You may well wonder: how can a practitioner of magic, who depends on deception, affect viewers despite being physically distant from them?! (The deceptions upon which such people rely include: stabbing themselves with skewers; burning a boy in a brazier and then allowing him to emerge alive; walking on water; eating glass; and taking pigeons, eggs, golden coins, and razor blades out of a hat or from their mouth, making them seem to appear from thin air). And is it possible that such a magician could affect all the people watching at once?!
In reply we say that one of the firm qualities of the human spirit is the tendency to admire and appreciate those who surpass it in some respect. This is especially true when we watch the types of wonders that attract the spirits to something that is new, unknown, and exciting, so that we guess that it is a miracle. This can occur even if the so-called wonder is mere quackery and mocks the mind of those who do not look into Al’lah’s Holy Book and become enlightened by their faith. This recourse to the Holy Qur’an allows people to unveil the dirty codes whereby the spirits of the magicians spread malignantly along with the spirits of their brother devils, who are the enemies of humanity. The admiration and appreciation of the magicians’ wonders affects the behavior of people and decides their course and direction in this life. That is because the appreciative and admiring spirit is indeed strictly attached to he or she whom it admires and appreciates, and always accompanies such a person spiritually and couples with them. That is one of the firm rules and laws which God decreed for the spirit. God says: “…you shall find no changing of God’s rules.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 33, Al-Ahzab (The Combined Clans), verse 62
God also says: “…and you shall find no altering of God’s laws.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 35, Fatir (Orignator), verse 43
Yet how we appreciate and revere others differs from one spirit to the next, according to what one likes and to what their spirit inclines. Some spirits extol others for their science and knowledge, some for their perfection and high morals, still others for their bravery, mercy and generosity, and so on, with others appreciating people because of other considerations.
Each of us has our preferred inclinations and favorite interests, to which we pay more attention than to anything else; therefore, we appreciate those who are advanced in these trends and who excel and exceed us in these respects.
Take the brothers of our master Joseph (peace is through him) and his parents. They appreciated his perfection because their spirits were fond of virtue, purity and perfection, and preferred these qualities to everything else in this life: “He raised his parents to the throne while they prostrated themselves to him…”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 12, Yusuf (Joseph), verse 100
As for Pharaoh’s magicians, who were skilled in magic, they appreciated the science of our master Moses (peace is through him) when they were shown what frustrated their own magic, sciences, and actions: “Then We inspired Moses: ‘now throw down your staff’, and thereupon, his staff swallowed up their false device. Thus, the truth prevailed and their doings proved vain. They were defeated and put to shame, and the enchanters prostrated themselves to Moses.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 7, Al-A’raf (The Heights), verse 117-119
Balqees, the queen of Sheba (Saba’), prostrated herself before our master Solomon, extolling him, as though she had received a great possession, and when she eyed his realm, she revered and glorified him because he surpassed her in this respect; then her spirit became bound to his in submission to Al’lah the Almighty: “She was bidden to enter the palace, and when she saw it, she thought it was a pool of water and bared her legs. But Solomon said: ‘It is an edifice paved with glass…’
“ ‘Lord’, she said, ‘I have sinned against myself. Now I submit with Solomon to Al’lah, Provider of the worlds’.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 27, An-Naml (The Ants), verse 44
This appreciation and spiritual submission cause people to reflect on what was contained in the spirits of those who preceded them, so that those who appreciate such behavior may have the same thing impressed on the pages of their own spirits.
The actions of our master Joseph (peace is through him) in loving Al’lah and knowing about His attributes reflected onto the spirits of his father, mother, and his brothers, so he was a leader for them in such fields and uplifted them spiritually.
