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say, Remove the hurt, O Rabb of mankind. Heal me; Thou art the Healer. There is no cure except Thy cure
which leaves behind no disease. (This is Ibn Mâjah’s wording. Abû Daoud has a shorter version of this
hadith, and al-Hakim a shorter one than either of the preceding.)
Omens
Drawing evil omens from certain articles, places, times, individuals, and the like was, and still is, a current
superstition. In antiquity, the people of the Prophet Salih (s.a.w.s.) said to him, We augur an evil omen of
thee and those with thee....(27:47)
And whenever a calamity struck them, Pharaoh and his people...ascribed it to evil omens connected with
Moses and those with him. (7:31)
Many times, when Allâh Ta‘ala tried the unbelievers by sending a calamity, they would say to the
messengers of Allâh (peace be on them all),... Indeed, we augur an evil omen from you. (36:18) The reply of
the messengers was, Your auguring of evil omens is with yourselves (36:19), meaning, “The cause of your
evil omens is in your own attitude, stemming from your unbelief, stubbornness, and arrogance in regard to
Allâh and His messengers.”
The Arabs of jahiliyyah had a long history of such practices associated with a variety of beliefs which
persisted until the coming of Islâm, which abolished all such notions and brought the people back to the way
of sound reason. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) classified the auguring of evil omens with divination and magic in his
saying, He is not of us who seeks for evil omens or for whom evil omens are sought, who divines or for
whom divination is made, who practices magic or for whom magic is practiced. (Reported by al-Tabarani on
the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas through good transmission.) The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) also said, “Augury from
drawing lines in the sand, from the flight of birds, and from stones pertains to shirk.” (Reported by Abû
Daoud, al-Nisai, and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih.)
The auguring of omens has no basis in science or in reality but is a weakness of the mind and a superstition.
How can a sane human being believe that a certain person or place, the cry of a bird, the flick of an eyelid,
or the hearing of a certain word can bode something evil? Even if there is some weakness in human nature
which is conducive to the seeking of omens from certain things, one should not surrender to this weakness,
especially when a decision is to be made or an action is to be taken. It is stated in a hadith that No one is
free of three things: suspicion, auguring evil omens, and envy. Thus, if you have a suspicion, do not pursue
it; if you augur an evil omen, do not turn back; and if you are envious, do not transgress. (Reported by al-
Tabarani.)
In this way these three things will remain mere thoughts which cross the mind without affecting the actual
behavior, and Allâh Ta‘ala will forgive them. Ibn Mas‘ood reported the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) as saying three
times, “Auguring evil omens is shirk (polytheism).”
And Ibn Mas‘ood added, “None of us fails to be affected by this, but Allâh removes such influences through
our trust in Him” (Reported by Abû Daoud and al-Tirmidhî.), meaning that although there is no one among
us who is not affected by this weakness at one time or another, this weakness is removed from the heart of
the person who turns to Allâh, trusting in Him and not letting such ideas obsess him.
The War against Jahili Customs
On the one hand Islâm launched an attack on jahili beliefs and superstitions which were a threat to reason,
morals, and manners, and on the other, on jahili customs, which were the product of chauvinism:
boastfulness, pride, and the glorification of the tribe.
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No Chauvinism in Islâm
Islâm’s first step in this direction was to reduce every kind of group chauvinism to dust, forbidding the Muslim
to revive any of the disputes of such chauvinism or to summon others toward it. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
declared himself free of responsibility for anyone who practices it, saying, He who calls others to group
chauvinism does not belong to us; he who fights for the sake of group chauvinism does not belong to us;
and he who dies upholding group chauvinism does not belong to us. (Reported by Abû Daoud.)
There is no special distinction for a certain color of skin, a particular race of mankind, or a special region of
the earth. The Muslim is forbidden to be a partisan of one race against another, one people against another,
or one country against another. It is not permissible for a believer in Allâh and the Last Day to support his
people without regard for whether they are right or wrong, just or unjust.
Wathilah bin al-Asq‘a narrated, “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allâh, what is chauvinism?‘ and he replied, That
you should help your people in wrongdoing.” (Reported by Abû Daoud.) And Allâh Ta‘ala says: O you who
believe, be steadfast in justice, as witnesses for Allâh, even though it be against yourselves or parents or
kindred. (4:135)...And do not let hatred of (other) people cause you to deviate from justice. (5:9 (8))
“Help your brother, whether he is the oppressor or the oppressed,” was a well-known proverb in pre-Islâmic
jahiliyyah which people used to take literally. The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) changed its meaning in a subtle fashion.
After the faith was firmly established in the hearts of his Companions, he once repeated this proverb to
them. They were shocked, saying, “O Messenger of Allâh, we know how to help the oppressed, but how can
we help the oppressor?” He replied, “Stop him from wrongdoing; that is helping him.” (Compiled by al-
Bukhâri.)
We know from these statements that a call toward nationalism or racism is a call of jahiliyyah, and Islâm, its
Prophet (s.a.w.s.), and its Book have totally rejected it. Islâm does not recognize any loyalty other than to its
belief, any relationship other than that of its brotherhood, or any differentiation among human beings other
than on the basis of belief and unbelief.Even though he may be a fellow countryman, a relative, or one’s own
blood brother, the unbeliever who shows hostility to Islâm is an enemy to the Muslim. Says Allâh Ta‘ala:
Thou wilt not find any people who believe in Allâh and the Last Day loving those who resist Allâh and His
Messenger, even if they are their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred....(58:22)
O you who believe, do not take your fathers or your brothers as friends if they love unbelief more than
faith....(9:23)
Lineage is Without Significance
Al-Bukhâri reported that Abû Dharr and Bilal, the Abyssinian, both of whom were among the earliest
Muslims, once quarreled and insulted each other. Carried away by his anger, Abû Dharr said to Bilal, “You
son of a black woman!” Bilal complained about this to the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), who turned to Abû Dharr,
saying, “Are you taunting him about his mother? There is still some influence of jahiliyyah in you!‘‘
(Compiled by al-Bukhâri.)
Abû Dharr narrated that the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said to him, “Look! You are no better than a white or black
man unless you excel in the fear of Allâh.” (Compiled by al-Bukhâri.) The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) also said, “You
are all children of Adam, and Adam was created of dust.” (Reported by Ahmad.)
Thus Islâm made it haram for the Muslim to boast about his genealogy and kinship, mentioning his
forefathers and saying, “I am the son of such and such,” or “I am white and you are black, I am an Arab and
you are a non-Arab.” What is the value of kinships and genealogies when all people come from one single
origin? And even supposing that genealogy had value, how does it add to the credit or debit of a person to
have been born to this or that father? Said the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), These genealogies of yours are not a
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