Saturday, January 13, 2018

IslamQA.info 197463

Praise be to Allah.

In the answer to question no. 102843 we stated that seeking the help of the jinn is prohibited according to Islamic teaching.

By the same token, it is not permissible to call upon the angels, seek their help or ask them to meet one’s needs instead of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted; rather that comes under the heading of shirk (associating others with Allah).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Whoever regards the angels and Prophets as intermediaries, calling upon them, putting his trust in them and asking them to bring benefits and ward off harm is a disbeliever according to the consensus of the Muslims.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (1/124)

The scholars of the Standing Committee said:

It is not permissible to use the jinn in any manner whatsoever, because that comes under the heading of seeking the help of the jinn and devils, which is haraam and is one of the means that lead to shirk. It is also not permissible to believe in anything that the practitioners of witchcraft say, because of the evil consequences to which that leads.

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (1/102)

The scholars of the Standing Committee also said:

Seeking help from the jinn or angels, or seeking their aid to bring benefit or ward off harm, or to protect oneself from the evil of the jinn, is all major shirk that puts one beyond the pale of Islam – Allah forbid – regardless of whether that is done by means of calling them, writing their names and wearing it as an amulet, or washing (that writing) and drinking the water, and so on, if one believes that the amulet or the water – and not Allah – will bring benefit or ward off harm.

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (1/134-135)

Another of the tricks that the Shaytaan uses against people is to make a person thinks that if he seeks the help of the angels, calls upon them, and asks them for what he needs, then if he is helped and his needs are met, he thinks that it is the angels who helped him. This is one of the tricks and plots of the Shaytaan, for the angels do not help anyone to associate others with Allah. Rather it is his shaytaan who has helped him, in order to confuse him about his religion.

To sum up: it is not permissible to seek the help of the angels or the jinn, whether to fly or to do anything else. Rather in all his affairs the individual should seek the help of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “If you seek help, then seek help from Allah.” Narrated by Ahmad (2664); narrated and classed as saheeh by at-Tirmidhi (2516); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.

But with regard to physical, tangible matters, there is nothing wrong with seeking them from a person who owns them or has control over them, or seeking his help with regard to that. In that case this person is one of a number of means and measures that the accountable person may take.

The scholars of the Standing Committee said:

It is not permissible to seek the help of the jinn or those who are absent, because this comes under the heading of associating others with Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. Seeking help is an act of worship and it is not permissible to direct it to anyone other than Allah, whether that is a jinn or a human or an angel or anything else, except in the case of a living human being who is present and is able to do something, such as seeking the help of a living and capable human being to cultivate land, build structures and fight enemies. But in the case of the jinn, the ruling on those who are present is the same as the ruling on those who are absent: it is not permissible to seek their help in anything whatsoever, because Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)” [al-Faatihah 1:5]. And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When you seek help, then seek the help of Allah.”

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (1/198)

With regard to the possibility of flying by seeking the help of the jinn, this is possible in and of itself.

Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The jinn still carry people and fly with them from one place to another.

End quote from an-Nubuwwaat (2/804)

He also said:

Those whom the jinn carry and fly with them from one place to another, in most cases they do not know how they are carried].

End quote from an-Nubuwwaat (2/998)

But not everything that is possible is acceptable in Islam. Most sins, such as associating others with Allah, stealing, zina, murder, and so on are things that it is possible for people to do, but the fact that something is possible on its own is not sufficient to indicate that something is acceptable or permissible. Rather what is acceptable or permissible or prohibited is in accordance with what Allah has prescribed for His slaves.

For more information, please see the answer to question no. 124838

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A

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