Exorcism: Encyclopedia II - Exorcism - Exorcism in Islam

Exorcism - Exorcism in Islam

Posession by evil spirits (Jinn) or the Devil (Shaitan) and exorcism is said to have been a part of Islam since its beginning.

It is believed that the Jinn can gain control only over those who do not hold true to God. According to Islamic scholars, "The Jinni enters the one seized by fits and causes him to speak incomprehensible words, unknown to himself; if the one seized by fits is struck a blow sufficient to kill a camel, he does not feel it." (Shaikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah, Majmoo al-Fatawa.)

Islamic clergy caution against the overuse of exorcism, citing that most cases are due to psychological and physical causes mistaken for possession. Real cases of possession are very rare and the faithful are warned to watch out for exorcists who encourage a diagnosis of possession too quickly, as they may merely be seeking profit.

Islamic authorities also deny the possibility of possession by souls of deceased persons, and warn that evil spirits may make this claim in order to encourage sinful behavior among the living — such as tomb offerings and the hanging of amulets to ward off evil spirits.

Exorcism - Exorcism in the Qur'an and Sunnah

The following verse of the Qur'an compares the state of sinners on the Day of Judgment to the state of those made insane by the Devil:

Those who devour usury will not stand (on the Day of Judgment) except as stands one whom the Evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. (Qur'an (Yusufali tr.), al-Baqara, 275)

Islamic scholars such as Al-Qurtabi cite this verse as proof against those who deny the possession by Jinn, or ascribe it to natural causes, as well as those who claim that the Devil (Shaitan) does not enter humans nor does he touch them.

There are also Sunnah (traditional statements not part of the Qur'an) that the Prophet Muhammad and his followers expelled evil beings from the bodies of believers using verses from the Qur'an, supplications to Allah, and holy Zamzam water. This example is related by Ya'la ibn Murah:

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)

Exorcism - On the nature of the Jinn

In Islamic belief, the Jinn are intelligent creatures made from fire, much like human beings in that they have free will to choose between good and evil. While a Jinn may possess a human for pure wickedness, it may do it also for other reasons . Shaikh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah suggests that the Jinn may do it in order to experience the physical world, for reasons of desire or love. In this case the Jinn might not actually have malicious intent, or may be unaware of the harm it is causing.

A Jinn might also do it for revenge. Jinn are said to be quick to anger, especially when they believe themselves to have been harmed on purpose (since Jinn are usually invisible to humans, a person can accidentally injure a Jinni not knowing that one is there).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Exorcism in Islam", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki