Do Souls of the Dead Return Back to this World? Part 4

Compiled by
Shawana A Aziz


From As-Sunnah Bimonthly
Islamic Newsletter



Therefore, this verse proves the truthfulness of Jinn-possession. Al-Qurtubee
writes in his Tafseer of this verse: "This verse contains proof against those
who deny the possession by way of Jinn, claiming that it is a result of
natural causes, as well as those who claim that Shaytaan does not enter humans
nor does he touch them."

Clear Evidence of Jinn possession from the Sunnah are in a number of authentic
tradition, one of which is related by, Ya'la Ibn Murah (radhiallahu anhu), who says: "I saw
Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) do three things which no one
before or after me saw. I went with him on a trip. On the way, we passed by a
woman sitting at the roadside with a young boy. She called out, 'O Messenger
of Allah, this boy is afflicted with a trial, and from him we have also been
afflicted with a trial. I don't know how many times per day he is seized by
fits.' He (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: 'Give him to me.' So she lifted
him up to the Prophet.

He (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) then placed the boy
between himself and the middle of the saddle, opened the boy's mouth and blew
in it three times, saying, 'In the name of Allah, I am the slave of Allah, get
out, enemy of Allah!' Then he gave the boy back to her and said: 'Meet us on
our return at this same place and inform us how he has fared.' We then went.
On our return, we found her in the same place with three sheep. When he said
to her, 'How has your son fared?' She replied: 'By the One who sent you with
the truth, we have not detected anything (unusual) in his behavior up to this
time…" [Musnad Ahmad (vol: 4, p. 170), and al-Haakim, who declared it Saheeh]




This authentic narration describes how Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe
wa-sallam) commanded the Jinn possessing the boy, to leave. Also, the
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) is reported to have said:
"Verily, Shaytaan flows in the blood-streams of Adam's descendants." [Saheeh
Muslim (vol: 3, no: 5404)]



Causes
of Possession

There could be three main reasons for possession, as suggested by Shaikh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah):



(a) The occasional possession of man by the Jinn may be due to sensual desires
on the part of the Jinn, passions or even love, just as it may be among
humans.



(b) Majority of the possessions are the result of hatred and revenge of the
Jinn, because of some wrong done to him. For example, when humans accidentally
harm or hurt the Jinn by urinating on them, by pouring hot water on them, or
by killing some of them, the Jinn think that they have been harmed
intentionally. Though humans may not realize what they have done, the Jinn are
by nature ignorant, very harsh and unstable in their behavior, so they may
revengefully punish humans much more than they actually deserve.



(c) Possession sometimes also occurs as a result of plain evil on the part of
the Jinn, just as evil and mischief occurs among humans for similar reasons.
[See Majmoo al-Fatawa vol: 19, p. 39]

"Jinn
mostly gain control over those who have little religious inclination and those
whose hearts and tongues faith has deserted. Those whose souls are desolate of
the remembrance of Allah and of the formulas of strengthening faith."

EXORCISM
to Free a human from Jinn-Possession

To exorcize the Jinn is obligatory according to the principles of repelling
oppression, aiding the oppressed, enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil,
just as it is with human. [Shaikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdillah al-Baaz, al-Mujtama'
Magazine, no. 830, 18/8/87, p. 39-41]

A question was posed to Ibn Taymiyah (rahimahullah) regarding the subject, he
expressed the same view and added: "… In (exorcism) there is also alleviation
of grief and suffering of the oppressed. Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe
wa-sallam) is reported by Abu Hurayrah in Saheeh Muslim (vol: 4, no: 6250) to
have said: "Whoever relieves a believer of one of the tragedies of life, Allah
will relieve him of one of the calamities of the Day of Resurrection…" Jaabir
(radhiallahu anhu) also reported in Saheeh Muslim (vol: 3, no: 5456) that when Allah's
Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) was asked about incantation, he
replied: "Whoever among you is able to help his brother, he should do so."

However, help should be justly rendered according to the methods prescribed by
Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam). For example,
Islamically based prayers, words and phrases should only be used in the way
they were used by the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) and his
Companions. When commanding the Jinn to righteousness and prohibiting it from
evil, it should be done in the same way that man is ordered and forbidden.
Whatever is allowable in the case of humans is also allowable in the case of
Jinn." [As-Shiblee's Ahkaam al-Jaann, chapter. 53, p.147-8]

Pre-requisites
of the Exorcist:

Treatment of fits due to Jinn possession requires two essential factors from
the possessed and the healer.

(a) Turning truthfully to Allah alone and having full conviction that the
remembrance of Allah and Qur'aanic recitation will effect the person and the
Jinn. The stronger the faith, the stronger will be the effect.

(b) Using correct means to drive the Jinn away, as taught by Allah's Messenger
(sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam).

For, surely this type of treatment is, in fact, war against the Shaytaan and
the warrior will not be able to defeat his enemy unless he fulfills two
conditions; that his weapon is sound and sharp, and that his arm is strong.
Whenever either of these two conditions is not met, a long sword will be of no
value! [See Zaad al-Maa'ad p. 67-69]

"Such a person (who exorcizes the Jinn) is a soldier of Allah, and since
exorcism is among the greatest forms of Jihad, he should beware not to help
his enemy overcome him by his own sins. If the circumstance is beyond his
capacity, he should remember that Allah does not burden a soul beyond its
capacity. He should not expose himself to tribulation by taking on what he is
unable to handle." [Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmoo al-Fatawa]

Methodology:

The following are some ways of exorcism, which have been deduced from the
practice of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) and the Sahabah (radhiallahu
anhum),
any of them may be used to drive the Shaytaan away:

(a) If the possession is due to magic, then the most effective way is to find
and undo the charm used in bewitchment.

