Taweez is a piece of paper or cloth that has holy words written on it. It is supposed to ward off evil and bring good luck from Allah. You can wear it as an amulet or keep it in your home. Taweez are not forbidden in Islam, however, some people believe that wearing taweez is shirk (major sin) because these amulets contain the names of Prophets such as Prophet Muhammad.A Muslim who wears a taweez must do so with faith in Allah and belief in His power to protect him/her from harm, otherwise he/she will be practicing shirk (polytheism).
There is no doubt that Islam prohibits superstition. However, it is not clear whether wearing taweez/talismans is forbidden or not. Many scholars have made their own judgments on this matter without referring to any evidence from the Qur’an or Sunnah.
There are two issues that need to be clearly addressed:
- Is taweez a superstitious belief?Is taweez shirk?
It is clear that wearing taweez has nothing to do with shirk or bidah. In fact, the Quran has mentioned taweez in it:
“Those who wear around their necks, [t]rings of silver and gold…” (Quran 7:31)
- Are you using your own brain or are you relying on taweez?
The Prophet said: “If someone uses his own brain when making a decision, he will always be successful. If someone relies on Allah’s help alone, he will never be unsuccessful. A person should not rely too much upon himself and trust too much in his own thought processes; nor should he depend upon Allah excessively such that it weakens him physically and mentally. He should seek midpoints between these two extremes.”
When a person seeks protection from the Qur’an, is there any legal issue involved?
For example, if someone is seeking protection from the Qur’an and/or the Sunnah and they write or inscribe a taweez, there is no legal issue involved.
That being said, we should not forget that the Qur’an is a source of protection from all evil and harm. Thus, any person who seeks to take Allah’s protection should seek it through the means that He has prescribed for this purpose; namely, by reciting His Book and following its guidelines as set out in many verses:
Blessed is He Who sent down the criterion upon His servant so he could be an admonisher to all creatures in whatever way they might be able to hear (Al-Furqan 25:1-2)
What kind of protection does Islam allow for?
There is a difference between seeking protection and wearing a taweez. Seeking protection means asking Allah to protect you from harm, while wearing a taweez means putting your trust in something other than Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade both:
- He said, “It is not allowed for any one of you to wear an amulet unless he has belief in it and its effectiveness.” (Al-Bukhari)
- He also said, “Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk with Allah.” (Ibn Majah)
The Quran warns us against superstition. In fact, it is one of the things the Quran tells us not to do:
- “And they have said: ‘We found our fathers following certain ways and practices, and we guide ourselves by their footsteps.’” (Quran: 2)
- “And We sent down upon you the Book for the people with truth; so whoever follows the right path shall follow it only for his own sake; and whoever goes astray shall do so at his own risk; no bearer of burdens can bear another’s burdens…” (Quran 17)
- “We created not the heavens and earth and all that is between them save in truth. And verily these communications are indeed easy for Allah. Yet most among mankind believe not.” (Quran 54)
Allah answers prayers from those who seek His help sincerely with no desire for return or reward. A person who seeks shirk by seeking taweez will be punished for this act as mentioned in Surah Al Kahf (18):106 -107 which reads: “How many were the populations We utterly destroyed because of their iniquities! They tumbled down on their roofs.”
In the same way, you cannot say that taweez is shirk. The Quran, Hadith and facts do not say that taweez is shirk.So if you are concerned about wearing a protective amulet or talisman then there are various ways to protect yourself from evil eyes:
- Make dua for protection from the evil eye
- Recite the last two surahs of the Quran (Al-Baqarah and Aal-e-Imran) after every prayer
- Recite Surah Al-Ikhlas 33 times everyday
- Sleep on your right side facing qibla
Answer from Quran of the question – is taweez shirk? To begin, Allah (swt) says:
”Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.” [Quran 20:108]
He has full knowledge of all things and can see what you cannot. It is evident that only Allah can bestow blessings on anyone. He says:
”And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad ) concerning Me – indeed I am near; I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.” [Quran 2:186]
You can buy and wear a taweez.
If you have an important exam coming up, or if you’re working towards a particular goal that’s more than just material success, then you can use a taweez to help focus your energies in the right direction. Wearing a taweez around your neck is one way of doing this; it will help remind you of your goals every time someone looks at it.
If the idea of buying an amulet seems strange or offensive to you, think about all the other kinds of amulets that people wear without thinking twice about them: lucky charms, rosaries (which are basically just beads), religious symbols like crosses or yarmulkes, etc. All these things are essentially totems for belief systems and spiritual practices. A taweez is no different from any of those things—and if anything it should be considered more powerful because it uses Quranic verses written on paper which makes them even more effective as prayers than other types of amulets!
