Soothsaying

Soothsayers are persons who:

• gaze into transparent bodies, such as mirrors, bowls, or water, and
• examine the hearts, livers, and bones of animals, as well as those who cast pebbles and (date) pits

The real soothsayer does not need to make much of an effort in order to lift the veil of sensual perception. They, however, expend much effort to concentrate all sensual perception in one particular sense, the noblest one, which is vision.

It is applied exclusively to whatever plain visual object has been (selected for concentration), until the perception about which information is to be given appears. It is often thought that the place where those (who gaze into mirrors) see something, is the surface of the mirror. This is not so.

They continue gazing at the surface of the mirror until it (the surface) disappears. Between their eyes and the mirror appears a veil like a white cloud. In it, forms are pictured, and (these pictures) are the objects they perceive.

This gives them the facts of a negative or positive character they wanted to obtain, and they pass on (these facts) as they perceived them. Neither the mirror nor the forms perceived in it are now present to them. A different kind of perception originates in them in (that state).

It is a psychic one that has nothing to do with vision. Through it, objects of psychic perception take on shape (for observation) by sensual perception, as is known.

Something similar happens to those who examine the hearts and livers of animals, and to those who gaze into water, bowls, and similar things.

Among these people we have observed persons who keep their senses occupied only by means of incense, as well as incantations, in order to be prepared (for supernatural perception).

Then, they tell what they have perceived. They think that they see the forms take on concrete shapes in the air, telling them what they want to know in the form of pictures and allusions. These persons are less remote from sensual perception than the first group.

Augury (zajr) is talk about supernatural things which originates in some people when a bird or animal appears, and they reflect about it after it has gone.

It is a power in the soul that calls for sagacity and the ability to think about (the things of interest) which augurs see or hear. The power of imagination is strong in augurs. They exert that power in their researches, while depending on the help given by things they have seen or heard.

This gives them some supernatural perception. The power of imagination acts here as it does in sleepers. When the senses are asleep, (the power of imagination) intervenes among the things seen in the waking state, and combines them with the products of its own thinking.

Thus, the power of imagination brings about vision.

In the insane, the rational soul is but weakly connected with the body, because the humors, as a rule, are corrupt and have a weak animal spirit. Therefore, the soul belonging to (the body of an insane person) is not deeply immersed in the senses.

The painful disease of deficiency that affects it keeps it too much occupied.

Frequently, it was pushed into attaching itself to (the insane) by some other Satanic spirituality, which clings to them and which (the soul) itself is too weak to keep away.

The insane thus become possessed. 318a When they have become possessed in this manner, either because of the corruption of their constitution as the result of the essential corruption of their soul, or because of the onslaught the Satanic souls make upon them when they are attached to (their bodies), they are totally removed from sensual perception. They perceive a glimpse of the world of their soul.

Their soul receives the impress of forms which, in turn, are transformed by the imagination. In this condition, they frequently speak without wanting to speak.

Supernatural perception in all these (groups) contains truth and falsehoodmixed together. For although they may achieve the loss of sensual perception, it is only with the help of foreign notions (tasawwur) that they achieve contact (with the supernatural), as we have established.

This leads to untruthfulness, (which is to be found) in these (ways of supernatural) perception. The diviners (‘arraf) somehow enjoy this kind of perception, but they do not have the same contact (with the supernatural).

They concentrate their thinking upon the matter in which they are interested and apply guesses and hypotheses to it. They base themselves upon an unfounded assumption as to what basically constitutes contact with, and perception of, (the supernatural).

They claim acquaintance with the supernatural, but in reality (their procedure) has nothing to do with it.

This is the manner in which such (supernatural knowledge) is obtained. Al-Mas’udi discussed the subject in his Muruj adh-dhahab. 319 He did not hit upon the right explanation. It is evident from his discussion that he was not firmly grounded in the various kinds of (pertinent) knowledge. He merely reports what he learned from people experienced in the subject, and from others. All the kinds of (supernatural) perception mentioned are found in man.

The Arabs used to repair to soothsayers in order to learn about forthcoming events. They consulted them in their quarrels, to learn the truth by means of supernatural perception.

Literature contains much information about this matter. In pre-Islamic times, Shiqq, of the tribe of Anmar b. Nizar, and Satih, of the tribe of Mazin b. Ghassan, 320 were famous (soothsayers) (The latter) used to fold up like a garment, as he had no bones save for his skull.

A famous story is their interpretation of the dream vision of Rabi’ah b. Nasr, in which they informed him that the Abyssinians would take possession of the Yemen, that the Mudar would rule after them, and that the Muhammadan prophecy would make its appearance among the Quraysh.

