Ruling on seeking the help of Jinn to identify a thief
Fatwa No: 265417

Question

salam, my sister's cell phone has been stolen from my home, here are some believes that people write on paper names of all suspected people, then this paper they fit on one pot and also on the pot they write names of four angels, Jibraeel,(A.S), Izraeel(A.S), Meekaeel(A.S),and Israfeel(A.S). etc after that they recite surah(Yaseen) then if the name of thief will be available on the paper(where all suspected names are there) then even before finishing surah(Yaseen) that pot moves round automatically clockwise or anticlockwise , if name of thief is unavailable so it won't move round, so if moves then all names been written one by one to check the thief, it will move round only on the name of thief, by this way they declare thief, and this procedure is called as "Faal" in urdu language same thing happened in my home, after doing "faal" on my name that pot moved and my mother, sister and uncle saw this with their own eyes, now i am declared as thief, but Allah is the witness that i did not steel it and i am not thief, so what should i do now, i am being disrespected as thief, and if am denying this "faal" as this system is uselss wrong then i have been said that surah (Yaseen) can't be wrong, Qur'an is fact and we blindly believe on it, now please solve my problem, how i should do now ? already i am not thief and that mobile was stolen in ramadan they got faal from some other people they were saying he is family member wearing glasses actually i wear glasses but it was not my clear name and already those faal procedures without Qur'an my family dont believe blindly as well as there are too many kinds and procedures of faal as people catch thieves here, but today this faal by Qur'an and surah (Yaseen)they did it clearly on my name the pot moved.and really it moved. now what i should do, how that pot moves really , i want my solution you can send me solution. please explain me also all this thing, thanx i will be waiting.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

Theft cannot be proven except by the testimony of two reliable witnesses, or by the thief himself providing a detailed confession about his theft, while he is subject to the divine obligations [due to having all his faculties].

As for what is widespread among the people, like reading Soorah Yaa-seen [Quran 36] in a particular manner, with the purpose of disclosing the thief, this is a religious innovation that is neither part of the guidance of the Prophet nor of the righteous predecessors. Rather, repeatedly reciting some specific verses from Soorah Yaa-seen, along with some other verses [which are not from it], this is what was consistently transmitted in the books of magic and fortune-telling. The way of recitation is mentioned by Ahmed ibn ‘Ali al-Booni in his evil book "Shams Al-Ma’aarif Al-Kubra."

As regards what is mentioned about the pot moving around, it is probable that it is the jinn who moves it and it is not permissible to believe jinn, magicians and fortunetellers about the accusations of people.

We have already clarified in Fatwa 188759 that it is forbidden to seek the help from jinn in order to know the thief, even if we presume that the jinn is a righteous Muslim jinn because the matter is a matter of the unseen and there is no room to distinguish between a righteous and sinful jinn. Moreover, it should be impermissible to do so in order to block the means of access to fortune-telling and astrology.

This does not detract from the status of Soorah Yaa-seen. In fact, the entire Quran is good and blessed, but the Ahaadeeth that have been handed down about the excellence of Soorah Yaa-seen are either weak or very weak or fabricated. Moreover, according to our research, we have not come across anything even in these fabricated Ahaadeeth to indicate that Soorah Yaa-seen can move a pot or disclose the name of a thief.

As far as you are concerned, we advise you to seek refuge in Allaah, to invoke Him by His greatest Name; to invoke Him with the invocation of Prophet Yoonus (Jonah) : "Laa ilaaha illa anta subhaanaka inni kuntu min-ath-thaalimeen (None has the right to be worshipped except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers)"; to say "Hasbiyallaahu wa ni‘m-al-wakeel (Allaah suffices for me, and what a good trustee indeed)"; and to supplicate with the supplications for times of difficulty. By doing so, Allaah will protect you from what people say and protect your honor from people’s accusations, Allaah willing.

The Prophet said: “The supplication of Prophet Yoonus (Jonah) as he supplicated while he was in the whale's stomach was "Laa ilaaha illaa anta subhaanaka inni kuntu min-ath-thaalimeen." "None has the right to be worshipped except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers", there is no Muslim who supplicates His Lord with this supplication concerning any matter except that Allaah answers his supplication.” [Al-Haakim graded it as Saheeh (sound), and Ath-Thahabi and Al-Albaani agreed to his grading]

Also, Anas ibn Maalik narrated that he was sitting with the Prophet and there was a man who was standing in prayer and after he bowed down and prostrated himself, he said the Tashahhud, and he supplicated: “O Allaah, I ask you to Whom all praise is due, there is no deity worthy of worship except You, O Benefactor, Originator of the heavens and the earth, to you belong all Glory and Honor, O Living, O Subsisting, I ask you … ,” thereupon the Prophet asked the Companions: “Did you know with what he supplicated? They replied: Allaah and His Messenger know best, he said, ‘I swear by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, he supplicated Allaah by his greatest Name, by which if one supplicates Him, He answers his supplication, and if he asks Him for anything, He grants him what he asks.” [Ahmad and An-Nasaa’i]

Asmaa’ bint ‘Umays narrated that the Prophet said to her: “Shall I not teach you some words that you would say in case of distress: “Allaah, Allaah is my Lord, I do not associate with Him anything.” [At-Tirmithi]

Ibn Mas’ood narrated that the Prophet said: “There is no one who is afflicted with distress or anxiety and says: “O Allaah! I am Your slave, the son of Your male slave, the son of Your female slave. My forelock is in Your Hand, Your decision concerning me shall certainly come to pass. Just is Your Judgement about me. I ask You with each Name of Yours, by which You named Yourself, or You taught to some of Your creatures, or You revealed in Your Book, or which You keep secret in the knowledge of the Unseen near You. I ask You to enliven my heart with the Quran and to make it the light of my chest, the remover of my distress and discomfort.”, except that Allaah removes that person's distress and grants him ease and comfort." Someone asked: 'Should we learn this supplication?' The Prophet said: "Whoever hears of this supplication should learn it." [Ahmad]

Furthermore, Ibn ‘Abbaas said: "Allaah suffices for us, and what a good trustee indeed" is a supplication which Prophet Ibraaheem (Abraham) said when he was thrown into the fire, and it was the supplication said by Prophet Muhammad when they said: “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, "Sufficient for us is Allaah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs."[Al-Bukhari]

Also, you should repeat “Hasbiyallaahu laa ilaaha illa huwa ‘alayhi tawakkaltu wa huwa rabbul-‘arshil-‘atheem (Sufficient for me is Allaah; there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne)" seven times in the morning and in the evening.

The Prophet said: “Whoever says in the morning and in the evening ‘Hasbiyallaahu laa ilaaha illa huwa ‘alayhi tawakkaltu wa huwa rabbul-‘arshil-‘atheem' (Sufficient for me is Allaah, there is no deity besides Him; in Him have I put my trust and He is the Lord of the mighty Throne)’, seven times, Allaah, Exalted is He, will spare him of what concerns him of the affairs of this world and the Hereafter.” [Ibn As-Sunni - Al-Arnaa’oot graded it as Saheeh (sound)]

Allaah Knows best.

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