Are Ouija boards real?
Q0086: What are Ouija boards? Are they real? Is it wrong to use them?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Wa alaykum as salam.
There has been a recent rise in a phenomenon where Muslims have been naively watching videos on Youtube and various other forms of social media and attempting to copy such "challenges" or "games" for fun or 'likes'. Maybe they don't believe its real or nothing will happen or maybe they do it to test it and see what happens. Islam does not prohibit fun and games but it is advisable to use your common sense and not fall into anything haram, in turn harming your akhirah for the sake of some entertainment or pleasure.
The problem with the people attempting to use the Ouija board is that not only do they not know the consequences of what they are messing about it and they do not know how to use it correctly. Rather they themselves are copying Youtube videos they have seen of others using the Ouija board- incorrectly and therefore what they know about the Ouija board is often based on superstition and false belief spread on the internet.
There has been a recent rise in a phenomenon where Muslims have been naively watching videos on Youtube and various other forms of social media and attempting to copy such "challenges" or "games" for fun or 'likes'. Maybe they don't believe its real or nothing will happen or maybe they do it to test it and see what happens. Islam does not prohibit fun and games but it is advisable to use your common sense and not fall into anything haram, in turn harming your akhirah for the sake of some entertainment or pleasure.
The problem with the people attempting to use the Ouija board is that not only do they not know the consequences of what they are messing about it and they do not know how to use it correctly. Rather they themselves are copying Youtube videos they have seen of others using the Ouija board- incorrectly and therefore what they know about the Ouija board is often based on superstition and false belief spread on the internet.
Background of the Ouija board
“Ouija” may come from an Egyptian word for good luck or a combination of the French word "oui" and the German word "ja" which both mean "yes".
The Ouija board was invented in late 1800s and patented in 1890 by Elijah Bond. An employee called William Fuld then took over the production of the the 'talking board' and renamed it "Ouija board". The name is said to came from using the board, and was an ancient Egyptian word meaning “good luck.”
However I believe this or a form of this tool was used to communicate with jinns or spirits (as they are referred to by people who do not believe in demons/jinns) hundreds if not thousands of years before it was popularised in the 1880s and went into commercial production. There are many such objects that found in the commercial market, especially during Halloween season that have a pagan or occult origin.
The Ouija board is a wooden board (or made from cardboard) on which are written all the numbers and letters, and at the top of the board are written the words "Yes", "No", and "Goodbye". Each board is written in the language of the local people and there is a glass or a planchette in the middle of the board, the edges of which are held by a minimum of two players (sometimes played alone but advised against).
The game begins by calling upon “Ouija”, or by asking "is there anyone here?" and asking for the entity to move the planchette to confirm an answer. It is clear in the minds of the players that they are now calling upon a spirit or a jinn, according to the player’s belief, and he is asked about things that are unknown to them of events that have taken place, and the planchette moves towards the numbers and letters in order to spell out the answer to the question. If the question is about a specific date, the planchette, with their fingers on it, moves towards the numbers in order to answer the question.
Similarly, if the question is about a name or an event, then the planchette moves towards the letters in order to spell out the answer to the question. Or the answer maybe, "Yes" or "No", so the planchette moves towards one of them. Or fortune tellers ask if the conditions are favourable for a specific thing and the "Sun" represents "conditions are favourable" and the moon the opposite. So in effect used as a tool to predict the future or fortune.
Some skeptics and people who do not believe in the world of the jinns will put all of this down to a physiological effect called the 'ideomotor phenomenon' (the mind is able, under the influence of certain emotions, to move the muscles of the body unconsciously, without the individual being aware of this movement, so it appears to him as if the spirits are moving the pointer under his hand), which in some cases maybe true but does not mean it cannot be jinn at all.
However I believe this or a form of this tool was used to communicate with jinns or spirits (as they are referred to by people who do not believe in demons/jinns) hundreds if not thousands of years before it was popularised in the 1880s and went into commercial production. There are many such objects that found in the commercial market, especially during Halloween season that have a pagan or occult origin.
The Ouija board is a wooden board (or made from cardboard) on which are written all the numbers and letters, and at the top of the board are written the words "Yes", "No", and "Goodbye". Each board is written in the language of the local people and there is a glass or a planchette in the middle of the board, the edges of which are held by a minimum of two players (sometimes played alone but advised against).
The game begins by calling upon “Ouija”, or by asking "is there anyone here?" and asking for the entity to move the planchette to confirm an answer. It is clear in the minds of the players that they are now calling upon a spirit or a jinn, according to the player’s belief, and he is asked about things that are unknown to them of events that have taken place, and the planchette moves towards the numbers and letters in order to spell out the answer to the question. If the question is about a specific date, the planchette, with their fingers on it, moves towards the numbers in order to answer the question.
Similarly, if the question is about a name or an event, then the planchette moves towards the letters in order to spell out the answer to the question. Or the answer maybe, "Yes" or "No", so the planchette moves towards one of them. Or fortune tellers ask if the conditions are favourable for a specific thing and the "Sun" represents "conditions are favourable" and the moon the opposite. So in effect used as a tool to predict the future or fortune.
Some skeptics and people who do not believe in the world of the jinns will put all of this down to a physiological effect called the 'ideomotor phenomenon' (the mind is able, under the influence of certain emotions, to move the muscles of the body unconsciously, without the individual being aware of this movement, so it appears to him as if the spirits are moving the pointer under his hand), which in some cases maybe true but does not mean it cannot be jinn at all.
Oujia Board
Sometimes this does not work and people dismiss the Ouija board as a hoax (they are very fortunate). Other times it works and the person is shocked and scared and user doesn't know how to end the "game" so simply move it to goodbye and put the board away.
Or think that by ending the game by moving the planchette to "Goodbye", telling the jinn to go away and they don't want to play anymore that everything will go back to normal.
The players cannot choose to exit the game until they ask permission from “Ouija”, then if the planchette moves towards the word "No", they cannot leave the game, but if it moves towards the word "Yes", then they can leave, whereupon they have to thank him, then when the players have thanked him, the planchette moves towards the word "Goodbye".
Other superstitious beliefs include not allowing the planchette to move all the way across the numbers (1-0 or 0-1) or letters from one end of the board to the other end as doing this supposedly free the board demons. There are also reports of malicious board demons called "ZOZO" or "OZ" or "MAMA" which comes from the way the name is spelt by the planchette moving back and forth across the board.
If you summon a jinn he/she is expecting to be given a task, a role and a compensation for fulfilling that purpose (usually an act of shirk). Or they may find that since you ignorant of the ways of the magicians and soothsayers, choose to torment you for wasting their time. Or they may simply get pleasure from staying in your home, causing distress to you and your loved ones and even lead to possessing them.
Some people try to take the matter lightly and make it merely a game for fun, but in fact it is extremely serious. Some scholars believe that the word “Ouija” is the name of one of the jinn – a tribal leader or someone else– and he sends one of his troops to move the planchette towards the numbers and letters to spell out the answers.
Either way inviting or calling a jinn in your home (or another remote place like an abandoned hospital, graveyards, caves etc) is not a very clever idea and it could lead to possession by a stubborn jinn that will refuse to leave- since you are to blame. Some jinns will delude themselves into believing that since you summoned them and did not fulfil the conditions you belong to them, or make you pay.
What is established in the mind of the Muslim is that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade going to soothsayers and said that “they are nothing.” And he said that if a person goes to them, even if he does not believe in them, then no prayer will be accepted from him for forty days, and that whoever goes to them and believes in them has committed an act of disbelief.
It is not permissible for the Muslim to seek the help of the jinn to find out unknown and unseen matters, even if he does not seek to draw close to them by doing acts of worship or obedience to them. Merely seeking their help is prohibited.
The sin and disbelief that affect the player before and during the game, and afterwards, is what Allah, may He be exalted, mentions in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
Or think that by ending the game by moving the planchette to "Goodbye", telling the jinn to go away and they don't want to play anymore that everything will go back to normal.
The players cannot choose to exit the game until they ask permission from “Ouija”, then if the planchette moves towards the word "No", they cannot leave the game, but if it moves towards the word "Yes", then they can leave, whereupon they have to thank him, then when the players have thanked him, the planchette moves towards the word "Goodbye".
Other superstitious beliefs include not allowing the planchette to move all the way across the numbers (1-0 or 0-1) or letters from one end of the board to the other end as doing this supposedly free the board demons. There are also reports of malicious board demons called "ZOZO" or "OZ" or "MAMA" which comes from the way the name is spelt by the planchette moving back and forth across the board.
If you summon a jinn he/she is expecting to be given a task, a role and a compensation for fulfilling that purpose (usually an act of shirk). Or they may find that since you ignorant of the ways of the magicians and soothsayers, choose to torment you for wasting their time. Or they may simply get pleasure from staying in your home, causing distress to you and your loved ones and even lead to possessing them.
Some people try to take the matter lightly and make it merely a game for fun, but in fact it is extremely serious. Some scholars believe that the word “Ouija” is the name of one of the jinn – a tribal leader or someone else– and he sends one of his troops to move the planchette towards the numbers and letters to spell out the answers.
Either way inviting or calling a jinn in your home (or another remote place like an abandoned hospital, graveyards, caves etc) is not a very clever idea and it could lead to possession by a stubborn jinn that will refuse to leave- since you are to blame. Some jinns will delude themselves into believing that since you summoned them and did not fulfil the conditions you belong to them, or make you pay.
What is established in the mind of the Muslim is that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade going to soothsayers and said that “they are nothing.” And he said that if a person goes to them, even if he does not believe in them, then no prayer will be accepted from him for forty days, and that whoever goes to them and believes in them has committed an act of disbelief.
It is not permissible for the Muslim to seek the help of the jinn to find out unknown and unseen matters, even if he does not seek to draw close to them by doing acts of worship or obedience to them. Merely seeking their help is prohibited.
The sin and disbelief that affect the player before and during the game, and afterwards, is what Allah, may He be exalted, mentions in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, there were men among mankind who took shelter with the masculine among the jinns, but they (jinns) increased them (mankind) in sin and disbelief”
[Surah Jinn 73:6]
Please find below three examples of possible jinn possession due to people messing about with the Ouija board. I cannot determine with 100% certainty if these people genuine or were possessed already or possessed as a result of the Ouija board. But let them serve as a reminder of what can happen. The last second two clips look more genuine than the first one (which could have been staged) but looks realistic none the less.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS ARE OF DISTURBING NATURE. DO NOT WATCH THESE VIDEOS ALONE AT NIGHT OR WITH CHILDREN OR ANYONE WHO IS EASILY FRIGHTENED. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.
You may choose to skip these video clips and scroll down right to the bottom to read the conclusion on what to do if you have, even out of curiosity experimented with a Ouija board.
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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEOS ARE OF DISTURBING NATURE. DO NOT WATCH THESE VIDEOS ALONE AT NIGHT OR WITH CHILDREN OR ANYONE WHO IS EASILY FRIGHTENED. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.
You may choose to skip these video clips and scroll down right to the bottom to read the conclusion on what to do if you have, even out of curiosity experimented with a Ouija board.
SCROLL DOWN
CLIP 1: ZoZo possesses a girl
VIDEO 2: Girl plays with Ouija board
VIDEO 3: Horrifying moment girl 'possessed by the devil'
Affected by Ouija board
Some people are so affected by this even years down the line they are advised to break or cut the Ouija board into seven pieces and bury it but never burn it. Although I do not believe this is necessary there is no harm in following the same procedure as you would when disposing of a taweez or object of sihr- How to get rid of taweez properly the most important thing to remember is
1) Make sincere repentance to Allah azza wa jall to never to return to this action.
2) Pray your salah sincerely and regularly and protect yourself and your home.
How does one protect themselves from jinn and magic
How do I protect my home from jinns?
3) Do self ruqya if you are possessed and or seek help Could you recommend a raqi?.
Allah Knows Best
1) Make sincere repentance to Allah azza wa jall to never to return to this action.
2) Pray your salah sincerely and regularly and protect yourself and your home.
How does one protect themselves from jinn and magic
How do I protect my home from jinns?
3) Do self ruqya if you are possessed and or seek help Could you recommend a raqi?.
Allah Knows Best
Peace and blessings be upon the final messenger Muhammed (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) his family, companions and everyone who follow him in righteousness.
Kamal
Former Raqi
Kamal
Former Raqi
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