Is witchcraft real? Is it permissible to seek treatment from practitioners of witchcraft

Is there anything such aswitch doctors? What should we do if someone
says "I don't believe in magic" because "this is just an illusion"?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Sihr (witchcraft or magic) is a word referring to something hidden. It
is real and there are kinds of witchcraft that may affect people
psychologically and physically, so that they become sick and die, or
husbands and wives are separated. Its effects happen by the will of
Allaah. It is a devilish action, most of which is only achieved by
means of shirk and drawing close to the jinn and shayaateen (devils)
by means of that which they love, and it is basedon associating others
with Allaah (shirk).
There are doctors who are also practitioners of witchcraft, who treat
people by means of seeking the help of the jinn. They claim to have
knowledge of the sickness with no need toidentify it, and they
prescribe for the patient foods and drinks that bring him closer to
his allies among the devils. He may tell them to slaughter a pig
whilst saying "Bismillaah" over it, or to slaughter a permissible
animal without saying "Bismillaah", or when saying the name of one of
the devils.
This is kufr or disbelief in Allaah, and it is not permissible under
any circumstances to go to people like these. The hadd punishment for
these people is execution. It has been proven from three of
theSahaabah (may Allaah bepleased with them) that the practitioners of
witchcraft are to be put to death.
The Standing Committee was asked a question about this matter, in
which it was said:
Please note that in Zambia there is a Muslimman who claims that he has
with him a jinn, and the people come to him and ask him to treat their
sicknesses, and thisjinn states what their treatment should be. Is
that permissible?
They replied:
It is not permissible for that man to use the jinn, and it is not
permissible for the people to go to him seeking treatment for sickness
through his using the jinn, or to meet any other need by this means.
Seeking treatment through human medical doctors and using permissible
medicines is sufficient and means that there is no need for that, and
it keeps peoplesafe from the sorcery of the magicians.
It was narrated in a saheeh report that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to
afortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be
accepted for forty days." Narrated by Muslim.
And it was narrated by the authors of al-Sunan and by al-Haakim, who
classed it as saheeh, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he
says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad."
This man and his companions from among the jinn are regarded as being
among the fortune-tellers and soothsayers, so it is not permissible
toask them anything or to believe them.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 1/408, 409
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz said:
Given that there are so many charlatans lately, who claim to be
doctors and to treat people by means of magic and witchcraft, and they
have become widespread in some countries and they exploit the naïveté
of the ignorant, I thought that in the spirit of sincerity towards
Allaah and His slaves, that I should explain the gravedanger that this
poses toIslam and the Muslims, because it involves dependence on
something other than Allaah and going againstHis command and the
command of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
so I say, seeking the help of Allaah:
It is permissible to seek treatment according to scholarly consensus.
The Muslim may go to a doctor to seek treatmentfor internal diseases,
injuries, nervous complaints, etc, so that he can identify the disease
and treat it in anappropriate manner, using medicines that
arepermissible according tosharee'ah, based on his knowledge of
medicine, because this comes under the heading of using the ordinary
means, and it is not contrary to the idea of putting one's trust in
Allaah. Allaah has sent down the disease but Hehas also sent down with
it the cure; those who know it know it and those who do not do not.
But Allaah has not created the healing for His slaves in that which He
has forbidden to them, so it is not permissible for the sick person to
go to a soothsayer who claims to know the unseen, in order to find out
from them what is wrong with him. And it is not permissible for him to
believe what they tell him, because they speak of the unseen without
knowledge, or they summon the jinn and seek their help in doing what
they want. The ruling on these people isthat they are kaafirs
andmisguided, because theyclaim to have knowledge of the unseen.
Muslim narratedin his Saheeh that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks
him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days."
And it was narrated fromAbu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever goes to asoothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved
in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)." Narrated by Abu Dawood and by the four authors of
al-Sunan;classed as saheeh by al-Haakim who narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a
fortune-teller or soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved
in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)." And it was narrated that 'Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "He doesnot belong to us who
observes bird omens or has that done for him, orwho seeks divination
or who has that done for him, or who practices witchcraft or has that
done for him. Whoever goes to a soothsayer andbelieves what he says
has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)." Narrated by al-Bazzaar with a
jayyid isnaad.
These ahaadeeth demonstrate that it is forbidden to go to soothsayers,
fortune-tellers, witches and the like, and ask them questions and
believe them, and a warning is issued to those who do that. Community
leaders and those in positions ofpower and authority must forbid going
to fortune-tellers, soothsayers and the like,and not allow anyone who
deals in such thingsto operate in the marketplaces or elsewhere. They
should denounce them emphatically, and denounce those who go to them.
We should not be deceived by the fact that they may get things right
sometimes, or by the fact that many people go to them, because they
are ignorant and the people should not be deceived by them. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade going to
them, asking them questions and believing them, because that is a
great evil, a serious danger and leads to bad consequences, and
because they are immoral liars. These ahaadeeth also indicate that
soothsayers and witches are also kaafirs, because they claim to have
knowledge of the unseen, which is kufr, and because they only reach
their goals by serving the jinn and worshipping them instead of
Allaah, which is kufr or disbelief in Himand associating others with
Him (shirk). The one who believes them and their claims to have
knowledge of the unseen is like them. Everyone who goes to these
people and deals with them, is disowned by the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It is not permissible for
the Muslim to accept what they claim is a kind of treatment, such as
their muttering mumbo-jumbo or pouring lead and other kinds of
nonsense that they do. This is a kind of sorcery and deception of the
people. Whoever acceptsthat is helping them in their falsehood and
kufr.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 3/274-281.
Secondly:
With regard to witchcraft (sihr), it is realand is not an illusion,
and it may have an effect by Allaah's leave.
Al-Quraafi said: Sihr is real, and the person against whom it is done
may die, or his nature orhabits may be changed, even if he does not
deal with it himself. This was the view of al-Shaafa'i and Ibn Hanbal…
Al-Furooq, 4/149.
The Mu'tazalis, Qadaris and some of the scholarsheld a different view,
but no attention should be paid to that. Al-Quraafi and others
mentioned that the Sahaabah were unanimously agreed that it is real
before there appeared those who denied that.
The evidence of Ahl al-Sunnah concerning that is as follows:
1. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic andsuch
things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and
Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things)
till they had said,"We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning
this magic fromus)." And from these (angels) people learn that by
which they causeseparation between man and his wife, but they could
not thus harmanyone except by Allaah's Leave. And they learn that
which harms them and profits them not"
[al-Baqarah 2:102]
This verse clearly indicates what we are trying to say, which is that
sihr (witchcraft) is real, and that the practitioner of witchcraft may
create a division between a man and his wife thereby, and that he may
harm people by means of his witchcraft, but he cannot do any harm
except by Allaah's leave.
2. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots"
[al-Falaq 113:4]
"those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots" refersto
female witches whosewitchcraft involved tyingknots then blowing into
them. If witchcraft were not something real, Allaah would not have
commanded us to seek refuge from it.
3. Further evidence is provided by the fact thatthe Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was bewitched by the Jew Labeed
ibn al-A'sam. Thisis a saheeh hadeeth that was narrated by al-Bukhaari
and Muslim.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: The witchcraft which can cause sickness, lethargy,
mental sickness, love, hatred and delusions is something that does
exist and is known by the masses. Many peopleknow it from experience.
Al-Tafseer al-Qayyim, p. 571
Thirdly:
There are many kinds of witchcraft, including illusions and deceiving
the eyes. But not all sihr is like that. Some of the scholars listed
different kinds of witchcraft, and counted eight kinds, the most well
known of which are:
1. Knots and incantations
i.e., reciting words and mumbo-jumbo by meansof which the witch is
able to use the devils to do what he wants of harming the person being
bewitched. But Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"… but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah's Leave"
[al-Baqarah 2:102]
2. Sleight of hand.
They become skilled in this by means of practiceand training to do
things quickly, and bringout something hidden.
For example, the magician may bring a dove and strange it in front of
the audience, then he hits it with his hand and it gets up and flies.
But in fact there was a kind of anaesthetic in his hand and he made it
smell it and made the audience think that he had strangled it and
killed it, then when he hits it, he wakes it up from that stupor.
3. Bewitching the eyes.
This is very common among the liars; the magician does not really put
a sword in his body, rather he bewitches the eyes of the audience, and
puts the sword by his side, but the bewitched people think that he
puts it through his middle.
These tricksters have become well known among us, because among the
audience there are those who protected themselves with Qur'aan and
dhikr, and remembered Allaah a great deal whilst sitting in the
gathering watching the magician, so they saw what really happened,
unlike what those who were bewitched saw.
4. Using chemicals
This is done well by those who know how substances react with one
another, thus producing a substance that is not affected by some other
substances, such as the Sufi Rifaa'iyyah who make people think that
they are not affected by fire, when in fact they coat themselves with
some fireproof substances. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) challenged them to wash with hot water before
entering the fire and they refused because this would haveexposed
their deceit.
And there are many other things that the practitioners of witchcraft
do, which could not happen unless Allaah decreed it.
See Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/146; Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn
'Uthaymeen, 2/178; al-Sihr by Shaykh 'Umar al-Ashqar.
And Allaah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Umayr ibn Sad al-Ansari - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

Umayr ibn Sad became an orphan at an early age. His father died
leaving him and his mother poor and destitute. His mother eventually
married again, to one of the richest men in Madinah. His name was
Julas ibn Suwayd who was from the powerful tribe of al-Aws.
Umayr was well looked after by Julas and loved him as a son would love
a father. Indeed he began to forget that he was an orphan. As Umayr
grew older, Julas fondness and love for him grew. Julas would marvel
at the intelligence he displayed in everything he did and at the
honesty and trustworthiness which characterized his behavior.
When he was barely ten years old, Umayr became a Muslim. Faith found
in his tender heart a secure niche and penetrated deeply into his
being. In spite of youthfulness, he would never delay in the
performance of salatbehind the noble Prophet. Often he would be found
in the first row of worshippers, hoping for the thawab promised those
whoattend mosques early and sit in the foremost rows. His mother was
particularly pleased whenever she saw him going to and coming from the
mosque, sometimes with her husband and sometimes alone.
Umayr's days passed in this fashion with no major disturbance to upset
his calm and contentment. This idyllic state, however, could not last
forever. Umayr was soon to face a most difficult test for a boy of his
age, a test which shook the peaceful and loving atmosphere of his home
and challenged the steadfastness of his faith.
In the ninth year after the Hijrah,the Prophet, peace and blessingsof
God be on him, announced hisintention to lead an expedition to Tabuk
against the Byzantine forces. He ordered the Muslims to get themselves
ready and make the necessary preparations.
Usually when the Prophet wanted to go on a military campaign he would
not give precise details of his objective orhe would set off in a
direction opposite to his intended destination. This was for security
purposes and to confound the enemy's intelligence service. This he did
not do in announcing the expedition to Tabuk. This was perhaps because
of the great distance of Tabuk from Madinah,the enormous difficulties
expected and the overwhelming strength of the enemy.
The preparations needed for thisexpedition had to be extensive. In
spite of the fact that summer had set in and the intense heat produced
languor and listlessness, and in spite of the fact that the date crops
needed harvesting, the Muslims responded enthusiastically to the call
of the Prophet and busied themselves in preparing for the arduous
campaign ahead.
There was however a group of munafiqun or hypocrites who outwardly had
declared their acceptance of Islam but inwardly did not believe in it.
They were critical of the expedition and tried to weaken the resolve
of the Muslims. They even ridiculed the Prophet in their private
gatherings. Disbelief and hatred remained intheir hearts.
One day, shortly before the armywas due to set out, the young Umayr
ibn Sad returned home after performing Salat in the mosque. He was all
agog with excitement. He had just witnessed the great generosity and
the spontaneous spirit of sacrifice which the Muslims displayed in
preparing for the expedition. He had seen women of the Muhajirin and
the Ansar donating their jewellery and their ornaments to buy
provisions and equipment for the army. He had seen Uthman ibn Affan
handing over a purse containing a thousand gold dinars to the Prophet
and Abdur Rahman ibn Awl carrying on his shoulders two hundred
awqiyyah of gold and placing it before the noble Prophet. Indeed he
had even seen a man trying to sell his bed in order to purchase a
sword for himself.
At home, he recalled these moving and inspiring scenes. He was
surprised however that Julas was so slow in preparing for the
expedition with the Prophet and at his delay in contributing
especially since he was quite rich and could afford to give
generously. Umayr felt that he had to arouse his ardor or stir his
sense of generosity and manliness. So with great enthusiasm he related
what he had seen and heard at the mosque particularly the case of
those believers who, with great fervor, had come to enlist themselves
in the army and were turned away by the Prophet because there was not
sufficient means of transport. Herelated how sad and disappointed
these people were at not realizing their desire to go on the path of
Jihad and sacrifice for the sake of Islam. Julas' response was sharp
and shocking.
"If Muhammad is true in claiming that he is a Prophet ," he shouted
angrily, "then we areall worse than donkeys."
Umayr was flabbergasted. He could not believe what he had heard. He
did not think that a man as intelligent as Julas could have uttered
such words, words which put him instantly outside the pale of faith.
A host of questions paced through his mind and he immediately began to
consider what action he should take. He saw in Julas' silence and his
tardiness to respond to the Prophet's call, clear signs of a traitor
to God and His Prophet, who wanted to bring harm to Islam in just the
same way as the munafiqun who were plotting and conspiring against the
Prophet. At the same time he saw a man who had treated him as a father
and who was kind and generous to him, who had taken him as an orphan
and had saved him from poverty.
Umayr had to choose between preserving this close relationship with
Julas on the one hand and dealing with his treachery and hypocrisy on
the other. The choice was painful but his decision was swift. He
turned to Julas and said:
"By God, O Julas, there is no one on the face of the earth, after
Muhammad ibn Abdullah, dearerto me than you. You are the closest of
men to me and you have been most generous to me.But you have uttered
words which, if I should mention them will expose and humiliate you.
IfI conceal them, however, I will be a traitor to my trust and destroy
myself and my religion. Iwill, therefore, go to the Messenger of God,
peace be upon him, and tell him what youhave said. It is up to you to
clarify your position."
The young Umayr went to the mosque and told the Prophet what he had
heard from Julas. The Prophet asked him to stay with him and sent one
of his companions to summon Julas.
Julas came, greeted the Prophet and sat in front of him. The Prophet,
peace be upon him straightaway asked him: "What did you say that Umayr
ibn Sad heard?" and he mentioned whatUmayr had reported to him.
"He has lied against me, O Messenger of God, and has fabricated this.
I have not uttered anything of the sort" asserted Julas.
The companions of the Prophet looked alternately at Julas and Umayr
hoping to detect on their faces what their hearts concealed. They
began to mutteramong themselves. One of thosein whose hearts was the
diseaseof hypocrisy asserted:
"The youth is a nuisance. He is bent on defaming someone whohas been
good to him." Others replied: "Not at all. He is a youth who grew up
in obedience to God. The expressions on his face attest to his
truthfulness."
The Prophet, peace be on him, turned to Umayr and saw his flushed face
and the tears streaming down his cheeks. Umayr prayed:
"O Lord, send down a revelation on Your Prophet to verify what I have
told him." Julas meanwhile continued to defend what he had said: "What
I have told you, O Messenger of God, is certainly the truth. If you
wish, make us swear an oath in your presence. I swear by God that I
did not say anything of the sort that Umayr reported to you."
As the companions turned to Umayr to hear what he had to say, they saw
the Prophet come under a special mood of serenityand they realized
that he was being inspired. Immediately there was complete silence as
they gazed intently at the Prophet in anticipation.
At this point, fear and terror gripped Julas and he began to look
tremulously at Umayr. The Prophet, having received the revelation,
recited the words of God:
"(The hypocrites) swear by God that they have said (nothing wrong);
yet most certainly they have uttered a saying which is a denial of the
truth, and have thus denied the truth after having professed their
self-surrender to God; for they were aiming at something which was
beyond their reach. And they could find no fault (with the Faith) save
that God had enriched them and (caused) His Apostle to enrich them out
of His bounty. Hence, if they repent, it will be for their own good;
but if they turn away, God will cause them to suffer a grievous
suffering in this world and in the life to come and they will find no
helper on earth, and none to give them succour." (The Quran, Surah
at-Tawbah, 9:74).
Julas trembled with fear at whathe heard and in his anguish, could
hardly speak. Finally, he turned to the Prophet and said:"I do repent,
O Messenger of God. I do repent. Umayr told the truth and I lied. I
beseech God toaccept my repentance..."
The Prophet turned to the youngUmayr. Tears of joy moistened his
youthful face, radiant with the light of faith. With his noble hand,
the Prophet tenderly took his
ear and said:
"Young man, your ear has been true in what it heard and your Lord has
confirmed the truth of what you said." Julas returned to the fold of
Islam and was a good and faithful Muslim thereafter. The companions
realized that by his generosity and good treatment of Umayr, he had
reformed. Whenever Umayr was mentioned, Julas would say:
"My God reward Umayr with goodness on my behalf. He certainly saved me
from kufr andpreserved my neck from the fire of hell."
Umayr grew up and distinguished himself in later years with the same
devotion and firmness which he had shown in early life.
During the caliphate of Umar ibnal-Khattab, the people of Hims inSyria
complained much and bitterly of the governors appointed to the city
even though Umar in particular used to pay special attention to the
type of men he chose as his provincial governors. In selecting a
governor, Umar would say: "I want a man who when he is among the
people and is not their amir, should notbehave as their amir, and when
he is among them as an amir, heshould behave as one of them.
"I want a governor who will not distinguish himself from the people by
the clothes he wears, or the food he eats or the house he lives in."
"I want a governor who would establish Salat among the people, treat
them equitably andwith justice and does not close his door when they
come to himin need."
In the light of the complaints of the people of Hims and going by his
own criteria for a good governor, Umar ibn al-Khattab decided to
appoint Umayr ibn Sad as governor of the region. This was despite the
fact that Umayr at that time was at the head of a Muslim army
traversing the Arabian peninsulaand the region of great Syria,
liberating towns, destroying enemy fortifications, pacifying the
tribes and establishing masjids wherever he went. Umayr accepted the
appointment as governor of Hims reluctantly because he preferred
nothing better than Jihad in the path of God. He was still quite
young, in his early twenties.
When Umayr reached Hims he called the inhabitants to a vast
congregational prayer. When theprayer was over he addressed them. He
began by praising and giving thanks to God and sending peace and
blessings on His Prophet Muhammad. Then hesaid:
"O people! Islam is a mighty fortress and a sturdy gate. The fortress
of Islam is justice and its gate is truth. If you destroy the fortress
and demolish the gate you would undermine the defences of this
religion.
"Islam will remain strong so long as the Sultan or central authority
is strong. The strengthof the Sultan neither comes from flogging with
the whip, nor killing with the sword but from ruling with justice and
holding fast to truth."
Umayr spent a full year in Hims during which, it is said, he did not
write a single letter to the Amir al-Muminin. Nor did he send any
taxes to the central treasury in Madinah, neither a dirham nor a
dinar.
Umar was always concerned about the performance of his governors and
was afraid that positions of authority would corrupt them. As far as
he was concerned, there was no one who was free from sin and
corrupting influences apart fromthe noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
He summoned his secretary and said:
"Write to Umayr ibn Sad and say to him: "When the letter of the Amir
al-Muminin reaches you, leave Hims and come to him andbring with you
whatever taxes you have collected from the Muslims."
Umayr received the letter. He took his food pouch and hung his eating,
drinking and washingutensils over his shoulder. He took his spear and
left Hims and the governorship behind him. Heset off for Madinah on
foot.
