expanded upon it, and this obsession has been exploited by many people who want to fish in muddy waters, and they have made it a profession. Even some women engage in this profession and deal with reading some verses, and they may not be good at reciting them; these are matters that are the very essence of charlatanism. And therefore, what should be the position of the Muslim regarding this phenomenon is to believe in what was mentioned earlier, that a jinn may possess a human, and that the treatment of this problem is only by reciting the Qur'an. So if one is afflicted with something of this, he should ask about the shaykhs who engage in recitation within the limits of the Shari'ah rulings and do not expand beyond that. Some of them use oil, and some of them use water that has been poured on a vessel written with some verses, and unfortunately, some of the old and modern scholars issue fatwas on this, but I do not find for them any precedent from the Salaf in that.