Shirk and its different forms, Dought & clear, - * Ruling on avoiding eating meat during the first ten days of Muharram

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Brief
My husband’s family customarily avoid eating meat from the beginning of Muharram until the tenth of the month, and they say that this was a covenant that their forefathers took upon themselves, therefore each one of them must adhere to this covenant. Is this permissible?
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Praise be to Allah
Refraining from eating permissible things that Allah has allowed comes under the heading of monasticism that was prohibited by Allah, may He be exalted, and His Messenger. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Monasticism means giving up things that are permissible, such as marriage, eating meat, and so on. A group among the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) thought of following some monastic practices, but Allah, may He be exalted, sent down revelation forbidding them to do that, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):“O you who believe! Make not unlawful the Taiyibat (all that is good as regards foods, things, deeds, beliefs, persons, etc.) which Allah has made lawful to you, and transgress not. Verily, Allah does not like the transgressors” [al-Maa’idah 5:87]. And it is proven inas-Saheehaynthat there was a group of the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), one of whom said: As for me, I will fast and never not fast. Another said: As for me, I will pray qiyaam (voluntary prayers at night) and never sleep. Another said: As for me, I will not marry women. Another said: As for me, I will not eat meat. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stood up to deliver a speech and said: What is the matter with men of whom one says such and such? But I fast and do not fast, I pray qiyaam and I sleep, I marry women, and I eat meat. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me.” The saheeh texts explain that monasticism is an innovation and misguidance.
End quote fromal-Jawaab as-Saheeh(2/194-197)
To sum up: whoever seeks to worship Allah, may He be exalted, by refraining from eating meat or from other permissible things on specific days, this comes under the heading of prescribing religious practice for which Allah has not given permission.
That applies whether this is due to a belief that these days have some special characteristic that dictates refraining from eating meat,
or because one regards it as haraam or makrooh
or because of a belief that refraining from eating meat during these days is obligatory or mustahabb
or because of a belief that one may draw closer to Allah by refraining from eating meat or from other permissible things in a particular way.
All of that comes under the heading of innovations and misguidance for which Allah has not given permission.
Ash-Shaatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Everyone who restricts himself from consuming that which Allah has permitted, without a legitimate shar‘i reason for doing so, has diverged from the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and the one who acts upon something other than the Sunnah by way of a religious practice is essentially an innovator.
End quote fromal-I‘tisaam(p. 59)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be exalted, commanded mankind to worship Him alone and not to associate anything with Him in worship, and to worship Him according to what He prescribed; and He commanded that they should not worship Him by any acts of worship other than that. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord”
[al-Kahf 18:110]
“…that He might try you, which of you is the best in deeds”
[Hood 11:7].
With regard to the one who follows the path of asceticism and worship, if he appears outwardly to be following Islamic teachings, but his intention is to show off, gain a good reputation and gain people’s respect, then his good deeds are invalid and are not acceptable to Allah. It is proven inas-Saheehthat Allah says: “I am the least in need of a partner. Whoever does any deed in which he associates someone else with Me, I disavow him and all of his deeds are for the one whom he associated with Me.” And in as-Saheeh it is narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever talks about his good deeds (to show off), Allah will expose him (on the Day of Resurrection), and whoever makes a (hypocritical) display, Allah will make a display of him.”
If he is sincere in his intention, but he worships Allah by doing acts of worship other than those that are prescribed, such as one who remains silent constantly, or stands in the sun or on the roof constantly, or does not wear ordinary clothes, and always wears wool or sackcloth, and the like, or covers his face, or refrains from eating bread or milk, or drinking water, and so on – these acts of worship are invalid and are to be rejected, as it is proven inas-Saheehin a report from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it will have it rejected.
And it is proven from him inas-Saheehthat there was a group among his Companions, one of whom said: As for me, I will fast and never not fast. Another said: As for me, I will pray qiyaam (voluntary prayers at night) and never sleep. Another said: As for me, I will not marry women. Another said: As for me, I will not eat meat. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stood up to deliver a speech and said: What is the matter with men of whom one says such and such? But I fast and do not fast, I pray qiyaam and I sleep, I marry women and I eat meat. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me.”
So this is the principle with regard to acts of worship, because fasting and prayer are both acts of worship.
Refraining from eating meat or getting married is permissible in principle, but when that went beyond the framework of the Sunnah and the individual committed himself to more than is prescribed, or committed himself to refraining from that which is permissible, as monks do, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) disavowed those who do such things as having turned away from his Sunnah towards something else, and he said: “There is no monasticism in Islam.”
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa(11/612-614)
Conclusion:
Having the custom of not eating meat during these days, in the manner mentioned – whether that was based on a covenant with Allah, or with other people, or with one’s own self, or without any covenant – all comes under the heading of innovation that is not permissible as a means of drawing closer to Allah, may He be exalted, and it is not permissible to obey one’s parents and grandparents concerning that, or to follow them in doing it.
And Allah knows best.











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Shirk and its different forms, Dought & clear, - * Ruling on playing with ouija boards

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I recently found out about a game that is very common in our country, which is called Ouija. Does this game come under the heading of witchcraft and interacting with the jinn?
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Praise be to Allah
The ouija board game poses a danger to the religious commitment and life of the player. With regard to his religious commitment, that is because it involves calling upon and addressing the jinn, responding to them, believing their words, and being afraid of going against their orders. The ruling on playing this game is no different than the ruling on going to fortune tellers and soothsayers, because of what happens of the player asking the jinn about matters that are unseen or unknown to him. With regard to the danger that it poses to his life, that is because of what has happened of many people being affected by mental illness, anxiety and fear that ruined their lives. Hence there have been many statements from psychologists and there is unanimous agreement on the necessity of getting rid of this game and not trying it out, let alone playing it and becoming attached to it.
In brief, it consists of a board on which are written all the numbers and letters, and at the top of the board are written the words Yes, No, and Goodbye. Each board is written in the language of the local people and there is a disc in the middle of the board, the edges of which are held by a minimum of two players. The game begins by calling upon “Ouija”, and it is clear in the minds of the players that they are now calling upon a spirit or a jinn, according to the player’s belief, and he is asked about things that are unknown to them of events that have taken place, and the disc moves towards the numbers and letters in order to spell out the answer to the question. If the question is about a specific date, the disc, with their fingers on it, moves towards the numbers in order to answer the question. Similarly, if the question is about a name or an event, then the disc moves towards the letters in order to spell out the answer to the question. Or the answer may be Yes or No, so the disc moves towards one of them. The players cannot choose to exit the game until they ask permission from “Ouija”, then if the disk moves towards the word No, they cannot leave the game, but if it moves towards the word Yes, then they can leave, whereupon they have to thank him, then when the players have thanked him, the disc moves towards the word Goodbye.
Some people try to take the matter lightly and make it merely a game for fun, but in fact it is extremely serious. What appears to be the case is that the word “Ouija” is the name of one of the jinn – a king or someone else– and he sends one of his troops to move the disk towards the numbers and letters to spell out the answers. There are some people who believe that this movement comes from the devil-companions (qareen) of the players, and that what they ask about is known to them only or is known in the realm of the jinn. There are others – Western doctors and scientists – who believe that the phenomenon of the disk’s movement is what is called “unconscious movement”; what is meant is that the mind is able, under the influence of certain emotions, to move the muscles of the body unconsciously, without the individual being aware of this movement, so it appears to him as if the spirits are moving the pointer under his hand.
What is established in the mind of the Muslim is that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade going to soothsayers and said that “they are nothing.” And he said that if a person goes to them, even if he does not believe in them, then no prayer will be accepted from him for forty days, and that whoever goes to them and believes in them has committed an act of disbelief.
We have discussed all of this – with the relevant evidence – in the answers to questions no. 8291, 60431, 100900and 135589.
It is not permissible for the Muslim to seek the help of the jinn to find out unknown and unseen matters, even if he does not seek to draw close to them by doing acts of worship or obedience to them. Merely seeking their help is prohibited.
See the answer to question no. 137948.
Because the jinn benefit from the humans who play this game, the jinn submit, in a sense, to the players, by telling them the unknown matters they ask about. The human also submits to the jinn in a sense. It is sufficient to note that they dare not leave the game without seeking the permission of “Ouija”, otherwise they think and believe that they will be harmed. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“And on the Day when He will gather them (all) together (and say): ‘O you assembly of jinns! Many did you mislead of men,’ and their Auliya (friends and helpers, etc.) amongst men will say: ‘Our Lord! We benefited one from the other, but now we have reached our appointed term which You did appoint for us’” [al-An‘aam 6:128]. The sin and disbelief that affect the player before and during the game, and afterwards, is what Allah, may He be exalted, mentions in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):“And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief” [al-Jinn 72:6].
With regard to the ruling on seeking the help of the jinn, please see the answers to questions no. 10815, 11114and 78546.
Conclusion:
It is haraam for the Muslim to play the Ouija board game, even if in fact it involves no more than unconscious movements, because the player actually and intentionally calls upon the jinn, which comes under the heading of seeking the help of the jinn and the ruling on going to fortune tellers and soothsayers. All of these are haraam things. We have discussed this above and in the answers referred to.
And Allah knows best.












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