Explanation of the author's statement: The chapter on types of shirk (associating partners with Allah): Wearing rings, threads, or the like to lift a calamity or ward it off
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The Shaykh :"This is the chapter on types of shirk (associating partners with Allah): Wearing rings, threads, or the like to lift a calamity or ward it off" The chapter on types of shirk: the word "from" (min) indicates partiality, meaning this is a type of shirk, not all of shirk. And his saying "from shirk": shirk is a generic term that applies to both minor and major shirk. Such things may be major shirk or minor shirk depending on the belief of the one wearing them, and he will clarify this, if Allah wills. And his saying "from shirk" requires us to know why it is considered shirk? It is shirk because anyone who establishes a cause that Allah has not made a legislative or natural cause has associated partners with Allah. Any person who establishes a cause that Allah the Exalted has not made a legislative or natural cause is an associate of partners with Allah. For example, is reciting al-Fatihah a legislative or natural cause for healing?
The student: Legal
The Shaykh : Legislative. Is taking a laxative a legislative or natural cause for the movement of the bowels? It is natural, because it is known through experience. This is the belief that the first is a cause for healing and the second is a cause for healing. Is this permissible or not? It is permissible. And the one who denies these causes is, in reality, contradicting the wisdom of Allah Mighty and Majestic and His Shari'ah, and he is flawed in his intellect. The one who denies these causes that Allah has made causes, whether legislative or natural, is undoubtedly denying the wisdom of Allah Glorified and Exalted, contradicting what the decrees of Allah necessitate, and he is also flawed in his intellect. He knows that fire burns and says fire does not burn, but the burning occurs with it, not by it. He knows that this medicine is a laxative and says, when I ate or drank it, it did not make it laxative, but the laxation occurred with it, not by it. Undoubtedly, this is an error. People are, in reality, at two extremes and a middle regarding causes, as is the case in most matters. Some deny the effect of causes; these are all those who deny the wisdom of Allah, namely the Jabriyyah and the Asha'irah, who say that Allah does things without a cause. Another group exaggerates in establishing causes, making what is not a cause into a cause; most of these are the superstitious among the Sufis and the like. A third group is the middle: they believe in causes and their effects, but they do not make causes anything other than what Allah Glorified and Exalted and His Messenger have made legislative or natural causes. Undoubtedly, these are the ones who have true faith in Allah the Exalted, and who believe in His wisdom and the perfection of His creation, where He linked causes to their effects and operative causes to their results. This is part of the perfection of wisdom. Let us look now at the one with us: wearing a ring is shirk. Which type of shirk is it, major or minor? It depends on the person's belief. If he believes that it has an effect by itself without Allah, then he is an associate of partners with Allah in major shirk. In which type of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is he an associate?
The Student: Lordship.
The Shaykh : In tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship). In tawhid al-rububiyyah. If he believes and says, "This thing has an effect by itself without Allah; it brings healing by itself," we say to him, "You are an associate of partners with Allah in major shirk, because you believed that there is a creator with Allah. This relates to shirk in tawhid al-rububiyyah. And if he says, "No, I do not believe that it has an effect by itself; I believe it is a cause, but it does not have an effect by itself," we say to him, "You are an associate of partners with Allah in minor shirk." Why? Because you believed that what is not a cause is a cause, and you have associated with Allah the Exalted in ruling by making this a cause. Who makes a thing a cause for another thing? Allah, according to His decree or His Shari'ah. So now you have made yourself a partner with Allah, establishing that this is a cause while Allah the Exalted has not made it a cause. Well, how do we know that this cause is a legislative cause? From the Shari'ah. Honey contains healing for people. Where is the evidence for this? From the Shari'ah. Reciting the Qur'an or something from it contains healing for people. Where is the evidence? From the Qur'an. We also know that a thing is a cause through qadar (divine decree). We tried this thing and found it beneficial for this pain or this disease, even if Allah did not mention it in the Qur'an. But the fact that Allah the Exalted links healing to this type of herb, for example, or the like, is evidence that Allah the Exalted made it a cause. It is evidence that Allah made it a cause. This is part of establishing natural causes. However, its effect must be apparent. The effect of this natural cause must be a direct, apparent effect, such as if you eat this laxative for the stomach or are burned by fire and are healed, for example. The cause is apparent and clear. I said that so that no one comes and says, "I tried this and benefited from it," when it was not direct, like a ring. A person may wear a ring believing it is beneficial, and he may benefit because the effect of the soul's reaction to the thing is clear. The reaction has an effect. One person may recite for a patient, and the patient feels at ease and believes his recitation is beneficial, and he finds the pain lessens. Another person may recite the same verse for him, but he does not feel the same feeling as the first one, so he does not find the pain lessening. He does not find the pain lessening. Likewise, those who tie threads on their hands may feel relief based on their belief. So we say it has no apparent effect to be beneficial. And the mere fact that your pain lessened is based on a psychological feeling, is it not? And mere psychological feeling is not a legislative path for establishing causes, just as inspiration is not a cause for the Shari'ah. Inspiration is not a cause for the Shari'ah. And what Shaykh al-Islam mentioned in some of his words in the Fatawa (legal rulings) that it is a legislative path for establishing rulings: this is for whom? For the person himself, not as a legislation for the Ummah (community). Shaykh al-Islam mentioned in his book al-Fatawa what indicates that inspiration is one of the paths of the Shari'ah, but in reality, it is not a path for legislation. A person may feel at ease with this thing and see that it is the correct one, but it cannot be a proof for others. And if he is inspired, we make it clear. Brothers, now regarding shirk, the words of Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him): which of the two types, major or minor? It depends on the belief of the doer. First, if he believes that this thing acts by itself without Allah, it is major shirk, because he took a lord alongside Allah. If he believes that it does not benefit by itself, but it is a cause, it is minor shirk. What is the reason it is shirk? This is very important. Because he established a cause that Allah has not made a cause, and this is a type of associating partners with Allah the Exalted.
His saying: "Wearing the ring and the thread" The ring: from where? From iron, silver, gold, or the like. And the thread is well known. And his saying: "and the like" such as inlaid items, for example. One may not wear a thread or a ring, but wears something inlaid to lift a calamity or ward it off. For example, they make a piece of copper in a specific shape and say, "This wards off calamity." They bring a goat horn and hang it on themselves and say, "This wards off calamity." Yes, this exists. This exists. A goat horn or a male goat horn or something.
The student: ... the lip of a donkey
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: They take the lip of a donkey
The Shaykh : The lip of a donkey
The student: The lip of a donkey, they hang it
The Shaykh : And this is the most impure. They hang something impure and say it is beneficial. In any case, the author did not intend to limit it to these. He said "and the like," meaning similar to them.
And his saying: "to lift the calamity or ward it off" To lift: what is the difference between lifting and warding off?
The student: Lifting is after it descends
The Shaykh : Lifting is after it descends
The student: And warding off is before it
The Shaykh : And warding off is before it. For example, a person gets sick and wears these things, or wears them so that calamity does not befall him. He wears them so that calamity does not befall him. And praise be to Allah, people used to have superstitions in the past. They would hang things of this kind on the doors of their houses, either old leather or dried skin before tanning, or the like, and say that this drives away the evil eye. Because if someone saw it on the door, they would be disgusted by the house and would not cast the evil eye on it. They had many of these beliefs. We hear that they had a lot of these, but praise be to Allah, they have disappeared.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: The smallpox scar...
The Shaykh : No, no. The smallpox scar is a beneficial surgical procedure.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It does not contradict, just as you wear a garment out of fear of the cold, if it does not get cold.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Vaccination. Vaccination against smallpox was called by people in the past the smallpox scar. They no longer say... Yes.
The student: The greatest
The Shaykh : Shaykh al-Islam. You see, Shaykh al-Islam is not one who denies that you do a thing to ward it off. You do the correct cause to ward it off. No, he denies the incorrect cause.
The student: This is well known
The Shaykh : No, neither for repelling it nor for removing it. But the correct cause for repelling it is that you are commanded to take the causes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: regarding the plague... Yes, O 'Abd al-Rahman.
The student: And what is the difference between the psychological feeling in...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: And the psychological feeling...
The Shaykh : The difference between them is that if this thing is done to a person who has no knowledge of it, does it have an effect or not?
The student: It depends on his mentality.
The Shaykh : So that means it is... a psychological effect. But is it because the cause, which is a cause in itself, has the effective power whether a person believes in it or not? For example, an anesthetic drug, or...
The student: ...the lawful one.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ...for a person who has the Qur'an recited over him, perhaps he benefits from... another person does not benefit.
The Shaykh : Yes, the lawful cause. Yes, it is built largely upon belief. Therefore, if a person recites and the one over whom it is recited does not believe that it will benefit, he does not benefit. Or if the reciter also does not believe that it will benefit, he does not benefit, because it is built upon belief, as it is not a tangible cause. For this reason, we said that what is established as a lawful cause, we accept it, and we do not know how the effect works. But tangible causes, which are known by the necessity of divine decree and destiny, must have a tangible effect such that its effect is due to its power.
The student: Legal
The Shaykh : Legislative. Is taking a laxative a legislative or natural cause for the movement of the bowels? It is natural, because it is known through experience. This is the belief that the first is a cause for healing and the second is a cause for healing. Is this permissible or not? It is permissible. And the one who denies these causes is, in reality, contradicting the wisdom of Allah Mighty and Majestic and His Shari'ah, and he is flawed in his intellect. The one who denies these causes that Allah has made causes, whether legislative or natural, is undoubtedly denying the wisdom of Allah Glorified and Exalted, contradicting what the decrees of Allah necessitate, and he is also flawed in his intellect. He knows that fire burns and says fire does not burn, but the burning occurs with it, not by it. He knows that this medicine is a laxative and says, when I ate or drank it, it did not make it laxative, but the laxation occurred with it, not by it. Undoubtedly, this is an error. People are, in reality, at two extremes and a middle regarding causes, as is the case in most matters. Some deny the effect of causes; these are all those who deny the wisdom of Allah, namely the Jabriyyah and the Asha'irah, who say that Allah does things without a cause. Another group exaggerates in establishing causes, making what is not a cause into a cause; most of these are the superstitious among the Sufis and the like. A third group is the middle: they believe in causes and their effects, but they do not make causes anything other than what Allah Glorified and Exalted and His Messenger have made legislative or natural causes. Undoubtedly, these are the ones who have true faith in Allah the Exalted, and who believe in His wisdom and the perfection of His creation, where He linked causes to their effects and operative causes to their results. This is part of the perfection of wisdom. Let us look now at the one with us: wearing a ring is shirk. Which type of shirk is it, major or minor? It depends on the person's belief. If he believes that it has an effect by itself without Allah, then he is an associate of partners with Allah in major shirk. In which type of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is he an associate?
The Student: Lordship.
The Shaykh : In tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship). In tawhid al-rububiyyah. If he believes and says, "This thing has an effect by itself without Allah; it brings healing by itself," we say to him, "You are an associate of partners with Allah in major shirk, because you believed that there is a creator with Allah. This relates to shirk in tawhid al-rububiyyah. And if he says, "No, I do not believe that it has an effect by itself; I believe it is a cause, but it does not have an effect by itself," we say to him, "You are an associate of partners with Allah in minor shirk." Why? Because you believed that what is not a cause is a cause, and you have associated with Allah the Exalted in ruling by making this a cause. Who makes a thing a cause for another thing? Allah, according to His decree or His Shari'ah. So now you have made yourself a partner with Allah, establishing that this is a cause while Allah the Exalted has not made it a cause. Well, how do we know that this cause is a legislative cause? From the Shari'ah. Honey contains healing for people. Where is the evidence for this? From the Shari'ah. Reciting the Qur'an or something from it contains healing for people. Where is the evidence? From the Qur'an. We also know that a thing is a cause through qadar (divine decree). We tried this thing and found it beneficial for this pain or this disease, even if Allah did not mention it in the Qur'an. But the fact that Allah the Exalted links healing to this type of herb, for example, or the like, is evidence that Allah the Exalted made it a cause. It is evidence that Allah made it a cause. This is part of establishing natural causes. However, its effect must be apparent. The effect of this natural cause must be a direct, apparent effect, such as if you eat this laxative for the stomach or are burned by fire and are healed, for example. The cause is apparent and clear. I said that so that no one comes and says, "I tried this and benefited from it," when it was not direct, like a ring. A person may wear a ring believing it is beneficial, and he may benefit because the effect of the soul's reaction to the thing is clear. The reaction has an effect. One person may recite for a patient, and the patient feels at ease and believes his recitation is beneficial, and he finds the pain lessens. Another person may recite the same verse for him, but he does not feel the same feeling as the first one, so he does not find the pain lessening. He does not find the pain lessening. Likewise, those who tie threads on their hands may feel relief based on their belief. So we say it has no apparent effect to be beneficial. And the mere fact that your pain lessened is based on a psychological feeling, is it not? And mere psychological feeling is not a legislative path for establishing causes, just as inspiration is not a cause for the Shari'ah. Inspiration is not a cause for the Shari'ah. And what Shaykh al-Islam mentioned in some of his words in the Fatawa (legal rulings) that it is a legislative path for establishing rulings: this is for whom? For the person himself, not as a legislation for the Ummah (community). Shaykh al-Islam mentioned in his book al-Fatawa what indicates that inspiration is one of the paths of the Shari'ah, but in reality, it is not a path for legislation. A person may feel at ease with this thing and see that it is the correct one, but it cannot be a proof for others. And if he is inspired, we make it clear. Brothers, now regarding shirk, the words of Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him): which of the two types, major or minor? It depends on the belief of the doer. First, if he believes that this thing acts by itself without Allah, it is major shirk, because he took a lord alongside Allah. If he believes that it does not benefit by itself, but it is a cause, it is minor shirk. What is the reason it is shirk? This is very important. Because he established a cause that Allah has not made a cause, and this is a type of associating partners with Allah the Exalted.
His saying: "Wearing the ring and the thread" The ring: from where? From iron, silver, gold, or the like. And the thread is well known. And his saying: "and the like" such as inlaid items, for example. One may not wear a thread or a ring, but wears something inlaid to lift a calamity or ward it off. For example, they make a piece of copper in a specific shape and say, "This wards off calamity." They bring a goat horn and hang it on themselves and say, "This wards off calamity." Yes, this exists. This exists. A goat horn or a male goat horn or something.
The student: ... the lip of a donkey
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: They take the lip of a donkey
The Shaykh : The lip of a donkey
The student: The lip of a donkey, they hang it
The Shaykh : And this is the most impure. They hang something impure and say it is beneficial. In any case, the author did not intend to limit it to these. He said "and the like," meaning similar to them.
And his saying: "to lift the calamity or ward it off" To lift: what is the difference between lifting and warding off?
The student: Lifting is after it descends
The Shaykh : Lifting is after it descends
The student: And warding off is before it
The Shaykh : And warding off is before it. For example, a person gets sick and wears these things, or wears them so that calamity does not befall him. He wears them so that calamity does not befall him. And praise be to Allah, people used to have superstitions in the past. They would hang things of this kind on the doors of their houses, either old leather or dried skin before tanning, or the like, and say that this drives away the evil eye. Because if someone saw it on the door, they would be disgusted by the house and would not cast the evil eye on it. They had many of these beliefs. We hear that they had a lot of these, but praise be to Allah, they have disappeared.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: The smallpox scar...
The Shaykh : No, no. The smallpox scar is a beneficial surgical procedure.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : It does not contradict, just as you wear a garment out of fear of the cold, if it does not get cold.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Ah?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Vaccination. Vaccination against smallpox was called by people in the past the smallpox scar. They no longer say... Yes.
The student: The greatest
The Shaykh : Shaykh al-Islam. You see, Shaykh al-Islam is not one who denies that you do a thing to ward it off. You do the correct cause to ward it off. No, he denies the incorrect cause.
The student: This is well known
The Shaykh : No, neither for repelling it nor for removing it. But the correct cause for repelling it is that you are commanded to take the causes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If you hear of it in a land
إذا سمعتوه بأرضThe student: And what is the difference between the psychological feeling in...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: And the psychological feeling...
The Shaykh : The difference between them is that if this thing is done to a person who has no knowledge of it, does it have an effect or not?
The student: It depends on his mentality.
The Shaykh : So that means it is... a psychological effect. But is it because the cause, which is a cause in itself, has the effective power whether a person believes in it or not? For example, an anesthetic drug, or...
The student: ...the lawful one.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ...for a person who has the Qur'an recited over him, perhaps he benefits from... another person does not benefit.
The Shaykh : Yes, the lawful cause. Yes, it is built largely upon belief. Therefore, if a person recites and the one over whom it is recited does not believe that it will benefit, he does not benefit. Or if the reciter also does not believe that it will benefit, he does not benefit, because it is built upon belief, as it is not a tangible cause. For this reason, we said that what is established as a lawful cause, we accept it, and we do not know how the effect works. But tangible causes, which are known by the necessity of divine decree and destiny, must have a tangible effect such that its effect is due to its power.