Question

BISMI ALLAH AL RAHMAN AL RAHEEM,
Alsalum Alaikum, I need to ask you about a serious issue that is happening here in USA. A section of people who are claiming to be islamic scholars are guiding others to Allah by putting them in a hallucinogenic stage under the influence of mushrooms. They claim to follow a specific tarika.

1- Is mushroom as hallucinogenic not haram to begin with?

2- is inducing a distorted state of mental confusion a way to bring muslim into islam? does Allah not want every muslim to come in with full mental abilities. also for people who believe that there has been “seher” put upon them of they feel like some “jin” is controlling them. can anyone pretend to remove such outside power through reading surah al bakara and doing RUKYA all while putting the affected person under the influence of hallucinogenic Mushroom. ? 1- is this any tarika to follow or people to join and pray with and help bring them other people to join? or is it against allah teaching? 2- for any person who claim to have the ability to talk to spirits and jin and be able to remove them away from you, is that not SHURK? isnt allah the only one able to see and talk to them? or try to remove them? can a human do that under influence of mushroom? Finally how do we guide anyone from following them, when they now think that the people are doing the right thing? and could it be that the followers of such practice are actually doing “SEHER” on people. Thank you very much Brother Tarek.

Answer

It is prohibited to use hallucinogenic mushrooms or any other substance that has mind-altering effects or weakens one’s senses and ability to think. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited every intoxicant and substance that weakens the mind (Ahmad and Abu Dawud).[1]

Unfortunately, some people try to engage in tasawwuf without sacred knowledge. This can lead to disobeying Allah Most High, rather than becoming closer to Him. One cannot rectify their heart if they are ignorant of Allah’s teachings. When followers of a tariqa lack knowledge of the shariʿah, they are prone to deviation and innovation, and this is why the founder of the tijani order, Shaykh Abu Abbas ibn Muhammad al-Tijani himself said to his followers, “When you hear something from me, measure it with the standard of the shariʿah; whatever is in accordance with it, take it, and whatever opposes it, leave it”.[2]

Any raqi that claims to remove sihr while violating the sacred laws of Allah must be completely avoided and others should be warned against seeking treatment from them. Having said that, being able to interact with jinns is not shirk, as we know the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the jinn and taught them Islam during the Night of the Jinn (laylat al-jinn). There are reliable trustworthy raqis who contact jinns in sound ways that do not oppose the shariʿah. It is permitted to go to such raqis who’s treatment does not violate the shariʿah. If one is unable to decern whether a raqis methods fall in line with the shariʿah they can seek the advice of a reliable scholar who knows of the raqi in question. Just like the medicine prescribed by a doctor, the treatment or amulet of a raqi is a means (sabab); they have no power in of themselves and to believe that they do have intrinsic power is when it becomes shirk, for it is Allah alone that heals, like every effect in this world, its cause is Allah alone.

To discourage others from following people who adopt deviant practices, it is imperative that we also educate ourselves and others through sound scholarship. Before engaging with a tariqa, one needs to learn Islam from reliable scholars of the shariʿah and stay in contact with them, and learn, in particular, sound creed and jurisprudence from them. This way one will have an understanding of the boundaries of Islam, what falls within its remit and what does not, and a criterion with which they are able to judge what is acceptable practice and what is not. Once a person is grounded in the foundations of Islamic knowledge, they should consult reliable scholars before getting involved with a particular group of people.

[1] مسند أحمد (44/ 246): 26634 – حدثنا ابن نمير، قال: أخبرنا الحسن بن عمرو، عن الحكم، عن شهر بن حوشب، قال: سمعت أم سلمة، تقول: نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن ‌كل ‌مسكر ‌ومفتر

سنن أبي داود (3/ 329): 3686 – حدثنا سعيد بن منصور، حدثنا أبو شهاب عبد ربه بن نافع، عن الحسن بن عمرو الفقيمي، عن الحكم بن عتيبة، عن شهر بن حوشب، عن أم سلمة، قالت: نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن ‌كل ‌مسكر ‌ومفتر

الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية (11/ 34): وذهب جمهور الفقهاء إلى حرمة تناول المخدرات التي تغشى العقل، ولو كانت لا تحدث الشدة المطربة التي لا ينفك عنها المسكر المائع. وكما أن ما أسكر كثيره حرم قليله من المائعات، كذلك يحرم مطلقا ما يخدر من الأشياء الجامدة المضرة بالعقل أو غيره من أعضاء الجسد. وذلك إذا تناول قدرا مضرا منها. دون ما يؤخذ منها من أجل المداواة؛ لأن حرمتها ليست لعينها، بل لضررها

الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية (11/ 35): ‌‌أدلة تحريم المخدرات: 10 – الأصل في تحريمها ما رواه أحمد في مسنده وأبو داود في سننه بسند صحيح عن أم سلمة رضي الله عنها قالت: نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن كل مسكر ومفتر. قال العلماء: المفتر: كل ما يورث الفتور والخدر في الأطراف. قال ابن حجر: وهذا الحديث فيه دليل على تحريم الحشيش بخصوصه، فإنها تسكر وتخدر وتفتر

[2] البيان والتبيين عن التجانية والتجانيين (ص7)

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel