Question:
The following matters are commonly known among people. What is their Shari’ah ruling?
- Do cobwebs in homes cause poverty and bring misfortune?
- Looking into a mirror at night should be avoided, as it blackens the face?
- Some people say that they have been granted permission by a certain person to perform ruqyah (blowing/recitation), and they use certain words whose meaning is not clear?
Answer:
الحمدللہ، والصلاة والسلام علی رسول اللہ، أما بعد!
1. Cobwebs and poverty
These are merely the illusions and experiences of people, for which there is no proof in the Shari’ah. Taking omens from anything is not permissible, as the hadith states:
“لَا عَدْوَى وَلَا طِيَرَةَ”
Translation: “No disease is contagious by itself, and taking omens is not correct.”
However, keeping clean is a good habit, and Islam also encourages it. A Muslim’s clothes, home and surroundings should be clean and tidy.
2. The matter of looking into a mirror at night
There is no Shari’ah evidence that looking into a mirror at night turns the face black or causes any other harm. This is mere superstition and baseless belief, which must be avoided.
Using a mirror is permissible, but extravagance and unnecessary indulgence should be avoided.
3. Permission for ruqyah and the use of unclear words
- Performing ruqyah according to the Qur’an and Sunnah is permissible for every Muslim; it requires no special permission, because the Prophet ﷺ himself taught the Ummah the method of ruqyah.
- As for those who claim that a particular person has granted them permission to perform ruqyah, and who include unclear words in it: if those words are part of an un-Islamic practice, then avoiding them is necessary.
Ruling on various narrations about poverty
Burhan al-Islam al-Zarnuji (a student of the author of al-Hidayah) mentioned in his book “Ta’lim al-Muta’allim Tariq al-Ta’allum” many things as causes of poverty, such as:
- sleeping naked,
- eating in a state of janabah (ritual impurity),
- eating while reclining on a pillow,
- leaving rubbish in the house,
- calling one’s parents by their names,
- leaving the mosque quickly after the Fajr prayer,
- and other matters.
However, no authentic hadith supports these claims.
Similarly, Ibn Wahhab al-Maliki, in “Hadiyat al-Abrar ila Tariqat al-Akhbar,” stated fifty things as causes of poverty and attributed them to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), but there is no authentic chain for it. Therefore, these are fabricated (mawdu’) and baseless matters.
Conclusion:
- Linking cobwebs to poverty and misfortune is wrong, although keeping clean is necessary.
- There is no Shari’ah proof for the prohibition of looking into a mirror at night; these are mere superstitions.
- Performing ruqyah according to the Qur’an and Sunnah does not require any special permission; if someone uses un-Islamic words under the name of ruqyah, they should be avoided.
- It is not correct to believe in unauthenticated claims about the causes of poverty and destitution unless there is a sound proof for them.
واللہ أعلم بالصواب
