Dought & clear, - Determining if a Person is Afflicted With Evil Eye

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I have a question about the evil eye. In my culture (I am originally from Morocco), the women treat the evil eye by this ceremony:
The sick person sits down (e.g. on a chair) while another person holds a glass of water above his head.
Another person (this can be the same one as the one holding the glass) lights a match and goes around the face of the sick person with it, meanwhile reciting surat al Fatihah. Note that the match doesn’t touch the face of the sick person. After a few seconds, the match is thrown in the glass of water above the head of the sick person and a second match is lit.
This is done seven times.
When done, the person who is doing this takes the glass of water and touches all the matches in the glass. If the matches go to the bottom of the glass, it means that the sick person is afflicted by the evil eye. They usually count the matches on the bottom to estimate how sick the person is. The more matches on the bottom, the sicker he is.
After this ceremony, people assume that the sick person is cured. I think this is very untrustworthy, because I have never read anything about a glass and matches to treat the evil eye. Can you please tell me whether this has a basis in Islam or not?
Praise be to Allah.
The method mentioned of finding out whether a person has been afflicted with the evil eye and treating it is an innovated method (bid‘ah) and a reprehensible practice; it is not permissible to do it and it should be forbidden and warned against. It is more like witchcraft and devilish tricks than ruqyah (incantation) as prescribed in Islam or regular medical treatment.
Islam, praise be to Allah, did not omit anything that concerns people but it has discussed it and explained it clearly. But the shaytan (devil) still manages to mislead some people because of their ignorance of Islam and the ways of bid‘ah (innovation) that they are following.
Ruqyah may be done by reciting al-Fatihah, and reciting al-Fatihah as a remedy for sickness is something that has been prescribed in sharee‘ah (Islamic law), but not in this innovated fashion.
See the answer to question no. 21581and 132386.
Believing that something is a means when Allah has not made it a means – either according to Islam or the laws of nature that He has decreed – is a kind of shirk (polytheism). An example of that is regarding something as a sign of healing or sickness, or of success or failure, when there is no shar‘i (legal) or physical connection between the two.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
So long as there is no proof that a thing is a means (to an end) – either according to Islam or natural, physical laws – then it is a kind of minor shirk. That includes, for example, charms and amulets that are said to ward off the evil eye, and the like, because this is deciding that something is a means to an end when Allah has not created it to be such. Thus he is deciding about something being a means to an end, which is something that is only for Allah to decide. Hence this is like an act of shirk.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fatawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
To sum up:
The method mentioned is an innovative and reprehensible method that is more akin to the tricks of the practitioners of witchcraft and charlatans.
For information on the symptoms of affliction with the evil eye please see the answer to question no. 125543.
For more information on ways of protecting oneself from the evil eye and treating one who has been affected by it, please see the answer to question no. 20954.
And Allah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - Sunnah and Bid’ah

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I have read many fatwas (verdicts) about innovation and my question is, if the Prophet (peace be upon him) practiced something do we have to practise EXACTLY as he did it? If we don’t do it EXACTLY then is it innovation? Because I've read a lot of the fatwas and in a lot of it many of the practices are considered BID’AH. For example, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) did emphasize on the virtue of du’a (supplication) in congregation. Now if it’s practised after fardh salah (compulsory prayers) why is it an innovation? Is the sunnah (prophetic teaching) of the Prophet subject to exactly the way he did, the time he did etc etc. If we do it at a different time is it innovation? Say for example if it’s sunnah to read Surah Kahf on Friday. Now if I read surah Kahf every Monday and Tuesday, will it be considered a bid’ah? I’m still making Ibadah (worship). Why is it subject to TIME?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
No doubt it is obligatory for the Muslim to be a follower of his Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in what he prescribed and it is not permissible for him to go against that or to introduce any innovation into the religion, because of the evidence that indicates that it is obligatory to follow and it is forbidden to introduce innovation. But it should be noted that differing from the way of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and falling into bid‘ah may mean one of two things:
(i)
introducing an act of worship for which there is no basis in Islam, such as touching graves and seeking help from their occupants. The scholars call this real innovation (al-bid‘ah al-haqeeqah). This is that which was not prescribed at all.
(ii)
the act of worship may be originally prescribed in Islam, and what is contrary to the sunnah may have to do with defining a certain time or place for it, or a certain number of times it is to be repeated, or the manner in which it is to be done or the reason for which it is to be done. This is called innovation by addition (al-bid‘ah al-idaafiyyah); it is not bid‘ah unless it is done regularly and repeatedly. If it is done only once or twice without adhering to that, then it is not bid‘ah, such as if people pray qiyaam (night prayer) in congregation (jamaa‘ah) on some occasion, without thinking that there is any particular virtue in doing so.
Hence ash-Shatibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, discussing the “innovation by addition”: The word bid‘ah refers to an invented way of doing something in Islam that is similar to what is prescribed, of which the intention is to go to extremes in worshipping Allah, may He be glorified.
That includes regularly adhering to certain manners and forms of worship, such as reciting dhikr (remembrance of Allah) together in unison, taking the birthday of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) as an Eid (festival), and so on.
It also includes adhering to specific acts of worship at specific times that were not defined as such in sharee‘ah (Islamic law), such as always fasting on the fifteenth of Sha‘ban (an-nusf min Sha‘ban) and spending that night in prayer (qiyam).
End quote from al-I‘tisam, 1/37-39
Adhering to a thing means doing it regularly and repeatedly.
Secondly:
Du‘a (supplication) is prescribed during the prayer and following it, according to the correct scholarly opinion. What is not allowed is reciting du‘a in unison. The evidence for it being prescribed to offer du‘a after the prayer is as follows:
1.
It was narrated that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said the salam (greetings in conclusion) at the end of the prayer, he would say: “Allahumma ighfir li ma qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu wa ma asrartu wa ma a’lantu wa ma asraftu wa ma anta a’lamu bihi minni. Anta al-muqaddim wa anta al-mu’akhkhir la ilaha illa anta (O Allah! Forgive me what I have done in the past, and what I will do in the future, and what I have concealed, and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in, whatever You know about me more than I. You are the One Who brings forward, and You are the One Who puts back, there is no god except You).”
[Abu Dawood]. This does not contradict the report that says that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said this du‘a before the salam. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite this du‘a in both places. See: al-Majmoo‘.
2.
It was narrated that Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was said to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): Which du‘a is most likely to be heard? He said: “(That which is said) in the last part of the night and at the end of the obligatory prayers.” [al-Tirmidhi]
“at the end of the prayers” may refer to after the prayers or in the last part of the prayers. In the following hadeeth, for example, what is meant is after the prayer: ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed me to recite al-Mu‘awwidhat (soorahs that give protection) at the end of every prayer (i.e., after the prayer).
[Ahmad, Abu Dawood]
As for reciting du‘a in unison, there is no report that speaks of it; hence doing it regularly following the prayers comes under the heading of bid ‘ah.
So acts of worship must be done as prescribed by sharee‘ah in six ways: quantity, manner, time, place, reason and type. For more details of that please see the answer to question no. 21519
Thirdly:
There is nothing wrong with reading Soorat al-Kahf on days other than Friday, if the reader wants to do that or if it so happens as part of his regular daily portion of Quran, and he will have a tenfold reward for each letter, as is the reward for reading other soorahs (chapters). But that is on condition that he does not set aside a special day for reading it, as is the case on Fridays, and hence he should not believe that reading it on this day is better than reading it on other days or that there is a particular virtue of reading it on a specific day that is like the virtue of reading it on Friday, because that virtue applies only to Friday, according to those who say that the hadeeth which speaks of that is saheeh (authentic).
And Allah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - Is it permissible to celebrate the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan and to distribute sweets to children to let people know that Ramadan is approaching?