Another famous story is that of the dream vision of the Mobedhan. 3 22 Satih interpreted it when the Persian emperor (Khosraw) sent ‘Abd-al-Masih to him with (the dream). (On that occasion, Satih) informed him about the prophecy (of Muhammad) and the (future) destruction of the Persian realm.

There were also many diviners among the Arabs mentioned in their poems. One poet said:

I said to the diviner of the Yamamah= Cure me, For if you cure me, you are indeed a physician. 323

Another poet said:

I promised to give the diviner of the Yamamah whatever he would ask me for, And (I promised the same) to the diviner of Najd, if they would cure me (of my love).

But they said: Let God cure you. By God, we have no Power over (the disease) that you carry around with you in your body

The “diviner of the Yamamah” is Riyah b. ‘Ijlah, 325 and the “diviner of Najd” is al-Ablaq al-Asadi.

Some people have another way of supernatural perception. It occurs in thestage of transition from waking to sleeping, and is in (the form of unconsciously)

speaking about the thing one wants to know and thereby obtaining supernatural knowledge of the matter as desired. This happens only during the transition from waking to sleeping, when one has lost the power to control one’s words. Such a person talks as if by innate compulsion. The most he can do is to hear and understand what (he says).

Words of a similar nature come from those who are about to be killed, at the moment when their heads are being severed from their trunks. We have been informed that certain criminal tyrants used to kill their prisoners in order to learn their own future from the words the prisoners would utter when they were about to be killed.

It was unpleasant information they received from them.

In the Ghayah, 326 Maslamah similarly mentioned that when a human being is placed in a barrel of sesame oil and kept in it for forty days, is fed with figs and nuts until his flesh is gone and only the arteries and sutures 327 of the skull remain, and is then taken out of the oil and exposed to the drying action of the air, he will answer all special and general questions regarding the future that may be asked.

This is detestable sorcery. However, it shows what remarkable things exist in the world of man.

There are men who attempt to obtain supernatural perception through exercise. They attempt an artificial (state of) death through self-mortification. 328

They kill all corporeal powers (in themselves), and wipe out all influences of those powers that color the soul in various ways. 329 This is achieved by. concentrated thinking, and doing without food for long (periods). It is definitely known that when death descends upon the body, sensual perception and the veil it constitutes disappear, and the soul beholds its essence and its world. (These men) attempt to produce, artificially before death, the experience they will have after death, and to have their soul behold the supernatural.

Other such people are the men who train themselves in sorcery. They train themselves in these things, in order to be able to behold the supernatural and to be active in the various worlds. Most such live in the intemperate zones of the north and the south, especially in India, where they are called yogis. They possess a large literature on how such exercises are to be done. The stories about them in this connection are remarkable.

The Sufi training is a religious one. It is free from any such reprehensible intentions. The Sufis aspire to total concentration upon God and upon the approach to Him, in order to obtain the mystical experiences 330 of gnosis and Divine oneness. In addition to their training in concentration and hunger, the Sufis feed on dhikr exercises 331 by which their devotion to that training can fully materialize.

When the soul is reared on dhikr exercises, it comes closer to the gnosis of God, whereas, without it, it comes to be a Satanic one.

Whatever supernatural knowledge or activity is achieved by the Sufis is accidental, and was not originally intended. Had it been intentional, the devotion of the Sufis (who intended to have supernatural perception) would have been directed toward something other than God, namely, toward supernatural activity and vision.

What a losing business that would have been! In reality, it would have been polytheism. A (Sufi) has said, “Whoever prefers gnosis for the sake of gnosis comes out for the second (stage of being).” Through their devotion, (Sufis) intend (to come near) the Master, and nothing else.

If, meanwhile, some (supernatural perception) is obtained, it is accidental and unintentional. Many (Sufis) shun (supernatural perception) when it accidentally happens to them, and pay no attention to it.332They want God only for the sake of His essence, and nothing else.

It is well known that (supernatural perception) occurs among the (Sufis). They call their supernatural experiences and mind reading “physiognomy” (firasah) and “removal” (of the veil of sense perception, kashf). Their experiences of (supernatural) activity they call “acts of divine grace” (karamah).

None of these things is unworthy of them.

However, Professor Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini and Abu Muhammad b. Abi Zayd al-Maliki,333 among others, disapproved of it, in order to avoid any risk of (prophetic) miracles becoming confused with something else.

However, the speculative theologians rely on the “advance challenge” (tahaddi) as the distinguishing characteristic of the (prophetic) miracle. This is sufficient.

Muhammad said, “Among you, there are men who are spoken to, and ‘Umar is one of them.” 334

The men around Muhammad, as is well known, had experiences of a sort that confirms the fact (that mystics and pious persons may have some sort of supernatural perception). For instance, there is the story of ‘Umar saying, “O Sariyah, beware of the mountain!” Sariyah is Sariyah b. Zunaym.

He was the general of a Muslim army in the ‘Iraq during the conquest. He had gotten into a battle with the polytheists. He thought of withdrawing. Near him, there was a mountain toward which he was directing himself (and where the enemy was lying in ambush).

This came (supernaturally) to ‘Umar’s attention while he was preaching from the pulpit in Medina. He called out to him= “O Sariyah, beware of the mountain.” Sariyah heard it, there where he was (in faraway ‘Iraq), and he also saw (‘Umar) there in person.

Something similar happened to Abu Bakr in connection with his last will, addressed to his daughter ‘A’ishah. He had given her a certain amount of dates from his orchard, as a gift, and then, (when he was near death), he suggested to her that she harvest them, so that the (other) heirs would not get them. Then he said, “They are your two brothers and your two sisters.” Whereupon ‘A’ishah said, “There is Asma’, but who is the other?” Abu Bakr replied, “I see that the child in Bint Kharijah’s womb is a girl,” and so it was. This is mentioned in the Muwatta’ in the chapter on gifts that are not permitted. 336

The men around Muhammad and the pious and exemplary men after them had many similar experiences. However, the Sufis say that such experiences are rare in the time of prophecy, because, in the presence of the prophet, the adept of mysticism cannot continue in his mystic state. They go so far as to say that the adept of mysticism who comes to Medina is deprived of his mystic state, so long as he remains there and until he leaves.

May God provide us with guidance, and may He lead us to the truth.

Among the adepts of mysticism are fools and imbeciles who are more like insane persons than like rational beings. Nonetheless, they deservedly attained stations of sainthood and the mystic states of the righteous.

The persons with mystical experience who learn about them know that such is their condition, although they are not legally responsible. The information they give about the supernatural is remarkable.

They are not bound by anything. They speak absolutely freely about it and tell remarkable things. When jurists see they are not legally responsible, they frequently deny that they have attained any mystical station, since sainthood can be obtained only through divine worship. This is an error.

The attainment of sainthood is not restricted to (the correct performance of) divine worship, or anything else.

When the human soul is firmly established as existent, God may single it out for whatever gifts of His He wants to give it. The rational souls of such people are notnonexistent, nor are they corrupt, as is the case with the insane.

They (merely) lack the intellect that is the basis of legal responsibility. (That intellect) is a special attribute of the soul.

It means various kinds of knowledge that are necessary to man and that guide his speculative ability and teach him how to make a living and organize his home.

One may say that if he knows how to make a living, he has no excuse left not to accept legal responsibility, so that he may prepare for his life after death.

Now, a person who lacks that (special) attribute (of the soul called intellect) still does not lack the soul itself, and has not forgotten his reality. He has reality, though he lacks the intellect entailing legal responsibility, that is, the knowledge of how to make a living. This is not absurd. God does not select His servants for gnosis only on the basis of (the performance of) some legal duty.

If this is correct, it should be known that the state of these men is frequently confused with that of the insane, whose rational souls are corrupted and who belong to (the category of) animals. There are signs by which one can distinguish the two groups. One of them is that fools are found devoting themselves constantly to certain dhikr exercises and divine worship, though not in the way the religious law requires, since, as we have stated, they are not legally responsible. The insane, on the other hand, have no (particular) devotion whatever.

Another sign is that fools were created stupid, and were stupid from their earliest days. The insane, on the other hand, lose their minds after some portion of their life has passed, as the result of natural bodily accidents. When this happens to them and their rational souls become corrupt, they are lost.

A further sign is the great activity of fools among men. It may be good or bad. They do not have to have permission, because for them there is no legal responsibility. The insane, on the other hand, show no (such) activity.

The course of our discussion caused us to insert the preceding paragraph.

Other alleged ways of supernatural perception

Astrologers believe in astrological indications, consequences of the positions of (stars), influences of (the stars) upon the elements, and results from the tempering of the natures of (the stars) when they look at each other, 338 as well as effects of such tempers upon the air.

Astrologers have nothing to do with the supernatural. It is all guesswork and conjectures based upon the assumed existence of astral influence, and a resulting conditioning of the air.

Such guesswork is accompanied by an additional measure of sagacity enabling scholars to determine the distribution (of astral influence) upon particular individuals in the world, as Ptolemy said.

Astrology is at best, guessing and conjecturing.