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Almost everyday we come across such chain emails , few of them just non-sense and few of them actually carry islamic (fabricated) message with a tagline - Forward this Email to 10 persons or Else ....

For those who doesn't understand what am speaking about it is
where someone sends an email or text message in mobile with some sort of story pertaining, in most cases but not always, to something Islamic, and then they put a condition at the end of this story to distribute this email to a certain number of people.

The condition usually is a severe warning against not forwarding the email to the certain number of people in which case some calamity or mishap will occur if it is not done. In other cases the condition proposes a special benefit for
forwarding the email to the certain number of people.

A lot of times we as muslims simply forward (but we may not think that it will bring 'good luck') , but in doing this we are simply circulating a lie, and in some cases muslims forward it hoping a the rewards or fearing the curse mention in the email or test message.

Ordinarily this is a form of shirk that I think most people would be aware of or at least should recognize. Believing that some act not from the Quraan or Sunnah, if done, can cause some harm and/or benefit is indeed shirk.


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In doing so we set up a rival to Allaah, for truly it is only Allaah who can benefit us
or harm us, and only Allaah can remove such harm. As Allaah says in Surah
Al-Anam ayah 17:
"And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He
touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things."

One of the things we learn from this ayat is that any harm that afflicts us can only be removed by Allaah, so to specifically believe in bad omens, which includes bad luck and the belief that certain practices, not endorsed by Allaah or The Prophet , can affect the outcome of future events, is in essence the meaning of an omen. So to believe in these omens would be belief that other than Allaah can remove such harm from us, which is setting a rival with Allaah in this removal of harm, which is shirk!

As is reported on the authority of Ibn Masood radhi Allahu anhu in a marfoo form, that he said:
"At-tiyarah (belief in omens) is Shirk, at-tiyrah (belief in omens) is Shirk.

There is none among us who is not afflicted by it, but Allah, by true dependence on Him removes it from the heart." So this hadeeth / athar is a
rejection of belief in omens because such beliefs necessitates negation of
belief in Allah's Qadr and because it causes the heart to become attached to
other than Allah, which is Shirk.

Also it is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah radhi Allaahu anhu that the
Messenger of Allah said:
"There is no `adwaa(Infectious or contagious disease) , no tiyarah (belief in omens) and no haamah(Interpreting omens based on the flight of a nocturnal bird) and no Safar[1] (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)

Now what is even more disturbing is that these omens are presented and
beautified in the form of "harmless" conditions and mere fun.


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Some mails or messages says "IF YOU LOVE ALLAH THEN FORWARD THIS"
The love of Allaah is attainable through many acts of ibaadah mentioned to us in the Quran and Sunnah, and thus to innovate in this noble venture is a disgusting type of bidah, pursued in most part by those of ahl kalam (The people of false rhetoric), the philosophers, and the sufis. Those people who chose not to be content with the established texts of Al-Islaam, but rather engage in exercising their intellect with regard to the deen. As we should know the Beautiful, Perfect and Lofty Names and Attributes of Allaah are tawqeefiyyah, meaning they are derived from the text of The Quraan and The Sunnah.

Speaking about Allaah's Names and/or Attributes without knowledge that which was not mentioned by Allaah or His Messenger or the righteous predecessors of this Ummah constitutes a great offense against Allaah and His Deen.


Allaah Subhana wa Taala says in Surah Al Araf ayah 33: "Say: My Lord has forbidden.. and that you say about Allaah that of which you have no knowledge".

And Allaah says in
Surah al-Israa ayah 36: "Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge."


So we must be extremely careful not to attribute to Allaah or place a condition on His attributes that is not mentioned in any text of The Quraan and
Sunnah, even if it appears to agree with our intellect. This is the methodology of the Sahabah concerning the Names and Attributes of Allaah, and it is the methodology that we in turn should adopt.

In conclusion I offer this sincere advise, and straightforward warning, if you or anyone you know is in the practice of writing these emails, or forwarding them, please revere Allaah and set not up rivals with him by spreading this fitnah of belief and indulgence in omens and superstious practices. Like so many other types of hidden shirk, it is beautified and marginalized until it enters our home as something that we take to be so minute and insignificant.


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[1].Some scholars said that it refers to parasites which infest the stomach and
intestines of mankind and cattle, while others said that it refers to the pagan belief that the arrival of the month of Safar in the Muslim calendar bodes ill, while the dictionary defines safar as jaundice - and Allah knows best.

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