Is It Permissible to Use Mushrooms to Gain Spiritual Openings?

Answered by Shaykh Umer Mian

Question: Assalam’aleykum

My brother went to a place where they take mushrooms for spiritual healing.

He said that in a few days he was able to get what some people may get after 10 years in spiritual training and that it made him see that all religions are true.

What should I think about these spiritual experiences?

Answer:Wa alaikum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

First of all, the fatwa in the Hanafi madhab on this issue is in agreement with the other three Sunni schools of jurisprudence (i.e. Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali), which is: any substance that intoxicates in large quantities is impermissible to use, even in small quantities. This is based on the following hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam):
“Every intoxicant is haram” (Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim) and
“Whatever intoxicates in large quantities is haram even in small quantities” (Recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and Daraqutni).

In addition, the Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam) has said:
“Verily, Allah is pure (tayyib) and He accepts only that which is pure (tayyib).”
Therefore, haram substances and committing sins could never be a means to draw nearer to Allah.

Secondly, you may hear that some classical Hanafi fiqh texts (Hidayah being the most well-known example) have mentioned the permissibility of using “banj.” This is an Arabic word for henbane, which is a plant that has psychoactive properties and was used in pre-modern times in “magic brews.” Ibn Abideen clarifies in Radd al-Muhtar, one of the most authoritative works of Hanafi jurisprudence, that these statements of the classical jurists were referring to very small amounts of banj when it was used solely for medicinal purposes (hence, the mention of its permissibility). As for using it in an amount that intoxicates, that is clearly prohibited by the explicit hadeeths we have mentioned above.

Thirdly, Allah Most High says in the Qur’an:
“Leave Me (to deal) with those who give the lie to this pronouncement. We shall lead them on by steps from whence they know not.” (Qur’an 68:44).
This “lead them on by steps” is called istidraaj and it refers to a blessing Allah bestows on a disbeliever or a sinner (for example, allowing them to perform a miracle) that only takes them further into misguidance and sin (see Tafsir al-Qurtubi and Tafsir al-Nasafi). Therefore, the fact that any “holy” person, whether a shaman, guru, televangelist, etc., can perform actual miracles is no sign whatsoever of their right guidance. Rather, right guidance is obedience to Allah and His Messenger (SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam).

Fourthly, you have stated the following about your brother “…it made him see that all religions are true as there are different ways to the Truth.”
This is a statement of kufr (disbelief). Allah Most High says:
“Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam” (Qur’an 3:19), and
“And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers” (Qur’an 3:85).
Therefore, you should make sincere dua for your brother’s guidance and attempt to bring him to rightly-guided scholars who can remove his doubts and confusions.

May Allah Most High make us all firm on the path of right guidance.

Wassalam,
Umer Mian