Q: What is the Islamic ruling on a person who seeks help from the Jinn (creatures created from fire) to learn the Ghayb (the unseen) by means of, for example, Darb Al-Mandal (Necromancy)? (Part No. 1; Page No. 346) What is the Islamic ruling on hypnosis, through which the hypnotist has power over the hypnotized person and has the ability to influence them, make them abandon a forbidden act, cure them from a psychological illness, or make them carry out their orders?What is the Islamic ruling on saying "By so-and-so...''? Is it a type of an oath or not? Please, advise us!

A: Firstly, knowledge of the Ghayb is Allah's Province. None of His Creation, whether from among the Jinn or others, knows the Ghayb, except that which Allah reveals to whom He wills from among His Angels or Messengers. Allah (Exalted be He) says: Say: “None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allâh” Allah (Exalted be He) also says in regard to His Prophet Sulayman (Solomon, peace be upon him) and the Jinn who were subjugated to him: Then when We decreed death for him [Sulaimân (Solomon)], nothing informed them (jinn) of his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his stick. So when he fell down, the jinn saw clearly that if they had known the Unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment. And Allah (Exalted be He) says: "(He Alone is) the All-Knower of the Ghaib (Unseen), and He reveals to none His Ghaib (Unseen)." Except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen (He informs him of unseen as much as He likes), and then He makes a band of watching guards (angels) to march before him and behind him. It is confirmed on the authority of Al-Nawwas ibn Sam`an (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, (Part No. 1; Page No. 347)  When Allah (Exalted be He) wants to reveal something, He speaks through the Revelation, and the heavens begin to tremor, or he said, shake strongly, fearing Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He). When the inhabitants of the heavens hear this, they are stunned and fall down in Sujud (prostration) to Allah. Jibril (Gabriel, peace be upon him) is the first one to raise his head and Allah tells him what He wishes to reveal. Jibril passes the angels, and each time he passes one heaven, its angels say, 'O Jibril! What does our Lord say?' He replies, 'He said the truth and He is the Most High, the Greatest.' All the angels repeat what Jibril said, until he conveys the revelation to where Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) has ordered him to. In the Sahih (authentic) book of Hadith, it is reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "When Allah decrees an order in the heaven, the angels beat their wings surrendering to His Words, and it sounds like chains on rock when they do that. So much so that when fear is banished from their (angels’) hearts, they (angels) say: “What is it that your Lord has said?” They say: “The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” The stealthy listeners (devils) hear this, and these stealthy listeners are like this, one over the other." Sufyan, a sub-narrator, demonstrated this by holding his palm up and showed his fingers with his hand. "He (a stealthy listener) hears a word and conveys it to whoever is below him, and the one under him conveys it to the one below him, until the last of them conveys it to a sorcerer or soothsayer. Sometimes a shooting star strikes a devil before they can convey the word, and sometimes they have conveyed it before it has reached them, in which case they add a hundred lies to it. The people will then say: ‘Did he (i.e. The sorcerer) not tell us this date, and such-and-such, and such-and-such?’ And they believe these words that he heard from the heavens.” (Part No. 1; Page No. 348) It is therefore not permissible to seek help from the Jinn or any other creature to learn the Ghayb, whether through supplicating to them and flattering them, using Darb Al-Mandal, or by any other means. These actions are Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship), because they are types of `Ibadah (worship). Allah has told His Servants to devote worship to none but Him, saying: You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). It is confirmed that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Ibn `Abbas, If you ask, ask Allah; and if you seek help, seek help from Allah. Secondly, hypnosis is a type of soothsaying, in which a hypnotist seeks the help of a Jinn and makes him overpower a hypnotized person and talk through him. The Jinn gives the hypnotized person power to do certain actions, if he agrees to obey the hypnotist and is truthful with him in return for mutual benefits. Accordingly, the Jinn causes the hypnotized person to obey the hypnotist in any actions or to give any information asked from him, if it is being honest with the hypnotist. It is therefore not permissible to utilize hypnosis or to use it to find a stolen or lost object, to cure a sick person, or to do anything through a hypnotized person. In fact, this is Shirk, due to what was previously mentioned and because it entails resorting to other than Allah in matters that are beyond those ordinarily permitted by Allah for His Creation. (Part No. 1; Page No. 349)  Thirdly, saying: "By so-and-so..." can either be an oath, meaning: "I swear to you by so-and-so," or a type of Tawassul (supplicating to Allah through a means) through a person or by his honor. It is not permissible to use these words with either of these meanings. As to the first, it is not permissible to swear by a person to another person, so swearing by someone to Allah (Exalted be He) is even more prohibited. In fact, the Prophet (peace be upon him) ruled that swearing by other than Allah is Shirk. He said, Anyone who swears by other than Allah has committed Shirk. Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy, and Al-Hakim who authenticated it. As to the second, it is not permissible to use this because the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them) did not perform Tawassul by the Prophet (peace be upon him) or by his honor, whether during his lifetime or after his death. They did not do that, despite being the most knowledgeable of his status with Allah and honor, and of the Shari`ah (Islamic law). They faced many difficulties during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and even after his death, but they turned to Allah and supplicated to Him to relieve their distresses. If Tawassul by the Prophet (peace be upon him) or his honor was permissible, he would have taught it to his Sahabah himself, because he left nothing that may bring people closer to Allah without ordering it or guiding to it. The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) would have also performed it, as they were keen to act on what had been made lawful for them, especially during times of distress. As there is no evidence of the Prophet's permission and guidance regarding such an act or the Sahabah's observance of it, this shows that (Part No. 1; Page No. 350) it is not permissible. What is confirmed on the authority of the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) is that they performed Tawassul to Allah through the Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicating to his Lord for them, on their request, as he also did for Istisqa' (Prayer for rain) and on other occasions. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) died, `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, when he went out for Salat-ul-Istisqa', "O Allah! If we were suffering from a drought, we would supplicate to You by our Prophet and you would send us water, and now we perform Tawassul to You through the uncle of our Prophet to send rain to us." And He sent rain. He meant Al-`Abbas who actually supplicated to His Lord for them; he did not make Tawassul by the honor of Al-`Abbas, because the honor of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was greater than that of his uncle's during his lifetime and remained so even after his death. If `Umar had wanted to perform Tawassul, he would have made it by the honor of the Prophet (peace be upon him) instead of his uncle's, but he did not. Furthermore, Tawassul by the honor of the prophets and any of the pious people is a means leading to Shirk, as has been shown in reality and trials. Therefore, this is forbidden to block a means leading to Shirk and to protect Tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.