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Is it permissible to celebrate the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan, as it is a part of the people’s heritage in some countries? To clarify further, some groups in our country have a custom of distributing sweets to children and they told us that it is just to express joy at the approach of Ramadan. Is there anything wrong with celebrating this night if the celebration is limited only to distributing sweets to children?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not prescribed in Islam to celebrate the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan, whether that is by spending the night in prayer, dhikr and reading Qur’aan, or by distributing sweets or giving food to people and so on.
It is not known in the saheeh Sunnah that this night is to be singled out for acts of worship or customs.
The night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan is just like any other night.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
It is not permissible to celebrate the occasion of Laylat al-Qadr or any other night, or to hold celebrations on other occasions such as the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan, the night of the Mi‘raaj, or the Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid) and so on, because these are innovations that have been introduced into the religion and were not narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or any of his Companions. And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever does an action that is not part of this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) will have it rejected.” And it is not permissible to help others to hold these celebrations by giving money or gifts or distributing cups of tea, and it is not permissible to give speeches and lectures on these occasions, because that comes under the heading of approving of them and encouraging them. Rather it is obligatory to denounce them and not to attend them. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 2/257-258
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
We have some customs that we grew up with and that have been passed down to us, on some occasions, such as making cakes and cookies on Eid al-Fitr, and preparing platters of meat and fruit on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab and the fifteenth of Sha‘baan, and different kinds of sweets that must be prepared on the day of ‘Ashoora’. What is the Islamic ruling on that?
He replied:
As for expressing joy and happiness of the days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, there is nothing wrong with that if it is within the limits prescribed in Islam, such as preparing food and drink and the like. It is proven that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The days of at-Tashreeq are days of eating and drinking and remembering Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.” This refers to the three days following Eid al-Adha, when the people offer their sacrifices and eat from the meat and enjoy the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them. Similarly, on Eid al-Fitr there is nothing wrong with expressing joy and happiness so long as it does not overstep the limits set by Islam.
As for expressing joy on the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab or the fifteenth of Sha‘baan or the day of ‘Ashoora’, this is something for which there is no basis. Rather it is forbidden and the Muslim should not attend if he is invited to such celebrations. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation (bid‘ah), and every innovation is a going astray.”
The night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab is what some people claim is the night of the Mi‘raaj during which the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was taken up to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. There is no proof of this date from a historical point of view, and everything for which there is no proof is false, and that which is built on falsehood is also false. Even if we assume that this event took place on that night, it is not permissible for us to introduce on that date any of the symbols of festivals or acts of worship, because no such thing is proven from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or from his Companions who were the closest of people to him and the keenest of people to adhere to his Sunnah and follow his path. So how could it be permissible for us to introduce something that did not happen at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or at the time of his Companions??
Even with regard to the night of the fifteenth of Sha‘baan, there is no proof that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) ever venerated it or spent that night in prayer. Rather some of the Taabi‘een spent that night in prayer and dhikr, not in eating and celebrating as if it were a festival. End quote.
Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/693
And Allah knows best.

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For children, - Importance of Salah in Islam: Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and Salah (Salat, Namaz)

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One of the companions of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), by the name of Sa'd, was very poor and was regarded as one of the People of the Ledge. Sa'd used to offer all his Salah (Salat, Namaz) prayers behind the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), who was greatly distressed by Sa'd's poverty. One day, the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) promised him that if he got some money, he would give it to Sa'd. Time passed but no money came to the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) who became even more distressed at Sa'd's situation. It was at this time that Jibril (Gabriel) descended, bringing with him two Dirhams.
Jibril (Gabriel) said to the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), "Allah (SWT) has said: We are aware of your distress in connection with Sa'd's poverty. If you want him to emerge from this state, give him these two Dirhams and ask him to engage himself in business."
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) took the two Dirhams and set out of the house for the Dhuhr prayers when he found Sa'd waiting for him near one of the rooms of the mosque.
Turning to Sa'd, the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) asked: "Could you engage yourself in business?"
"By Allah (SWT)! I have no capital with which I can do business," replied Sa'd.
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) handed him the two Dirhams and told him to start business with this capital.
Sa'd took the money and after offering the Dhuhr and Asr Salah (Salat, Namaz) prayers set about to earn his livelihood.
Allah (SWT) blessed Sa'd in such a way that whatever he purchased for a Dirham, he would sell it for double the amount. Consequently, his financial state gradually improved. This continued till he eventually purchased a shop near the mosque and began conducting his business from there. As his business picked up, he began to become lax with respect to his acts of worship (Ibadah, Ibadat), even to the extent that when Hazrat Bilal ibn Rabahrecited the Adhan he would not get ready for the prayers. Previously, he was ready well before Adhan was recited!
When the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) noticed Sa'd's lateness for Salah (Salat, Namaz) prayers, he said to him: "Sa'd, this world has made you so busy that it has even weaned you away from your Salah (Salat, Namaz) prayers."
Sa'd replied, "What can I do? If I leave my wealth unattended, it will go to waste and I will end up in loss. From one person, I have to collect the money for the goods sold, while from another I have to take possession of the goods purchased."
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was disturbed at Sa'd's involvement with his wealth and his negligence with respect to his acts of worship and Salah (Salat, Namaz) prayer. At that moment, Jibril (Gabriel) descended again and said: "Allah (SWT) has said: 'We possess knowledge of your distress. Which of the two states do you prefer for Sa'd?"
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) indicated that the previous state was beneficial for Sa'd. Jibril (Gabriel) agreed, "Yes, love for the world causes man to become heedless of the hereafter. Take back the two Dirhams, which you had given to him previously."
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) approached Sa'd and asked him if he could return the two Dirhams that he had given to him.
"If you desire, I shall even give you two hundred Dirhams," replied Sa'd.
"No, just give me the two Dirhams, which you had taken from me." said the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).
Sa'd handed the money to the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and within a short time, his financial situation turned a full circle and before long he found himself in his previous state.

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