Ordinary People

Such people have neither superior abilities nor do they constantly strive for purification as prophets do. They do not use jinn or any other instruments like soothsayers do. They might still obtain some information through dreams; the Prophet (pbuh) describes dreams as being one-fortieth of prophethood. A true dream is like a lower revelation. That is, it is simply a glimmer of light that is personal and subjective. Dreams need interpretation and cannot be religious proof. But the dreams that the Prophet (pbuh) had and that have been interpreted are exceptions. Moreover, in instances like the moment of death or in a state of madness, when the connection with the world is at its weakest, people can obtain some information through their dreams.

In the light of the information provided above, we can arrive at the following conclusion. In most ancient civilizations, the pieces of information that jinn and the devils brought were combined with magic and similar practices and developed to lead the people of the day astray. This continued until the advent of the Prophet (pbuh). But people were never abandoned and the prophets were all assigned to help them. During Solomon’s reign in Babylon, when magic was prevalent, the angels were sent to protect people from the evil and deception of fortune-tellers and magicians. Two angels, called Harut and Marut, taught the fundamentals of magic to people and warned them against abusing it. The Qur’an tells the story as follows:

Yet those two angels did not teach anybody without saying (to him): “We are a temptation. So do not disbelieve.” (2:102)

The devils abused everything and they exploited the magicians to sow discord in families, to cause people to fight, to drag people away from the light of revelation, and finally to cause them to blaspheme.[16]

Some of the secret practices that are being revived today consist of information that jinn and devils previously put before man in a false manner. This must be the reason why Satan is mentioned so often today. We can also say Satan, unable to culminate the disobedience and ignorance he effected in Adam and Eve, is trying his hardest to finish the job in this world. Behind Satanism and similar movements are such considerations.

For example, the Amons was a leading civilization during the lifetime of Moses, and sorcery was widespread among them.[17] For this reason, the Pharaoh made Moses face the sorcerers, who were official priests. Moses showed them miracles that they could understand, causing them to believe. The mystical movements today mention the Amon civilization, saying it will be revived, and therein lies freedom. Sorcery was also prevalent in Babylon during the time of Solomon. The Qur’an draws attention to the relationship of Satan, jinn, and sorcery:

And they believed what the devil said about Solomon’s kingdom. Not that Solomon disbelieved, but the devils did… (2:102)

In short, those times have passed. Attempts to revive such periods, with their belief systems and practices, should no longer be carried out since the advent of the Prophet (pbuh). These attempts simply disregard that mankind has developed.

[16] For more information and evidence see: ibid, I, 449; Atesi, Ali Osman, Kur’an ve Hadislere Gore Cin ve Buyu (trans. Jinn and Magic in The Qur’an and Hadith), 231 etc.

[17] Yildirim, Suat, Kur’an-i Hakim ve Aciklamali Meali (trans. The Holy Qur’an with Commentary), 367.