Is There Any Significance to Numerology in Islam?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

In the same way that magic is real but haram, numerology is haram, but is it real?

Do numbers have any meaning? I was watching an Islamic video explaining the concept of the Illuminati, and the person said that the secret of the universe is in the form of numbers, and that evil people are aware of this and use it to their advantage. Is numerology a form of magic?

Someone claims that Ilm al-Jafar is permitted. People believe that angel numbers represent specific things. For example, 222 means that the path you’re on is correct. The number 111 indicates that it is time to make a wish. The number 666 is associated with the devil.

You might have understood what I’m trying to say. Please clarify.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health.

It is permissible to believe in the effectiveness of doing certain things in numbers as and how they are mentioned for us to do in the hadiths. However, believing in the numbering system being the cause of harm and benefit without the cause and effect from Allah Most High is a baseless superstition. As Muslims, we place our trust in Allah Most High in all our affairs. Whatever happens in this World occurs with the will of Allah Most High.

However, in Islam, accomplishing certain tasks in odd numbers is mentioned and significant, like three and the creation and doing of certain acts to seven.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) as saying:

There are ninety-nine names of Allah; he who commits them to memory would get into Paradise. Verily, Allah is Odd (He is one, and it is an odd number), and He loves odd numbers. And in the narration of Ibn ‘Umar (the words are):” He who enumerated them.” [Muslim]

For this reason, in certain aspects of Sharia, when a large amount is intended, it must be done in the least odd number, which denotes a multitude, like three and seven. This has been chosen by Allah Most High and His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), and they only know the wisdom behind it; we have to submit and follow.

Seven Deeds

Anas ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace)said, “Seven deeds of a servant continue to be rewarded after his death while he is in his grave: knowledge to be learned, constructing a canal, digging a well, planting a date-palm tree, building a mosque, handing down a written copy of the Quran, and leaving a righteous child who seeks forgiveness for him after his death.” [Musnad al-Bazzar]

Quran Revealed in Seven Readings

Abu Juhaym  (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The Quran is recited in seven ways. Do not argue over the Quran, for arguing over the Quran is an act of unbelief.” [Aḥmad]

Ubayy ibn Ka’b reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to him, “How do you recite in prayer?” Ubayy said, “I recite the foundation of the Book, Surat al-Fatiha.” The Prophet said, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, nothing like it has been revealed in the Torah, nor the Gospel, nor the Psalms, nor the Furqan. Verily, they are the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Quran given to me.” [Tirmidhi]

Hadith on Shade: Seven People in the Shade of Allah

Abu Huraira  (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)said, “There are seven whom Allah will shade on a day when there is no shade but His. They are a just ruler, a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, one whose heart is attached to the mosques, two who love each other, meet each other, and depart from each other for the sake of Allah, a man who is tempted by a beautiful woman of high status but he rejects her, saying, ‘I fear Allah,’ and one who spends in charity and hides it such that his right hand does not know what his left hand has given, and one who remembered Allah in private and he wept.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Seven Types of Ongoing Charity after Death

Anas ibn Malik  (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Seven deeds of a servant continue to be rewarded after his death while he is in his grave: knowledge to be learned, constructing a canal, digging a well, planting a date-palm tree, building a mosque, handing down a written copy of the Quran, and leaving a righteous child who seeks forgiveness for him after his death.” [Musnad al-Bazzar]

Every Step around the Ka’ba Seven Times Is Rewarded

Abdullah ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever circles the Ka’ba seven times and prays two cycles will be rewarded as if he has freed a slave. A man does not raise his foot and bring it back down but that ten good deeds will be written for him, ten bad deeds will be erased, and he will be raised by ten degrees.” [Aḥmad]

Laylat Al-Qadr in Last Seven Nights of Ramadan

Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Look for the Night of Decree in the last ten nights of Ramadan. If one of you is weak or unable, then do not be overcome by the remaining seven nights.” [Muslim]

There are many other acts and deeds that can be listed. However, one has to leave it to that and only submit to what is mentioned or commentated upon by scholars, not by going to any soothsayer, fortune teller, or reading psychic clairvoyant readings and horoscopes, etc.

One should seek the cures to one’s problems in Allah Most High through the Quran and the way shown to us by our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and those who followed him in words and actions.

Related:
Is It Permissible to Use Numerology When Deciding a Name for a Child?

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani