I. Spiritual magic, which is termed er-Rooḥánee (vulg. Rowḥánee), chiefly depends upon the virtues of certain names of God and passages from the Ḳur-án, and the agency of Angels and Jinn. It is of two kinds: High and Low (´Ilwee and Suflee), or Divine and Satanic (Raḥmánee, i.e. relating to "the Compassionate," and Sheyṭánee).
1. Divine magic is regarded as a sublime science, and is studied only by good men, and practised only for good purposes. Perfection in this branch of magic consists in the knowledge of "the most great name" of God (el-Ism el-Aạẓam); but this knowledge is imparted to none but the peculiar favourites of heaven. By virtue of this name, which was engraved on his seal-ring, Suleymán (Solomon) subjected to his dominion the Jinn and the birds and the winds. By pronouncing it, his minister Áṣaf, also, transported in an instant to the presence of his sovereign in Jerusalem the throne of the Queen of Sheba.[80] But this was a small miracle to effect by such means; for by uttering this name a man may even raise the dead. Other names of the Deity, commonly known, are believed to have particular efficacies when uttered or written; as also are the names of the Prophet; and Angels and good Jinn are said to be rendered subservient to the purposes of divine magic by means of certain invocations. Of such names and invocations, together with words unintelligible to the uninitiated in this science, passages from the Ḳur-án, mysterious combinations of numbers, and peculiar diagrams and figures, are chiefly composed written charms employed for good purposes. Enchantment, when used for benevolent purposes, is regarded by the vulgar as a branch of lawful or divine magic; but not so by the learned: and the same remark applies to the science of divination.
2. Satanic magic, as its name implies, is a science depending on the agency of the Devil and the inferior evil Jinn, whose services are obtained by means similar to those which propitiate, or render subservient, the good Jinn. It is condemned by the Prophet and all good Muslims, and only practised for bad purposes.
Bábil, or Babel, is regarded by the Muslims as the fountain head of the science of magic, which was, and, as most think, still is, taught there to mankind by two fallen angels, named Hároot and Mároot, who are there suspended by the feet in a great pit closed by a mass of rock. According to the account of them generally received as correct, these two angels, in consequence of their want of compassion for the frailties of mankind, were rendered, by God, susceptible of human passions, and sent down upon the earth to be tempted. They both sinned, and being permitted to choose whether they would be punished in this life or in the other, chose the former. But they were sent down not merely to experience temptation, being also appointed to tempt others by means of their knowledge of magic; though it appears that they were commanded not to teach this art to any man "until they had said, 'Verily we are a temptation; therefore be not an unbeliever.'"[81] The celebrated traditionist, Mujáhid, is related to have visited them under the guidance of a Jew. Having removed the mass of rock from the mouth of the pit or well, they entered. Mujáhid had been previously charged by the Jew not to mention the name of God in their presence; but when he beheld them, resembling in size two huge mountains, and suspended upside-down, with irons attached to their necks and knees, he could not refrain from uttering the forbidden name; whereupon the two angels became so violently agitated that they almost broke the irons which confined them, and Mujáhid and his guide fled back in consternation.[82]
Enchantment, which is termed es-Seḥr, is almost universally acknowledged to be a branch of satanic magic; but some few persons assert that it may be, and by some has been, studied with good intentions, and practised by the aid of good Jinn: consequently, that there is such a science as good enchantment, which is to be regarded as a branch of divine or lawful magic. The metamorphoses are said to be generally effected by means of spells or invocations to the Jinn, accompanied by the sprinkling of water or dust, etc., on the object to be transformed. Persons are said to be enchanted in various ways: some, paralyzed, or even deprived of life; others, affected with irresistible passion for certain objects; others, again, rendered demoniacs; and some, transformed into brutes, birds, etc. The evil eye is believed to enchant in a very powerful and distressing manner. This was acknowledged even by the Prophet.[83] Diseases and death are often attributed to its influence. Amulets,[84] which are mostly written charms, of the kind above described, are worn by many Muslims with the view of counteracting, or preserving from, enchantment; and for the same purpose, many ridiculous ceremonies are practised.
