The discussion of the issue of summoning spirits, which has replaced magnetic hypnosis.

The Shaykh : Speak, Abu Malik, on the occasion of a question that came regarding the widespread misguidance of seeking the help of the jinn. So you should state the opinion on the subject and the truth by which we all hold ourselves accountable to Allah. My speech reached the point where I said that in this era, the first phenomenon to appear that is related to humans seeking the help of the jinn was the phenomenon of magnetic hypnosis. Then it became so that now we do not hear about hypnosis. Why? Because a new misguidance followed it. I do not want to say that it is the one we are living in now, but that misguidance is summoning spirits. My discussion reached the point where I said that I had read many of the studies written in this field, and especially the book by Tantawi Juwairy, that interpreter, with that strange interpretation. It was the first interpretation to appear in the world of publications: an interpretation of the Noble Qur'an with pictures, shapes, and colors of images. Did you see it?
Abu Malik: No, I have not seen it.

The Shaykh : The point is that this man is considered a contemporary philosopher among the Muslims, meaning, and the truth is...
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh : Perhaps. The point is that he wrote a book titled "Summoning Spirits" or "The Spirits," a large volume. It appears that he believed in their reality and that summoning them benefits Islam and Muslims, bringing about events that are not our concern now. The point is the experience that I witnessed with my own eyes. Based on what I had read and heard, I was eager to attend one of those sessions where it is said that spirits are summoned. One day, a student of knowledge from Latakia came to me. I was in my office in my room in the Public Library. I think you have seen the room, the dark room where the sun is not visible. But I praise Allah that despite that, He favored us with this room. Praise be to Allah. The point is, he came to me. I had gotten to know him when I was traveling in Syria in the path of calling to the Book and the Sunnah. He asked me, "What is your opinion on summoning spirits?" So I gave him my opinion that this is a new, modern form of deception. He said to me, "Do you want to attend a session?" I said that is what I am eager for. He said, "My relative, whose name is Haqqi Bey, has a session every week or more." So I agreed with him that we would go. We actually went. A room, perhaps the size of this one. Haqqi Bey entered, greeted us, and sat down. I do not know what the rest did. He sat behind a round table with a plate on it engraved with numbers. Then a second person followed and sat to his right, and a third sat to his left. Then a woman entered, wearing the full, proper Islamic hijab, so that nothing of her was visible at all, not even her face. She sat facing Haqqi Bey. I later learned from my companion that she was his wife. Then he began to establish a presence in the Sufi manner: "There is no god but Allah, there is no god but Allah," and the glasses, all of them with one voice. Then the lights were turned off, and the light there was very dim, and this is part of the perfection. Then there was silence, and suddenly we were surprised by Haqqi Bey saying, "And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Welcome, Doctor!! We do not see anything." I knew that this session of deception had begun. Then the story continued with the one who was to his left. We call him in Syria a "Makoulak." What did he say? "Welcome, Doctor." Meaning, the second one welcomed the doctor. Then after a little while, after Haqqi Bey thanked the so-called doctor, saying, "By Allah, your prescriptions and treatments are successful, and therefore the demand for us is great, and our room is full of patients," and so on. Then a woman entered, preceded by an employee of his, and she was carrying a small child. So this employee presented a prescription according to the system, having written the name of the sick child. He said, "Haqqi Bey is speaking to the so-called spirit." He said, "We have a child of such-and-such age, living in such-and-such area," and so on. We were surprised when Haqqi Bey, when he spoke to the so-called spirit, said the child's age is nine months. And the mother jumped up, saying, "No, Doctor, he is eleven months old." What did this Makoulak say to her? "Be quiet, I know better, or the Doctor!!" She was poor, she was crushed, she folded in on herself, and she was silent. The point is, on the table there was a cup like the cups used for Turkish coffee, upside down. Haqqi Bey placed his finger on the bottom of the cup from above, and his wife was opposite him, so we do not see anything but this cup moving back and forth. What do people imagine? That this jinn or the doctor's spirit is the one moving it. He passes the cup over these numbers in this alphabetical manner, back and forth, and so on. He stops and writes on a so-called prescription. And so, three or four times, going back and forth, and so on. He writes the prescription and gives it to the person who came before him. He gives it to the employee who came before the woman, then he returns and gives it to the woman. Another patient enters, and so on and so forth. After an hour of time, the scientific session ended, and the lights were turned on. Poor people who are taken in by appearances.
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh: It has various forms, all of which are manifestations of deception, but I will describe the one I witnessed. The point is, a student of knowledge from Latakia came to me while I was in my office in my room in the Zahiriyyah Library. I think you have seen the room; it is the dark room where the sun does not shine. However, I praise Allah that He granted us this room, praise be to Allah. The point is, I had gotten to know him when I was traveling around Syria in the cause of calling to the Book and the Sunnah. He asked me, "What is your opinion on summoning spirits?" I gave him my opinion that this is a new, modern form of deception. He said to me, "Do you want to attend a session?" I said that is not what I am looking for. He said, "My relative, whose name is Haqqi Bey, has a session every week or more." So we agreed that we would go. We actually went. It was a room about the size of this one. Haqqi Bey entered, greeted us, and sat down. I don't know what the ratio was, but he sat behind a round table with a plate on it engraved with numbers. Then a second person entered and sat to his right, and a third person entered and sat to his left. Then a woman entered wearing the full, proper Islamic hijab, so that nothing of her was visible at all, not even her face, and she sat facing Haqqi Bey. I later learned from my companion that she was his wife. Then he began to hold a gathering in the Sufi style, saying "There is no god but Allah, there is no god but Allah," and everyone was wearing glasses, all reciting in unison. Then the lights were turned off, and the light there was very dim, which was part of the complete setup. Then there was silence, and suddenly we were surprised by Haqqi Bey saying, "Peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you. Welcome, Doctor!! We don't see anything." I knew that this deceptive session had begun. Then the story continued with the one who was on his left, whom we call in Syria a "Makoulak." What did he say? "Welcome, Doctor," meaning the second one greeted the doctor. Then, after a while, after Haqqi Bey thanked the so-called doctor, saying, "By the will of Allah, your prescriptions and treatments are successful, and therefore the demand for us is high, and our room is full of patients," and so on. Then a woman entered, preceded by one of his employees, and she was carrying a small child. This employee presented a prescription slip according to the procedure, having written the name of the sick child. Haqqi Bey was talking to the so-called spirit, saying, "We have a child of such-and-such age, living in such-and-such area," and so on. We were surprised when Haqqi Bey told the so-called spirit that the child was nine months old, and the mother jumped up saying, "No, Doctor, he is eleven months old." What did this Makoulak say to her? "Be quiet, I know better, or the Doctor!!" She was a poor soul; she was crushed, curled up on herself, and fell silent. The point is, there was a cup on the table like the cups used for Turkish coffee, upside down. Haqqi Bey placed his finger on the bottom of the cup from above, and his wife was opposite him, so we could only see this cup moving back and forth. What do people imagine? That this jinn or the doctor's spirit is the one moving it. He passes the cup over these numbers in this alphabetical way, back and forth, and so on. He stops and writes on a so-called prescription slip. And so, three or four times, going back and forth, and so on. He writes the prescription and gives it to the person who came before him. He gives it to the employee who came before the woman, then returns and gives it to the woman. Another patient enters, and so on and so forth. After about an hour, the "scientific" session ended, and the lights were turned on. Poor people who are deceived by appearances.
Abu Malik: Is this Haqqi Bey a doctor or not?

The Shaykh : By Allah, Professor, I do not know details about him except that I used to hear about him that he summons spirits. And this brother came to me and took me to him for the first time. The important thing is that the group of attendees, may Allah reward you and may Allah reward you with good, and they would praise him, meaning. As for me, I was almost bursting with anger because I believe that all of this is deception upon deception. It appears that the man read in my facial features that there was no such welcome and gratitude. He said to me, "What is your opinion?" I did not know. He said...The Shaykh : The Professor did not know. I said to him, "I have a question, if you allow." He said to me, "Go ahead." I said to him, "We heard you reciting the greeting and replying to the greeting with a loud voice, and we did not see anyone who gave the greeting." He said, "This is a greeting..." The point is, he said to me, "Go ahead." I said to him, "We heard you reciting a greeting or replying to a greeting. To whom are you replying to the greeting?" He said, "This is the spirit of the doctor who was present and gave the greeting!!" I said to him, "Strange. We did not hear a greeting given. How did you hear it?" He said, "This is the secret of the profession. If you practiced this science, you would have a sense different from this sense." He reminded me of the Sufis. The point is, I philosophized a little with him using modern logic, that the hearing of your ears is different from the hearing of ours from this speech. So this was his answer. I returned to the religious aspect. I said to him, "O Doctor, we are a group of Muslims, and as Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Qur'an, even if not in the appropriate context: And the Messenger completed the explanation: We have knowledge, as you know, that when a person dies, his soul exits his body. So either it is a righteous soul, in which case his grave is a garden from the gardens of Paradise, or a wretched one, God forbid, in which case it is a pit from the pits of the Fire. Then in some hadiths, the souls of the martyrs are in the crops of green birds, hanging from the fruits of Paradise. The souls of the righteous believers are in the bellies of green birds, and so on. And that the Muslim, when he is placed in his grave, a window is opened for him from which he looks out to his place in Paradise, and he comes from its spirit and its fragrance and its bliss, and he continues to enjoy it until the Resurrection. And if it is the opposite, he sees his place in the Fire and comes from its blaze and its smoke until the Resurrection as well. If it is a righteous soul, by Allah, it will not be pleased to return to the world again, if this were within its reach and its ability. And if it is a wretched one, it is imprisoned in the grave, suffering until the Day they are resurrected. So how do you believe that this spirit, first of all, is the spirit of...

The questioner : Peace be upon you

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Is this your grandson?
Abu Malik: This is my first grandson.

The Shaykh : What Allah willed. This is the first time we see Malik with you in such a full session. How are you?

The questioner : Praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : Good?

The questioner : Praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : Welcome. The witness, a professor, told him, “If this spirit is righteous, it will not attend our gathering at all, because it is in eternal bliss and will not accept a substitute for it. And if it is wicked, it is in the torment of the grave. This is not permissible in the Shari'ah.” This silenced the man, and he found no way out except to say, “By Allah, Professor, this is a medical session. We have another session next week, a scientific one. If you attend, I am ready to answer you.” We told him, “Let it be so.” He came on the appointed day, which was a Sunday, and I remember it well. Glory be to Allah, something came up that kept me from attending that day. It was a time of upheaval in Syria, both militarily and educationally. At that time, you may know our brother Abd al-Rahman al-Bani. Do you know him personally, I think?
Abu Malik: Yes.

The Shaykh : He is a noble man, and his background is with the Muslim Brotherhood, but he adopted the Salafi call with strength and activity. He is a very polite and virtuous man. I greeted him. What do you call him these days? He is in charge of educational supervision...
Abu Malik: Inspection, I suppose.

The Shaykh : Inspection, well done. He called me. I am currently tasked with something, so let us seize this opportunity. These are religious education books. You know that these books have existed since the Turkish Ottoman rule, and they are based on the Hanbali school. They contain things, as we understood from you, of jurisprudential issues that contradict the Sunnah, and weak and fabricated hadiths, and so on. I now have the authority to make amendments to these books, so let us hold sessions and take advantage of the opportunity. I found that meeting with this man was better than going to him, and there was in that a good we did not anticipate. My companion came on the appointed day to go to Hakki Bey, so I excused myself and told him, “Excuse me to the so-called Hakki Bey, and Allah willing, we will attend another session.” The witness, Professor, went at the appointed time, and if no one was in the house, all the lights were off, and he rang the bell, but no one answered at all. The next day, he told me the story. I said, “This is our luck. You will go to him and ignore that I was not with you, and you will surprise him by saying, ‘We came to you according to the appointment and did not find you.’” He did so, and this will reveal the truth of these sessions: that they are either sessions run by the devils of mankind and jinn who actually cooperate, or the devils of mankind are sufficient and blessed. He went to him until the story ended. I apologize for having taken up your time, but there is a lesson for whoever takes heed. He said to him, “O Shaykh, we came according to the appointment and did not find anyone in the house.” Of course, we came to deceive him, as we had been promised with him. He said to him, “Go away. You brought me a big Wahhabi who does not love the Messenger of Allah.” He said, “I seek refuge in Allah. What is this talk? I have known this man for many years, and he travels through the lands: Homs, Hama, Aleppo, Latakia, Idlib, and so on. All his gatherings are sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). What do you know, and what is this accusation?” He said to him, “After he left, I summoned the spirit and asked it about this man, and it answered me that this is a Wahhabi who does not love the Messenger of Allah and does not send blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and so on!” Is this not the work of the devils? Without a doubt, it is actual cooperation, meaning this spirit may be a devil from the devils of the jinn, and they help them and mislead them from the right path. I was saying: stages of magnetic hypnosis, summoning spirits. Now, communication with the jinn, and we do not know what fourth misguidance will come out of us. Please proceed.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And you as well.

The questioner : To continue what I mentioned about your talk regarding the jinn, we often hear these days from some Muslims, or Muslim women, and it is especially common among women, that they say the jinn that attends them is not summoned by them, but it came on its own. A Muslim jinn orders me to give charity and wakes me up for the Fajr prayer.

The Shaykh : And how does she know that?

The questioner : Or something similar. On the surface, it appears to her that it does not order her except for good.

The Shaykh : This bait is the bait of a hook. Well, perhaps she has already received the answer beforehand.

The questioner : Perhaps the tape will spread the matter.

Another questioner : Certainly, this bait has become a reality... It happened in Syria. It started this way: orders to give charity and urging to do such and such. Then he said to her, “I am the Messenger of Allah.” Then, of course, gradually, he asked her to marry him. He said, “The command came from Allah that you should marry him.” And may Allah protect us... some things behind the clothes, and may Allah protect us. One of the sisters from here, without mentioning names, traveled to Sham. She said to her, “The Messenger sends you his greetings.” She said, “How can the Messenger do that?” She explained to her. She said, “He is my husband, and so on and so on.” She said, “I seek refuge in Allah. This is Satan.” And she started talking to her, and she was convinced. She said, “By Allah, I am surprised. He used to come to me with his head uncovered and with horns, and may Allah protect us. When he came, she said, ‘Stay away from me.’ He said, ‘You are crazy. This is because you are jealous of me, and so on.’ In any case, he convinced her again, and she reverted, and may Allah protect us. The personalities are known.

The Shaykh : And so they do.

The questioner : O our Shaykh, the story of the Shaykh al-Islam about the black dog. Do you remember, O our Shaykh?

The Shaykh : Yes. Glory be to Allah.