How is it to wear an amulet or to put one on children? In our society, putting an amulet around children's necks for protection from the evil eye and illness is common. If Qur'anic verses are written in the amulet, is there any room for it then? And what is the ruling on amulets of unknown words, diagrams and numbers?

Zaynab, the maidservant of the Mother of the Believers, narrates from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed, (unlawful) incantations, amulets and tiwalah (a love amulet) are shirk” (Sunan Abi Dawud: 3883; al-Hakim and Ibn Hibban declared it sahih, and Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, also declared it sahih). And it is narrated from Uqbah ibn Amir, may Allah be pleased with him: “Whoever hangs an amulet has committed shirk” (Musnad Ahmad: 17422; sahih according to the verifiers), and in one narration: “Whoever hangs an amulet, may Allah not fulfil his desire for him; and whoever hangs a shell (wada'ah), may Allah not grant him rest” (Musnad Ahmad: 17404; hasan). In the fatwa of Al-Lajnah Ad-Da'imah (Fatawa al-Lajnah: 1/212) it is explicit that there is agreement of the scholars upon the prohibition of non-Qur'anic amulets; and an amulet whose words are not understood, or in which there are diagrams, numbers, signs of the stars, or a matter of seeking help from other than Allah, is of this very category of shirk from which these hadiths forbid — wearing and making such an amulet worn are both haram, and removing it and destroying it is obligatory.

An amulet consisting only of Qur'anic verses or prescribed supplications — regarding it there are two views of the predecessors: permission is transmitted from Abdullah ibn Amr, may Allah be pleased with them both, and others, while Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, Hudhayfah and Uqbah ibn Amir, may Allah be pleased with them, and others used to forbid it. Al-Lajnah Ad-Da'imah (Fatawa al-Lajnah: 1/212) said that the scholars differ regarding it; however, the view of impermissibility is the stronger and preponderant one, for three reasons: (1) the hadiths of prohibition of amulets are general; they do not distinguish between Qur'anic and non-Qur'anic; (2) blocking the paths leading to shirk is a purpose of the Shariah — today's Qur'anic amulet becomes the means of reaching tomorrow's unknown diagrams; (3) going to the toilet with a hung paper of verses, and disrespect of it occurring while sleeping, etc., are against the veneration of the verses. In the view of this Dar al-Ifta too, the preponderant view is precisely that every kind of amulet be avoided. This too should remain in mind: the supplication transmitted from Abdullah ibn Amr, may Allah be pleased with them both, (“A'udhu bi-kalimatillah at-tammah min ghadabihi wa sharri 'ibadihi...”) used to be taught to children and made to be recited by them; the addition of writing this supplication and hanging it around children's necks has not been held to be proven and sahih by Imam Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him (see: IslamQA fatwa No. 194302; the original narration: Sunan Abi Dawud: 3893, Jami' al-Tirmidhi: 3528).

The ruling is one for adults and children; a child's being a minor does not make an amulet Shariah-permissible — rather, the parents are responsible for it. Instead of an amulet, the child should be given that which is established by the Sunnah: the prescribed morning and evening supplications, blowing after reciting Al-Mu'awwidhatayn and Ayat al-Kursi, and teaching the child himself these words according to his age. It is narrated from Awf ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that we said: O Messenger of Allah! We used to practise incantations in Jahiliyyah; what is your command? He said: “Present your incantations to me; there is no harm in incantations as long as there is no shirk in them” (Sahih Muslim: 2200). The scholars have stated three conditions of a permissible incantation (Hafiz Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari: 10/195): that it be with the words, names or attributes of Allah; that it be in an understandable language; and that this belief be held, that the effect is from Allah alone — the incantation is not effective in itself. When the protection available with these conditions exists, after that no need of an amulet remains.

Unknown and non-Qur'anic amulets are shirk and haram according to the texts; regarding Qur'anic amulets the disagreement is well known, but the preponderant view is of its prohibition too, and the fatwa of this Dar al-Ifta is upon this very view. One who has an amulet on his neck or arm should remove it, place his reliance upon Allah, and make the prescribed incantations and remembrances his habit — this is the very protection which is established by the Sunnah.

A Maqasid-based caution: The basic defect of an amulet is the heart's attachment to something other than Allah. The Shariah has not closed the doors of protection; rather, it has opened them through the path of Allah's words and the prescribed supplications; if a believer's heart remains connected to his Lord, this itself is the greatest protection.

Translated from the original Urdu fatwa.