The Religious Policeman

I always enjoy reading the comments in this blog. It’s nice to receive the compliments, but also to hear other contributions and viewpoints, even those that disagree. As long as it’s all civilized and polite, long may it continue.

Very many times, a comment makes me stop in my tracks. It’s perhaps unfair to single out just one, but I’m very fond of the Irish, the way they talk and their sense of humor, and this exchange had me choking over my coffee.

The Koran is the direct unaltetered word of Allah. Is should need no interpretatio and anyone who thinks so is a kuffar. If Allah commmands that I need to beat my wife because she is disobedient then I have to by Allah's words through the prophet (swt). Allah knows best. Men and women have equal rights before Allah, but Allah has made men a step above women. That is in the Koran. You are not a Muslim if you cannot see that, and bound for hellfire.Abu Jihad | 08.24.05 - 11:40 am | #

"but Allah has made men a step above women.”       Tell you what, Abu Jihad (Did you really call your son "Jihad", what a great idea, I'll call my next kid "genocide"), if you come over to Galway you can tell my mother that, she still works in the market there, and then when youve spat your teeth out, you can try and figure out why she can punch your lights out when youre a step above her.Padraigh | 08.24.05 - 2:02 pm | #

Next time you’re in Galway Market, better not complain that the apples are bruised, otherwise you could be too.

I was also very touched by this one, from a 16-year-old seeking advice. Now the young A’s see me as a source of finance, transport, excursions and homework assistance, but rarely advice. And certainly not advice about fashion, music, what’s “cool”, or how to behave. So I was really very touched.

Dear Sir;I am 16 yrs. old. My Father caught me whistling and threatened to beat me. He said whistling is forbidden because it attracts evil spirits. Is this a parental fatwa? If I do not whistle loudly, will the spirits ignore me?Faal | 08.25.05 - 10:30 am | #

But how to reply?  The most sensible advice was

BTW to the 16 year old whose father thinks whistling attracts evil spirits:1) get a life and tell your father to do the same;2) leave home and go into the real world where people don't have stupid superstitions; and 3) if you can write English that well, don't you realise that whistling is a happy thing to do, or is this yet another way of Islam ruining peoples' lives? Grrrrr(image placeholder)Sue | 08.25.05 - 11:01 am | #

But as a Muslim, could I say that? You see one half of me still sees the Imam as the fount of all wisdom and knowledge, while the other half of me says I should rely on a combination of the most credible bits of the Quran, plus the knowledge and self-reliance I’ve picked up in a largely Western education.

The problem with Imams is that they can adopt an “Imam knows best” attitude. Ask them why they state something, where’s the reference in the Quran or the Hadiths, and they can get very difficult. “It’s not your place to question the will of Allah”. Well fair enough, but show me the passage where it says that it is his will, and not something you’ve made up just to look scholarly or learned, or something half-remembered from a lecture at the Imam University when you were waking up from a reverie about a donut with pink icing.

Anyway, I was always taught in my childhood that it was wrong to whistle. But aren’t adults infuriating, they’ll never give you the definitive answer, just some stuff about Jinns (evil spirits). Not a big problem in my case, I never could do the necessary with lips and teeth to produce a sound; perhaps that was Allah’s will. However these days we have the internet. Go to an online Quran , type in “whistle”. Nothing, nada, zip. There is nothing in the Quran that prohibits or indeed mentions whistling. Perhaps they hadn’t learnt how to do it back then, and with the prohibition on dogs, why would they need to?

So let’s ask the Imam after all, at a site for just that purpose. Key in “whistle”, what do we get?

Is there a prohibition against whistling with one’s mouth or by using a whistle?

It is not permissible to whistle through one’s mouth or an instrument. However, if there is a dire need, for example, to call out at a distant person or a lost person and there is no alternative, then one will be excused.

Same old answer, but no source reference, so I’m inclined to dismiss it as folklore. Especially when in the other Q and A we get.

Can you tell me something about jinns. When I work midnight shift, I hear noises and whistles. Do they harm you in anyway? Do they do physical harm to humans because humans can't see them? kindly explain in details

Jinns are also like human beings, obedient and disobedient.It is possible that the disobedient Jinns cause harm to human beings. In order to protect oneself from the mischief and harms of Jinns one should stay in the state of Wudhu, perform all the Salaat, recite Aayaatul Kursi after every Salaat and the four Quls before sleeping.

You see, Jinns whistle. That’s why we shouldn’t whistle as well, they may come over and start rubbing up against us, or bring us a stick to throw.

Well it’s taken a long time and we haven’t answered Faal’s question yet. My advice, Faal, go with Sue’s answer, I can’t better it.

The Ask the Imam site is certainly interesting. An Imam down in South Africa runs it. It’s well worth a visit; click “Random” for a random ruling. If you’re into superstition, search “Jinn” and see all the problems those little fellas are causing. If you’re in a vulgar, Chaucerian sort of mood, do a search on “wind”, and see all the problems that people have when they pass wind during prayers or wudhu (ritual washing).


I may not be posting for the next two or three days. It’s a “Bank Holiday” weekend. Not only that, (and I appreciate that this will be as interesting to US readers as the Nebraska High School Basketball Finals are over here), England are playing Australia at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the series is all tied at the moment, England are currently “in” and  306 for 5, it’s a funny ground is Trent Bridge, if it’s cloudy then the seam bowlers can’t get the ball to reverse swing….

Have a great weekend.