(b) Address the Jinn and inform him that their acts are either abominable or
tyrannical.

(c) Cursing the Jinn

(d) Reciting certain Qur'aanic verses or prayers taught by Allah's Messenger (sallallahu
alaihe wa-sallam), like Ayat al-Kursee (Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 255), Basmalah
(verbal saying of: 'Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem'), Ta'awwuth (saying "I
seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytaan), making Adhaan or Iqaamah,
etc.

(e) Beating: If the above-mentioned steps fail to bring the desired results,
then the exorcist may strike the possessed individual in order to inflict pain
on the possessing spirit. These blows fall upon the Jinn and the possessed
human does not feel them.

Interview

Name: Abdul Majeed Ali Hasan

Profession: Imaam and Khateeb in the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for the U.A.E
Government

1: Identify some signs of real possession

Possession implies control over the mind of the possessed person by the Jinn.
Allah, the Exalted, has granted Jinn, the power to control the activities and
thoughts of the human. Thus, the Jinn during possession controls the intellect
power of the possessed in such a way that the possessed looses all power to
think and speak from his will. He does not remember his previous sayings or
what he is about to say, he may also perform certain abnormal actions, which
are beyond human might.

Allah speaks about such possession in the Glorious Qur'aan in Soorah al-Baqarah,
verse: 275: "Those who eat Riba (usury) will not stand on the Day of Judgment
except like the standing of the person beaten by Shaytaan (Jinn) leading him
to insanity..." According to Imam Al-Qurtubee, this verse is an evidence of
Jinn possession over human. Also, a number of evidences of Jinn possession can
be found in the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger. One of which is reported in
Majma'uz Zawaid (9/3-4), where Allah's Messenger is reported to have performed
exorcism.

2: What percentage of the cases you meet is actual possession?

Majority of the cases are due to psychological illness, wrongfully assumed to
be possession. Therefore, normally, when an individual is brought to me for
treatment, I ask for a medical report. Only when it becomes clear to me that
the individual is free from any illness, I start my treatment based on the
Qur'aan and the Sunnah.

Many people who come for a treatment do not have any illness or possession,
but their sickness is mere imagination, due to watching horror movies and
reading novels, which propagate possession.



3: Describe one case of exorcism, which you may have performed.

Al-hamdulillah, I have cured many people who were severely possessed by Jinn.
One of them was in the year 1996, when in my mosque after delivering the
Friday sermon, a young man was brought to me who was suffering from severe
neck pain. The people who brought him to me said that he was unable to
straighten his neck after 12.00 pm, and he would shout very loudly due to
severe pain. On the first day, I recited over him, Soorah al-Fatihah, the
first chapter of the Qur'aan, and Aayat al-Kursee (Soorah al-Baqarah (2): 255)
seven times. The man regained his health and walked out of the mosque with no
pain at all.

The next day, he was again brought to the mosque complaining of the same neck
pain. I took him to my house and recited Soorah al-Fatihah, Aayat al-Kursee,
few verses of Soorah al-Jinn, Soorah an-Nas, Soorah al-Falaq, Soorah al-Ikhlas
and Soorah al-Kafirun. After a while the man started to snore like a lion, I
stopped the recitation and asked him to return back to his house. Suddenly, he
started to utter some words in Arabic, which were not clear to me. Once more I
started the recitation of Soorah al-Jinn and he shouted: "Do not read it... it
burns me inside." I asked him his name, he replied: 'Muhammad.' I was shocked
because Muhammad was not the name of the man possessed… it was the Jinn
speaking. Al-hamdulillah, I asked Allah's Help and made Dawah to him. I
explained to him the importance of his name and that it is wrong on the part
of a Muslim to hurt his Muslim brothers. I inquired about the reason why he
possessed the man and he said: "This man urinated on my head in the Rasal
Kahimah Roundabout." This Roundabout is very close to my mosque, where people
usually gather and sit.

I then requested him to forgive the man, since his act was unintentional and
he did not see the Jinn. Al-hamdulillah, he agreed to leave the body and work
as a good Muslim. He also promised to never hurt anybody after this, and
establish regular prayers. Then, he left… Al-hamdulillah.

4: How do you protect yourself from possession?

A number of Ahaadeeth mention Du'aa (supplications), which prevent the
Shaytaan from harming us, I strictly adhere to them. From among them is as
Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said that Shaytaan runs away
when Adhaan or Iaqamah is pronounced, I always make sure to answer the Adhaan,
which is also mentioned in the Hadeeth to be a way of preventing Shaytaan.

(b)
Reciting the last two verses of Soorah al-Baqarah every night,

(c) reciting Aayat al-Kursee as is the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger (sallallahu alaihe
wa-sallam)

(d) reciting the last four Soorahs of the Qur'aan

(e) Morning and
Evening Supplications,
(f) supplications before entering the bathroom and
after coming out of it, supplication upon wearing clothes, upon entering the
house, and others which are mentioned in the Sunnah.