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Written by Mufti Hasan Ali Sulaimaan
Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam:
“THERE ARE NO EVIL OMENS!” (Sahih Muslim)
Just recently we had a month where the 13th of the month fell on a Friday. For many in the West, this day denotes one of bad luck and evil. Although, the highest educational and literacy rates can be found in western countries so too do you find high rates of people who are superstitious. The dictionary defines superstition as any belief, based on fear or ignorance that is inconsistent with the known laws of science or with what is generally considered in the particular society as true and rational.
So now on this day, (i.e. Friday the thirteen) people are afraid to shop, travel or even go to work. In America alone it was estimated that over one billion dollars worth of business and commerce was lost because of this day. The people who have this fear or phobia are called paraskevidekatriaphobe. Paraskevi is the Greek word for Friday, and dekatria is how the Greeks say 13. And of course pobe means fear. This fear has gone so far that 90 percent of Otis elevators don’t have a button for the 13th floor. The U.S. Navy won’t launch a ship on Friday the 13th. And, many people just won’t fly on the 13th, unless they’re headed to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a city in America known for it’s gambling casinos. So apparently this unlucky day has an opposite effect when you’re gambling.
This fear goes way back into history. The Norsemen (the Vikings from northern Europe) believed in many gods. There is a story that a great dinner party with 12 guests was ruined when a 13th crashed the event and killed the god of joy and gladness. There were supposedly 13 guests at the Last Supper of Isa (as). And it was the erroneous belief that he (as) was killed on Friday. Also a correctly tied hangman’s noose has 13 knots and executions used to take place on Fridays.
Fear motivates many superstitions. But this is a far cry from phobia. Phobia is a persistent fear that can alter a person’s life, even if he or she knows that it’s irrational. There are many kinds of phobias, including aerophobia (fear of flying), homilophobia (fear of sermons), and pogonophobia (fear of beards!!!!).
In Islam there is no such thing as bad luck. We as Muslims believe the Almighty has ordained all things both the good and the bad. If something happens and we understand it to be bad, then we are patient. If it is something good we are thankful to Allah. In every condition the Muslim is at peace with himself and his life. There are neither superstitions in Islam nor any reason to have a phobia about something. It is reported in hadith qudsi (hadith qudsi is a hadith were Allah is speaking and it is not words of the Holy Quran): “This morning one of My servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: We have been given rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy, that one is a believer in Me, and a disbeliever in the stars; and as for him who said: We have been given rain by such and such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars. May Allah protect us all from incorrect beliefs and phobias and superstitions etc. ameen
