Superstition VS Stupidstition “Thou art suffer ten days bad luck if thou doest walk under a ladder.”
Superstition is a false belief that only some people believe in and which other people would brush off as an act of ignorance. It brings about the knowledge of the future. Some gullible people believe every word of it while others think its pure nonsense. All humans are equal so how can one human have more power than another human being? If we all knew what was going to happen in the future than so many incidents could have been prevented. So many wars could have been prevented, so many lives could have been saved, so many diseases could have been cured and the list goes on . . .
The Romans of the Shakespearian times were very superstitious. They based all their actions on superstitious beliefs. They believe that if a barren woman is touched by a muscular man, while he is racing, she will fall pregnant. This only happens once a year at the feast of Lupercal. They also believe in predicting the future. The soothsayer told Caesar that something will happen to him on the ides of March, which we call the15 March. Some of the Romans also believe that a storm will bring trouble. Political trouble, as there was a storm on the night of Lupercal.
In today’s times people still believe in superstitious beliefs. They don’t believe in all the Roman beliefs, but they do have their own beliefs. A lot of people believe in reading star signs. They believe that all people born in a certain time frame have the same destiny. They all read the same star sign to it’s obvious that they believe that it will happen to them. People who believe in these superstitious beliefs are very gullible. They believe everything that they are told, that they see and read. A lot of people believe that breaking a mirror causes seven years bad luck, walking under a ladder is bad luck and all those other crazy things. The older generation is somewhat very superstitious. They teach these stupid beliefs to their kids and grandkids. That is how the belief passes through generations. Each religion has there own beliefs. We might find their beliefs to be stupid superstitions, but in actual fact it is what their religion teaches them.
Some superstitious beliefs are listed below:
Ambulance: Seeing an ambulance is very unlucky unless you pinch your nose or hold your breath until you see a black or a brown dog.
Touch your toes
Touch your nose
Never go in one of those until you see a dog.
Apple: Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, as you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.
Baby: To predict the sex of a baby: Suspend a wedding band held by a piece of thread over the palm of the pregnant girl. If the ring swings in an oval or circular motion the baby will be a girl. If the ring swings in a straight line the baby will be a boy.
Bed: It's bad luck to put a hat on a bed.
If you make a bedspread, or a quilt, be sure to finish it or marriage will never come to you.
Placing a bed facing north and south brings misfortune.
You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck. When making the bed, don't interrupt your work, or you will spend a restless night in it.
Bird: A bird in the house is a sign of a death.
If a robin flies into a room through a window, death will shortly follow.
Birth: Monday's child is fair of face; Tuesday's child is full of grace; Wednesday's child is full of woe; Thursday's child has far to go; Friday's child is loving and giving; Saturday's child works hard for a living. But the child that is born on the Sabbath day is fair and wise, good and gay.
Cat: If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.
Photograph: If 3 people are photographed together, the one in the middle will die first.
Sneeze: If you sneeze on a Monday, you sneeze for danger; Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger; Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter; Sneeze on a Thursday, something better; Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow; Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow. Sneeze on a Sunday, and the devil will have domination over you all week.
Umbrella: It's bad luck to open an umbrella inside the house, especially if you put it over your head.
My personal belief is: I think that it is stupid and utter nonsense. It is just a waste of time, paper, money and energy. No living creature can predict the future. Only Allah can. If we all knew what was going to happen to us in ten years time, than what’s the point of living. There will never be any fun in anyone’s life because we all already know what’s going to happen. The whole point of enjoying life is waiting in suspense to know what is going to happen next. If someone has to predict an incident about to take place in your life and it actually happens, than it’s just pure coincidence. One or two things they say might come true, but not every word of theirs will turn out true. Everyone has bad days. It doesn’t mean your star sign said that today is going to be a bad day, so it must be a bad day. It could turn out to be one of the best days of your life. How can someone who doesn’t even know your name, know your whole life? Stuff you don’t even know of . . . How can a total stranger, someone you have NEVER met in your entire life, know your life better than you do? Its plain stupidity, gullible and ignorance.
If walking under the ladder is bad luck, than builders might never have any good luck. They work with ladders everyday. They are permanently walking under ladders. What about people who work with mirrors everyday? Accidents happen all the time. Thousands of mirrors break in their hands, yet they don’t have any bad luck. They might have bad days, but that does mean that it is happening because they broke a mirror. It’s just an off day. That’s all. Everyone goes through such days.
Some people believe that seeing an ambulance is unlucky. How in the world can an ambulance be unlucky? Firstly, an ambulance is just a car. If an ambulance is unlucky, how is it that so many lives get saved in an ambulance? Some people believe that if you make a bedspread or quilt and you don’t finish making it, you will never get married. How can anyone’s life be dependant on a bed sheet? Whether you get married or not is dependant on your fate, not a bed sheet.
In Islam, it is totally wrong to believe in such superstitious beliefs. Muslims believe that only Allah knows the future. No one else has the power to see the future. Believing in superstition takes one away from his Imaan. Disaster and misfortune takes place according to the will and power of Allah. No other force or power can direct your destiny or cause harm to you without the permission of Allah. Allah is the only one that can decide our fate. No actions of ours will determine what Allah has in store for us. No action is done without Allah’s knowledge. Allah knows everything and sees everything. Muslims do not believe in star signs, palmistry, horoscopes, fortunetellers, astrology or any of these things. These people are normal human beings so how can they have the power and knowledge to predict the future.
Some people have this belief that nikkah contracted in the month of Safar is bad luck. How can any Islamic month be unlucky? What people are trying to say is that for thirty days one will have bad luck. The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that Safar is a serpent that dwells in the stomach of man. It comes to life in this month and causes various types of illnesses and diseases. Thus people fall ill more in this month than any other month. Therefore this month is known as the month of Safar.
Practicing magic is tantamount to kufr in Islam. Just as it is haraam for Muslims to consult with diviners or fortunetellers, it is likewise haraam for them to seek the help of magicians, sangoma’s and witch doctors.
"No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow." [Luqman, 31:34]
"The person who goes to a soothsayer and believes in him has rejected that which was revealed to Muhammad (Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam)." [Musnad Ahmad]
"O Allah! If in Your knowledge, this matter is good for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs; immediate and in the distant future, then ordains it for me, make it easy for me and bless it for me. And if in your knowledge, this matter is bad for my religion, my livelihood, and my affairs; immediate and in the distant future, then turns it away from me, and turns me away from it. And ordain for me the good wherever it be and make me pleased with it."
The Holy Qur'ân states: "No misfortune can happen on earth nor (afflict) your souls, but is recorded in a Book (long) before we bring it into existence; that is truly easy for Allâh".
The Holy Qur'ân states: "If I had knowledge of the unseen I should have had abundance of good and no evil should have touched me. Truly I am a Warner and a Giver of glad tidings to those who have faith".
"Say - No one in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah".
"Anyone who goes to a diviner, a practitioner of magic or a soothsayer, asking something and believing in it, denies what was revealed to Mohammed".
Superstition is such a thing that can ruin people’s lives. It can destroy innocent people’s lives. Some people go to magicians and all those freaky people and ask them to torture all the people who wish evil upon them or who they wish evil to fall upon. Someone’s peaceful life can be destroyed because of all these sick people and their black magic.
A person who does this is sick, but a person who goes to such people are mentally retard. Which person in their right mind would want to go to such a person who destroys other people’s lives for a living? No one has the right to destroy someone else’s life. Some people also kill themselves in the process. Others commit murder. All this “junk” just leads to blood shed and unnecessary trouble.
What is the point in knowing your future? How will you enjoy life if you already know everything that is going to happen to you? People look forward to finding out that they are going to marry, what’s going to happen in their lives and all those exciting things. What’s the point of life if you know everything already? How are you going to look forward to life if you already know what is going to happen next? How boring and dull would life be if we didn’t have anything to look forward to?
Life is a journey, enjoy the ride. Stop interfering with the laws of nature. Always remember: what goes around comes around even harder. The tables turn. You don’t want bad things to happen to you so why allow something bad to happen to someone else? Be a better person and make a good difference in someone else’s life.