As Umayr approached Madinah, he was badly sunburnt, his body was gaunt
and his hair had grown long. His appearance showed all the signs of
the long and arduous journey. Umar, on seeing him, was astonished.
What's wrong with you, Umayr?" he asked with deep concern.
"Nothing is wrong with me, O Amir al-Muminin," replied Umayr. "I am
fine and healthy, praise be to God, and I carry with me all (my)
worldly possessions."
"And what worldly possessions have you got?" asked Umar thinking that
he was carrying money for the Bayt al-mal or treasury of the Muslims."
"I have my pouch in which I put my food provisions. I have this vessel
from which I eat and which I use for washing my hair and clothes. And
I have this cup for making wudu and drinking..." "Did you come on
foot?" asked Umar. "Yes, O Amir al-Muminin." "Weren't you given from
your amirship an animal toride on?" "They did not give me one and I
did not ask them."
"And where is the amount you brought for the Baytalmal?"
"I didn't bring anything."
"And why not?"
"When I arrived at Hims," said Umayr, "I called the righteous persons
of the town to a meeting and gave them the responsibility of
collecting the taxes. Whenever they collected any amounts of money I
would seek their advice and spent it (all) on those who were deserving
among them."
At this point, Umar turned to hissecretary and said:
"Renew the appointment of Umayr to the governorship of Hims." "Oh,
come now," protested Umayr. "That is something which I do not desire.
I shall not be a governor for you nor for anyone after you,O Amir
al-Muminin."
With that Umayr asked the Khalifah's permission to go to his village
on the outskirts of Madinah to live there with his family. This Umar
granted.
A long time passed since Umayr had gone to his village and Umardecided
to put him through a test to make sure of his circumstances. He said
to one of his trusted aides called al-Harith:
"Harith, go to Umayr ibn Sad andstay with him as though you were a
guest. If you see on him any signs of luxury or good living, return
quietly as you went. If, however, you find him in straitened
circumstances give him these dinars." Umar handed Harith a bag with a
hundred dinars.
Al-Harith set our for Umayr's village and found his home after making enquiries.
"As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah," he greeted Umayr.
"Wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu," replied Umayr and
asked, "From where have you come?"
"From aI-Madinah."
"How arr the Muslims there?"
"Fine."
"How is the Amir al-Muminin?"
"He is fine and doing well."
"Has he applied the hudud laws?"
"Yes. He carried out the sentenceof punishment on his own son for
committing the crime of adultery. His son died as a result of the
punishment." Al-Harith continued: "O Allah, help Umar. I only know
that he has a great love for you."
Al-Harith stayed as Umayr's guest for three nights. On each night he
was given only a small flat piece of barley bread. On the third day a
local man said to Harith:
"Umayr and his family are suffering great hardship. They only have
these loaves which they have given you in preference to themselves.
They are hungry and in great distress.Harith went to Umayr and gave
him the bag of money.
"What is this?" asked Umayr.
"The Amir al-Muminin sent it to you."
"Return it to him. Give him my greetings of peace and tell him that
Umayr has no need of it."
"Take it, O Umayr," shouted his wife who was listening to the
conversation between her husband and his guest. "If you need it, you
can spend it. If not, you can spend it in other appropriate ways, for
those in need here are many."
When al-Harith heard what she had said, he placed the dinars in front
of Umayr and left. Umayr took the money and placed it in a small bag.
He only went to sleep that night after he had distributed the money to
those in need and especially to the children of those who had been
martyred.
Al-Harith returned to Madinah and was questioned by Umar al-Faruq.
"What have you seen, Harith?"
"A very distressing situation, O Amir al-Muminin."
"Did you give him the dinars?"
"Yes, O Amir al-Muminin."
"What did he do with them?"
"I don't know. But I think that he did not keep a single dirham of it
for himself."
Al-Faruq wrote to Umayr: "Whenyou receive this letter, I do not put it
down until you come to me."
Umayr proceeded straightaway to Madinah. Umar greeted and welcomed him
and proceeded to question him.
"What did you do with the dinars, Umayr?" "You have no responsibility
for the money after you have donated it to me."
"I adjure you to tell me what you did with it."
"I stored it away for myself so that I could benefit from
it a day when neither wealth norchildren will be of any avail." Tears
came to Umar's eyes as he said:
"I swear that you are one of those who are hard against themselves
even when they are in dire need." And he ordered a camel load of food
and two garments to be given to Umayr who protested:
"About the food, we do not need it, O Amir al-Mumineen. I left two
saas of barley with my family and when we have finished that, Allah-
Great and Exalted is He - will provide. As forthe two garments, I will
take them for (my wife). Her dress is now in tatters and she is almost
naked."
Not long after that meeting withUmar al-Faruq, Umayr ibn Sad passed
away to his Lord. He was not weighted down with the cares and burdens
of the world and he was concerned to provide plenty of provisions for
the hereafter. Umar received the news of his death with a heavy heart
and said in deep sorrow: "Ihave wished to have men like Umayr ibn Sad
whose help I could seek in dealing with the affairs of Muslims."

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Global diabetes numbers at all-time high

The number of adults who have been diagnosed with diabetes worldwide
has more than doubled since 1980 to 347 million, a far larger number
than previously thought, a new study has found.
An international team of researchers working with the World Health
Organization has found that the rates of diabetes have either risen
or, at best, remained essentially the same all over the world in the
past 30 years, the study, published in The Lancet journal, says.
The estimated number of diabetics is far higher than a previous
projection, which put thenumber closer to 285 million. Of the 347
millionwith diabetes, 138 million live in China and India, with
another 36 million in the United States and Russia.
Type 2, the most commontype of diabetes, is strongly associated with
obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
"Diabetes is becoming more common almost everywhere in the world,"
said Majid Ezzati, from Britain's Imperial College London, who led the
study along with Goodarz Danaei, from theHarvard School of Public
Health in the United States.
"Unless we develop better programs for detecting people with elevated
blood sugar andhelping them to improve their diet and physical
activity and control their weight, diabetes will inevitably continue
to impose a major burden on health systems aroundthe world," Danaei
said in a joint statement.
People who suffer from diabetes have inadequate blood sugar control,
an affliction that can lead to serious complications, including heart
disease, stroke, kidney or nerve damage and blindness.
According to experts, high blood glucose and diabetes lead to around
three million deaths around the world every year, a number that will
continue to rise as the number of people affected increases.
New treatments
Dozens of different treatments for the disease are available on the
market in both pill and injection form. Global sales of the medicines
hit $35 billion last year, and could rise to as high as $48 billion by
2015, according to IMSHealth, a drug research firm.
New research that is due to be presented this weekend at the
AmericanDiabetes Association's annual meeting in San Diego will focus
on experimental drugs and methods of combining classes of medication
to better control blood sugar.
A new type of diabetes pill being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb
and AstraZeneca has proven to be effective at fightingthe disease,
according to a new two-year study, but the companies said higher rates
of bladder and breast cancers were seen in users of the drug.
1.4 per cent of patients treated with Dapagliflozin developed some
type of cancer, compared with 1.3 per cent of control group patients,
said Elisabeth Bjork, vice president of development for Dapagliflozin
at AstraZeneca.
"This is a chronic, progressive condition," said Dennis Urbaniak, vice
president of drug-maker Sanofi's diabetes division. "What we are most
worried about is the number of people out there with diabetes that is
not optimally controlled."
Diabetes has proven to be a booming market for drug manufacturers like
Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Merck and Takeda.
For the Lancet study, the largest of its kind for diabetes,
researchers analyzed fasting plasma glucose (FPG) data for 2.7million
participants aged 25 and over across the world, using advanced
statistical methods to estimate the prevalence of the disease.
They found that between1980 and 2008, the number of adults with the
disease rose from 153million to 347 million. Seventy per cent of the
rise was due to population growth and ageing, with the other 30per
cent due to higher prevalence, they said.
The proportion of adults with diabetes by gender also increased, with
9.8 per cent of men and 9.2 per cent of women in 2008 affected by the
disease, compared to 8.3 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively in
1980.
Island countries in the Pacific now have the highest diabetes levels
in the world, the study found. In the Marshall Islands, a third of all
women and a quarter of all men have diabetes.
The rise was high in North America, but relatively low in Western
Europe. Diabetes and glucose levels were highest in United States,
Greenland, Malta, New Zealand and Spain, and lowest in the
Netherlands, Austria and France.
The region with the lowest glucose levels wassub-Saharan Africa,
followed by east and southeast Asia.
PHOTO CAPTION
File photo of patients eating at a weight-reduction clinic in
Tianjinin northern China.

Study shows spanking boosts odds of mental illness

People who were hit or spanked as children face higher odds of mental
ailments as adults, including mood and anxiety disorders and problems
with alcohol and drug abuse, researchers said Monday.
The study, led by Canadian researchers, is the first to examine the
link between psychological problems and spanking, while excluding more
severe physical or sexual abuse inorder to better gauge the effect of
corporal punishment alone.
Those who were spanked or hit as kids were between two and seven
percent more likely to encounter mental issues later, said the
research in the US journal Pediatrics, based on a retrospective survey
of more than600 US adults.
That figure may seem low, particularly since about half of the US
population recalls being spanked in childhood, but nevertheless shows
that physical punishment can raise the risk of problems later on,
experts said.
"The study is valuable because it opens the conversation about
parenting," said Victor Fornari, director of the division of child and
adolescent psychiatry at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
in New York.
The rate "is not dramatically higher, but it is higher, just to
suggest that physical punishment is a risk factor for developing more
mental disturbances as an adult," said Fornari, who was not involved
in the study.
Previous research has repeatedly shown that children who were
physically abused as youngsters suffer from more mental disturbances
as adults, and are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior than
kids who were not hit.
But these studies have typically included more serious abuse.
The current study excludes both sexual abuse and physical abuse that
left bruises, marks or causedinjury.
Instead it focuses on "harsh physical punishment," defined as pushing,
grabbing, shoving, slapping or hitting as a form of punishment from
elders.
While 32 nations around the world have banned corporal punishment of
kids, the United States and Canada are not amongthem.
Using a nationally representative survey sample of 653 Americans, they
found that those who recalled experiencing harsh punishment as
children faced higher odds of a range of mental problems.
Between two and five percent of disorders like depression, anxiety,
bipolar, anorexia or bulimia were attributable to physical punishment
as a child, the study said.
From four to seven percent of more serious problems including
personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and intellectual
disabilities were associated with such punishments in childhood.
Researchers stressed that the study could not establish that spanking
had actually caused these disorders in certain adults, only that there
was a link between memories of such punishment and a higher incidence
of mental problems.
The survey data came from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol
and Related Conditions collected between 2004 and 2005,and included
adults over age 20.
Participants were asked: "As a child how often were you ever pushed,
grabbed, shoved, slapped or hit by your parents or any adult living in
your house?" Those who answered"sometimes" or greater were included in
the analysis.
Roya Samuels, a pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center inNew
York, said the parents' genes may influence both their response to
raising an unruly child as well as their likelihood ofpassing down
certain ailments.
"Parents who are resorting to mechanisms of corporal punishment might
themselves beat risk for depression and mental disorders; therefore,
there might be a hereditary factor going on inthese families," she
told AFP.
Future research could shed more light on the issue. In the meantime,
the study offers a reminder that other disciplinary options such as
positive reinforcement and removing rewards are viewed more favorably
by doctors.
"The reality is, if 50 percent of thepopulation has experienced being
spanked in the past year, most kids are resilient. It is just that
there are better ways for parents to discipline kids than spanking,"
Fornari said.
"And for some vulnerable kids, the spanking may increase their risk
for the development of mental disturbances. So for thosereasons it is
important to really minimize or extinguish physical punishment."
The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes striking children for any
cause and the Canadian Pediatric Society recommends that doctors
strongly discourage the use of physical punishment.