Sikander Hashmi – Superstition & Bad Luck KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the upcoming weekend, including the impact of fear on superstitions and the use of " " " numbers to indicate misuse of time. They also touch on the concept of transmission of infectious diseases and the importance of not seeking evil people. The speakers stress the need for faith and acceptance of physical and spiritual means in one's decision-making process, and encourage individuals to use their faith to heal their hearts and grant them speedy recovery.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters,
my young friends,
We begin
by praising Allah,
the
lord of the universe,
our creator, our sustainer, our nourisher,
our protector,
and we begin
by sending peace and salutations
upon his beloved messenger, Mohammed,
the son of Abdullah,
the final messenger of Allah sallallahu
alayhi wa'ala alayhi.
My brothers and sisters,
I hope
that you are all doing well.
Ask Allah
to keep you and your loved ones in
his protection.
Today is Friday, of course,
a blessed day, the most blessed day of
the week,
and, a beautiful day today here as well.
But it is also Friday 13th.
Now in western superstition,
Friday 13th is considered to be an unlucky
day.
So much so that according to the stress
management center and phobia institute, yes, there's such
a thing,
About $800,000,000
are lost every Friday 13th in the US
because
of people's refusal to travel or to make
major purchases
or to conduct,
business
on this day. Now, of course, these are
numbers from before the pandemic,
and it is estimated that there are 17
to 21,000,000
people there who are affected by fear on
this day.
So we're talking about a large
number of people within the population
and probably the same in Canada as well,
who have
a certain,
or rather considerable amount of fear with regards
to this date.
There are, of course, many other instances of
superstition as well that we hear about,
here,
in Western countries and Western culture, but it's
not limited to Western culture. For example, the
black cat
being seen as a symbol of bad luck.
So if you're walking and a black cat
passes your path,
so that is because it's believed to be
or seen as an omen of misfortune and,
and death and, not again, not limited to
western countries
found in other places around the world as
well.
Knocking on wood is another tradition. You may
have heard of that. You know, somebody says
something,
they're planning to do something good or they're
hoping for something.
They're aiming for something if they knock on
wood. Right? So literally touching or tapping or
knocking on wood, even stating that they intend
to intend to do so
to avoid
tempting fate
after making a favorable observation or a boast
or a declaration,
instead of, for example, saying or,
crossing fingers,
right, in a person's hand. Right? Crossing fingers
is a gesture that is also commonly used
to wish for
luck.
Now
when it comes to the number 13, we
say also that in certain cultures,
including the western culture, 13 is an unlucky
number. So if you go into a building
and there's a number, you know, there's an
elevator,
there's no 13th floor. I mean, technically, the
13th floor is still the 13th floor when
you count from the bottom up, but the
number 13 is not there to to number
the floor. So the 13th floor is actually
called the 14th floor. But that is also
becoming a problem because number of numbers ending
with 4 are considered to be unlucky in
Chinese culture. So,
you know, as we have increasing diversity, you
may find that there are buildings that don't
have a 13th floor or a 14th floor
at least labeled as such.
And,
you know, these types of different types of
superstitions, of course, like I mentioned are found
in nearly every culture.
And sometimes they're even linked to Islam incorrectly.
Right? Belief that some sort of act or
practice can cause goodness or can cause harm.
Some, you know, maybe linked to time,
others to places or rituals,
or the saying of certain words. So for
example,
you know, I was reading one place that,
there is this superstition that if a woman
were to marry in the month of Shawwal,
the Islamic month of Shawwal,
then she, you know, she's not gonna get
along with her husband and he's not gonna
love her as an example.
Or similarly, you know, the day of Wednesday,
the month of Sapphire, the Islamic month of
Sapphire being being seen as a source of
bad luck or that, you know, if you,
I don't know, if you hear a voice
of an owl, you know, that's considered to
be a bad omen. Or if you have
twitching in your left eye, that is a
sign of, you know, something bad about to
happen.
Nowadays,
even the year 2020 has become
a type of symbol of misfortune as well,
of course, because of the pandemic and other
things that have that have happened to to
occur in this year.
Imam An Nawi
he says that the Arabs
used to curse time
when disasters such as death or old age
or the loss of money and so on
happened. What did they used to do? They
used to curse time,
and they would say that woe to time.
And other phrases phrases that would be, you
know, cursing or inveying against time. So the
prophet said,
that do not invade against time, for Allah
is time. Meaning,
do not invade against the one who brings
about those disasters,
for that will be directed towards Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala for he is the one.
Or it is Allah that is the one
who causes them to happen.
Time, referred to as a daha,
you know, means a zaman,
time which cannot do anything in and of
itself, for it is just one of the
things that have been created by Allah
So the meaning is that if you are
cursing time,
seeing it as a cause of misfortune,
you are indirectly cursing Allah
because time and the misfortunes
are controlled by Allah
So if you think it's because of time,
in fact, Allah is that time, meaning that
pause that you are considering
to be the source of these,
these,
misfortunes.
So it should be very clear to us
as Muslims
that the only ones,
that
that the only,
beliefs regarding harm
and good
happening
are either because of one of these two
things. So first,
things that are physically
known to be or that are known to
be physically a source of harm or benefit
through the system of cause and effect with
the permission of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Right? So for us as Muslims,
the only things that can the or the
only sources
or or,
means of
having harm done to us and good happening
to us
are either through
those things that are known to be physically
a source of harm or benefit through the
system of cause and effect with the permission
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Because even those things, the cause and effect
that we see happen,
is not in and of itself due to,
you know, the the the strength or the
will of those objects or those things. Right?
It is through the permission of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. So for example, you know, if
they go a car, a truck hurting someone,
you know, the the need to the importance
of wearing seat belts as an example
or the effect
of smoking on a person, the harmful effects
of smoking or the benefits of medicine, the
harms of diseases and so on and so
forth. So all of these things are known
to be physically a source of harm or
benefit through the system of cause and effect
with the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So this is seen for us as Muslims,
this is one source
or one way that there could be harm
or benefit coming to us. And secondly, things
that are specifically
mentioned by Allah and his messenger sallallahu alayhi
wasallam as being beneficial or harmful.
So for example, the benefits of drinking, zamzamor,
as an example. Also, I'm telling us that
it is for whatever is intended. Right? So
whatever intention you have when drinking zamzam and
you make the dua and then that you
have that wish, insha'Allah, it will, it will
benefit through the permission of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala
in achieving that that goal or that desire.
Similarly,
the benefits of eating ajua dates in the
morning. Right? Also, as I'm telling us, the
person who eats 7 ajua dates will protect
it from magic as an example, or the
effects of the evil eye. Right? So these
are not for for believers, for us. These
are not just based of superstitions. These are
things that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have told us.
And therefore, this is something that we do
believe in. And all of these also, of
course, are by the permission of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala as well.
So the point is that whenever it comes
to believing that we are going to be
harmed or benefited through something or by something,
it is going to be either from
one of these 2 categories, and both of
them are dependent always on the permission of
Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Now apart from these two categories,
there is no other belief with regards to
harm and good from anything.
Apart from these two categories,
there's no other belief with regards to harm
or benefit
coming from anything whether it's an object or
whether it's time or date or a sound
or anything else.
It was narrated from Anasul Malik that
the prophet
said
that there is no
with it, which
is the transmission of infectious disease.
Dani understood as without the permission of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, meaning that a disease, a
virus, a bacteria
does not decide in and of itself
who to attack, who to go to, who
should be infected infected and what effect it
should have.
Right? This is something that is in the
control of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
but rather that bacteria or that virus
is a means.
It is simply a means and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala is the one who is controlling
it. So there is no transmission of infection
infectious disease
without the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and there is there is no
that is superstitious belief
in bird omens, and I'll explain this a
little bit more. But the prophet
said
that I like optimism.
And it was asked,
what is optimism? And the prophet
said
that it is a good word.
So the prophet
made it very, very clear. And here the
basic meaning of
is pessimism, meaning taking something as a sign
of something bad to happen.
But reference is made to birds to play
because most of the superstitious
beliefs that were held by the Arabs
had to do with birds. So it was
connected with them. Right? So when the prophet
addressed this phenomena of taking bad omens from
something,
he used the terminology which was familiar to
the Arab, especially at that time, and they
were they were they would heavily lean towards
words when it came to,
you know, acquiring omens. So that's why the
word of is
used.
Now it was also narrated that the prophets
by Abdullah named as old,
that the prophet
that the messenger of Allah said
that
superstitious
belief in omens
is shirk, is a form of associating partners
with Allah
which of course is forbidden.
Now the word is derived from
referring to superstitions about anything, whether it is
something that is seen or heard or a
time or a place. So the liberal meaning
of it, right, or or the contextual meaning
could be understood to be referring to superstition
that has to do with words that in
reality is referring to all types of superstitions.
Now, Imam Anwar
he said in his commentary on Sahih Muslim
that
belief in bad omens is pessimism and is
based on something disliked, be it a word
or an action or something that is seen.
And what did they used to do? They
used to startle words.
They used to startle birds to make them
move. So, you know, you go to the
park or you see a group of birds
or bees sitting somewhere, pigeons. Right? And kids
like to do this sometimes. They like to
go chase after them, you know, to make
them scared, so they fly away. So they
use so what did they used to do?
They used to startle birds to make them
move. If they went to the right, they
would regard that as a good omen, and
they would go ahead with their journeys or
other plans.
But if they went to the left, they
would cancel their journeys and their plans and
regard that as a bad omen. So it
would often prevent them from doing things that
were in their interest and Islam
canceled out all of that and forbid it
and said that it had no effect whether
good or bad. So, you know, using such
means,
and, you know, arrows were something that was
used as well. Divination
was practiced in pre pre Islamic Arabia, which
involved the casting of arrows.
Right? It was almost like, you know, doing
a drop. Right? So the arrows
would have messages like, you know, do,
and another would say do not do, and
the third was left blank. And a person
would then choose one of the arrows without
knowing the instructions that it wore.
If the lot showed do, he would embark
on that matter,
with the matter in question. If it showed
do not do, then he would not do
that,
which and he would believe.
And he would believe that it was to
be harmful.
Right? So this belief part is very important.
Right? It's one thing to just say, you
know, to do rock, paper, scissors because, you
know, you're not able to make a decision
and you're just trying to figure out, you
know, which one to choose. Right? But to
believe
that, you know, doing the draw or going
through some sort of process
is actually going to decide, right, or should
be a means of deciding
and a means of determining which one is
going to be beneficial or which one's gonna
be harmful. This is something which is prohibited.
So if the lot was blank, you would
repeat the process until it showed 1 of
the other 2.
And by such means, you will seek to
know the unseen and that is prohibited.
Right? So try to use,
you know, methods of chance
to try to to figure out what to
do and to believe
that they are actually true in predicting what
is harmful and what is beneficial, this is
something which has been prohibited.
Once a man called
said to the prophet
He
said to the prophet
I have only recently abandoned ignorant beliefs
That I have
recently,
abandoned ignorant beliefs and now Allah has favored
us with Islam.
Some of our people
visit fortune tellers.
Some of our people visit fortune tellers.
The prophet said,
so he said, you know, do not visit
them. And then he added
that,
some of us associate
bad omens with certain things.
And the prophet
replied
That this is something that people may occasionally
entertain or find themselves doing, let them not
be deterred
from their purpose.
Let them not be deterred from their purpose.
So, you know, if you find yourself,
leaning towards some sort of bad signal, some
bad omen about some decision or something that
you're about to do, let not let that
not be a deterrent in what you are
deciding to do. Now the the companions of
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam took the prohibition
of omens
seriously.
You know, Iqram mentions that they were once
sitting with ibn Abbas, radiallahu anhu, a companion
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, and a
bird flew over their heads and screeched.