What faith and knowledge were folded within the spirit of our master Moses (peace is through him) were reflected onto the spirits of the magicians and “they said: we believed in the Provider of the worlds, Provider of Moses and Haroun.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 7, Al-A’raf (The Heights), verse 121-122
They cared not about Pharaoh’s threats to punish, torment, and crucify them, and addressed him within the righteousness that their spirits had witnessed, paying no attention to him. “They said: obey you we cannot; rather we will obey the miracles which we have witnessed and Him who has created us. Therefore do your worst; you can punish us only in this present life. We have put our faith in our lord so that He may forgive us our sins and for the witchcraft you have forced us to practice. Better is the reward of Al’lah and more lasting. He that comes before his Provider laden with sin shall be consigned to Hell where he shall neither live nor die. But he that comes before Him with true faith and good deeds shall be exalted to the highest rank. He shall abide forever in the heavens, below which the rivers flow. Such shall be the recompense of those who purify themselves.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 20, Ta Ha ‘Ta-ha’ (Pure), verse 72-76
We wonder: how was it that the magicians could elucidate such revelation, although they had been brought directly to Pharaoh from different cities, and had not previously met our master Moses (pth), and had not heard any of his guidance before?! But extolling and appreciating his knowledge made their spirits couple with his, thus entering into God’s Presence, where they witnessed the facts, and said the words that indicated their faith and certainty.
So, if you appreciate a person, you will surely enter through the same entrances through which they enter, and drink from the same springs from which they drink, so that their spiritual status will be impressed on your own spirit. Then, if they are a disbeliever or an infidel, the contents of their spirit will also clearly manifest themselves in yours. But if they are one of those who display perfection and faith, you will perceive this perfection, and enter with them through the entrances of true faith. That is why the messenger Mohammad (cpth) said, invoking God: “O, God of all, do not let a disbeliever do me a favor lest my heart love him.”[13]
He (cpth) supplicated in this way because he knew the rules of the spirit, and so he was afraid lest goodness might reach him at the hands of a disbeliever, such that his heart (cpth) would love this disbeliever and then become impressed with this disbeliever’s spiritual state.
So, look at God’s messenger (cpth), master of creation, how he is afraid and invokes such a prayer so as to preserve his own spirit’s clarity and pureness. What will our own status be if our own spirits appreciate and glorify people of aberration, bawdiness, infidelity, and the magicians and the devils?!
The magicians and their masters the devils have always been aware of these spiritual rules, and know that an appreciative spirit inclines to and follows the manner of a spirit that is superior to it in the fields of its whims and habits.
This dictates how magicians appear to people, disguising themselves behind different masks. They have adopted many methods to achieve their aims, that is, according to demand. In Muslim countries where simple Muslims tend to have faith in and extol the virtues of holy men, the magicians easily deceive them by adopting the guise of those who have proof from God, and who seem to be able to carry out wonders through an ability granted to them by God.
As for the countries in which science prevails, they appear as hypnotists, and in countries where medicine prospers, they pretend to be spiritual doctors. So, they hide themselves in whatever guise is most respected by the people in any given country.
While meeting these magicians and sitting with them, any person will unconsciously soak up things from them and turn away from Al’lah, and will adopt evil thinking against Him, and will hold grudges and be spiteful against righteousness and its followers, taking this attitude against all people up to and including one’s family and nearest relatives (unless they are devils).
God’s messenger (cpth) says: “Man adopts the faith of his close friend; therefore, each one of you should be careful when choosing his intimate friends.”[14]
As long as somebody keeps the company of such people and meets with them – though Al’lah forbids it – they will drag such a person by their feet into committing adultery and evil acts. This company will have a bad effect upon the spirit of anyone who meets with them.
This is what our master Ali (may Al’lah be pleased with him) has warned us about: “Sitting with people who follow their whims causes us to forget our faith and brings the devils.”
