Does necromancy (summoning spirits) exist in our religion?

 

Dear Brother / Sister,

Those who claim to be necromancers deceive some ignorant and gullible people in various ways. The most common of them is as follows:

The medium, that is, the necromancer, sets a few cups on a table and lays out some letters. He utters the name of the so-called spirit he will summon. After a while, the cup starts to move, and the sounds of “Knock, knock!...” come from the table. Meanwhile, the letters move left and right. He tries to determine the answers of the so-called spirit to the questions from the movement of the letters.

Is there really a relationship between the phenomenon of spirit summoning and spirits? Are the spirits of dead people really the spirits that mediums claim to summon and talk to? If they are not the spirits of dead people, who are those who make the sound by knocking on the table?

First of all, we should state that nothing in the universe is purposeless, ownerless and unattended. Nothing is left on its own or to chance. Every living and non-living being in the universe is a prisoner of a system, under supervision and control. Nothing is exempt from the comprehensive and all-encompassing laws imposed by Allah Almighty.

Moreover, the fact that Allah Almighty has created the human spirit as the most honorable and the most exalted of all creatures, adorned it with high virtues, turned the universe toward it, and chosen it as His addressee and friend clearly shows that He does not leave its management and control to others. He does not leave it to some miserable impostors.

Even the control over one’s own body is not in one’s power. For example, a person does not even know how the food he eats is distributed after it passes down his throat and how much is distributed to each part of his body. It is indescribable how ridiculous it is for a human being, who is unaware of all of these things in his own inner world, to claim to have control over spirits.

All that is in the sky and on the earth is under the control of Allah. Therefore, the spirits are not left to their own will. If they could act as they wished with their own will, perhaps some of them would not even want to come to the world; and even if they did, they would not want to go.

The following is stated in verse 85 of the chapter of al-Isra: “The spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord.” The verse clearly states that the human spirit comes from the command of Allah. What force can affect a spirit that comes from the Divine Command and have control over it?

Again, it is declared in many verses that the human spirit is not left unattended after death and that its reckoning begins with death. For example, the following is stated in verse 46 of the chapter of al-Mumin:

“In front of the Fire will they be brought, morning and evening: And (the sentence will be) on the Day that Judgment will be established.”

It is clearly stated in the verse above that the unbelievers will be tormented until the Day of Judgment. The following is stated about the believers in verse 32 of the chapter of an-Nahl:

“(Namely) those whose lives the angels take in a state of purity, saying (to them), ‘Peace be on you; enter ye the Garden, because of (the good) which ye did (in the world)’.”

There are many hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about the situations after death and the torment in the grave. He states the following in one of them:

“The grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of Hell (according to everyone’s deeds).”

So, the spirit, like every creature in the world, is not unattended. After the death of man, his/her spirit is subjected to a constant inspection and reckoning in the realm of the grave, which is called the realm of the afterlife, and is subjected to punishment or reward.

We should also state that just as the realm is not exclusive to matter, the spirit is not exclusive to human beings. The spiritual realms are infinite; the creatures living in those realms are also infinite. As a matter of fact, only Allah knows the number of angels, jinn, devils, in short, spiritual beings.

Now, let us briefly analyze whether these spiritual beings have anything to do with the claim of “spirit summoning (necromancy)”:

The largest group of spiritual beings is angels. Angels have been created from “light”. Angels are in absolute obedience to Allah, they are engaged in duties such as dhikr, glorification, worship and knowledge; and they do not rebel in any way. Therefore, those who bring news to mediums cannot be angels.

As for human spirits, they are divided into four:

1. The spirits of prophets and saints.

2. The spirits of martyrs.

It is clear that those two groups of spirits will not come to mediums.

3. The spirits of sinful believers:

Those spirits who believe in Allah and the Hereafter but who do not do righteous deeds, who fall into debauchery, and indulge in sins, are subject to torment in their graves. It is unthinkable for them to visit mediums because they are busy with their own reckoning.

4. The spirits of unbelievers:

Those spirits are also subject to a permanent and severe torment in the grave. Who would leave these spirits, who are subject to divine torment, to go and tap the tables?

- So, who are those who come and tap the tables as a result of the mediums’ contact?

In order to answer this question adequately, it would be useful to dwell a little on the wisdom behind the creation of human beings. The following is stated in verse 3 of the chapter of al-Insan:

“Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.”

As it is clearly understood from the meaning of the verse, man has been sent to this world for a test. The world has been opened before him as a place of competition. The separation of spirits like diamonds from spirits like coal necessitates this competition. The separation of the good from the bad in this competition necessitates the creation of devils, who will mess with human beings so that the good and the bad will be distinguished.

Indeed, it is stated in verses 11-18 of the chapter of al-A’raf in the Quran that the devils are creatures devoid of good and created for evil, and that they will mess with human beings and seduce them:

“It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who bow down. (Allah) said: ‘What prevented thee from bowing down when I commanded thee?’ He said: ‘I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay.’ (Allah) said: ‘Get thee down from this: it is not for thee to be arrogant here: get out, for thou art of the meanest (of creatures).’ He said: ‘Give me respite till the day they are raised up.’ (Allah) said: ‘Be thou among those who have respite.’ He said: ‘Because thou hast thrown me out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on thy straight way: Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies).’ (Allah) said: ‘Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow thee,- Hell will I fill with you all.’”

Two points in the verse are closely related to our issue. The first is that the devils are allowed to mess with human beings until the Day of Judgment, and the second is that the devils can approach people from their front, back, right and left sides. Therefore, the devils always manipulate people’s low and animal desires, and deceive them, leading them astray from the right path. One of the ways they seduce people is by using mediums as mascots and corrupting people by giving them false news.

The following is stated in the Quran:

“Shall I inform you, (O people!), on whom it is that the evil ones descend? They descend on every lying, wicked person, (into whose ears) they pour hearsay vanities, and most of them are liars.” (ash-Shuara, 26/221-223)

Yes, those who come when they are called and make noise by tapping the tables of the mediums are the transgressing ones of the devils and jinn.

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi states the following regarding the issue:

“This phenomenon proceeds from philosophy and from Europe, and can be extremely harmful to the believers. It is open to exploitation of many sorts, and if it contains one truth, this is mixed with ten falsehoods. For since there is no touchstone, no criterion, to differentiate between truth and falsehood, the jinn which assist evil spirits and Satan may possibly cause harm both to the hearts of those who busy themselves with it, and to Islam. For there are disclosures which they call spiritual matters but which are contrary to the truths of Islam and general beliefs. Evil spirits present themselves as good spirits or even as great saints and may attempt to cause harm to the basic principles of Islam by saying things opposed to them. They may twist the truth and deceive ingenuous people completely.” (Nursi, Emirdağ Lahikası)

We will quote the following verses of the poem of Mawlana regarding the issue:

“If a jinni dominates man and pesters him, the humanity in man is lost.”

“Whatever he says, the jinni actually says it. Whether from this or that part, the word actually belongs to the jinni.”

“At such a time, man’s own self is gone and the jinni has completely dominated him.”

Abu Hurayra (ra) narrates the following about the jinn’s possession of humans:

“Once, the Prophet (pbuh) said:

‘A strong demon from the jinn came to me last night suddenly so as to spoil my prayer, but Allah enabled me to overpower him. I caught him and intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that all of you might see him, but I remembered the invocation of Sulayman (Solomon), son of Dawud (David): ‘O my Lord! Forgive me, and grant me a kingdom which, (it may be), suits not another after me.’ So, I repelled the demon like a dog.’”

Babanzade Ahmed Naim states that it is only Allah who knows the numbers of the types of creatures and that the creatures with life do not consist of only humans and animals. He also states that there are other creatures such as angels and jinn in addition to those two groups, citing the Prophet’s declaration as well as the testimonies of pure people as evidence, and includes the following information:

“Jinn live on earth like humans. There are unbelievers and believers among them. They can take different forms and disguises. The existence of angels and jinn is definite based on the declaration of the Quran and the report of our Prophet.”

Ahmed Naim states that the medium’s making chairs move in the air and cups tap on the table without their hands touching them are actually caused by jinn and devils.

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