* The story of magic against the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and its meaning

* Is the hadith about the magic on Prophet (PBUH)authentic? i've heard
alot about this.
Praise be to Allaah.
The hadeeth of magic against the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is a saheeh hadeeth which was narrated by
al-Bukhaari, Muslim and other imams of hadeeth.Ahl al-Sunnah accept
thisstory and no one denies it except an innovator. There follows the
text of the hadeeth, its source, its meaning and the refutation by the
scholars of those who deny it.
It was narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
A spell was put on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) until he imagined that he had done a thing when he had not done
it. One dayhe made du'aa' then he said: "Do you know that Allaah has
shown me in what lies my cure? Two men came to me and one of them sat
at my head and the other at my feet. One of them said to the other,
'What is ailing the man?' He said: 'He has been bewitched.' He said:
"Who has bewitched him?' He said: 'Labeed ibn al-A'sam.' He said,
'With what?' He said: 'With a comb, the hair that is stuck to it, and
the skin of pollen of a male date palm. He said: 'Where is it?' He
said, 'In the well of Dharwaan.'" The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) went out to the well, then he came back and said
to 'Aa'ishah when he came back: "Its date palms are like the heads of
devils." I said: "Did you take it out?" He said: "No. Allaahhas healed
me, and I feared that that might bring evil upon the people." Then the
well was filled in.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,3268; Muslim, 2189.
'A comb
and the hairs stuck to it and.' The first one asked,'Where is that?'
The other replied, '(That is) in the well of Dharwan.' " So
Allah's Apostle along with some of his companions went
there and came back saying, "O 'Aisha, the color of its
water is like the infusionof Henna leaves. The tops of
the date-palm trees nearit are like the heads of the
devils." I asked. "O Allah'sApostle? Why did you not
show it (to the people)?"He said, "Since Allah cured me,
I disliked to let evil spread among the people." Then he
ordered that the well be filled up with earth
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Maazari said: The innovators rejected this hadeeth and claimed that
it detracted from the status of Prophethood and cast aspersions upon
it. Theysaid: Everything that leads to that is false. Andthey said
that accepting that meant that we could not be sure of the laws that
he prescribed, because it is possible that he imagined that hewas
seeing Jibreel when he was not there, and that something had been
revealed to him when nothing had been revealed. Al-Maazari said: All
of this is to be rejected, because the evidence that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was truthful in what he
conveyed from Allaah and that he was infallible in conveying it is
well established. The miraclesbear witness to his truthfulness and
accepting something when there is evidence to the contrary is false.
With regard to some worldly matters for which he was not sent and
which have nothing to do with his message, then he was exposed to the
same as all other human beings, such as sickness. It is not
far-fetched to say that he could be made to imagine something
withregard to worldly matters that was not true, whilst at the same
time he was protected against such things with regard to matters of
religion.
Some people said that what is meant by this hadeeth is that he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) imagined that he had had
intercourse with his wives when he had not done so. This is something
that people frequently imagine in their dreams, so it is not
far-fetched to say that he could have imagined that when he was awake.
I – Ibn Hajar – say: This is what is stated clearly in the report of
Ibn 'Uyaynah that is narrated by al-Bukhaari, which says: "until he
thought that he had hadintercourse with his wives when he had not done
so."
'Iyaad said: Thus it is clear that the witchcraft prevailed over his
body and physical faculties, not over his discernmentand beliefs…
Al-Mahlab said: The protection of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) against the devils does not mean that they would
not try to harm him. In al-Saheeh it is narrated that a devil wanted
to spoil his prayer but Allaah protected him against him. The same
applies to witchcraft; theharm that affected him did not have any
impact on his conveying of the message, rather it was akin to any
other kind ofsickness that afflicted him, such as having difficulty in
speaking or doing certain things, or experiencing illusions that did
not last. Rather it passed and Allaah foiled the plots of the devils.
End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 10/226, 227
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
How the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was guided
to treat the spell which Jews cast on him:
This has been denied by some people who said that this could not have
happened to him, and they thought that it was a shortcoming and a
fault. But it is not as theythink, rather it comes under the heading
of sickness and pain that befell him; it is a kind of illness which
befell him just as he was also affected by poison – there is no
difference between the two. It is proven in al-Saheehayn that
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wasbewitched until
he thought that he had hadintercourse with his wives when he had not
done so, and that is the worst kind of witchcraft." Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad
said: Witchcraft is a kind of sickness which happened to him like
other kinds of sickness. That cannot be denied and it does not detract
from his Prophethood.
With regard to his imagining that he had done something when he had
not done it, that does not have any impact on his truthfulness,
because of the evidence to that effect and the scholarly consensus
that he was protected from that. Rather it was one of the matters of
this world which are not the reason for which he wassent, and which
are not the basis of his virtue and in which he was likeall other
human beings. It is not far-fetched to say that he might imagine some
things that were not real, then things became clear to him later on,
as indeed happened. End quote.
Zaad al-Ma'aad, 4/124
So it is clear that the hadeeth is saheeh, and that it does not
detract from the status of Prophethood. Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, protected His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and made him infallible before thisspell was cast, during it
and afterwards. The spell did no more than make the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) think that he had had intercourse
with his wives when he had not done so; it had to do with a purely
worldly matter, and had nothingto do with his conveyingof the message
at all. The words of the scholars quoted above are sufficient, and
whoever wants to know more may refer to Fath al-Baari and Zaad
al-Ma'aad.
And Allaah knows best.

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Umayr ibn Wahb - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

Umayr ibn Wahb al-Jumahi returned safely from the Battle of Badr. His
son, Wahb, was left behind, a prisoner in the hands of the Muslims.
Umar feared thatthe Muslims would punish the youth severely because of
the persecution he himself had meted out to the Prophet and the
torture he had inflicted on his companions.
One morning Umayr went to the Sacred Mosque to make tawaf around the
Kabah and worship his idols. He found Safwan ibn Umayyah sitting near
the Kabah, went up to him and said:
Im Sabahan (Good Morning), Quraysh chieftain."
"Im Sabahan, Ibn Wahb," repliedSafwan. "Let us talk for some time.
Time only goes by with conversation."
Umayr sat next to him. The two men began to recall Badr, the great
defeat they had suffered and they counted the prisoners who had fallen
into the hands ofMuhammad and his companions. They became deeply
distressed at the number of great Quraysh men who had been killed by
the swords of the Muslims and who lay buried in the mass grave at
al-Qalib in Badr.
Safwan ibn Umayyah shook his head and sighed, "By God, there can be no
better after them."
"You are right," declared Umar. He remained silent for a while and
then said, "By the God of theKabah, if I had no debts and no family
whose loss I fear after me, I would go to Muhammad and kill him,
finish off his mission and check his evil." He went on in a faint,
subdued voice, "And as my son Wahb is among them, my going to Yathrib
would be beyond doubt."
Safwan ibn Umayyah listened intently to the words of Umayr and did not
wish this opportunity to pass. He turned to him and said:
"Umar, place all your debt in my hands and I will discharge it for you
whatever the amount. As foryour family, I shall take them as my own
family and give them whatever they need. I have enough wealth to
guarantee them a comfortable living."
"Agreed," said Umar. "But keep this conversation of ours secret and do
not divulge any of it to anyone."
"That shall be so," said Safwan.
Umar left the Masjid al-Haram with the fire of hatred against Muhammad
blazing in his heart. He began to count what he needed for the task he
had set himself. He knew that he had the full support and confidence
of the Quraysh who had members of their families held prisoner in
Madinah .
Umar had his sword sharpened and coated with poison. His camel was
prepared and brought to him. He mounted thebeast and rode in the
direction of Madinah with evil in his heart.
Umar reached Madinah and wentdirectly towards the mosque looking for
the Prophet. Near the door of the mosque, he alighted and tethered his
camel.
At that time, Umar was sitting with some of the Sahabah near the door
of the Mosque, reminiscing about Badr, the number of prisoners that
had been taken and the number of Quraysh killed. They also recalledthe
acts of heroism shown by the Muslims, both the Muhajirun and the Ansar
and gave thanks to God for the great victory He had given them.
At that very moment Umar turned around and saw Umayr ibn Wahb
alighting from his camel and going towards the Mosque brandishing his
sword. Alarmed, he jumped up and shouted. "This is the dog, the enemy
of God, Umayr ibn Wahb. By God, he has only come to do evil. He led
the Mushrikeen against us in Makkah and he wasa spy for them against
us shortlybefore Badr. Go to the Messenger of God, stand around him
and warn him that this dirtytraitor is after him."
Umar himself hastened to the Prophet and said, "O Rasulullah, this
enemy of God, Umayr ibn Wahb, has come brandishing hissword and I
think that he could only be up to something evil.""Let him come in,"
said the Prophet.
Umar approached Umayr, took hold of him by the tails of his robes,
pressed the back of his sword against his neck and tookhim to the
Prophet.
When the Prophet saw Umayr in this condition he said to Umar:"Release
him.' He then turned toUmayr and said: "Come closer." Umayr came
closer and said, "ImSabaha" (the Arab greeting in the days of
Jahiliyyah)."
"God has granted us a greeting better than this, Umayr," said the
Prophet. "God has granted us the greeting of Peace--it is the greeting
of the people of Paradise." "What have you come for?" continued the
Prophet.
"I came here hoping to have the prisoner in your hands released, so
please oblige me." "And whatis this sword around your neck for?"
quizzed the Prophet. "Tell me the truth. What have you come for,
Umayr?" prodded the Prophet. "I have only come to have the prisoner
released," insisted Umar.
"No. You and Safwan ibn Umayyah sat near the Kabah recalling your
companions who lie buried at al-Qalib and then you said, 'If I had no
debt or no family to look after, I would certainly go out to kill
Muhammad.' Safwan took over your debt and promised to look after your
family in return for your agreeing to kill me. But Godis a barrier
between you and your achieving your aim."
Umar stood stupefied nor a moment, then said: "I bear witness that you
are the messenger of God." "We used, O messenger of' God." he
continued, "to reject whatever good you had brought and whatever
revelation came to you. But my conversation with Safwan ibn Umayyah
was not known to anyone else. By God, I am certain that only God could
have made this known to you. Praise be to God Who has led meto you
that He may guide me to Islam.' He then testified that there is no god
but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and became a
Muslim. Thereupon, the Prophet instructed his companions: "instruct
your brother in his religion. Teach him the Quran and set free his
prisoner."
The Muslims were extremely happy with Umayr's acceptance of Islam.
Even Umar who once said of him, "A pig is certainly dearer to me than
Umayr ibn Wahb" came up to the Prophet and exclaimed "Today, he is
dearer to me than some of my own children."
Thereafter Umayr spent much time increasing his knowledge of Islam and
filling his heart with the light of the Quran. There, in Madinah, he
spent the sweetest and richest days of his life away from what he had
known in Makkah .
Back in Makkah, Safwan was filled with hope and would say to the
Quraysh, "I will soon give you some great news that would make you
forget the events of Badr." Safwan waited for a long time and then
gradually became more and more anxious. Greatly agitated, he would go
out and ask travelers what news they had of Umayr ibn Wahb but no one
wasable to give him a satisfactory reply. Eventually a rider came and
said "Umar has become a Muslim."
The news hit Safwan like a thunderbolt. He was certain thatUmayr would
never become a Muslim and if he ever did then everyone on the face of
the earth would become Muslim also. "Never shall I speak to him and
never shall I do anything for him," he said.
Umar meanwhile kept on striving to gain a good understanding of his
religion and memorize whatever he could of the words of God. Whenhe
felt he had achieved a certain degree of confidence, he went to the
Prophet and said:
"O Rasulullah, much time has passed since I used to try to put out the
light of God and severelytortured whoever was on the path of Islam.
Now, I desire that you should give me permission to go to Makkah and
invite the Quraysh to God and His Messenger. If they accept it fromme,
that will be good. And if they oppose me, I shall harass them as I
used to harass the companions of the Prophet."
The Prophet gave his consent and Umayr left for Makkah. He went
straight to the house of Safwan ibn Umayyah and said:"Safwan, you are
one of the chieftains of Makkah and one of the most intelligent of the
Quraysh. Do you really think that these stones you are worship ping
and making sacrifice to, deserve to be the basis of a religion? As for
myself, I declare that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah." At Umayr's hands, many Makkans became
Muslims, but Safwan did not.
Later, during the liberation of Makkah, Safwan ibn Umayyah attempted
to flee from the Muslim forces. Umar, however, obtained an amnesty
from the Prophet for him and he too became a Muslim and distinguished
himself in the service of Islam.

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The perils of lying

Lying is a reprehensible quality against which the Islamic Sharee'ah
(Islamic legislation) hasissued severe warnings.; Man's sound nature
is instinctively repelled by such a quality and all sound-minded and
noble people refuse it to indulge in it.
Truthfulness is one of the pillars of the survival of the Universe,
the origin of all praiseworthy qualities, the cornerstone of
Prophethood and a natural fruit of piety. Lying, on the other hand,is
an act by which one breaks away from the sound innate human nature.
In Islam, lying has been warned against and prohibited in the Quran,
the Prophetic Sunnah (tradition) and the consensus of the Muslim
scholars. Lying has very evil consequences in both this life and the
life to come.
Lying has only been permitted under very stringent conditions and in
particular situations when it does not result in depriving anyone from
his/her rights, shedding blood or slandering others and the like. In
fact, lying has only been permitted in a situation to save someone's
life, reconcile between two disputing parties or bring about more love
and compassion between spouses.
There is no special day or time during which Islam permits people to
lie and say whatever they wish. On the first day of April(what is
known as April Fools' Day), people deem lying and saying anything they
wish lawful,without having any basis to their claims. There is a great
deal of evil resulting from such a practice, which we will mention
later.
The words of the Salaf (pious predecessors) regarding lying:
· Ibn Mas`ood said, "Truthfulness leads to piety and piety leads to
paradise. A man persists in speaking the truth until no trace of evil
will be left inhis heart nor can transgression remain therein. A man
continues to lie until not so much as the space that a needle occupies
of piety would be left in his heart."
· Ibn Mas`ood said, "Lying is not accepted in jest or seriousness."
Then he recited the verse (which means): } O you who have believed,
fear Allaah and be with those who are truthful { [Quran 9:119]
· Abu Bakr said, "Beware of lying as it opposes faith."
· Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaas said, "A believer can get accustomed to all
qualities except lying and deception."
· Ibn 'Umar said, "One will never achieve the reality of faith until
he refrains from lying even ifit is in jest."
Permissible lying:
Lying is considered lawful in Islam for three different reasons: war,
reconciling between disputing people and between spouses for the
purpose of arousing love and compassion and to prevent disputes. It is
alsolawful to tell a lie under extenuating circumstances. An example
of this is the case of a Muslim who hides himself or his money from a
tyrant who is bent on killing him or taking his money from him by
force. If one knows the whereabouts of this Muslim or his money and is
askedabout it, it is permissible to a lie in this case to save a
Muslim's lifeor his property. However, it is better to give an
equivocal answer (that is, one which is not clear or definite in
meaning), and that can be interpreted in more than one way in order to
shun lying altogether.
The sum and substance of this discussion has been derived fromthe
narration ascribed to Umm Kulthoom who said, "The Messenger of Allaah
said: "A liar is not the one who tries to bring about reconciliation
between the people and speaks good to avert dispute or to convey
good." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim].
Asmaa' bint Yazeed, , who said: "The Messenger of Allaah said: "Lying
is not permissibleexcept for three reasons: lying to one's wife to
please her (for the purpose of arousing love and compassion and
prevent disputes), lying during war and lying when reconciling between
disputing people." [At-Tirmithi-Albaani: Sound].

The Ruling on Lying and its Evil Consequences

The prohibition of lying:
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): { "They only invent falsehood
who do not believe in the verses of Allaah, and it is those who are
the liars." { [Quran 16:105] Commenting on this verse, Ibn Katheer
said,
"Allaah The Almighty informs us that His Messenger is not a liar,
because lying is only the practice of the most evil people from
amongst the disbelievers and polytheists who do not believe in the
verses of Allaah TheAlmighty. It is such people who are known among
people to be liars, while Muhammad was the most truthful person
amongst his people and the kindest to others and the most wise. He was
so truthful that his people gave him the nickname of ('The Truthful'
and 'The Trustworthy'). This is why Hercules – the Roman king - asked
Abu Sufyaan about this very quality saying, 'Was he ever known to be a
liar before claiming prophethood?' to whichAbu Sufyaan replied in the
negative. Thereupon Hercules said, 'Then he would not give up lying to
people and start lying on God.'"
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, said: "The signs of a
hypocrite are three; he lies when talking, he breaks his promises and
he deceives when entrusted […] anyone who possesses all such qualities
is a pure hypocrite" [Al-Bukhaari, Muslim].
Imaam An-Nawawi commented on this narration saying,
"The sound opinion about the interpretation of this narration is that
these are the qualities of hypocrites, and the one who possesses them
resembles hypocrites […] his saying : "… anyone who possesses all such
qualities is a pure hypocrite…" means that the person very closely
resembles the hypocrites. Some scholars said that this applies to the
person whose character is as such most the time, but the one who
rarely does so is not included in the description. Imaam At-Tirmithi
reported that the narration refers to practical hypocrisy according to
the scholars."
