The Meaning of An-Nisab and Al-Azlam
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We received a letter from the two brothers (S. M. H.) and Ahmad Abd al-Rabbah Salim, who are of Yemeni nationality and reside in Riyadh. They say in their letter: Allah the Exalted said in His Noble Book in Surat al-Ma'idah: [al-Ma'idah: 90]. Question: What is the meaning of al-nisab and al-azlam?
Answer: Al-nisab and al-azlam. Al-nisab: These are objects that are set up upon which the polytheists slaughter animals and draw near to their idols with these sacrifices. Al-azlam: These are objects by which they divide or decide matters; they are called arrows, made of various types of wood. They write on them "do it" and "do not do it," and on the third they write "ghafal" (meaning nothing is written on it, nothing is written on it). When they wanted to travel or do something in which they had doubt, they would cast them, giving them to someone to draw them out one by one, or he would draw them out one by one from their place. If "do it" came out, they would proceed. If "do not do it" came out, they would leave it. If the "ghafal" which has nothing on it came out, they would repeat the casting, mixing them and then drawing them out again. If "do it" came out, they would do it. If "do not do it" came out, they would leave it. If the "ghafal" came out, they would repeat it, and so on. This was their practice and a method of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, prescribed for His servants the prayer of istikharah in place of using the azlam. What is prescribed for the believer when he intends a matter that is difficult for him, such as marriage or travel or the like, is that he prays two rak'ahs. He prays two rak'ahs, then he seeks the choice of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and supplicates with the known, authentic supplication of istikharah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And success is from Allah.
O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَAnswer: Al-nisab and al-azlam. Al-nisab: These are objects that are set up upon which the polytheists slaughter animals and draw near to their idols with these sacrifices. Al-azlam: These are objects by which they divide or decide matters; they are called arrows, made of various types of wood. They write on them "do it" and "do not do it," and on the third they write "ghafal" (meaning nothing is written on it, nothing is written on it). When they wanted to travel or do something in which they had doubt, they would cast them, giving them to someone to draw them out one by one, or he would draw them out one by one from their place. If "do it" came out, they would proceed. If "do not do it" came out, they would leave it. If the "ghafal" which has nothing on it came out, they would repeat the casting, mixing them and then drawing them out again. If "do it" came out, they would do it. If "do not do it" came out, they would leave it. If the "ghafal" came out, they would repeat it, and so on. This was their practice and a method of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. So Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, prescribed for His servants the prayer of istikharah in place of using the azlam. What is prescribed for the believer when he intends a matter that is difficult for him, such as marriage or travel or the like, is that he prays two rak'ahs. He prays two rak'ahs, then he seeks the choice of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and supplicates with the known, authentic supplication of istikharah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And success is from Allah.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.