Divination, which is termed el-Kiháneh, is pronounced on the highest authority to be a branch of satanic magic, though not believed to be so by all Muslims. According to an assertion of the Prophet, what a fortune-teller says may sometimes be true; because one of the Jinn steals away the truth, and carries it to the magician's ear: for the Angels come down to the region next to the earth (the lowest heaven), and mention the works that have been pre-ordained in heaven; and the Devils (or evil Jinn) listen to what the Angels say, and hear the orders predestined in heaven and carry them to the fortune-tellers. It is on such occasions that shooting-stars are hurled at the Devils.[85] It is said that "the diviner obtains the services of the Sheyṭán by magic arts, and by names [invoked], and by the burning of perfumes, and he informs him of secret things: for the Devils, before the mission of the Apostle of God," it is added, "used to ascend to heaven and hear words by stealth."[86] That the evil Jinn are believed still to ascend sufficiently near to the lowest heaven to hear the conversation of the Angels, and so to assist magicians, appears from the former quotation, and is asserted by all Muslims. The discovery of hidden treasures before alluded to, is one of the objects for which divination is most studied. The mode of divination called Ḍarb el-Mendel is by some supposed to be effected by the aid of evil Jinn; but the more enlightened of the Muslims regard it as a branch of natural magic.[87]
There are certain modes of divination which cannot properly be classed under the head of spiritual magic, but require a place between the account of this science and that of natural magic. The most important of these branches of Kiháneh is Astrology, which is called ´Ilm en-Nujoom. This is studied by many Muslims in the present day; and its professors are often employed by the Arabs to determine a fortunate period for laying the foundation of a building, commencing a journey, etc.; but more frequently by the Persians and Turks. The Prophet pronounced astrology to be a branch of magic.[88] Another branch of Kiháneh is Geomancy, called Ḍarb er-Raml;[89] a mode of divination from certain marks made on sand (whence its appellation), or on paper; and said to be chiefly founded on astrology. The science called ez-Zijr, or el-´Eyáfeh, is a third branch of Kiháneh; being divination or auguration chiefly from the motions and positions or postures of birds or of gazelles and other beasts of the chase. Thus what was termed a Sániḥ, that is, such an animal standing or passing with its right side towards the spectator, was esteemed among the Arabs as of good omen; and a Báriḥ, or an animal of this kind with its left side towards the spectator, was held as inauspicious.[90] El-Ḳiyáfeh, under which term are included Chiromancy and its kindred sciences, is a fourth branch of Kiháneh. Et-Tefául, or the taking an omen, particularly a good one, from a name or words accidentally heard or seen or chosen from a book, belongs to the same science.
The taking a fál, or omen, from the Ḳur-án is generally held to be lawful. Various trifling events are considered as ominous. For instance, a Sulṭán quitting his palace with his troops, a standard happened to strike a "thureiyà" (a cluster of lamps, so called from resembling the Pleiades), and broke them: he drew from this an evil omen, and would have relinquished the expedition; but one of his chief officers said to him, "O our Lord, thy standards have reached the Pleiades;"—and, being relieved by this remark, he proceeded, and returned victorious.[91] The interpretation of dreams, termed Taạbeer el-Menámát, must also be classed among the branches of this science. According to the Prophet, it is the only branch of divination worthy of dependance. "Good dreams," said he, "are one of the parts of prophecy," and "nothing else of prophecy remains." "Good dreams are from God; and false dreams from the Devil." "When any one of you has a bad dream, spit three times over your left shoulder, and seek protection with God from the Devil thrice; and turn from the side on which the dream was, to the other."[92] This rule is observed by many Muslims. Dreams are generally so fully relied upon by them as to be sometimes the means of deciding contested points in history and science. The sight, in a dream, of anything green or white, or of water, is considered auspicious; anything black or red, or fire, inauspicious.
This firm belief in dreams will be well illustrated by the following anecdote, which was related to me in Cairo, shortly after the terrible plague of the year 1835, by the sheykh Moḥammad Eṭ-Ṭanṭáwee, who had taken the trouble of investigating the fact, and had ascertained its truth.
A tradesman, living in the quarter of El-Ḥanafee, in Cairo, dreamed during that plague that eleven persons were carried out from his house to be buried, victims of this disease. He awoke in a state of the greatest distress and alarm, reflecting that eleven was the total number of the inhabitants of his house, including himself, and that it would be vain in him to attempt, by adding one or more members to his household, to elude the decree of God and give himself a chance of escape: so calling together his neighbours, he informed them of his dream, and was counselled to submit with resignation to a fate so plainly foreshown, and to be thankful to God for the timely notice with which he had been mercifully favoured. On the following day, one of his children died; a day or two after, a wife; and the pestilence continued its ravages among his family until he remained in his house alone. It was impossible for him now to entertain the slightest doubt of the entire accomplishment of the warning: immediately, therefore, after the last death that had taken place among his household, he repaired to a friend at a neighbouring shop, and calling to him several other persons from the adjoining and opposite shops, he reminded them of his dream, acquainted them with its almost complete fulfilment, and expressed his conviction that he, the eleventh, should very soon die. "Perhaps," said he, "I shall die this next night: I beg of you, therefore, for the sake of God, to come to my house early to-morrow morning, and the next morning and the next if necessary, to see if I be dead, and, when dead, that I am properly buried; for I have no one with me to wash and shroud me. Fail not to do me this service, which will procure you a recompense in heaven. I have bought my grave-linen: you will find it in a corner of the room in which I sleep. If you find the door of the house latched, and I do not answer to your knocking, break it open."