“Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”
And He has subjected (through His designed laws of nature) for you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth—all is from Him. There are indeed signs in that for people who reflect.
The Planetary Talismans
It is written in the book Sham‘-e-Shabistān-e-Razā that during the era of Alexander the Great (Dhul-Qarnayn), the tribe of Gog and Magog caused extreme suffering to people. They devoured thousands of inhabitants of that region. Eventually, in utter desperation, the local people came to King Alexander and complained that this tribe was causing them immense hardship.
Alexander gathered his army and attacked the tribe. Many battles were fought, yet repeatedly Alexander’s forces were defeated. At that point, Alexander summoned all the sages who accompanied him and said: “Devise a method to avert this celestial misfortune so that victory may be attained over this people.”
In accordance with the king’s command, the sages unanimously prepared seven talismans corresponding to the seven planets, wrote them down, and tied them to the king’s arm. Thereafter, Alexander once again marshalled his army and attacked that tribe. By the grace of Allah, through the effect of those talismans, victory was granted and the aforementioned tribe was defeated.
The same book further states that, in removing the inauspicious effects of the seven planets, these seven talismans are unparalleled.
However, it is written in Anwār-e-Nujūm that each talisman associated with a planet must be written at the time of that planet’s exaltation: for example, Saturn’s talisman during the exaltation of Saturn, Jupiter’s during the exaltation of Jupiter, Mars’ during the exaltation of Mars; the Sun’s talisman during the Sun’s exaltation, Mercury’s during Mercury’s exaltation, Venus’ during Venus’ exaltation, and the Moon’s during the Moon’s exaltation. Alternatively, each planet should be in its own house or in the house of a friendly planet.
Even then, this is not within everyone’s capacity, because despite possessing such extensive knowledge, the preparation of each talisman can still take years. When the sages wrote these seven talismans for Dhul-Qarnayn, were all the planets at that time in their exaltation, or in their own houses, or in the houses of friendly planets? No — and certainly not. Therefore, this humble servant (the author of the book) deemed it appropriate that these seven talismans be engraved in block form on the day marking the union of the Four Kings, that is, the 4th of Rajab Sharif, and that alongside them the supplication Du‘ā-e-Dāfi‘-ul-Kurūb Jāmi‘-ul-Matlūb also be included and printed. In this way, for the general public, it would prove an elixir for all worldly difficulties: incurable illnesses, repayment of debts, financial distress, victory in legal cases, dominance over enemies, subjugation of authorities, control over people, harmony between spouses, and so forth. However, one would have to wait for the 4th of Rajab. If, however, one wishes to write them on paper and use them, permission is gladly granted by this humble servant.
Whatever was recorded in that book (Sham‘-e-Shabistān-e-Razā), we have reproduced here. For honorable readers, this much evidence could have been sufficient. Yet even now, this humble one is not fully satisfied. Firstly, there are no corroborating historical proofs available for the dates mentioned above. Secondly, although the author of the book is himself a reputable figure, he too presents the argument that how is it possible for all the planets to simultaneously be in exaltation?
After scrutinizing numerous books, we too could not find any evidence of where these talismans originated or in which language they were written. As for those who write a few words in their praise, that does not concern us, because for us the most superior knowledge is that of the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith. For us, verses and blessed Names — which we incorporate into various tablets and inscriptions — are far superior to incomprehensible talismans written in any language. Rest assured, the miracles of those blessed verses and the Most Beautiful Names are beyond the scope of written description.
Now, two matters remain before us.
First, if we choose to rely on the statements of astrologers, then clearly this is prohibited in religion.
Second, we may select those Qur’anic verses and Divine Names, based on which scholars and pious elders have prescribed solutions to problems and have specified their appropriate times.
Third, we do not subscribe to beliefs concerning attendant spirits (mu’akkilīn) and the like alongside verses and Names.
In relation to all such issues, we have no need for planetary tablets or talismans, for people of spiritual paths these things hold no real significance, especially when we possess far greater sacred means. Nevertheless, every spiritual order has its own colour, and those connected with spirituality and inner knowledge will certainly understand the subtleties of these words.
As for the ordinary person, they should focus on self-reform and suffice themselves with tablets and amulets based solely on Qur’anic verses and Divine Names. When every single thing in the universe is glorifying Allah Almighty and is engaged in His remembrance, why should we need the help of any planet? Can help not be sought from the Word of Allah?
In the present age, readers themselves can observe that there are numerous methods for making any tablet or inscription; no one adheres to a single principle, and for those differing principles everyone has their own arguments. We have presented ours. Readers should take note that rarely will anyone prepare such tablets without Qur’anic verses, because even those who have learnt this knowledge know that a talisman may or may not work, but a blessed Qur’anic verse certainly shows its effect.
All that is needed is a change in both our way of thinking and our methodology.