Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind
Short Answer
No, a Taweez (amulet) that has numbers, shapes, symbols or boxes, is not allowed. A Taweez is Ruqyah in written form. Therefore, the rules of Ruqyah are applicable to Taweez too.
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ حُجْرٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، قَالَ: “إِذَا فَزِعَ أَحَدُكُمْ فِي النَّوْمِ فَلْيَقُلْ: أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ غَضَبِهِ وَعِقَابِهِ وَشَرِّ عِبَادِهِ، وَمِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ فَإِنَّهَا لَنْ تَضُرَّهُ”. فَكَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو، يُلَقِّنُهَا مَنْ بَلَغَ مِنْ وَلَدِهِ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَبْلُغْ مِنْهُمْ كَتَبَهَا فِي صَكٍّ ثُمَّ عَلَّقَهَا فِي عُنُقِهِ.: هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “If one of you becomes frightened during sleep, then let him say: ‘I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from His anger, His punishment, and the evil of His creatures. And from the whisperings of the devils, and their presence. Then indeed, they will not harm him.” Abdullah bin Amr used to teach it to those of his children who attained maturity. As for those of them who did not, he would write it on parchment and hang it around the neck. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3528, Hasan).
Taweez is restricted
In the narration above we find the scholar of the Sahaabah Sayidina Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas (May Allah Most High be pleased with them both) writing Ruqyah and placing it on his children who were young. This is used as a proof for the permissibility of Taweez. A Taweez is permissible when it is restricted to Quranic verses and Sunnah supplications. If it goes beyond Quran and Sunnah then Taweez is not permitted.
وَرَدَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ النَّهْيُ عَنْ التّوَلَةِ بِوَزْنِ عِنَبَةٍ: وَهِيَ مَا يُفْعَلُ لِيُحَبِّبَ الْمَرْأَةَ إلَى زَوْجِهَا. اهـ. أَقُولُ: بَلْ نَصَّ عَلَى حُرْمَتِهَا فِي الْخَانِيَّةِ، وَعَلَّلَهُ ابْنُ وَهْبَانَ بِأَنَّهُ ضَرْبٌ مِنْ السِّحْرِ. قَالَ ابْنُ الشِّحْنَةِ وَمُقْتَضَاهُ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مُجَرَّدَ كِتَابَةِ آيَاتٍ، بَلْ فِيهِ شَيْءٌ زَائِدٌ. (رد المحتار على الدر المختار)
It was mentioned in the Hadith that al-Tiwalah is forbidden. It is on the pattern of Enabah. It refers to what a woman does to endear herself to her husband. I say: In al-Khaniyah he asserted the prohibition. Ibn Wahban explained that it is a type of sorcery. Ibn al-Shihnah said: The implication is that it is not merely writing verses, but rather there is something additional in it. (Imam Muhammad Ameen bin Abideen, Radd al-Muhtar).
Muslims are unique
When a Taweez contains writing, shapes, numbers or symbols that are not known to be part of Ruqyah in Quran and Sunnah then it is not permitted. Despite this fact, many people wear or use such Taweez. The Muslim must know that when it comes to spiritual matters, we restrict ourselves to revelation (Quran and Sunnah). This is what differentiates us from other religious communities.
(وَعَقْدَ التَّمَائِمِ): جَمْعُ تَمِيمَةٍ، وَالْمُرَادُ بِهَا التَّعَاوِيذُ الَّتِي تَحْتَوِي عَلَى رُقَى الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَلْفَاظٍ لَا يُعْرَفُ. (مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح)
(Tamaim): Is the plural of Tameemah. It refers to amulets (Taweez) that contain pre-Islamic invocations. Such as the names of devils and unknown words. (Imam Ali bin Sultan al-Qari, Mirqaat).
والرّقي المنهيّ عنها هي ما أضيف فيها إلى أسماء الله تعالى شيء من ذكر الشياطين، والاستعانة بهم، والتعوذ بمردتهم، وما كان بالعجز الذي لا يفهم معناه. (سبل الهدى والرشاد، في سيرة خير العباد)
The prohibited Ruqyah is that which adds to the Names of Allah (Most High) mention of devils, seeking their help, seeking refuge in their leaders, or anything that is from al-Ajz where the meaning is unclear. (Imam Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Salihi, Subl al-Huda wal-Rashad).
Mixing permissible with impermissible
A common misconception amongst many Muslims is that they see something praiseworthy on the Taweez and so ignore everything else. They may see a Quranic verse and then ignore the fact that there are also boxes, numbers or symbols too. This is something scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah warned against. For a Taweez to be permitted, everything within it must be acceptable.
وأما التي نهى عنها صلى الله عليه وسلم, فهي أمور مشتبهة مركبة من حق وباطل, يجمع إلى ظاهر ما يقع فيها من ذكر الله تعالى ما يُستسرُّ به من ذكر الشياطين والاستعانة بهم والتعوذ بمردتهم. (أعلام الحديث)
As for that which the Prophet ﷺ prohibited, it is suspicious matters. A mixture of truth and falsehood. Combining that which is apparent like the Dhikr of Allah (Most High) and that which is veiled such as the mentioning of devils, seeking their help, and seeking refuge in their leaders. (Imam Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi, Alam al-Hadith Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari).
الرُّقَى الْمَنْهِيُّ عَنْهَا الَّتِي يَسْتَعْمِلُهَا الْمُعَزِّمُ وَغَيْرُهُ مِمَّنْ يَدَّعِي تَسْخِيرَ الْجِنِّ لَهُ فَيَأْتِي بِأُمُورٍ مُشْتَبِهَةٍ مُرَكَّبَةٍ مِنْ حَقٍّ وَبَاطِلٍ يَجْمَعُ إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَأَسْمَائِهِ مَا يَشُوبُهُ مِنْ ذِكْرِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَالِاسْتِعَانَةِ بِهِمْ وَالتَّعَوُّذُ بِمَرَدَتِهِمْ. (فتح الباري شرح صحيح البخاري)
The forbidden Ruqyah is that which is used by utterers and others. Such a person claims to have subjugated the Jinn. He engages in suspicious matters that are a mixture of truth and falsehood. He combines the Dhikr of Allah (Most High) and His Names with corruption, such as mentioning devils, seeking their help, and seeking refuge in their leaders. (Imam Ahmad bin Ali bin Hajr al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari).
Conclusion
Imams al-Shawkani, Ibn Mulaqin al-Munawi and many others mentioned similar statements in their books too. Therefore, the Muslim must check the Taweez before accepting it. Any person who is given a Taweez and told not to open it, must reject it immediately and warn against the individual saying this.
Ultimately Taweez is Ruqyah in written form. Therefore, the rules of Ruqyah apply to Taweez too. Anything that is prohibited for Ruqyah is also prohibited for Taweez. Muslims do not use numbers, shapes, boxes, symbols or the like in Ruqyah. Thus, it cannot be used for Taweez.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (23.11.23)
