1. BELIEF AND PRACTICE OF "BLACK MAGIC" AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PAKISTANI MUSLIM SOCIETY.
- Author
-
SULTANA, ANEELA
- Subjects
- *
BLACK magic , *MUSLIMS , *MUSLIMS -- Social life & customs - Abstract
Magic plays a multidimensional role in society and is an integral part of any religion and culture. It is generally perceived a practice through which one inflicts pain to others Magic in Islam encompasses a wide range of practices, including black magic, warding off the evil eye, the production of amulets and other magical equipment. Muslims do commonly believe in magic and explicitly forbid its practice. This is based on the belief that no one knows the future or the unseen except God Almighty. That is why the Quran asserts that even Muhammad (PBUH) does not know the unseen. Concerning this, it says "If I had the knowledge of the unseen, I should have secured abundance for myself, and no evil would have touched me" (7:188) Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud incited in Mishkwat Sharif (2006:376) reported, "Anyone who goes to a diviner, a practitioner of magic or a soothsayer, asking something and believing in what he says, denies what was revealed to Muhammad." Thus Islam has closed the door for practicing magic, simply because it is against its teachings, and it is deceptive and harmful. But there are many things which are prohibited in Islam but still popular in culture. This paper discusses religious and cultural divide on the use of black and white magic in Pakistani Muslim society. It explains the use of magic from the prospective of practitioners as well as those who are using it for the solution of various economic, domestic and social problems. It reveals the unislamic procedures adopted by the magicians for various malicious purposes such as to separate a husband from his wife, to stop girls from getting married, to make someone's business down and to stop a child from studying etc. The data resource for this study was collected by employing anthropological methods and first hand information was collected both from practitioners and users on different forms and symptoms of magic, objects used in magic, procedures adopted, rituals performance and various purposes which persuade people to go against their religion and manipulate the supernatural forces to get things they want in their life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011