SuperstitionsAtTheSpeedOfLight_SalmanAlOadah.cfm

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Superstitionsat the

Speed of Light

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah


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Copyright 2008 by IslamToday

www.islamtoday.com

This IslamToday e-book may beduplicated and freely distributedin its original form only. It may notbe sold or distributed in amodified form. It may not beincorporated into any commercialproduct or distributed as part ofan commercial web service.


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Superstitions at the Speed of Light Sheikh Salman al-Oadah

1

Belief in the Unseen

Belief in the Unseen is central to the message of the

Qurn. Allah says: This is the Book; in it is guidancesure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah; who believein the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out ofwhat We have provided for them. [Srah al-Baqarah: 2-3]

This verse establishes for us that belief in the Unseen isthe basis for certainty of faith. Indeed, all six of thearticles of faith are built upon belief in the Unseen.

This is why, in this verse, Allah mentions belief in theUnseen as the first characteristic of a believer. We arenot supposed to limit our belief to those things that wecan apprehend with our senses. We are not supposed toallow our observation of the physical world to blind us toour faith in what is beyond it.

Allah gives us the balance that we are supposed to strikewhen He tells us: On the Earth are signs for those of

assured faith, as also in your own selves: Will you notthen see? And in heaven is your sustenance, as (also)that which you are promised. [Srah Dhriyt: 20-22]

In these verses, Allah mentions matters of the Unseen inconjunction with matters that are subject to our empiricalscrutiny. The world of the Unseen is the domain of faith.The proof for our faith, however, is in the tangible world,


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the world wherein we carry out our daily lives.

A Muslim believes in the existence of that which is

beyond human perception. A Muslim believes in Allahand His attributes. A Muslim believes in the angels, thescriptures, and the Prophets. A Muslim believes in theHereafter and what it entails of the Resurrection, Heavenand Hell, the Balance, the Bridge, and other detailsmentioned in the Qurn and the authentic Sunnah.

This also entails belief in the Jinn, for Allah says: Say (OMuhammad): It is revealed unto me that a company ofthe Jinn gave ear, and they said: Lo! we have heard amarvellous Qur`n, which guides unto righteousness, sowe believe in it and we ascribe no partner unto our Lord.[Srah al-Jinn: 1-2]

Allah says: Behold, We turned towards you a companyof Jinn (quietly) listening to the Qur`n. When they stoodin its presence, they said, Listen in silence! When the(reading) was finished, they returned to their people towarn them. They said: Our people! Lo! we have heard a

scripture which hath been revealed after Moses,confirming that which was before it, guiding unto the truthand a straight path. [Srah al-Ahqf29-30]

Therefore, it is a matter of certainty in a Muslims faiththat the Jinn exist and that they are accountable to theirLord and Creator, that the message of the Prophets is forthem as well, and that among them are believers and


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unbelievers. Our belief in these matters requires noempirical proof. We must simply concede that our mindsand our faculties are limited, and that some things in

Allahs creation have not been subjected to our scrutiny.

Consider the human soul. Though it has a vitalconnection with the human body, its nature is a completemystery to us.

Allah says: They ask you about the soul. Say: the soul isfrom the affair of my Lord, and of knowledge you havebeen vouchsafed but little. [Srah al-Isr: 85]

Belief in the Unseen gives the mind scope that itotherwise would not have. Without belief in the Unseen,life would become depressing and claustrophobic. This iswhy, regardless of their religious convictions, peopleshow a general tendency to need their Lord and Creator,especially in times of hardship.

Allah describes this tendency in the Qurn: Now, if theyembark on a boat, they call on Allah, making their

devotion sincerely (and exclusively) to Him; but when Hehas delivered them safely to (dry) land, behold, they givea share (of their worship to others)! [Srah al-`Ankabt:65]

Islam places belief in the Unseen within the framework ofour acceptance of the scriptures. Outside of this limitedscope, Islam gives humanity wide berth for the exercise


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of reason and the pursuit of empirical knowledge. Islamencourages us to study the world around us and uncoverits secrets.

This is why Islam demands that any claim we makeabout a matter of the Unseen must be strictly supportedby scripture. Otherwise, the Unseen should not beinvoked.

Allah instructs us in the Qurn, regarding a claim thatpeople made about the Hereafter: Say: Bring your proof(of what you state) if you are truthful. [Srah al-Baqarah:111]

This gives us the criterion between belief in the Unseenand belief in superstition. The Unseen refers to matters offaith that are beyond our rational powers to apprehend.Superstitions, by contrast, are the consequences of ourfailure to exercise our rational faculties where they shouldbe applied.

The matters of the Unseen that Islam calls upon people

of faith to believe they are all matters we can neverlearn about by way of human reason. At the same time,they are not contrary to the dictates of reason.

Ibn Taymiyah explains this as follows:

Islam asserts matters that transcend the limits of human reason

matters that the human mind is incapable of resolving on its


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own. Islam does not assert matters that run contrary to thedictates of reason, things that our rational faculties clearly showus to be impossible or wrong.

Reason does not deny the existence of the Unseen. Tothe contrary, reason acknowledges that necessity of theUnseen for the success of human life in this world and forour fate in the Hereafter.


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On the Interpretation of Dreams

When people try to interpret dreams or guess at their

significance, they need to keep in mind that theirinterpretations might be wrong just as easily as theymight be right. In Islam, no one besides the Prophets areguaranteed to interpret dreams accurately. It is a mistaketo think that anyone else can be like the Prophets in thismatter.

There are a number of reasons as to why such acomparison is false:

1. The Prophets (peace be upon him) are the only peopleprotected from error in what they convey to others.

2. The claim that a certain person does not err ininterpreting dreams is a claim without any proof from theQurn or Sunnah to back it up. In fact, the Prophet(peace be upon him) put a lie to that idea when he said:Every descendant of Adam is prone to make mistakes.[Sunan al-Tirmidh(2499) and Sunan Ibn Mjah(4251)]

3. The Companions and the leading scholars of Islammade mistakes regarding the understanding of matters ofIslamic Law, though the texts of the Qurn and Sunnahwere before them. How can anyone hope to do betterwith interpreting the more tenuous and vague evidence ofdreams?


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4. The Sunnah tells us that a dream interpreter who is nota prophet will get some things right and some thingswrong. Once, after Ab Bakr interpreted a dream, the

Prophet (peace be upon him) told him: You were right insome of it and wrong in some of it. [Sahh al-Bukhrand Sahh Muslim]

This was the case for Ab Bakr, the most knowledgeableMuslim after the Prophet (peace be upon him). What can

we hope for anyone else?5. Dreams, when it comes to the Prophets (peace beupon them), are a portion of prophecy. Therefore, aProphets interpretation of a dream is always true, since itis revealed knowledge. This cannot be the case withanyone else.

It is a wonder of the Lord when something a person seesin a dream subsequently comes true for that person in hisor her waking life. It also constitutes part of themiraculous proof of Muhammads prophethood, since itconfirms what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Dreams are three categories: the good one that is a gladtiding from Allah, a bad dream from Satan, and a normaldream which exposes what the person is thinking about.If you see what you dislike, get up and pray and do notmention it to others. [Sahh Muslim]

What we need to concentrate on is giving our waking


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lives a proper assessment. This is critical to us if we wishto improve our outlook, our thinking, and our behavior.We should ask ourselves: Are we using our waking hours

effectively? Are we pleased with how we are spendingour time? Are we reading what will give us blessings oruseful knowledge? Are we engaged in productive work orfruitful dialogue? Or are we just whiling our precioushours away?

If we are using our waking hours poorly, then what ismore important for us to reinterpret our sleepingexperiences or our waking ones?

With certainty, we can say that our waking lives are moreimportant. Allah will hold us accountable for what we dowhen we are awake. As for when we are asleep, the penis lifted from our accounts. This makes sleep ofsecondary importance to us. Therefore, thecircumstances, the rulings, the thoughts, and theactivities of our waking hours are what deserve ourcritical attention.

A great deal of the conversations that we engage in withour friends, in person and online, is superfluous andunimportant. Admittedly, we need recreation and suchconversations have a role to play. However, this shouldtell us something about our dreams. Do we really thinkthat everything that speaks to us within ourselves duringsleep is important and deserves to be critically analyzedand interpreted in earnest?


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Quite often, people look to their dreams to escape fromthe difficulties of life. People who are going through trying

and painful times are generally more likely to pursue theinterpretation of their dreams.

They see their nightly visions as part of Allahs relief forthem, relying upon the hadth: When the last days drawnearer, a believers dream will almost never lie. The most

honest of them in dreams will be the most honest of themin speech. [Sahh Muslim(2263)]

Their dreams, however, might be from Satan, who takesadvantage of their anxieties, their pain, and theirdifficulties to make things worse for them by increasingtheir tensions and their sorrows.

Allah tells us: Secret counsels are only (inspired) by theEvil One, in order that he may cause grief to theBelievers; but he cannot harm them in the least, exceptas Allah permits; and on Allah let the Believers put theirtrust. [Srah al-Mujdalah: 10]

Alternatively, their dreams could just be a naturalconsequence of what is preoccupying their thoughts.Their problems are already weighing down their minds,and they interpret their dreams according to the changingstate of their problems.

In Arabian society, women tend to be more concerned


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than men are about their dreams. This is because ofsocial factors. Arabian women tend to suffer from greaterimpositions from their fathers, brothers, or husbands.

This, compounded by the greater degree of emotionalsensitivity and openness that their society allows them,makes them more easily affected by their dreams thantheir men folk are.

For the same reason, we see that people who are

incarcerated are more closely concerned with theirdreams.

Slih b. `Abd al-Qudds has this well-known poem to hiscredit, though some have attributed it to `Abd Allah b.Mu`wiyah:

While of its folk, the Earth's a place we have departed from,Neither dwelling with its corpses nor among the living.On those strange occasions when the jailors do their biddingWe gasp in awe: "O! It is from the world that they have come."

In dreams we do rejoice, and nearly all our conversationComes upon our waking when we speak of where we'd been.

If fair had been the dream, it would remain a thing unseenBut if the dream were ill, then swift would be its realization.

The crises that afflict our nations like war and civil strife give birth to their fair share of dreams. The tragedy thattook place in the Holy Mosque twenty-five years ago wasstarted by a dream and was accompanied by more and

more dreams all the way to its unfortunate end. This is a


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good example to show us how Satan or our ownpowers of suggestion can inspire in us dreams thatlead us to sorrowful consequences. Moreover, a true

dream might show us certain things that indeed come topass; but then again, such dreams only show us thatthose things are going to take place. They do not indicatethe lawfulness or of those events and cannot beconstrued as a sign of approval for them.

The man behind the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait supposedlyhad a number of dreams, and he had those dreamsinterpreted. This is because, when a person finds himselfconfronted by a new set of circumstances, he does notknow what to do, so he resorts to dreams for guidance.

Interpretation is, by nature, speculation. Allah says aboutJoseph (peace be upon him): And he said to him whomhe thought would be delivered of the two: Mention me toyour lord. [Srah Ysuf: 42]

Though Joseph (peace be upon him) was a prophet, westill see the word thought being used to describe his

interpretation of the dream. Therefore, we who are notprophets should never speak with certainty about adream interpretation.

A dream interpretation is also like the issuing of a verdict.Allah quotes Joseph as saying: Thus is the case judgedconcerning that about which you inquired. [Srah Ysuf:41]


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This tells us that a person should take care and not rushinto interpreting or analyzing his dreams. Hastiness and

presumption can bring harmful consequences. Mlik b.Anas became angry when he heard people hastilyinterpreting dreams and would say: Are you playing atprophecy?

Too often, we give dreams more weight than they

deserve. Maybe a certain dream is the truth from Allah.However, this does not mean that a person cannot gowrong by overemphasizing its importance maybefancying that the fate of the world rests upon his dream.This causes him to act in an injudicious and inappropriatemanner. He interprets his dream as having great globaland historical ramifications. He strives for political changeon the strength of his dream, or at the very least, makesradical and unnecessary changes in his own life.

Had such a person asked a scholar of Islamic Law, hewould have been told that the implications of a personsdream do not extend beyond the person who sees it.

Therefore, if someone who witnesses the end of theworld in a dream goes forth and preaches his vision tothe world, he will be causing no end of trouble for himselfand others. Maybe his dream was true but maybe itreally meant that his watch had stopped. This shows thedeficiency of thought of someone who allows the mind'snightly visions have an undue influence over thedecisions of waking life.


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Then you have the dream interpreters who peddle theirall-purpose dream interpretations to a credulous public.

Like palm readers, they have answers that will safelyapply to any of their customers, regardless of who theyare. For who does not have problems, concerns, goals,and unresolved issues in their lives?

He says: Your dream means that you have a concern

that needs resolution.The customer answers: You have spoken the truth.

He says to a young woman: You will get married. To thenew bride: You will have a child. To the middle-agedhousewife: There are problems in your marriage. Toanyone he might say: You have plans.

The answer will be: How true!

Sometimes, a keen-eyed interpreter who noticessubtleties and picks up on hints, can offer interpretations

that are more custom-tailored to the customer.

Generally, dream interpretation relies upon standardmetaphors and similes, and upon the associations thatare commonplace in peoples experience. This is theeasiest way for people to understand things.Interpretations that are innovative and unprecedented aremore difficult for people to identify with.


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This is why we find milk is often interpreted to signify thenatural lifestyle, in that both are a mainstay of nourishing

the self and that a child on its own knows to drink milk.This is why it is interpreted to represent the Islamic wayof life that Allah has predisposed his creatures to live by.Likewise, this is why a cow in a dream is often interpretedto signify people of religion and righteousness, since they like the cow are a source through which civilized life

is nourished and sustained, and they are like the cow inthat they bring no harm but many benefits. Likewise, adead tree in a dream is seen to signify the hypocrites,since they are likewise devoid of inner life, of beneficialshade, and provide no fruit to the public.

In this way, a dream is like a parable and the interpretercompares it to that shares with it some quality. Were itnot for the fact that we give rulings to new things bycomparing them to familiar things that resemble them,this kind of dream interpretation would not prevail andwould not rest upon any basis.

Allah cites parables in a number of places in the Qurn,calling us to listen to them and ponder their implications.

However, a persons interpretation can be affected by themeddling of Satan who can suggest some interpretationsto the persons heart while he is unaware. Though thepersonal state of the interpreter is not a reliable measureof the accuracy of his interpretation, the more


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knowledgeable and truthful a person is, that farther he isfrom Satans tricks.

The same can be said for seeing the Prophet (peace beupon him) in a dream. It is not necessary that everyonewho thinks he has seen the Prophet (peace be upon him)in a dream has really seen him. It is necessary that theProphet (peace be upon him) is seen as he is known toappear, as stated in the hadth regarding seeing the

Prophet (peace be upon him) in dreams. When peoplecame to Ibn Srn or al-Hasan claiming to have seen theProphet (peace be upon him) in a dream, they would askthat person to describe him to them. If the persondescribed him by other than his well-known description,then he had not seen the Prophet (peace be upon him).

No one should ever interpret seeing the Prophet (peacebe upon him) in a dream to be an admittance pass intoParadise. This is a serous self-deception. Moreover, theone being seen in the dream must never command thedreamer to do something sinful. The dreamer should beaware that Satan can appear to him awake or in a

dream representing himself as God or as any one ofthe prophets even Prophet Muhammad (peace be uponhim), just not upon the Prophets true appearance.

Ibn Taymiyah quotes the following account from`Abd al-Qdir al-Jln [Majm` al-Fatw(1/173)]:


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I was once deeply involved in worship, and I saw a great throneendowed with light. It spoke to me: O Àbd al-Qdir! I am yourLord, and I have made lawful for you what I have forbidden for

others.I said: Be gone, you enemy of Allah!

Then that light was rent apart and was replaced by darkness. Itsaid: O Àbd al-Qdir! Your knowledge and your understandingof the religion have saved you. For indeed, I have deceived inthis way seventy men.

Someone asked Àbd al-Qdir: How did you now that it wasSatan.

He said: By his saying: I have made lawful for you what I haveforbidden for others because the Law of Muhammad (peacebe upon him) will never be abrogated or replaced.

The only true safeguard from error is Allahs protection.


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Cries from the Grave

A bizarre news item has been circulating throughout the

Internet. It comes with an audio file full of strangerecorded sounds. These sounds were supposedlycaptured by a team of Russian geologists in the desertsof Siberia while recording plate movements and arepurported to be the screams of men and women beingpunished in the grave.

We much choose to reject such a claim for a number ofgood reasons.

1. The punishment of the grave is something true,established by the Qurn and Sunnah. This matter hasbeen thoroughly discussed by the scholars, who havepresented all the direct and indirect evidence thatestablishes this fact, and who have answered all of theobjections of those who might wish to deny it.

However, the punishment of the grave is part of theknowledge of the unseen. It is not part of the observable,

empirical world in which we live. If we were to concedethat these voices are those of people being punished inthe grave, then the matter becomes one of empiricalcertainty and not one of faith. It would be a matter ofagreement. The wisdom behind Allah trying us with faithin the unseen would be lost.

The accounts mentioned by scholars like Ibn `Ab al-


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Duny and al-Suyt, as well as occasionally by IbnTaymiyah and Ibn al-Qayyim are when authenticallyreported no more than the accounts of individual

experiences. They were neither heard nor seen exceptby the individuals who claimed to experience them. Theywere not general experiences and observablephenomena, the likes of which could wind up on an audiorecording.

In any event, when it comes to disagreements in mattersrelated to Islamic teachings, we take our evidence fromthe Qurn and Sunnah.

2. It is the right of every person on Earth to reject suchsclaims unless they are substantiated with evidence.

Yes, during the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him)we have where Ab Hurayrah relates:

We were with Allahs Messenger (peace be upon him) when heheard a loud sound. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked:Do you know what that is? They replied: Allah and HisMessenger know best.

He said: This is a stone that had been thrown into the Fireseventy years ago and it had reached the bottom now. [SahhMuslim(2844)]

The Companions, of course, did not pursue or investigatethe matter. They left it to the one who had knowledge of

such things and said nothing until the Prophet (peace be


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upon him) informed them about it.

So today, where is the source that is privy to revelation

from Allah, upon whom we can safely rely to tell us thosesounds are indeed the sounds of the dead beingpunished in their graves?

3. Then we have the hadth in Sahh al-BukhrandSahh Muslim, related by Anas, that the Prophet (peace

be upon him) said:When the servant is put into his grave and all his fellows turnaway to leave him, he will hear the sound of their footsteps. Twoangels will approach him and ask him: What do you say aboutthis man Muhammad?

He will say: I bear witness that he is the servant of Allah andHis Messenger.

It will then be said to him: Look upon your place in the Fire.Allah has supplanted it with a place in Paradise. Then he shallsee both places.

As for the unbeliever or hypocrite he will reply: Oh, I do not

know. I used to say what the people said.It will be said: He did not know and he did not say.

He will then be struck with an iron bar upon the head and he willscream with a voice that could be heard by everything save forhuman beings and Jinn.


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This is proof that the screams of the people beingpunished in the graves are as a rule inaudible tohuman ears.

4. Allah says: And how many a generation before themhave We caused to perish! Can you see a single one ofthem, or hear from them the slightest sound? [SrahMaryam: 98]

The verse was understood by Ibn `Abbs, Ab `liyah,Ikrimah, al-Hasan al-Basr, Sa`d b. Jubayr, and al-Dahhk to mean that not the slightest sound can beheard from them.

The obvious meaning of this verse is that none of us whoare being addressed by this verse can hear those whohave passed away.

5. Tampering with sounds and images has becomechilds play these days. We find this technology behindmany attempts to discredit religion and dupe thereligious.

How many stories have we heard where people claim tohave seen things taking place in graveyards? Someonementions that a grave was opened up for one reason orother and flames were found inside. Someone elseclaims that the body had been mysteriously turned awayfrom the direction of prayer. There is no end to suchtales.


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When anyone attempts to verify such stories, they arealways traced back to unknown sources at best, or more

often to dubious informers and known liars. Sadly, suchstories are often repeated by preachers who do not careto verify their sources.

How may graves have been exposed to the public eye byflood or by other causes without ever once showing any

evidence of the pleasure or pain of the deceased?The reason for this and Allah knows best is that theaffairs of the Barzakh(the state of existence after deathoften referred to as the grave) are not part of ourphysical world. They are closer to the affairs of theHereafter. The physical laws that we know do not applyto the Barzakhand our sensory abilities cannot perceiveit. So even though the denizen of the grave may beexperiencing a time of comfort or a time of pain, thosewho might happen to be in the vicinity of the physicalbody will not perceive it at all.

6. A person might have a dream about someone inparticular who has passed away, a dream that seems toindicate the state of the deceased. A dream can be fromthe remaining one-forty-sixth share of prophecy, and assuch, it may give someone a glimpse of the unseenworld. However, it is never definitive or certain. TheProphet (peace be upon him) said to Ab Bakr when thateminent Companion interpreted a dream: You got some


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of it right and some of it wrong.

Ahmad b. Hanbal said: A good dream pleases a believer

without beguiling him.

At best, a dream has something to tell to the one whoexperiences it. However, it does not apply to other peopleand they are not supposed to believe in it. They cannever be certain of the state of the one who claims to

have seen the dream. Often, they cannot assess theintegrity or truthfulness of the person who is relating hisdream.

7. These tales are dispensable. Allah says about theQurn: Then what Message, after it, will they believein? [Srah al-Mursalt: 50]

The Qurn is sufficient as a proof and a lesson for us.Likewise, we are content with the true words of HisProphet (peace be upon him). These are the bestsources of inspiration. The stories and exhortations of theQuran have the strongest pull upon our heartstrings.

They enrich us far beyond needing such tales that anyone of us can easily dismiss without blame.

I appeal to the Muslim mindset that can distinguishbetween what are truly matters of the unseen and whatare mere fables. Matters of the unseen are what we knowof Allahs creation by way of the sacred texts regarding


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things that are not subject to our empirical observation.At the same time, those things do not defy the dictates ofreason. Rather, the dictates of reason bear witness to

such matters in general terms. As for superstitions andfables, they are just contrivances of the imagination thatare neither supported by the sacred texts nor by reason.

Though a believer believes in the unseen, he is notgullible. He only accepts such matters on the basis of

sound scriptural evidence.We must consider Ab Bakrs reply when some Qurayshtribesmen chided him by bringing him the following news:That friend of yours claims that he traveled to Jerusalemand then ascended into the sky

He replied: If indeed he has said so, then indeed he istelling the truth.

For this, he earned the honorary title of siddqthe onewho believes fully.

Consider how Ab Bakr made his answer contingent onthe Prophet (peace be upon him) having actually said so,saving himself from the possibility that the Qurayshtribesmen might have been lying to him.

No one should argue that, because the recording mighthave a positive effect on some people, we should not callits veracity into question. It might happen that a sinner


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repents and reforms his ways after hearing somefabricated hadth. In this case, we praise his repentanceand still clarify the falsehood of the hadth.


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Superstitions at the Speed of Light

It would be hoped that the Muslim mind would have some

natural resistance to falsehoods and superstitions, sincethe Qurn establishes for us an approach to knowledgefounded on factual information and evidence.

Allah says: Say: Bring your proof (of what you state) ifyou are truthful. [Srah al-Baqarah: 111]

A Muslim believes in empirical evidence and in theknowledge gained through accurate observation andexperimentation. A Muslim believes in reason and theconclusions that the rational mind arrives at when it isfree from the influence of personal desires and vestedinterests. A Muslim believes also in the truth of DivineRevelation.

Therefore, proof as a Muslim sees it is either empirical,rational, or in matters of the unseen scriptural.

This is clear from Allahs words: Allah brings you forth

from the wombs of your mothers knowing nothing, andHe provides you with hearing, sight, and a heart, thatperhaps you might be thankful. [Srah al-Nahl: 78]

In this verse, Allah defines the sources of knowledge thatcan bring a person forth from the snares of ignorance.

Allah says: And pursue not that of which you have no


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knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing, or ofthe heart, will be enquired into. [Srah al-Isr: 36]

This verse prohibits us to follow or subscribe to thatwhich is unsupported by evidence. It also defines for uswhat the sources of evidence are.

By way of our hearing, we learn about revelation. By wayof our sight, we acquire empirical knowledge. By way of

our hearts, we are able to reason and make sounddeterminations.

It was by employing this methodology that the Muslims ofold were able to emerge from the age of ignorance thatthey had been living in and move to the vanguard ofhistory, leading human civilization forward.

They did not suffer from any conflict between rationalknowledge and spiritual belief. Theirs was a perfectharmony between the two, a synergy that brought abouta full realization of their human potential.

This is in stark contrast to the pitiful state the Muslims arein today. Muslims are practically cut off from the empiricalsciences which are now witnessing, at the hands ofothers, startling transformations and discoveries at a rateunprecedented in history.

Muslims societies are instead plagued with fables andsuperstitions that stifle their intellectual output and bring


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about nothing but confusion. For some, the distinctionbetween superstitions and revealed knowledge hasbecome utterly obscured. Ready acceptance of strange

and unnatural claims is seen as piety, as a naturalextension of a Muslims belief in the unseen. Somepeople are eager to accept the flimsiest of claims and themost unsubstantiated of reports. By contrast, they meetbeneficial and sound empirical knowledge with suspicionand stiff resistance.

Fables and strange tales can spread around today at thespeed of light. Indeed, the speed with which rumors andfables spread through society might very well become anew figure of speech to indicate fantastic speed. SheikhMuhammad Rashd Rid wrote something once aboutthe visionary bequest of Ahmad, the bearer of theKa`bahs keys, foretelling the end of the world.Thereafter, Sheikh `Abd al-`Azz bin Bz wrote a specificresponse to this fable, though some people weresurprised that he saw it worth his effort to refute such aridiculous tale. Alas, despite Sheikh bin Bzs efforts, westill see the tale in its various guises resurface year after

year.

Modern technology has allowed such stories to spreadand circulate faster than ever. The Internet, satellitebroadcasts, cell phones, and other advancements incommunication have exposed to us how weak Muslimsare in the skill of sorting and verifying information. Wecan see how easy they are willing to absorb ideas that


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are contrary to both the teachings of Islam and to goodsense. Modern communications have shown us thesimple-mindedness and gullibility of a wide section of the

population.

How often do reformers have to waste time combatingfalse reports that spread like viruses, lethal and insidious,unchecked by any immunity.

Religious people are often the victims of myths aboutsaints, the Mahdi, and the Hour. Sick people aresusceptible to quick diagnoses about magic curses, withcures that are often ridiculous and contrary to Islamicteachings. Many wives are plagued by superstitionsinvolving curses, Jinn, magic charms, and theinterpretation of dreams.

People looking to get rich quick are often taken in by thetempting promises of mediums who claim that with theassistance of Jinn or other people, they can help uncoverfor them buried treasure.

The general public seems to have neither the patiencenor the will to try and understand things or to acquireaccurate knowledge. They are not sufficiently preparedfor critical thinking. They are attracted to the new andstrange. A person might attend a lecture or hear asermon and remember nothing that was said except for astrange and unusual anecdote. The same can be said forreading habits. Some people have no interest in the


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newspapers or periodicals except for those articles thathave the least benefit or value, but that provide them withstrange and attention-getting anecdotes for conversation.

However, Allah directs us as follows: Those who hearadvice and follow the best thereof, such are those whomAllah guides, and such are people of understanding.[Srah al-Zumar: 18]

It never ceases to amaze me how an erudite scholar orscientist is able to employ his mind to great effect withinhis field of secular study, but in another setting you findhim with his head reverently bowed down, awaiting thearrival of Khidr or the appearance of one of theCompanions or prophets who is to participate in theirgathering. It leaves us to wonder how so much goodsense can reside in the same mind with such foolishsuperstition.

Does a Muslims faith in the unseen in matters thatcannot be subjected to empirical scrutiny give himlicense to discard sense and discretion in what he

accepts to be true?

When superstitions takes hold of peoples lives, theirmental powers are weakened, making them incapable ofcritical thinking. Superstitions blacken the image of Islam.

Superstitions strip people of their self-confidenceandcause them to doubt their own abilities. It is this


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confidence which is so vital to the pursuit of knowledge,to inventiveness, and to excellence.

Healthy civilizations have no respect for superstitions.We must make it a priority to reform our approach toeducation. We need to develop critical thinking skills. Noone who is concerned with the future of Muslim societycan fail to see the importance of this. We should notallow our problems and our weak circumstances distract

us from the task of educational reform. Indeed, only inthis way will we be able to develop a strong basis to meetthe challenges that confront us.

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