Amulets and Rings In Shia Islam.

Alī ibn Abī Ṭālibʿalayhi s-salām said : Whoso keep the following du-a'a written on skin of a deer, shall remain safe from the influence of any magic.BISMILLAAHI WA BILLAAHI BISMILLAAHI WA MAA SHAAA-ALLAAHU BISMILLAAHI WA LAA QUWWATA ILLA BILLAAH QAALA MOOSAA MAA JI-TUM BIHIS SIH'R INNALLAAHA SAYUBT'ILUH INNALLAAHA LAA YUS'LIH'U A'MALAL MUFSIDEEN FAWAQA-A'L H'AQQU WA BAT'ALA MAA KANOO YA'-MALOON FAGHULIBOO HUNAA LIKA WANQALABOO S'AAGHIREEN

Sayyiduna Alī ibn Abī Ṭālibʿalayhi s-salām says: This Dua should be written and tied to the arm of the woman. We have experienced that there is nothing more amazing than this” (Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya, 19/65).

Now this is being questioned, if we can keep a Dua with ourselves, can't we not wear a Dua in our neck as Tawidh or Tameemah.

Some Muslims state that wearing a Dua in our neck is Bidah and Haraam. Based on the following hadith:

It was narrated from 'Uqbah ibn 'Aamir al-Juhani that a group came to Muhammad ﷺ [to swear their allegiance (bay'ah) to him]. He accepted the bay'ah of nine of them but not of one of them. They said, "O Messenger of Allah, you accepted the bay'ah of nine but not of this one." He said, "He is wearing an amulet." The man put his hand (in his shirt) and took it off, then he (Muhammed) accepted his bay'ah. He said, "Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk." [Ahmed].  This Hadeeth was classed as Saheeh.

Here I will rather quote references from Authentic Sunni Books, so that no scope for doubt is left.

But before this let’s analyze the Hadith:

Muhammad ﷺ refused to take an oath of alliance to one of the person who was wearing an amulet. Time was Pre-Islamic now what people used to wear in the pre-Islamic time? Of-course the name of their deities which was of course a Shirk. Think of situation where in this person was wearing "There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.'. Would Muhammad ﷺhave ever stated it is a Shirk? Even when the engraving on Muhammad ﷺ's ring himself stated,'There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.'?

Imam al-Qurtubi wrote in detail about both types of a hadith concerning ta’wiz:

“The ta’wiz that are forbidden are those ta’wiz from the Time of Ignorance – those which are satanic and contain an element of shirk [voodoo and magic, etc.]. The ta’wiz, which are permitted are those written with du’as evidently from Qur’an and a hadith only”

[al-Qurtubi, at-Tadhkirat, chapter on 'Ta'wiz']

This further lets me go deep inside the topic, Let’s consider if the engravement on the rings is Haraam or Halaal? First I stated that even the prophet wore an engraved ring and let’s consider the following rings:

Engraving on 1st Imam's ring:'Lil Lahil Mulko': Allah is the Master of the Kingdom.'

On the 2nd Imam's:
'Al Izzato Lil Lahe - Verily, All honor (as a whole) belong (only) to Allah.'
(4:139)

On the 3rd Imam's:
'Innal Laha Baligho Amrehi - Verily Allah accomplishes His purpose' (65:3)

The 4th Imam and the 5th Imam wore the same ring as the 3rd Imam.

6th Imam's:
'Allaho Waliyi Wa Ismati Min Khalqehi - Allah is my Master and He will
safeguard me from His creatures.'

7th Imam's:
'Hasbeyal Laho - Sufficient for me is Allah.'(9:129)

So I ask do we still feel that, it is ok to wear an engraved ring but may be wearing an engraved amulet in our neck is Shirk?

Now let’s see this, all Muslims believe that Quran has healing powers:

“…We send down in Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers…”

[Sura Banu Isra'il, verse 82]

Now it’s debated how the healing power of Quran should be used. Some Muslim says that Quran only has its healing power if we recite it. That is just reciting it. Even if we blow some Ayahs on a sick person it does not make sense.

Now let’s see this Hadith:

Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim write:

“When a person who was sick or in some distress they would go to Muhammad ﷺ who would then place his hand on the area of pain and recite a du’a’ and then blow onto him”
[Bukhari; Muslim, Chapter of Tibb]

Or this one:

Imam Muslim writes:

“When Muhammad ﷺ) was ill for the last time, Angel Fibril (peace be upon him) came and recited du’a’ and blew on to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)”

So it is understood that if an ayah from Quran is blown over a sick person is not prohibited.

But again some may contend that blowing of Dua is different from keeping Dua to onself for protection.

Let’s observe another hadith where:

A man came to the Muhammad ﷺ complaining of highwaymen. The Holy Prophet (SAW) said:

“Why weren’t you wearing a ring with agate? This ring will safeguard man from all evil. Whoever wears a ring with agate will end up in god as long as he is wearing that ring and Allah will protect him forever. Whoever makes a ring with agate and the inscription: Mohammad, Messenger of Allah and Ali, friend of Allah, Allah will keep him from bad death and he will die a believer? No hand raised towards Allah is more beloved than a hand wearing a ring of agate. Should a man wearing a ring of agate draw lots, he will have a lion’s share.”

So we see that Rings can be used for Protection. Therefore other than just reciting Quran for Protection other objects can also be used to protect oneself from danger of the unseen.

Now the Question is: Can Dua, hanging down from one' neck save oneself from danger? Let’s consider an example: I am going to fight a war with just a sword and shield in my hand so that I can take over my enemies when they attack me, but it is also recommended to wear an armor. Why an armor? Is just Sword and Shield not enough for protection? No, it is for what coming from front not for what comes from behind. Most supernatural power attack when you are not even aware of so if you use a Dua as your armor you are protected.

But why wear it can we just recite it every time we sense danger? Yes, but what when you don't sense danger? Is it possible for you to recite a Dua every second of the clock and mind it when the supernatural has the power to hurt you in a fraction of a second?

What about our children, who are too young to even speak, for this let me quote another hadith:

Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Qadi Shawkani write:
"Amr ibn Shu'aib (may Allah be pleased with him) said that 'Rasulu'llah(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) taught my father and grandfather a du'a which we would read before going to sleep, to protect us from fear and anguish. We told our elder children to recite this du'a before going to sleep as well. But for those children who were not yet literate, we would write it and then put it around their necks"
[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal vol.2; Abu Dawud, in 'Chapter of Medicine'; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, under Sura al-Mu'minun, verse 97; and Qadi Shawkani, Fath al-Qadir, under the same verse]

So it is seen that wearing of rings and amulets were noticed in the time of the prophet.

Allama Alusi Hanafi in his Tafsir of the Qur’an writes: According to Imam Malik Rahmatullah ‘It is permitted to put around the neck the Ta’weez written with the name of Allah. Imam Baqir also stated that it is permitted to put such a Ta’weez around the neck of a child. [Rooh-ul-Ma’ani, chapter 15" under verse 97 of Surah Mu'minoon].

In the Musannaf of Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba, the permissibility of hanging a ta`wiz is reported from many of the Companions and early Muslims (Salaf), including:

حدّثنا أبو بكر قال حدثنا عقبة بن خالد عن شعبة عن أبي عصمة قال: سألت سعيد بن المسيب عن التعويذ فقال: لا بأس إذا كان في أديم.

حدّثنا أبو بكر قال حدثنا يحيى بن آدم قال حدثنا حسن عن ليث عن عطاء قال : لا بأس أن يعلق القرءان

Translation: It is narrated that Sa’eed bin Musayb (one of the top ranking Tabi’i) was asked about wearing Amulets, he said: There is "No harm in doing so"
Imam al Ata (rah) the Tabi’i and Faqih of Makkah said: There is no harm in hanging (ayahs of) Quran (around the neck) [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Volume No. 5, Page No. 439]

Mujahid, Abd Allah ibn `Amr, Ibn Sirin, `Abayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn `Umar, and others (Allah be well pleased with them all) also narrated it [Musannaf, 5.439]

Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah says:

Some of our rightly guided ancestors stated that there is no harm if some ayat (Verse) from the Qur’an were written in ink and then washed with water and that the sick person drinks that water. Mujahid issues a statement to that effect and so did Abu Qilabah. It was also reported that Ibn ‘Abbas once commanded that two verses from the Qur’an to be written for a woman who had hard pregnancies and that the verses were then washed with water and she was to drink the water. Also Ayub said, “I saw Abu Qilabah write some Verses from the Qur’an wash it with water and then give the water to a person who was suffering from some type of illness to drink it[Tibb an Nabawi by Ibn Qayyim, Page No. 154, English version
Imam Ibn Taymiyya (Allah have mercy on him) writes in his Fatawa:“It is permissible for an ill or troubled person, that certain verses from the Qur’an are written with pure ink, then it is washed and given to the ill to drink.Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have mentioned a certain Dua that should be written and placed close to the woman who is experiencing hard labour at the time of giving birth.

Imam Ibn Taymiyya’s student Imam Ibn al-Qayyim also narrates the permissibility of using Ta’wizes from a number of salafs including the great Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Allah have mercy on him).Thereafter Ibn al-Qayyim himself quotes various Ta’wizes (Zad al-Ma’ad, 3/180).

We should be careful of a new breed of scholars who are raising their voices nowadays in blatant disregard of conclusions which the respected authorities of the Umma have already established in their books.they instead learn Arabic read hadiths quran and start giving fatwas from their own understanding then start calling the old scholars of doing shirk bida, here`s a few hadith about these new scholars When the last ones of the Ummah begin to curse the first ones (at-Tirmidhi), The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad) People will claim to follow the Qur'an but will reject hadith & sunnah (Abu Dawood) We should learn from Ahl al-Dhikr which stands for the People of Knowledge and Remembrance in Islam (Ayatollahs, Marjah-e-Taqleed) not from people of innovation whose credentials are unknown besides a few books in English with glossy covers,(wahhabis-salafis deobandis ahle hadith tabligh jamat and other sects) so beware Imam Sadiq ʿalayhi s-salām  (a.s) said: "Be careful of your knowledge and see from whom you get it." So protect your  iman and learn from the old books and scholars and not these new so called scholars.Without a Imam the Ummah is sure to go astray.

FOR THOSE WHO BELEIVE THERE IS A GIFT OF TAWID OF IMAM HASAN BIN ALI ALEHI S-SALAM:
Whosoever recites the following prayer after every obligatory salat, or keeps its written text on the body, inshallah, he, his family and property will remain safe under the divine protection.
U-E'EDU NAFSEE WA D'URRIYYATEE WA AHLA BAYTEE WA MAALEE BIKALIMATILLAAHIT
TAAAMMATI MIN KULLI SHAYT'AANIN WA HAAMMATIN WA MIN KULLI A'YNIN LAAMMATIN