The evil consequence of lying:
A liar is warned that he is liable to be punished in both this life
and the Hereafter with humiliating and destructive punishments such
as:
· Instilling hypocrisy in the heart: Allaah The Almighty Says (what
means): { So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts until
the Day they will meet Him –because they failed Allaah in what they
promised Him and because they [habitually] used to lie. } [Quran 9:
77]
'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood said,
"You can consider one as a hypocrite if you see the followingthree
qualities: lying when talking, breaking his promises and deceiving
those who entrust him." Then he recited the verse (which means): } And
among them are those who made a covenant with Allaah, [saying], "If He
should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and
we will surely be among the righteous." But when he gave them from His
bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they refused.
So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they
will meet Him –because they failed Allaah in what they promised Him
and because they [habitually] used to lie .} [Quran 9: 75-77] [Ibn
Shaybah]
· Leading to evil actions and to Hell:Ibn Mas`ood reported that the
Messenger of Allaah, , said: "Truthfulness leads to pietyand piety
leads to paradise. A man persists in speaking the truth till he is
recorded with Allaah as a truthful man. Lying leads to transgression
and transgression leads to the Hell-fire. A man continues to lie till
he is recorded with Allaah as agreat liar." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim].
As-San'aani said,
"The narration indicates that truthfulness becomes a natural quality
of the one who is keen to speak only the truth, and lying becomes a
natural quality of the one who is keen to lying when speaking. This is
so, because it is a type of training one does to himself until it
becomes one of his characteristics. The narration indicates the
greatness of truthfulness so much so that it leads the person with
such a quality to Paradise. It also highlights how hideous lying is,
that it leads the person to Hell, besides the punishment awaitinghim
in this worldly life. People usually trust the words of the person
known to tell the truth and like to listen to him, contraryto the
person who is known to lie"
· Rejecting testimony: Ibn Al-Qayyim said, "Lying is one of the
strongest reasons to rejectthe testimony and narration of a person,
because the tool itself is corrupted (tongue). This is similar to the
testimony of a blind person regarding sighting the crescent of
Ramadhaan, and the deaf for something that he heard. A lying tongue is
an organ that has become defective and stopped functioning. In fact it
is even worse, because the worst thing a person can possess is a lying
tongue"
·
· Gloomy face in this life and the Hereafter: Allaah The Almighty Says
(what means): { And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who
lied about Allaah [with] their faces blackened. Is there not in Hell a
residence for the arrogant? } [Quran 39: 60] Ibn Al-Qayyim said, "In
the Hereafter, Allaah The Almighty will make the gloominess on the
face as a sign of those who used to lie. Lying gives the face of the
liar a gloominess that is noticed by truthful people. On the other
hand, truthful people have brightand glowing faces that make all the
people who meet them love them, while the liar's gloominessmakes
people hate them."
· Tearing of the face in the Hereafter: Samurah ibn Jundub said,
"The Messenger of Allaah veryoften used to ask his Companions: "Has
any one of you seen a strange dream?" So dreams would be narrated to
him by those whom Allaah The Almighty willed to relate. One dayhe
said: "Last night I had a vision in which two men (angels) came to me
and woke me up andsaid to me, `Proceed!' I set out with them and we
came across a man lying down, and behold, another man was standing
over his head, holding a big rock. Behold, he was throwing the rock at
the man's head, smashingit. When he struck him, the stonerolled away
and he went after it to get it, and no sooner had he returned to this
man, his head was healed and restored to its former condition. The
thrower (of the rock) then did the same ashe had done before.
I said to my two companions, `Subhaanallaah (Glory be to Allaah)! Who
are these?' They said: `Proceed, proceed.' So we proceeded and came to
a man lying in a prone position and another man standing over his head
with an iron hook, and behold, he would put the hook inone side of the
man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the
neck), and similarly tear his nose from front to back, and his eyes
from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face
and did just as he has done with the first side. He had hardly
completed that (second) side when the first returned to its normal
state."
Then when he informed the Companions about the explanation of what he
had seen,he said: "I said to them, `I have seen many wonders tonight.
What does all that mean which I have seen?' They replied, `We will
inform you: […] As for the man you came upon, whose sides of mouth,
nostrils and eyes were torn off from front to back, he is the symbol
of the man who goes out of his house in the morning and tells lies
that are spread all over the world …" [Al-Bukhaari].

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