This is even more so when meeting with the servants of the devils. So, one who sits with a wine-drinker and does not turn aside from him will certainly drink wine one day, for “the moral constitution spreads from one to another secretly, so keep yourselves far from purveyors of heresies”, and as the messenger (cpth) says: “To sit alone is better than to sit in evil company, whereas sitting in virtuous company is better than sitting alone.”[15]
Finally, we have learned before now that the spirit is our essential element, and the core of our feelings, senses and emotions. The spirit is our conscious self that allows things to enter our minds and perceives what is indicated by them by means of cerebral thinking. It recognizes the things that surround it through the five senses (but when one gains access to the enlightened provision and can witness reality through the eye of their heart through the Godly light, the knowledge of their spirit and attention will be greater than what it can perceive and be aware of only through use of the five senses and cerebral thinking).
We have also previously learned how magicians come to be magicians, and how they spiritually entered the world of invisible, devilish jinn, wherein they witnessed visions relating to the world of these devilish jinn in the darkness of the breaching of the Trust and those who turn away from God’s light. God the Almighty says: “Shall I tell you on whom the devils descend? They descend on every lying sinner.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 26, Ash-Shu’ara’ (The Poets), verse 221-222
Witnessing these devilish visions contrasts with witnessing the facts and Godly lights through God’s messenger (cpth). They are like two parallel straight lines that never meet. Witnessing through the Godly light is a supreme lofty revelation, and indeed, it is the core of real communication, and through it one enjoys relief, ease, and heavens of blessings in the present life and the life to come. But the spreading of the conscious self (the spirit) in the darkness, along with its dusky medium, the devil, causes eternal spiritual misery and destruction unless it is followed by true repentance and a retreat from this awful and terrible way. These magicians witness visions relating to the world of devilish jinn when their dark spirits have spread to these worlds. God says: “…they had chosen the devils for their guardians instead of Al’lah and deemed themselves on the right path.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 7, Al-A’raf (The Heights), verse 30
This is a witness to the pictures and appearances of matters in this world of darkness and secrecy, and is not a witness to the facts in the world of light and glory; that is, the magicians’ states are contrary to the states of those who see by God’s light through coupling with God’s messenger (cpth).
God the Almighty granted great capability to the spirits of both humankind and jinn-kind, who were the ones who agreed to shoulder the Trust. This was so they could employ this Trust in the way mentioned above, in order to perform real communication with God.
But when this capability is employed for a contrary aim (as it is by the magicians), after the spirit has entered these dirty worlds and has coupled completely with the devils, this capability enables the spirit to show people false deceptions so that the devil, coupled with the magician’s spirit, appears in various strange appearances and positions which are impossible and in contravention of all known facts. God says: “…they bewitched the people’s eyes and terrified them with a display of great wonders.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 7, Al-A’raf (The Heights), verse 116
Then the devil can spiritually appear to people, allowing them to imagine such fancies (which are spiritual and not physical in nature). This becomes a possibility after he heads for the magician’s spirit, which has become freed from the body through exhausting and difficult physical and spiritual exercises. In this way they are exactly like the devil, who can naturally free himself from the physical form (as can all the jinn through the nature of their creation). To outline and simplify the issue we give the following example: when a viewer watches a magician who is about to stab himself with skewers, he directs his spirit (his conscious self) wholly toward the magician, and questioningly observes to see what will happen. In exactly the same way, students respectfully observe their teacher in order to acquire the science and knowledge which they have yet to attain. The spirit has a radiation that flows towards that to which it pays attention. Through the rays of the physical eye, the spirit will flow to the magician, who will free his spirit from his body at some moment and make it into a mount for the devil, who will spread into him and possess him, at which time the two spirits will join completely and become as one spirit. Thereupon (by means of the magician), the devil can show images to the one who has been bewitched. The victim will see them and think them to be real events, but indeed, they are all only imaginary. The spiritual absorption that comes from the spirits of the magicians and their devils is achieved through such meetings and looks of appreciation. A malignant and devilish state will be soon reflected onto any absorbing spirits, encompassing such things as desire for adultery, grief, distress, fatigue and suffering, all of which are driven away only by causing harm to others (just as the devils do).
But there is a question that presents itself: