Jinn, also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabia and later in Islamic culture and beliefs. Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers (Muslims) or disbelievers (kuffar), depending on whether they accept God's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and was able to adapt them during its expansion. Jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. To assert a strict monotheism and the Islamic concept of tawhid, Islam denies all affinities between the jinn and God, thus placing the jinn parallel to humans, also subject to God's judgment and afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them.
Thābit ibn Qurra ; 826 or 836 – February 19, 901, was a polymath known for his work in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and translation. He lived in Baghdad in the second half of the ninth century during the time of the Abbasid Caliphate.
A pentacle is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, and is usually made of parchment, paper, cloth, or metal, upon which a magical design is drawn. Symbols may also be included, a common one being the six-point form of the Seal of Solomon.
Zulfaqar, also spelled Zu al-Faqar, Zulfakar, Dhu al-Faqar, or Dhulfaqar), is the sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Picatrix is the Latin name used today for a 400-page book of magic and astrology originally written in Arabic under the title Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm, which most scholars assume was originally written in the middle of the 11th century, though an argument for composition in the first half of the 10th century has been made. The Arabic title translates as The Aim of the Sage or The Goal of The Wise. The Arabic work was translated into Spanish and then into Latin during the 13th century, at which time it got the Latin title Picatrix. The book's title Picatrix is also sometimes used to refer to the book's author.
Yantra (यन्त्र) is a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions. Yantras are used for the worship of deities in temples or at home; as an aid in meditation; used for the benefits given by their supposed occult powers based on Hindu astrology and tantric texts. They are also used for adornment of temple floors, due mainly to their aesthetic and symmetric qualities. Specific yantras are traditionally associated with specific deities and/or certain types of energies used for accomplishment of certain tasks, vows, that may be materialistic or spiritual in nature. It becomes a prime tool in certain sadhanas performed by the sadhaka the spiritual seeker. Yantras hold great importance in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
Agimat, also known as anting or folklorized as anting-anting, is a Filipino word for "amulet" or "charm". Anting-anting is also a Filipino system of magic and sorcery with special use of the above-mentioned talismans, amulets, and charms. Other general terms for agimat include virtud (Virtue) and galing (Prowess).
Incantation bowls are a form of protective magic found in what is now Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during late antiquity from the sixth to eighth centuries, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, the bowls were usually inscribed in a spiral, beginning from the rim and moving toward the center. Most are inscribed in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic.
Fatimid art refers to artifacts and architecture from the Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171), an empire based in Egypt and North Africa. The Fatimid Caliphate was initially established in the Maghreb, with its roots in a ninth-century Shia Ismailist uprising. Many monuments survive in the Fatimid cities founded in North Africa, starting with Mahdia, on the Tunisian coast, the principal city prior to the conquest of Egypt in 969 and the building of al-Qahira, the "City Victorious", now part of modern-day Cairo. The period was marked by a prosperity amongst the upper echelons, manifested in the creation of opulent and finely wrought objects in the decorative arts, including carved rock crystal, lustreware and other ceramics, wood and ivory carving, gold jewelry and other metalware, textiles, books and coinage. These items not only reflected personal wealth, but were used as gifts to curry favour abroad. The most precious and valuable objects were amassed in the caliphal palaces in al-Qahira. In the 1060s, following several years of drought during which the armies received no payment, the palaces were systematically looted. The libraries were largely destroyed and precious gold objects were melted down, with a few of the treasures dispersed across the medieval Christian world. Afterwards, Fatimid artifacts continued to be made in the same style, but were adapted to a larger populace, using less precious materials.
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's Natural History describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words.
In the myth and folklore of the Near East and Europe, Abyzou is the name of a female demon. Abyzou was blamed for miscarriages and infant mortality and was said to be motivated by envy, as she herself was infertile. In the Coptic Egypt she is identified with Alabasandria, and in Byzantine culture with Gylou, but in various texts surviving from the syncretic magical practice of antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, she is said to have many or virtually innumerable names.
Yansheng Coins, commonly known as Chinese numismatic charms, refer to a collection of special decorative coins that are mainly used for rituals such as fortune telling, Chinese superstitions, and Feng shui. They originated during the Western Han dynasty as a variant of the contemporary Ban Liang and Wu Zhu cash coins. Over the centuries they evolved into their own commodity, with many different shapes and sizes. Their use was revitalized during the Republic of China era. Normally, these coins are privately funded and cast by a rich family for their own ceremonies, although a few types of coins have been cast by various governments or religious orders over the centuries. Chinese numismatic charms typically contain hidden symbolism and visual puns. Unlike cash coins which usually only contain two or four Hanzi characters on one side, Chinese numismatic charms often contain more characters and sometimes pictures on the same side.
A talismanic shirt is a worn textile talisman. Talismanic shirts are found throughout the Muslim world. The shirts can be grouped to four types which differ in style and the symbols used: an Ottoman, a Safavid, a Mughal and a West African one.
The Archidoxis magica is a pseudo-Paracelsian grimoire of the 16th century. The book discusses magical sigils for the use on talismans or amulets.
Taoist coin charms, or Daoist coin charms are a family of categories of Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms that incorporate elements of the Taoist religion. Taoist coin charms come in various shapes, sizes, and formats and can contain inscriptions or wholly pictorial designs. While a large number of Taoist coin charms have their inscriptions written in traditional Chinese characters, a subset of Taoist coin charms have inscriptions written in Taoist "magic" writing. In these countries similar numismatic charms existed for Buddhist and Confucianism, and at times Taoist coin charms would also incorporate symbolism from these other religions.
Superstition is an excessively credulous belief in supernatural causality: the belief that one event is the cause of another without any physical process linking the two, such as astrology, omens, witchcraft, and apotropaic magic. According to Rashid Shaz, belief in such supernatural causality is widespread in the Muslim world and predates the introduction of Islam. He argues they involve "clinging to false hope" and even shirk.
Belief and practice in Magic in Islam is "widespread and pervasive" and a "vital element of everyday life and practice", both historically and currently in Islamic culture. The topics also generating a "staggering" amount of literature.
A magical alphabet, or magickal alphabet, is a set of letters used primarily in ceremonial magic ('magick'), occult practices, and esoteric traditions. These alphabets serve various purposes, including encoding secret messages, conducting rituals, creating amulets or talismans, casting spells, and invoking spiritual entities. Several magical alphabets, including the Celestial Alphabet, Malachim, and Transitus Fluvii, are based on the Hebrew alphabet, which itself has a long history of use in mystical and magical contexts.
Ethiopia has a complex religious history, experiencing Christian rule in the 4th century, then experiencing increasing Islamic influence in the 8th century. The earliest extant Ethiopian talismanic scrolls date to the 16th century, but are thought to be in use since the 10th century. The scrolls are an intermingling of all the Abrahamic faiths with indigenous African roots. As the scrolls are highly personalized, their purposes vary, but serve three broad functions: to protect and heal, to exert external influence, and to practice ritual employment. The scrolls are part of a larger ritual tradition rooted in Christian Exorcism Practices.
Rock crystal amulets in the Islamic world date back to the 9th century CE and were used to offer well-being and religious protection. A range of forms and materials were used to produce amulets and to bring upon various powers and protections. Rock crystal amulets physically connect a person to magic and religion through significant qualities of their materials and inscriptions. The inscriptions on rock crystal amulets ranged from long to short phrases, or just single words, indicating their unique personalization.
