“Contacting spirits”, “contacting beings from other worlds” and also receiving news about hidden matters from these beings are considered controversial subjects. To find your answer take note of the following:

1- It can be understood from the verses, traditions, and explanations of Islamic theosophists regarding “creation’ and its stages that:

A – The domain of creation is not limited to this material world and there are other worlds, other creatures and other languages which we may not be aware of right now.[1]

B – Any world has its own types of creation. For example it may have its own beings such as angels, devils, and Jinns.

C – There are special and unique news and happenings in these various worlds.

D – These worlds are at different levels some being completely bright (luminous) and some being completely dark (obscure), therefore some are in higher levels and some in lower levels.

2 – The human being who has a sense of curiosity seeks to find ways to make contact with these worlds. However he should take note that using drugs and alcoholic beverages not only will lead him nowhere but they may also cause personal mental problems such as hallucinations[2]. These are considered inappropriate tools which bring about negative side effects and the information which is obtained through these methods cannot be said to be trustworthy..

3 – It is said that one way to obtain information from other worlds is to make contact with spirits.

Take note of the following in this regards;

A – Such contact is acceptable as a reality, since Islamic sources have confirmed this in many cases. For example, we can reference the contact and words of Prophet Mohammad (s) with the souls of the unbelievers who were killed in the Battle of Badr[3]. Also there are references in his contact with the souls of believers in the cemetery of Baqi in Medina[4] and also to Imam Ali’s (a) contact with spirits[5].

B – When a dead person’s spirit is summoned it does not necessarily appear immaterially. The spirit may appear in the senses of the person who has summoned it; he may feel it through inspiration and hear some words from the spirit. The spirit does not really appear in an independent or physical sense.[6]

C – For having this contact lots of preliminary steps and difficulties are required. Sometimes sufferings which lead to this contact are religiously lawful and sometimes they are religiously unlawful. Religiously lawful sufferings create a constructive power in purified spirits and religiously illegal sufferings lead to satanic power both of which may lead to the contact, the former one is legal and positive while the latter one is illegal and destructive.[7]

D – We cannot give credence to the words heard from spirits or Jinns, or to the prediction astrologists make. Therefore we can not believe anyone who claims to have had contact with spirits.[8]

In addition, if the real contact is made we can not fulfill any command in the message we receive from spirits because in many cases the person who claims to have contact with spirits receives messages from evil spirits.

5 – The general rule to realize is that the real messages from spirits should not contradict with the basic principles of divine religions and the words of the Prophets (a). Thus, to differentiate authentic messages from the inauthentic ones, we should first know the religious laws and instructions of the Holy Prophet (s) and Infallible (a) Imams. Then, through having these messages evaluated and measured by divine religions particularly Islam, we can then decide on their authenticity and correctness..

E – The messages sent from the spirits (assuming that the contact is correct and the messages are really from good spirits) bring no obligations upon us, because Islam has specified for people what is necessary to do and not to do. There is no need for spirits to give us instruction in these regards. We can use their instructions only when we make sure of their purity and the correctness of the contact. Such certainty is very difficult to achieve. Therefore many messages received in this way should be disregarded.

4 – It is said using occult sciences is one way of receiving information from other worlds, but we should also take note that:

Firstly, in cases such as the knowledge contained in the “Divine Protected Tablet” (اللوح المحفوظ) is only for God (and in certain cases the Infallible Imams (a)) who have access to these sciences and are aware of them).[9]

Secondly, in some cases we can reach some awareness through such sciences as divination and the esoteric science of letters. These are not denied by certain religious authorities and learning these sciences are not considered haram, provided that these sciences should be original, and free of mistakes.[10] However these sciences are almost always imperfect like various other sciences[11], hence those scientists who knew these sciences became disappointed and didn’t teach them to their children.[12]

Therefore the results obtained from the science of divination and esoteric science of letters can not be fully trusted.

5 – The perspectives of Jurisprudents and Islamic scientists in this regard are as follows:

- Some jurisprudents consider summoning the spirits of the dead as being completely haram (unlawful and sinful)[13] while some others say that it is permitted if it is done in a correct manner and that this should not cause trouble, harm or irritation to the spirit of the person who has been summoned or to the audience.[14]

- Using hypnotism can also be problematic[15] unless it is done for medical treatment; in other cases it is problematic even if it is done without any violation and offenses.[16]

- Learning and using the science of magic and sorcery is haram and forbidden unless it is used to nullify other magic.[17]

Amirul Mumineen Ali (a) said in this regard:

“One who learns sorcery – whether he learns a little or much of that science – becomes an unbeliever and will lose his relationship with God completely…”[18]

- Using fortunetelling for prediction is forbidden and the money received from it is haram.[19] (

- Capturing a Jinn is haram if it is done through sorcery and through evil (even if it is not harmful to anybody).[20] Some spiritual men of knowledge also say: If some one summons the Jinn and makes contact with them he will not leave this world in a happy situation.[21]

Now considering these points take note of the following questions:

1- In the following options which one would you give priority to?

A – The human being makes contact with luminous worlds?

B – The human being makes contact with obscure worlds?

Certainly you will choose the first option as it is the better option.[22]

2- Considering the limitations of life, increasing the real needs and the information that we need to know, which option would you choose.

A –To obtain all the correct and incorrect information

B – To obtain only needed and correct information

C – To obtain some correct information and incorrect information

It seems that B is the logical answer.

Now considering the most logical answer we can conclude that:

1 – We should spend our precious hours in a luminous and pure way so that we can leave behind positive results.

2 – Certainly using narcotic drugs and alcoholic beverages are not the way for making contact with luminous beings of other worlds.