So a man exclaimed, good, good. And if
the ambassador,
corrected him saying there is neither good nor
evil in it. Right? So such symbol, such
signs, they don't mean anything. The prophet
also said that whoever lets
such omens, bad omens stop him from doing
something is guilty of shit.
And, the companions said that what is the
kafarah for that? You know, what is the
expiration for that? So the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam said to say,
That, oh, Allah, there is no good except
your good.
No words, meaning no omens except from you.
And
there is no god besides
you.
The ambassador
also said that the prophet
what would he do? He would seek good
omens
and not evil ones. What would he do?
That he will seek good omens and not
evil ones
and
and he will be pleased
by a good
name.
Now,
he quotes in his book Fatfulbari
from
that he said that Allah has created in
the nature of human beings
the inclination
to the good words.
Allah
has created what? Inside the human being, inclination
towards
good words
and the feeling of satisfaction with them. In
the same manner that he made them feel
pleasure when seeing scenery and seeing clear water.
Right? So when you see nice scenery.
You You see me, those who follow me
on Facebook, I've posted pictures of sunsets. Right?
Very nice. SubhanAllah. Remind us of Allah.
It's very beautiful. So when we see scenery,
right, nice scenery, you see clear water, it
gives you a sense of peace and satisfaction.
So
he says
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created in
the nature of human beings, the inclination to
the good words and the feeling of satisfaction
with them in the same manner that he
has made them feel pleasure when seeing scenery
and clear water.
So Anas said that the prophet
used
used to be pleased
to hear, for example,
who fall meaning the one who follows the
right path or
o ujjay, the right one who went out
for his necessity. So the prophet was out
and about doing his his business, doing whatever
he needed to do. If he if he
heard, you know, good words, good names, being
called, being said, then that is something that
would give him pleasure. It would make him
happy.
So seeking good omens
okay. So now we find, okay. 1st we
were saying that there's no omens. We don't
believe in anything apart from what Allah and
his messenger salami has told us that can
cause harm or benefit or the things which
physically are known to cause benefit or harm
with the permission of Allah. So what is
this referring to? So there can be some
confusion regarding this. So let's be clear.
That seeking good omens means seeking good signs
that put one at ease
after one has made a decision to do
something.
Okay. After you have decided to do something,
then you hear something good or you're going
about your way and you hear some good
messages, some good words, something that gives you
pleasure, gives you satisfaction, gives you confidence,
then that is fine and that is good.
There's nothing wrong with that. But it is
not being used
to help decide whether something is good or
bad.
K? So this this this acceptance of good
omens is not as a means to make
decisions
or judgments about what is good and what
is bad. That, oh, you know, I'm undecided
about this issue. Should I do it? Should
I not? Should I buy this car? Or
should I marry this person or buy this
house or get this job or whatever?
You know, some decision and then you're just,
like, undecided and then you go outside and
you hear some good words and say, okay.
Yes. It must be you know, I'm gonna
decide to do it because you know. So
that's not the point here. The point is
that after you have made the decision
and then you hear good words, you hear
something good that is pleasing, it gives you
confidence, it makes you good
feel good, it gives you pleasure, then that
is good and there's nothing wrong with that.
But the decision is not to be based
on such factors.
Allah
tells us in the Quran,
Whatever Allah grants to people of mercy, none
can withhold it. And whatever he withholds,
none can release it thereafter. And he is
the exalted and might and the wise. So
all goodness
is in the hands of Allah
Nobody can withhold it if Allah has decided
to give it, and whatever Allah
withholds, nothing can help them releasing. And nobody
can force Allah
to change, you know, destiny,
change fortune. And, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells
us in the Quran,
say never will be struck except by what
Allah has decreed for us.
Right? This is the cornerstone
of the belief
and the the the, you know, the conviction
of a believer that never will we be
struck except by what Allah has decreed for
us and
he is our protector
and upon Allah let the believers rely. And,
you
know, I I often think about the struggles
that, that many,
you know, many of us many people live
through
during life.
