January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Believe in destiny, not superstition
Legend says many things about it.
Here are a few. Never change your bed on Friday, as it will bring bad dreams. Don't start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune. If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow.
Black Friday
Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck - as in the tale of H.M.S. Friday. One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell once and for all the widespread superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky.
A special ship was commissioned, named H.M.S. Friday. They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday, and was never seen or heard from again!
Also, the number 13 has a bad rap for a host of reasons, one being that the Last Supper consisted of 12 disciples and Jesus,
totalling 13, and we all know what happened after that. I guess one can understand why Friday and 13 together, do not seem to work well together, huh! But don't believe any of it.
Some people really rely on talismans, good-luck charms, and their horoscope. I remember during my hey-day, the first introduction to someone was met with "What's your horoscope?" Jean Dixon was a celebrity back then!
Fate
We relied heavily on the stars, but as I grew older, the words of Cassius appealed to me better than the zodiac, when he said "Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Its not the stars that pen our faith, but to a large degree, ourselves, together with the decree of Allah, the Supreme. If we continue to make bad choices, it's simple, we will continue to attract negative results. The great Saudi Scholar, Ibn 'Uthaymeen, said: "Astrology is a kind of sorcery and fortune-telling. It is forbidden because it is based on illusions, not on concrete facts. There is no relation between the movements of celestial bodies and what takes place on the Earth."
Before the advent of Islam, people would think that the sun and moon might eclipse when a great figure died.
During the Prophet's lifetime, it happened that the sun eclipsed on the same day when the Prophet's son Ibrahim died. The people then thought that is had eclipsed because of the Prophet's son's death.
On knowing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in the Eclipse Prayer and then delivered them a speech saying: "The sun and moon are but signs of Allah; they do not eclipse because so-and-so died or was born."
This hadith indicates
that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) denied all relation between the movements of the heavenly bodies and events on the Earth. Besides, people who believe in the prophecies of astrologists are easily exposed to a maze of illusions, pessimism and psychological problems.
Therefore, instead of relying on our horoscope or good luck, we must strengthen our belief in qadar (destiny) and do whatever is good and avoid whatever is bad. Our horoscope does not have any power to decide our future; whether it is good or bad for us.
Only the Almighty knows what will happen to us in the future.
It is good to remember the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to Ibn Abbas: "Be mindful of Allah, Allah will protect you; be mindful of Allah and you will always find Him there for you.
When you seek assistance seek it from Him; you must know that nothing will happen to you except what fate has decreed. If all mankind gather to give a benefit or interest, which was not destined, for you, you will not get. If they gather to deprive you from something good which is destined for you, you will get it."
Destiny
Accordingly, we must believe that everything is destined and no one knows what is destined for him or her. Therefore, we should not waste our time and energy in looking for what our horoscope tells us; rather, we should submit ourselves to the divine decree and qadar of Allah. The noble Quran in Surah 64:11 says "No kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah: and if any one believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright): for Allah knows all things."
So when good happens praise Allah and when bad happens praise Allah, for He knows best, not good luck charms or the stars.
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