Month of Safar and superstitions in Islam

Safar is the second month of the Islamic calendar and one of the first which comes after three consecutive months that are denoted in the Quran as ‘sacred months’. These three preceding months were proclaimed as sanctified in the Quran alongside a fourth month which is called ‘Rajab’.

The Quran thus said: ‘don not, therefore, wrong yourselves therein’. This is a warning not to engage in war or to initiate it. However, if conflict is imposed from outside, it has to be defended against.

War, conflict, and turmoil of any kind, that destabilises a nation, does injustice to others, causes murder and pillage and wide ranging destruction in the land, and to the lives of people, is abhorred in Islam and thus forbidden.

However, in the era before Islam, the month of Safar was the subject of two different conditions imposed by the people of Makkah. The first was what the Quran describes as an act of ‘An nasi’  (exchanging the previous sacred month with the month of Safar), so allowing the people of Makkah to enter into a war earlier than they would normally, by simply bringing  the month of Safar forward before Muharram. By this action they sought to justify their acts of aggression and war, and in addition completely disregarded divine guidance inherited from the time of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (Abraham and Ishmael).

The second was the attribution of ill omens to the month of Safar, so the people could not travel in the month, and no longer regard it as a month of goodness and good fortune.  According to some other reports, the people of Makkah even emptied the city in this month to make it appear deserted.

Islam, in the  divine guidance it provides us, to rid us  from any superstitious acts that  damage its moral structure, comes down very hard when dealing with those who continue to practice them. The belief in one God, the Almighty and the Sovereign whose commands are not to be interfered with by any superstition, abrogates all superstitious beliefs of any kind.

The prophet Mohammad, Peace and Mercy of Allah be up on him, in a very loud and clear message, proclaimed saying: ‘there is no infection, no act of drawing ill omens, no spooks and no month of Safar’.

The prophet categorically rejected four kinds of superstition, which the people were commonly practising in his time.  First he said: ‘there is no infection’. Of course infection and contagious diseases are an ever present reality and happen. The people of that time did believe in infection which is catching an illness from an infected person. Upon hearing the prophetic statement, a Bedouin stood up and said to the Prophet: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Then what about when a camel, living in the desert like a healthy deer, mixing with an infected camel and suddenly becoming infected itself (with scabies)? The prophet replied, saying: ‘then who infected the first one?’ Here, according to this statement, what the Prophet explains is, that while the source of infection to the second camel is known, that of the first is not. Who or what has caused the first infection?  Anyone not believing in God’s design and power may say it is the result of a weak immune system, a filthy environment, airborne hostile organisms or even unhygienic surroundings that may have caused the infection. The prophet said: 'the first cause is Allah whose design and power supersede any cause'.  

So what does this Prophetic statement try to achieve?  The statement negates a common perception that still, unfortunately, remains very much part of our modern day life; the source of infection always lies with other people.  Even where this is the case should we continue to seek to blame others, or, even worse, perhaps take revenge on them for the damage caused, or isolate them without providing any support and assistance. Or even regard them as cursed? It also denies any divine interference or the Will of God.

In the same way, the Prophet said: ‘No drawing of ill omens’, which also still remains common in many parts of our modern world. Let me give you an example from the Quran itself. The Quran mentioned Pharaoh and his people, when they were infected by the nine calamities and says:  ‘and when a calamity had befallen them they took bad omens from Moses and those who were with him’. That kind of act leads to the demonisation of a people and their unjust persecution. It denies the very existence of goodness in certain people and they are consequently mistreated and suppressed. All people belong to the God who has created them, with equal rights and equal dignity. Therefore there should not be any such superstition as the drawing of bad omens from any person or people.

The third act of superstition is mentioned as ‘no spooks’ (the Arabic word used here is ‘haamah’ and I have translated it as spooks, though the word has other meaning as well). Haamah is a bird, perhaps an owl, which many people superstitiously consider, in particular at night, and more so when they hear their cries in an open place, like a desert or graveyard or other spooky places, as sealing the fate of someone or as warning. Some people may abandon their journeys or change their travel plans, or try to formulate a ‘fortunate time’ for doing anything - even meeting someone. According to Islam, this is against the proper and authentic belief in God’s design and power over all things. 

The fourth superstition mentioned in the hadith statement is ‘Safar’. I have translated it as referring to the month of Safar, as against its other meaning of a stomach disease, because that would have placed it under the heading of infection. I have explained above the superstitious acts of people in the month of Safar, which the prophet categorically negated by saying there should not be any such act of superstition when it comes to days, times and place, which are all the creation of Allah.

People suffer harsh consequences from the evil acts and evil utterances they themselves have committed in order to create mischief and corruption in the society in which they live. So if any ill omen is to be drawn it should be as the result of the evil deeds. People should be afraid of the consequence of their own evil acts, for it is certain that they will experience both the justice of God and that of their community. All actions result in a reaction, and the latter may be greater than the first. A sound mind is not only the result of a sound body but is ultimately shaped by sound and profound thoughts and deeds.