And a lot of these struggles, you know,
have are are mental struggles. Right? They have
to do with things that are happening to
us and why are they happening to us
and decisions that we have made and the
consequences of our decisions and so on and
so forth. And a person can become a
victim of so much confusion.
A person can become a victim of so
much confusion in life. Right? About the misfortunes,
about incidents, about, you know, things that happened
to them, perhaps bad things that happened to
them.
And,
and, you know, and what it comes down
to many times is having strength in our
belief and having the correct belief and having
conviction in our belief regarding Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and his attributes.
And a person who has clarity with regards
to this,
a person who is clear
on these things
will not become a victim to such type
of confusion. Right? Because they understand
the role that they have to play, they
understand the role that other factors play and
they understand the supreme role of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala in their lives and deciding
what they get and what they do not
get. So they are not going to be
living in regret as an example for something
that they wanted to achieve but they were
not able to achieve. Because they understand that
despite their best efforts, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
decided that they were not to have it
for whatever reason and that there were some
khair in that, right, as an example. So
having correct,
beliefs and having conviction with regards to those
beliefs and those teachings,
can be, extremely beneficial for us,
in multiple ways, even ways that we cannot
imagine as we go through the course of
our lives. May Allah
protect us always. Now most of us have
probably come across, you know, various,
superstitions
from our cultures and the people around us.
Of course, it's fine to know about it,
but
we do not act according to it.
Right? Do not act according to it because
it relates to your iman. It relates to
your faith. So firstly, my brothers and sisters,
let us reinforce our faith in Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Like I said, that nothing happens
without the permission of Allah and only Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is the true protector
And all of the means that we take
to try to help ourselves,
to try to help others, to try to
protect ourselves, these are all means.
These are all means. They are not the
ultimate. Right? So when it comes to taking
medication as an example, when when it comes
to wearing a mask, when it comes to
taking vaccines,
when it comes to any other protective measure
that we take, always remind yourself. Let us
always remind ourselves that these are just means
and whatever benefit we get from them is
because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put that
benefit in in them. And if it was
not for Allah's putting benefit in them, they
would not be able to help us in
the least bit. So always reinforce your faith
in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Secondly, know that we are encouraged to take
physical means that are proven to be the
part of, you know, the system of cause
and effect by Allah's permission. So, yes, it
is. I mean, we are not people who,
you know, or or let me rephrase that.
We are not we are people who are
taught to be,
balanced and moderate in our approaches.
Right? So we are never taught in our
deen that we are not to take means
and that, you know, we are just to
sit and and do nothing and Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala will take care take care of
us. This is not what the prophet
taught us. This is not what we learned
from the subhanahu.
Right? What we learned is that, yes, we
are encouraged to take physical means that are
proven to be part of cause and effect
with Allah's permission,
and we're also encouraged to take spiritual and
physical means that are taught to us by
Allah and his messenger
Right? Sometimes
we end up putting a lot of faith
or, you know, a lot of importance
towards
the things that we are physically known to
have an effect
and somewhat disregard or, you know, put on
the back burner the spiritual means. Right? So
we should
be using both of them. Right? And, you
know, perhaps even putting more faith in the
spiritual, although we do the physical as well.
Right? So, for example, the du'a that the
prophet
has taught us for protection.
Right? And the there's the various, you know,
for example,
3 times in the morning, 3 times in
the evening. No harm will come to a
person who decides the du'a that the prophet
has told us as an example. And there
are others as well, other ways,
spiritual and physical, which have been taught by
Allah and his messenger sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So we take all of those.
Now after you have done your due diligence
and you have taken your precautions, which we're
supposed to do,
and you've taken preparations regarding, you know, physical
means and taking spiritual means, then we put
our faith in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And
nothing is gonna impact your destiny, nothing is
gonna impact the outcome
except,
you know, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But through
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And know that all
superstitions
and bad omens should be meaningless to us,
you know. Don't believe in them and don't
let it be a factor in your decision
making. And I know, like, when you say
this, I was even thinking, like, when I'm
preparing my notes, I'm like, okay. This is
something that everyone knows. Like, we all know
this. Right? But the question of brothers and
sisters is it's not about knowing. Right? It's
about how we act upon it or how
much it is actually a part of our
decision making. Right? Because when it comes time,
right, to actually execute, when it comes time
to actually do something,
right, then we might find that even subconsciously,
these things are playing a a factor, you
know,
in our decisions. They they are a factor,
you know, at the back of our minds.
