Islam Doesn't Believe In Black Magic, Sorcery And Astrology
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
16 April
2022
The readers
might be aware that Bushra Bibi, wife of the disgraced Pak PM Imran Khan, has a
proclivity towards Black Magic (Sehar) and Sifli-Ilm (sorcery).
Grapevine had it that she had two 'invincible' jinn who were at her beck and
call and served her as factotums. Alas, even they couldn't help Imran retain
the PM's chair. Even when Imran was at the helm, the rationalists like Pervez
Hoodbhoy, Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist, discarded this mumbo-jumbo
as a moronic pursuit.
Sorcery or
occultism is indeed rank nonsense and it's anything but Islamic. Sir Carveth
Reid called Black Magic a superstition from pre-religious cults that sneaked
into 'modern' religions as vestiges (read, ' Man and his superstitions' by Sir
Reid). Sifli Ilm is a primitive manifestation of magic and animism,
prevalent before Islam. A comprehensive study of Islam across the globe makes
it obvious that the occult practices are still prevalent among the Muslims of
the sub-continent and North Africa.
Voodoo
practices in pre-Islamic North African tribes and Jadu-Tona of the
sub-continent wormed into Islam when it spread to these regions. Since humans
are inherently vulnerable and superstitious by nature, they fall for such
debased and mindless practices and believe that these dubious practices can
bring about desired results. They don't. Pristine Islam doesn't believe in
these superstitious interpolations and additions. In fact, Islam is inherently
disdainful of all that's speculative and lacks certitude.
That's why,
Islam encouraged astronomy, but it discouraged astrology. It's worthwhile to
mention that while Europe was in an intellectual coma, the Islamic empire which
stretched from Moorish Spain, to Egypt and even China, was entering their
“Golden Age”. Astronomy was of particular interest to Islamic scholars in Iran
and Iraq and until this time around 800 AD, the only astronomical textbook was
Ptolemy’s Almagest, written around 100 AD in Greece. This venerable text is still
used as the main reference for ancient astronomy in academia to this day.
Muslim
scholars waited 700 years for this fundamental Greek text to be translated into
Arabic, and once it was, they got to work understanding its contents. But Islam
never promoted astrology because of its indefinite nature and power of creating
inertia among humans. Islam believes in the dynamics of action and looks down
upon those who believe in the putative powers of the stars. A quatrain in Urdu
articulates this so well:
Na Raha
Chaand-Sitaron Ka Main Mohtaaj Kabhi
Apni
Mehnat Ke Sada Maine Ujale Dekhe
Tazkira
Usne Lakeeron Ka Wahin Chhod Diya
Jab
Nujoomi Ne Mere Haath Ke Chhale Dekhe
( Never
have I been a slave and subservient to the stars in the firmament/ I've seen
the light of my dynamism/He stopped the narration of the lines on my palms/The
moment soothsayer got to see the blisters on my hands)
Islam
believes in Purusharth (Karma) and asserts that ' Lakeeron Mein Nahin
Mahdoodo-Muqayyad Insaan Ki Qismat ' (a man's destiny is not confined to
the lines on the palm). Despite the existence of Ilm-e-Nujoom
(astrology) and Ilm-e-Ramal of Arab peninsula, predicting future is not
encouraged in Islam for, it makes one a fatalist. So, even astrology is a
superstition in Islam and there's no denying the fact that astrology is indeed
a pseudoscience. Islam believes in the present and its amelioration for a
naturally better tomorrow. Let the future be unknown for the sake of an
individual's progress as a human. To quote Alexander Pope, " Heaven from
all creatures hides the book of fate/All but the page prescribed, their present
state."
----
An occasional columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit
Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam.
He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-culture/black-magic-sorcery-astrology/d/126802
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