At a glance
The story
It reached Malik that Umar ibn al-Khattab intended to go out to Iraq, and Ka'b al-Ahbar said to him: do not go out to it, Commander of the Faithful, for nine-tenths of sorcery is in it, and in it are the wicked of the jinn and the incurable disease. The muhaqqiq holds the report is munqati' and does not stand, though if it does stand, Ka'b transmitted it from the books of the Jews 1 Muwatta 31:2795.
The meaning
This report has a broken isnad in the Muwatta's muhaqqiq, and Ka'b may have transmitted it from the books of the People of the Book; still, it is among the texts that made Iraq in Muslim consciousness a land of sorcery and wicked jinn 1.
Notes
Shown with caution since its isnad is broken according to the muhaqqiqun; this browser shows it in the devils and jinn sections 1.
Connections
People and things also explored
Muwatta 2795· The Friday hour: every creature prostrates save jinn and humans· An ifrit of the jinn seeks the Prophet on the Night Journey· The lone rider is a shaytan, two riders two shaytans, three a riding party· Every son of Adam's jinn companion· Whoever turns from remembrance is assigned a shaytan as qareen· The snake of Medina: the Ansari youth who killed it· The shaytan never meets Umar on a path but takes another
Sources
- Muwatta, recension of Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi (ed. Bashar Awwad Ma'ruf)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ka'b al-Ahbar warns Umar against going out to Iraq”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/kab-al-ahbar-warning-on-iraq/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-11.
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