And
finally, if you are doing something and you
hear or see something that gives you greater
confidence
without seeking it, then you can take it
as a good sign. It is, you know,
a a glad tiding or a good sign
for Allah
We ask Allah
to purify our belief and our reliance in
Him. We ask Allah
to protect us from all types of evils
and harms, whether they are physical or spiritual
or mental.
This week, my brothers and sisters, we have
had, some very sad news. Of course, our
dear elder,
passed away early Saturday morning.
You know, it's always a pleasure to have
him, with us, to be in his company.
Whenever he would pray his love with us,
you know, he would give the adhan,
Eid salah, he would be giving or, you
know, reading with takbiraat,
and the same at a number of other
masajid in in the city. Our,
other news as well, our dear elder brother,
Ahmed,
Al Shannawani has been told the sad news
of his nephew passing away the age of
44 years, in Egypt,
leaving behind a wife,
and children, the youngest daughter being 3 years
old.
So please make God for him and his
family as well. Our sister, Tabasum's mother passed
away in Pakistan as well in.
Oh, Allah, please grant, beautiful patience to the
loved ones, subhan jameel, to the loved ones
at this difficult time. Oh, Allah, make them
a means for continued reward for those who
have returned to returned to you. You, Allah,
please heal the grief that is in their
hearts, you Allah. Oh Allah, you are the
only one who can heal the hearts. Oh
Allah, only you know the true grief that
is inside the hearts. Oh Allah, only you
are the one who can truly heal that
grief. Oh Allah, please heal their hearts, you
Oh Allah, please forgive us for our minor
and major sins, You Allah. Oh Allah, please
purify our hearts of all types of disbeliefs
and incorrect beliefs and hypocrisy and unlawful desires,
You Rabbil Alemen. Oh Allah, please fill our
hearts with the light of iman. Oh Allah,
fill our hearts with the light of iman.
Oh Allah, fill our hearts with the strength
of taqwa. Oh Allah, please fill our hearts
with love for you and your book and
your beloved messenger sallallahu anayhi wa sallam. Oh
Allah, please purify our minds of all types
of evil thoughts. Oh, Allah, please make our
minds sound, our bodies and our souls, our
minds true believers in every way.
Oh, Allah, please envelope all of us in
your unseen protection.
Oh, Allah, please cure all of those who
are ill and who are facing hardships and
struggles with regards to their health. O Allah,
o Allah, our older sister living in pain
and weakness and and and decline,
on a daily basis. O Allah, please make
this moment easy for her. Allah. Our brothers
and sisters who are living with long term
pain and injuries here locally, allah. Allah, our
elder pioneers who are ill, dealing
with cancer and other illnesses, brother Mumtaz and
others as well, allah. Our sister and her
3 children and and our brother and his
family and many others who are suffering from
COVID-nineteen.
O Allah, all of those who are ill,
who are injured, O Allah, you are the
cure and healer. O Allah, please grant them
all the speedy and complete recovery.
Oh, Allah, peace grant relief. To all of
our brothers and sisters, to all of our
brothers and sisters in faith and humanity who
are experiencing
distress
and anxiety and grief and depression and any
other types of suffering, oh Allah, please replace
it with happiness and ease and goodness, You
Rabba Alameen. Oh Allah, please remove the trials
and hardships from the from the lives, You
Rabba Alameen. Oh Allah, please grant them strength
to succeed through all these trials and tribulations
my brothers and sisters. Those who are at
home, please offer protocols of the heart prayer.
For those who are registered for Friday prayer,
please come at your allotted time.